Names of the "subs" of Knoxville that are low cost but not crime infested (Oak Ridge: section 8)

[TNwillbehome]

I am looking to move to Knoxville. Currently living out side of Tampa Bay area. Absolutely hate FL!!! Was the biggest mistake I have ever made moving here from CO 10 yrs ago.
I would like to live rural, but not hermit either. I dont want to reach out an touch my neighbor but neighbors are good to have just not 2 feet away. if you get my drift. I am in the medical field "billing" and "cna" so I will need to be close to healthcare establishments and/or medical billing offices. I wouldnt mind a commute of 20 miles to get the best deal for my money and the "space" I am dying for! I would like a min half acre 2/2 ranch style home in nice area/low crime but low cost too, rent or buying at around 700 =< a month. With that being said, what are the areas I should be looking at? General searches have only given me the whole county and I dont know the area to narrow my search any farther. Any and all info is greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!!

[creeksitter]

I'm going to advise you to find a job first - then look around that direction. What you are looking for won't be that hard to find, thought it is as likely to be 3 rather than 2 BRs. The problem may be finding temporary digs while you look for work and your ideal country home.

[misstoogood]

I moved from FL too and spent 9 years in the Tampa area, out of the 38 total I lived there. I never liked FL either. So HOT and HUMID! People think it is hot, humid, and buggy here, but it doesn't compare to what we had in FL.

We live in Powell and really like the area. It is on the north side of Knoxville. We have a mix of more rural areas and subdivisions too. Finding a rental with that amount of property and price tag may be a little hard, unless it is an older home. Possibly in Claxton -which is a bit further north. It seems that our neighboring area to the east, Halls, has better deals on property with acreage. As far as being close to healthcare establishments, Mercy North is here on Emory Rd., but most hospitals are downtown and west.

I agree with the above post about knowing where you will work first. That would be ideal. We didn't do things that way though. We found a good, impartial real estate agent who told us about and showed us different areas of town and just went with what felt right for us. (School zone was a big factor for our family though too.) It ended up my hubby worked close by our home originally, but he's changed jobs and now has at least a half hour drive out to Oak Ridge every day. The job is MUCH better though, so it'll be fine for now. Once the kids have all graduated, we'll probably look for more property and less house out that way ourselves.

Good luck in your search and I know you'll think Tennessee is an improvement over Florida!!!

[airen123]

Strawberry Plains, more rural and bang for your buck and accessible via 15 minutes to downtown area where most of the healthcare systems are. I also like Powell area.

[TNwillbehome]

Thank you all for the information!! I will be looking into Strawberry Plains, Powell areas. Any thoughts on Maryville area??

[mtneer]

Like the others I advise getting a job here before you move. Then second get a place at least to rent before you move. I just moved back to TN and could not believe how hard it was to even find an apartment. Vacancies are few, many places are dumps, a lot of rentals are in rough areas and many have switched to all section 8. I couldn't afford Knox. I really wanted a place in Maryville and every place I looked had a waiting list, was absolutely disgusting when I toured it, wouldn't ever return calls when I left inquiries and their office was always locked when I went there during business hours or they had switched to subsidized. Oak Ridge had similar issues where there was a waiting list because international students have rented up all the small apartments for the summer or else it was in the bad sections with lots of crime and meth dealers. It took me 5 weeks to find a place and where I'm at now is nice but it shouldn't have been this hard to find a place to live. I think a lot of people have relocated so things are packed. So you need to really have your ducks in a row before you relocated here or else have family or friends you can stay with for awhile!

[hondaguy83]

I live in Powell as well...It is a good area...The Emory Rd area of Powell is more Suburbs and the Clinton Hwy end is more city like...Idk where you could find a half acre for less than 700 month in Powell tho...Not saying its not impossible or anything...It just wouldn't be as easy to find land here as it would in Maryville and Strawplains...Maryville is an up and coming lil town just south of Knox with an actual hospital..Theres also alot of lil doctor offices here and there in Maryville as well...I would highly look into Maryville and Strawplains for the best house for the price