Relocating from California

[pdq]

No, not sarcastic, just thought I would agree with LauraC.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by pdq

When I want the beach I just put my feet in the kiddie pool, same exact thing really. Water is water, right? I mean come on, Newport Beach is the same as the Hudson River is the same as Lake Erie is the same as Love Canal is the same as Ft Loudon. A Knoxville indoor pool or San Francisco Bay, what's the difference?

Not a bit of sarcasm there.

[john t]

Hey PDQ,

That is the funniest post I've read on this forum! I almost spit water through my nose. Got any more? Keep em coming!

[bree86]

Hi,

I think you have picked a great area to move to. You can find nice homes in that range and there are great area's. I feel the best is East Knox County close to Strawberry Plains, however there is also West Knoxville, if you like more people, traffic and more shopping and things of that nature. Anyway, good luck.

[TheShadow]

Epic,

I'm live in Placerville and work in Sacramento, We're considering the move to Tenn also. We are leaving for the Knoxville area next week. I can let you know exactly how the weather, traffic, air quality etc, is ON MY VISIT. I understand that a visit is not the same as staying somewhere for months or years, but my experience in both places will be of the immediate timeframe and not a distant memory of what some other CA city is like and how it compares. We hear comments all the time by people who have never been to Tennessee about how humid, or how buggy it is going to be, or how the locals will dislike you, etc. My recent experience's in NC last summer (and I am extrapolating that Tenn will be similar) were the opposite of what all the naysayers reported. Humidity, not a problem compared to 105 degree Sacramento heat. Bugs, really didn't see any except what you'd see anywhere else, including Sacramento. The locals, well they couldn't have been nicer. We were floored by the courtesy of drivers on the roads and freeways. The people in stores and on mass transit were just as pleasant as could be. Traffic, truly non-existant compared to ours...even at what they were calling rush hour. I am so looking forward to our visit to Knoxville next week. We will be driving from Atlanta through Chatanooga and on to Knoxville, then to Gatlinburg and back to Atlanta. I will write a full report of our trip after I return. I don't have a laptop, so no reports while we are en route. PM me if you want, and we can correspond off-forum after I return.

[Tennesseegirlforever]

We moved to Knoxville from Santa Rosa, CA 9 years ago (I was born and raised there) and have not regretted it for on second. We found comparable wages for what we do. We were able to buy our very first house after 26 years of marriage. The weather is great (we have been having a hot spell the last couple of weeks and it is the first time in 9 years that is has been this hot and humid), the seasons are wonderful (spring flowering trees and fall colors are beautiful), the east coast beaches beat California's beaches by far. This is definately home for us and I wish we would have moved here years ago.

The pace took some getting use to, no one moves fast here except on the inter-state. The 18 wheelers driving the inter-state took some getting use to also. There is an abundance of things to do.

No state income taxes are nice, the car licensing fee is the same no matter if you drive a 2007 car or a 1977 car. The sales tax is a little steep. Property taxes are low. Here is a website that you can look up houses that are for sale in the area Knoxville Area Association of REALTORS and the local newpaper is knoxnews.com : Knoxville, Tennessee, News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information

Good luck to you.

[SusanR600]

Originally Posted by john t

The humidity is a killer, just unbelievable sometimes in the summer. Summer highs in the upper 80s-90 with pure sticky humidity. There is very little wind/breeze in the summer. The winter highs are in the 40s, lows in the 20s-30s, occasional flurries and slush. Many times the lows will dip below zero F and winters are windy bringing wind chills down very cold. Arctic clipper storms pass directly over this area then dissapate over the mountain chain. Winters are dreary and overcast. Spring is the rainy season, it's nice but sometimes rains for weeks at a time.

The people here will act very nice to you to your face but as you might already know, most east Tennesseans are very opposed to anything California.

Be ready for some pretty extreme culture shock as well. I realize that the central valley of CA isn't known for its culture but at least you're only a few miles from the bay.

The air quality in much of east TN is on par with the poor air quality of the central valley. Ozone and PM can get very high in the summer. Another problem is with allergies, asthma, and other respiratory problems, if you have any of these, don't move here. This is one of the worst problem areas in the US.

The schools in Knoxville are ok, not great by any means. Knoxville's top rated school, Farragut, isn't even ranked in the top 1000 schools nation wide. Nearby Oak Ridge is the only east TN school even ranked.

Also, if you enjoy driving out to the bay or beach, the beach is a minimum of 9-10 hours from Knoxville.

I realize my post doesn't have a wonderful "rose colored glasses" point of view of east TN, but I'm not trying to sell you a house!

Best of luck.

Gosh I have lived in Knoxville for 14 years and I don't recognize the city "John" was describing! Apparently he has never been out of TN if he thinks the humidity is so bad here.
John there are several beaches closer than 9 hours away....that is unless you drive 20 mph.

Susan

[SmokyMtnGal]

Originally Posted by SusanR600

Gosh I have lived in Knoxville for 14 years and I don't recognize the city "John" was describing! Apparently he has never been out of TN if he thinks the humidity is so bad here.
John there are several beaches closer than 9 hours away....that is unless you drive 20 mph.

Susan

Susan,

Welcome to the forum! "John" first posted this last year and hasn't posted since December of last year. I doubt he or his wife, pdq, will see this message.