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First let me just say thank you as this forum has been a HUGE help in finding the "ideal" location for my family. Currently we reside in South Florida and the time is WAY overdue to move on to the next chapter in our lives. I'm a 36yrs young married father of 3 little girls (insert sympathy here ). Before I post a few questions about the Knoxville area let me fill ya'll in about myself and I will TRY to keep it short. (even though I can ramble on for days in text).
My wife is a Florida cracker who has only been out of the state for a few brief vacations and seen snow...once. I grew up in upstate Rochester NY before moving to FL in 89 so I know what cold is. Its been over 20 years and I STILL cannot adjust to this heat. I visit family in NY and just absolutely love the cold winters and am homesick without seasons. Don't get me wrong we do have seasons here in FL. Rainy, hot, hurricane and tourist seasons that is. The weather here is warm, hot, hotter than hell and melt your face off hot. This thick blooded northern roots kid has had enough and its time to get out!! So why did we chose Tennessee?
Currently I own and operate a business here in the tiny town of LaBelle (population 4k). We wound up here on an inheritance and do have a beautiful piece of land, but it is more for retirement. Have been here for 9 years and I am at my ropes end. There is nothing to keep me here aside from a slowly growing business. So why Tenn? Prior to venturing out on my own I worked at GM (Saturn) for over 10 years as an automotive tech. As you all know, Saturn is long gone and is my connections with Tennessee employment. However, during my time at Saturn each year we were sent to Springhill for GM training. 2 weeks out of each year I had the opportunity to explore Tennessee and fall in love with what it has to offer. I have seen each season including the imho very mild winters. Absolutely gorgeous during the fall and winter time.
Traveling through the eastern side I knew that is where my heart was connected. I love the western side but I feel eastern would be a better place to raise a family. The mountains, ski resorts, river, forests parks are where I feel we need to be. At least somewhere close. My family and I love to go to amusement parks and Dollywood fits the bill like a glove. I would like to find a place within an hour or three away and no further. So lets get on to a few questions!!!
My apologies in advance for the many questions and inquiries to follow.
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Schooling. Currently our county's school program is suffering and the education grade has failed 9 years in a row for the states standards. Not good. The main problem is the demographic. Without sounding racist, we are over-run by illegal residents as this is a farming community and the abundance of non-English speaking kids really slow the entire operation down. What are some good areas around Knoxville for education?
Neighborhoods. My wife likes the cookie cutter type of neighborhood where everyone knows each other and Halloween looks like a scene from E.T. with kids strolling around on bicycles and playing with their neighbors. Currently we live on 5 acres and are pretty secluded from intelligent life forms. We have to travel 30-45 minutes into a neighborhood each year for our kids to have a decent trick-or-treating experience. Something I can live with or without. I like both types of areas and open to options. Country living or neighborhood life.
Smog? Having spent time in the western side, what is this smog I keep reading about? I didn't notice any and traveled through the smokies during the summer but never spent much time there sniffing the air. Perhaps this dirty Florida air (LaBelle is terrible due to the plants) has me thinking Tennessee is much better and people just havent been to an area with higher pollutions to compare.
Summer heat and humidity. No concerns whats so ever from this guy! I see so many posts about how "hot" and humid it gets. Try living in south Florida smack dab in the middle of the state. I know what hot and humid is...for 10 months straight! We get 6 months of 90+, 5 months of 80-90 and then toss in maybe 3 weeks of 70's and a couple of "cold snaps" where temps are 60 and below. YUCK!!
Snow? The last few Decembers I spent in Springhill, there really wasn't much snow. I would like a place that snows enough for sledding, but not so much you can't open the front door (like an upstate NY winter). I would much rather sled in the back yard or at a local golf course rather than having to travel to the Smokies. That is for snow boarding so we would like to stay somewhat close.
Bugs. Do you have seasonal bugs and how are they to deal with? After living in FL for the latter half of my life, I can deal with almost anything! Lovebugs for one, is a yearly nuisance that wreak havoc on a cars paint. Up north we had cicadas but they did nothing but make noise or fly into you when riding a bike haha. Can you play out in the yard in Tennessee? With the fire ants down here and the course/weedy grass (with sand spurs), its impossible to play in the grass let alone walk through it barefoot. I remember growing up north the only thing you had to watch for was doggie doo lol. Mosquitoes...uhg! Now I know there are mosquitoes in just about every part of the world but does anyone have a comparison between Tenn and FL mosquitoes? They are big and BAD down here. Really bad. Taking a stroll in the night is out of the question during the summer without dousing yourself in a gallon of bug spray.
