Knoxville vs. Raleigh? (living, cost, state, better)

[Shelby61]

Does anyone have any input on the differences/similarities between the two? I am a Raleigh native but am liking living here less and less due to all of the growth. How would you compare the people in Raleigh vs. the people in Knoxville?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Shelby61

Does anyone have any input on the differences/similarities between the two? I am a Raleigh native but am liking living here less and less due to all of the growth. How would you compare the people in Raleigh vs. the people in Knoxville?

There are some similarities. Raleigh has RTP, Knoxville has ORNL (Oak Ridge National Laboratories), both of which bring a whole bunch of brainy people to the area.

Raleigh and Knoxville are both home to large state universities that are about the same size.

Tennessee does not have a state income tax, but North Carolina has a lower state sales tax rate.

The terrain in Knoxville is very hilly compared to Raleigh. Knoxville is closer to mountains and lakes. Raleigh is closer to the ocean (although it's not exactly next door).

Raleigh has a much larger airport with much better connections.

Raleigh is growing much, much faster.

The cost of housing is a bit lower in Knoxville.

Being the state capital, Raleigh is much more of a white collar city. Knoxville is more blue collar.

Knoxville is probably more conservative politically.

[thedudewiththeplan]

Actually, Knoxville is much more conservative (outside of downtown anyway). The Raleigh Durham area as a whole is fairly liberal, but the outlying suburbs of Knoxville are very conservative.

[piedmont]

I replied on the Knoxville forum, but would add to JMT's remarks that it is important to note the difference size makes. Raleigh is larger itself and also surrounded by the greater triangle area. Knoxville is quite a bit smaller.

This makes a difference for traffic, ability to commute in and out with ease, jobs, air travel and consumer goods. These things may or may not matter to you. I consider there to be virtually no traffic here on I-40 here at "rush hour" compared to what I used to experience between Raleigh and Durham/Chapel Hill. I know natives of Knox think the traffic has gotten much worse over the last decade. While in NC, I would consciously avoid 40 and 15-501 during commute hours, here it still feels very easy to get in and out of downtown on 40 during commute hours. And that is with I-40 closed through downtown! The different economy here (more blue collar work) probably distributes the commute differently, too, as more folks are on shift work.

On another note, I feel like Knoxville is more similar to Blacksburg VA in "feel", rather than Asheville, NC. Knox is a generally conservative area, especially in the outlying sections.

Personally, I prefer the weather in Raleigh. It is hotter in summer (by 5 degrees or so), but has about a week more of sunshine in the course of the year. That may not seem like much, but I do notice the difference. Knoxville proper also has some air quality issues, as poor air can hang there between the plateau and the Smokies. The triangle's air quality is not fantastic, but the lack of mountains/ridges does help with flow.