Moving to Knoxville Area (Oak Ridge, Gleason: sales, real estate, apartments)

[txag04]

I am considering a job in Oak Ridge, and am thinking about living in West Knoxville. I am young and would like to be in a young, trendy area close to some nightlife and fun things to do. Also, can you tell me more about the cost of living (rent, car insurance, groceries, etc.)? I am moving from Texas where COL is cheap! I pay $550 for a very large 1 bedroom apartment here and am looking for some sort of comparision.

Thanks.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by txag04

I am considering a job in Oak Ridge, and am thinking about living in West Knoxville. I am young and would like to be in a young, trendy area close to some nightlife and fun things to do. Also, can you tell me more about the cost of living (rent, car insurance, groceries, etc.)? I am moving from Texas where COL is cheap! I pay $550 for a very large 1 bedroom apartment here and am looking for some sort of comparision.

Thanks.

If you're looking for trendy nightlife, West Knox isn't it. You'll want to be closer to downtown, particularly the Old City and, of course, The Strip (right next to the university). West Knox is fine if you want new shopping centers. But if you live close to downtown and the university, you'll be even farther away from Oak Ridge.

The average age in Oak Ridge is 45, so if you want to be around a lot of young people with a hip nightlife for young people, you probably do want to head for Knoxville.

My house payment is less than your rent, so yes you can find a 1 bedroom apartment here in your price range, although maybe not right downtown. There are all kinds of online resources where you can check out Knoxville rental rates. For starters, check out the local paper's web site:

knoxnews.com : Knoxville, Tennessee, News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information

For car insurance info, contact your insurance agency and give them your info and they can look up what your rate would be here. Since your rates will depend on the kind of car you have, your age, your driving record, it's difficult for anyone here to give you an accurate comparison.

Your grocery bill probably won't change a whole lot. Tennessee has no income tax but does have a sales tax of 9.25% on almost everything, 8% on groceries.

Good luck!

[knoxgarden]

I second the downtown recommendation. Lots of things going on, good live music scene.
Check out Metro Pulse -- the free alternative weekly -- for the action plus rentals in the downtown lofts.
Metro Pulse Online

[darkholme]

Originally Posted by JMT

If you're looking for trendy nightlife, West Knox isn't it. You'll want to be closer to downtown, particularly the Old City and, of course, The Strip (right next to the university). West Knox is fine if you want new shopping centers. But if you live close to downtown and the university, you'll be even farther away from Oak Ridge.

The average age in Oak Ridge is 45, so if you want to be around a lot of young people with a hip nightlife for young people, you probably do want to head for Knoxville.

My house payment is less than your rent, so yes you can find a 1 bedroom apartment here in your price range, although maybe not right downtown. There are all kinds of online resources where you can check out Knoxville rental rates. For starters, check out the local paper's web site:

For car insurance info, contact your insurance agency and give them your info and they can look up what your rate would be here. Since your rates will depend on the kind of car you have, your age, your driving record, it's difficult for anyone here to give you an accurate comparison.

Your grocery bill probably won't change a whole lot. Tennessee has no income tax but does have a sales tax of 9.25% on almost everything, 8% on groceries.

Good luck!

Well, this almost completely answers my questions, as I'm a young person moving to Knoxville as well and I was about to make a new thread.

Though, I prefer quiet and proximity to shopping as opposed to trendy nightlife. Is West Knoxville the area for that? I've seen a lot of references to "Turkey Creek" in my Google searches. Nice area or overrated?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by darkholme

Well, this almost completely answers my questions, as I'm a young person moving to Knoxville as well and I was about to make a new thread.

Though, I prefer quiet and proximity to shopping as opposed to trendy nightlife. Is West Knoxville the area for that? I've seen a lot of references to "Turkey Creek" in my Google searches. Nice area or overrated?

West Knox is definitely NOT quiet. When people in Knoxville complain about traffic and lots of new housing developments, they're talking about West Knox.

Where in Knox are you going to be working? East Knox County is very quiet and still has a rural feel to it. Yet it's only 10 minutes from East Town which has a mall (Belk, Dillard's, JCPenney, Sears) as well as things like Target, Home Depot, Circuit City, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sam's Club, etc.

You can also look at the Fountain City area. It's a bit more congested than East Knox County but nothing like West Knox.

Good luck!

[darkholme]

Originally Posted by JMT

West Knox is definitely NOT quiet. When people in Knoxville complain about traffic and lots of new housing developments, they're talking about West Knox.