**this may offend some so just a warning**
Immigration population. One of my top priorities is getting back to AMERICA where we speak English without having to travel too far north into the cold tundra. Census data is very misleading in this area due to illegal non registered residents and I would like to know the truth about Knoxville and its surrounding areas. Nothing offends me more than a person who comes in my shop and asks "you peaka panish?". Our town of LaBelle shows about 5k residents with LESS than 40% Hispanic. Having lived here for 9 years the data is FAR from the truth. It's more like 75-80% Hispanic and most of those non-english speaking or very broken english. Please don't misunderstand what I am asking about. I welcome any and all foreigners into our country with open arms but please learn the language and adapt our culture. I haven't moved to France because I don't speak French lol!
Flooding and Tornadoes. This concerns me and plan to research high areas not in a flash-flood zone. Tornadoes not so much. Dealing with Fl hurricanes is peanuts. We can see them coming and have plenty of time to prepare. Plus we are located inland where a cat3 is only a cat1 by the time it gets to us. Is the flooding bad in certain areas? Places to avoid etc?
Question for the younger crowd (or young at heart). How is the car audio scene? I own and operate a car audio, window tinting shop and would like to remain in the field or at the very least involved with competitions etc. I have a demo vehicle I use for my shop and basically would like to know if there is even a car audio scene in east Tennessee. I compete in IASCA and USACI but hear good things about MECA.
Good schools
Friendly neighbors
Not "too" far from activities (hiking, biking, boating fishing, camping etc).
High Speed Internet (I am an avid addicted gamer and play many online games and no, I am not getting too old haha).
Within 30 minutes of:
walmart or a store similar.
Radio Shack or other electronics store where I can buy PARTS (resistors, switches etc)
Home Depot or building supply store
Hospital as I have 3 young children. Would like to be closer.
Hour drive +/- :
Hockey rink. Yes I still play hockey and cannot live without it. I have been very fortunate to have a place to get some ice under my skates here in south Florida. Currently I am an hour away and that is just fine but I would not wish to travel more than an hour to a rink as some weeks I am there 3-4 nights with leagues, coaching and practices.
Drag strip, oval or road courses. I have a money pit hobby that involves high speeds and must be near a nice drag racing facility. I have considered parting with some toys for this upcoming move, but need to be near or within an hour-hour half driving distance to motor sports.
Again, sorry if this thread seems long and filled with a bunch of questions but this move will be a life changing event for our family and are trying to research as much as possible. We plan to rent first, purchase later. I will be taking some vacation time (a word never mentioned by business owners) and heading up to the Smokies for a peek at what eastern Tenn has to offer. Thanks to all who have an opinion or input, or even took the time to read all of this and we look forward to landing somewhere in Tennessee in the not so distant future. Again thanks!
Good schools Knox county is all the same curriculum. Socio-Economic factors will drive3 school quality
Friendly neighbors Just about anywhere in east Tenn.
Not "too" far from activities (hiking, biking, boating fishing, camping etc). 45minutes max from downtown to well in the mountains
High Speed Internet (I am an avid addicted gamer and play many online games and no, I am not getting too old haha). Several providers in Knox county. Comcast, Knology, AT&T Uverse
Within 30 minutes of:
walmart or a store similar. Yes. 2 in west Knoxalso other locations
Radio Shack or other electronics store where I can buy PARTS (resistors, switches etc) Yes. In West town mall for sure
Home Depot or building supply store Yes. Home depot and Lowes in west Knox also other locations
Hospital as I have 3 young children. Would like to be closer. Yes. Parkwest, Mercy, UT
Hour drive +/- :
Hockey rink. Yes I still play hockey and cannot live without it. I have been very fortunate to have a place to get some ice under my skates here in south Florida. Currently I am an hour away and that is just fine but I would not wish to travel more than an hour to a rink as some weeks I am there 3-4 nights with leagues, coaching and practices. I believe there is a youth hockey team in town so there must be a rink somewhere
Drag strip, oval or road courses. I have a money pit hobby that involves high speeds and must be near a nice drag racing facility. I have considered parting with some toys for this upcoming move, but need to be near or within an hour-hour half driving distance to motor sports. Local oval is 411 Speedway in Maryville. Not sure of local drag strip. It's 125 miles to Bristol for the big time drag and stock car events.
