Suggestion for Apartments (Knoxville, Maryville, Farragut: appointed, section 8, leases)

[94buickcentury]

I was looking for apartments to move to that doesn't cost anymore than $450. However, I want to move to an area where it is economically sound, meaning that I want an area where I am close to employers that would specialize in business or IT. I will get an associate's degree in the spring and I will be gaining education through an online school in the Fall (can't do UT because of the out of state tuition). I don't expect to live in an area where it is crime-free since I am a 22 year old poor male college student, but I don't want the crimes in the area dominated by gun crimes. I would also like to know how much the average electricity bill would be for a studio or 1 br apartment? I need help looking for an apartment and I don't want to move in the wrong apartment or wrong neighborhood. I apologize if there was a topic covered already with moving. This one is more detailed than others and none of them discuss the things I look for. The link to the apartments I was looking at is on the bottom

Knoxville Apartment Guide - Find Apartments in Knoxville, TN

I was disappointed that Section 8 housing there has a waiting list of 1,000 people and they don't accept anymore applicants which makes my affordability of an apartment even harder.

[creeksitter]

If you can afford $450 you don't need section 8. Will you have a car?

[knoxnut]

As far as electricity, that will depend A LOT on the type of heating system the place uses (e.g. central heat/air or window units) and if its an energy efficient design (e.g. is it drafty). Def try to get one with central heat/air, as that will be cheaper. If you can't see if you'll be allowed to use your own heaters, like a good radiator heater (I've seen some leases state you can't use them, so be sure to check). When you find a place, you can call the electric company and ask them what the range is, most will tell you.

As myself and many others have done, using craigslist can be a good way to find an apartment. Presuming you only need an eff/studio/1BR I think 450 is doable.

One of the things I do after I have an address available is things like a generic google search for the street name/city/state and see if any news articles/reports pop up for drugs/shootings and what not. Since you're male, you may not be too worried about this, but another thing I check is the sex offender websites (sometimes that can give an idea as to trouble in the area, if you have a high cluster of them in one area).

[94buickcentury]

Originally Posted by creeksitter

If you can afford $450 you don't need section 8. Will you have a car?

Yes I will, but I have no loans on a car and my auto insurance rate is dirt cheap, considering that I live in a city that is almost same size as Knoxville. I have never gotten a ticket or committed auto crimes.