Where in Knox are you going to be working? East Knox County is very quiet and still has a rural feel to it. Yet it's only 10 minutes from East Town which has a mall (Belk, Dillard's, JCPenney, Sears) as well as things like Target, Home Depot, Circuit City, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sam's Club, etc.

You can also look at the Fountain City area. It's a bit more congested than East Knox County but nothing like West Knox.

Good luck!

Lots of traffic, lol? Oh dear. All of the apartments I looked up so far in West Knox claimed that they're in such "safe, secluded, QUIET" areas. Guess you just can't trust that Apartment Guide, lol.

I'm actually going to be working downtown. But most of the apts I found online were either fancy (read = expensive) lofts or student hovels.

My ideal place to live would be a quiet residential area with a 20-minute-or-less drive to downtown. Fountain City sounds interesting...

[knoxgarden]

Originally Posted by darkholme

Lots of traffic, lol? Oh dear. All of the apartments I looked up so far in West Knox claimed that they're in such "safe, secluded, QUIET" areas. Guess you just can't trust that Apartment Guide, lol.

I'm actually going to be working downtown. But most of the apts I found online were either fancy (read = expensive) lofts or student hovels.

My ideal place to live would be a quiet residential area with a 20-minute-or-less drive to downtown. Fountain City sounds interesting...

Depends on what you call "quiet." I live in a condo in West Knoxville and it's very quiet. There is traffic around and a busy street nearby but back in the complex it's fine. It's not rural, chirping crickets quiet, though. Knoxville isn't a noise city. People don't honk, you rarely hear a siren. As long as you're not on a trucking route or the interstate or living next door to a frat house, you should be fine.
I'd consider Fountain City very noisy unless you're quite a ways from the main streets.
Check apartment ratings here:
Knoxville Apartments for Rent with Ratings & Reviews by Knoxville Renters at ApartmentRatings.com
That will give you a good idea of what's quiet and what isn't.
Some I'd recommend from my apartment hunting days:
Northshore Woods
Sutters Mill
Magnolia Square (as long as you're further back in the complex and not near Cedar Lane)
Also look for condos for rent. This is a separate section in the paper's real estate listings. Lots of real nice condos around.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by knoxgarden

Depends on what you call "quiet." I live in a condo in West Knoxville and it's very quiet. There is traffic around and a busy street nearby but back in the complex it's fine. It's not rural, chirping crickets quiet, though. Knoxville isn't a noise city. People don't honk, you rarely hear a siren. As long as you're not on a trucking route or the interstate or living next door to a frat house, you should be fine.
I'd consider Fountain City very noisy unless you're quite a ways from the main streets.
Check apartment ratings here:
Knoxville Apartments for Rent with Ratings & Reviews by Knoxville Renters at ApartmentRatings.com
That will give you a good idea of what's quiet and what isn't.
Some I'd recommend from my apartment hunting days:
Northshore Woods
Sutters Mill
Magnolia Square (as long as you're further back in the complex and not near Cedar Lane)
Also look for condos for rent. This is a separate section in the paper's real estate listings. Lots of real nice condos around.

That's true, and I guess it also depends on one's perspective. I do consider West Knox to be pretty noisy, much noisier than Fountain City since very few people live close enough to Broadway to hear the traffic in Fountain City. But I do have friends who live in apartments/condos in pockets of solitude in West Knox along Middlebrook Pike and Gleason Road.

I have friends who live in a condo complex at the intersection of Gleason and Gallaher View, I believe it's called The Palisades. It's nice and quiet there and has very reasonable rent. Other friends live on the other end of Gallaher View near Middlebrook Pike, I believe it's called Country Club Place, or something like that, and it's also very quiet. It's behind the Weigel's/Subway at the Middlebrook/Gallaher View intersection.

Both of those complexes are close to I-40 and are close to tons of shopping and restaurants, and it's a quick drive to downtown from there.

[darkholme]

This is all such great information, thank you so much. I'm from a big city, and I'm used to BIG city noise, so it sounds like no matter where I live Knoxville is going to be quieter.

I actually called Sutters Mill, unfortunately they didn't have anything available. But I'm going to check out the section of condos for rent right now. I had actually been looking at "townhome" styled apartments with separate entries and two floors that a condo would not be out of the question.

Middlebrook Heights sounds nice...I was also looking at Creekwood.

[txag04]

Thanks for the info about West Knox and downtown. I definitely don't want to live in Oak Ridge. I am 25 so enjoy the nightlife, but don't know anyone in Knox. Is the "downtown" area safe, dog-friendly, densely populated?

Thanks