Again, sorry if this thread seems long and filled with a bunch of questions but this move will be a life changing event for our family and are trying to research as much as possible. We plan to rent first, purchase later. I will be taking some vacation time (a word never mentioned by business owners) and heading up to the Smokies for a peek at what eastern Tenn has to offer. Thanks to all who have an opinion or input, or even took the time to read all of this and we look forward to landing somewhere in Tennessee in the not so distant future. Again thanks!
The real beauty of the area are the people. 30 minutes from downtown will put you well in the country. 45-60 minutes puts you well in the mountains. I live on the west side of town and everything I could want or need as far as services/shopping is within 15 minutes at most.
Knoxville seems ideal for you. I'm going to answer/comment through your post chronologically.
3 little girls? Knoxville is very family-friendly, Clinton was just recently named as a top city to raise children in Forbes magazine (very small city in Knox County)
You will see snow, perhaps once or twice a year, but it disappears fast. The summers are hot, but nowhere near SW Florida. We have 4 seasons and fall and spring are always nice.
Spring Hill, TN is very different from Knoxville. It is a remote suburb of Nashville. Knoxville has about 180,000 in the immediate city (not county), so if small like LaBelle is what you're looking for, a possible surrounding city of Knoxville may be better for you, like Lenoir City, Dandridge.
The mountains are definitely one of Knoxville's biggest assets. As far I know, there is only one tiny ski slope on Gatlinburg, but a 3 hour drive to Sugar Mountain, Beech Mountain in NC is close.
My apologies in advance for the many questions and inquiries to follow.
All the Knox Co schools are good. They all follow the same curriculum. The big three are Farragut, Bearden, and West, but Central, Karns, Powell, and brand new Hardin Valley High are good as well.
There are plenty of subdivisions where you can experience both the country AND suburban neighborhoods. If you give a price range, and style housing you're looking for, we can help out more.
Smokies was the name given for the haze that permeates the city. I never really noticed it until I moved away. Running outside is definitely a little cleaner to my lungs in my new city of Nashville, but Knoxville is very outdoors-minded, and many people deal with it.
The highest I've seen the heat index is 108, and that's very extreme weather for us. Not usual.
I went sledding with friends a couple times in the year of 2009-2010, and you won't have to worry about not being able to open your front door. The last blizzard was in 92, I think.
I don't think the bugs in Knoxville are anything unusual. Someone correct me if I'm wrong...Nashville has cicadas, but I've never noticed them in Knoxville.
After moving to Nashville, I don't believe Knoxville is very diverse. There are some areas that are more diverse, but Knoxville as a whole is still pretty homogenous...The census seems spot on with my opinion. But I feel that it is still friendly, despite its lack of diversity.
Knoxville does not normally get tornadoes or flooding. The city doesn't even have a tornado siren. The plateau (Crossville) seems to stop the tornadoes. Knoxville is in a valley, so it is protected somewhat. That being said, it isn't quite infallible as I know one touched down in Maryville this year. As for flooding, just make sure wherever you live isn't on a floodplain. Simple.
I know nothing about cars. I think there is a car museum in Sevierville.
Good schools CHECK
Friendly neighbors CHECK
Not "too" far from activities (hiking, biking, boating fishing, camping etc).CHECK
High Speed Internet (I am an avid addicted gamer and play many online games and no, I am not getting too old haha).CHECK
If you live in Knoxville, Lenoir City, Sevier Co, and Dandrige, you're definitely 30 or less minutes to all these.
Ice Chalet is the name of a popular rink in Knoxville. The Knoxville Ice Bears are very good in their league, and the games are fun to watch.
I know of a few nearby. I have a friend who competes. Bristol is not far away if you are a NASCAR fan.
Thank you for the replies (and a few pm's) so far. Knox county seems to be our best bet and you are right, most of the schools look darn good in comparison to south Fl academics. Am I looking for a small town/city like LaBelle? Absolutely not! The small town feel and knowing your neighbors is nice but the traveling for well, pretty much everything is not what we are looking for. We have NO movie theater, bowling alley, clubs, electronics stores, building supply, restaurants that are any good or open yearly and the list goes on and on and on.
When you say snow that doesn't last long, are we talking just a few days on the ground, a week or snow that melts overnight? I would like my children to experience a white Christmas as I did in my youth. Florida may be a paradise for retirement but it offers very few memories of a season change growing up. Something my wife (Fl native) just doesn't quite understand. It's just hot and that's about it. Maybe I'm just a lost elf trying to find Santa but either way, we must have some sort of snow in the winter. What is cold without a few snowflakes right?
One other subject I didn't touch on is religion. I am not too familiar with "the bible belt" other than the term. As a vacationer I did not see, nor hear of much religion discussions. But comparing a visitor and a resident is apples and oranges. Our family is neither here nor there and we are considered agnostic. (NOT atheist) We do attend church for Easter however as I was raised in a catholic Italian household and Easter is one day you just don't miss. LaBelle is quite a religious town and hearing "god bless" is not uncommon but the people here do not try to push religion onto you. How is the Knox area in these regards? We're more of a live and let live type of family and if faith is for you, great! If not, that's great too! I would hate to move into an area where not attending church on a Sunday is frowned upon or felt as if it was pushed on us.
Knox county is looking good!
Schools check
Hospitals check
Friendly check
Parks and recreation check
Dog friendly check
"Major" stores and restaurants check
High speed internet check
Ice rink check
Drag strip check - 411 btw has a 1/8mi strip as well as Knoxville Dragway. I actually prefer 1/8th mile vs 1/4 as its far less stress and broken parts on your car
Bugs are normal check
White winter semi-check?
edit: Housing costs. We have budgeted around $150-250k for a home (approved for more but unlike most Americans we are debt free, plan to stay that way and do not wish to over-extend our finances). We will need at min 3 bed/2 bath but preferable a 4 bedroom home. Our oldest is 11 and growing fast so we are torn between purchasing a large home and having many empty rooms in the future, or saving some money on a smaller home and having 2 of the girls share a room or maybe have an addition added. I have not seen too many listings with a basement. Is there a reason for this? Floods? A home with a basement would be ideal as we enjoy our time in front of our home theater and a basement could be used as a dual purpose while saving money. As mentioned we own our house here but do not plan to sell anytime soon. The property and house was appraised at $275k 9 years ago before the market crash. Florida was hit very hard and right now we would be lucky to sell our home for more than $100k. Our neighbors sold their slightly smaller home on 3 acres for $65k woah!! Ours is a 4 bed 2 bath 1800sq/ft home with a 3 car garage and detached theater room(20x24 storage unit converted with a/c) sitting on 5 acres of fenced in property with large pond. We will more than likely put the house on the market as a rental with options to purchase. Depending on how long before our final decisions are made and if/when we sell, will have a drastic effect on our overall budget and down payment on a new home. Hope that helps brainstorm some areas
3 little girls? Knoxville is very family-friendly, Clinton was just recently named as a top city to raise children in Forbes magazine (very small city in Knox County)
Actually, Clinton is in Anderson County, the county seat of Anderson County, not Knox County.
I'm originally from Massachusetts. I lived in the Fort Myers, Florida area for awhile and my husband lived there for 25 years. We have an 11-year-old daughter and moved here six years ago for the school system.
When I lived up north it was in small towns so I am use to that but Knoxville has a large town vibe and I love it. There is a beautifully restored downtown but there is a lot of suburban sprawl. I'm not a fan of Clinton. I'd suggest you look in the West Knoxville area for the cookie-cutter subdivision.
There is very little snow. The locals tend to make it seem like more because it is a lot, to them. But coming from the northeast I can tell you that it lasts anywhere from an hour to a few days, with the latter not being very common.
Knoxville is a small city so there is more of a "live and let live" attitude. I suspect who your neighbors are will reflect whether you are pestered about religion or not. It is the Bible belt. There is definitely more of a religious vibe here compared to the Fort Myers area. LaBelle has more of that southern Bible belt feel but you may notice it amped up a bit more around here.
We don't have LA smog or even some of the brown air you can find in some big cities in Texas. We do have two major highways that go through the area, though, and we sit in a valley. It can be very hazy on hot summer days.
Barking Spider, you might be thinking of the Atomic Speedway near Oak Ridge that got closed down. Or maybe not. There might have been another one. That was an oval.
We run an auto repair shop but I don't know a darn thing about car audio scenes.
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). Before I post a few questions about the Knoxville area let me fill ya'll in about myself and I will TRY to keep it short. (even though I can ramble on for days in text).
Having spent time in the western side, what is this smog I keep reading about? I didn't notice any and traveled through the smokies during the summer but never spent much time there sniffing the air. Perhaps this dirty Florida air (LaBelle is terrible due to the plants) has me thinking Tennessee is much better and people just havent been to an area with higher pollutions to compare.
so we would like to stay somewhat close.
