East Knoxville West Knoxville (Maryville, Farragut: sale, apartments, rental)

[Rrebbil]

My husband and I are headed down to Knoxville in a week or two to look for a rental home. We are looking around Maryville but not adverse to living in the city itself.

I have noticed most of the rental listings I see for the city either say they are East Knoxville or West Knoxville. Is one "better" then the other as far as crime or schools? What are the areas we need to stay away from (so many places look OK during the day, it is hard to know what is actually a safe neighborhood). We are retired but have a 5 year old granddaughter coming, so schools are an issue for us.

[MetropolitanTN]

West Knoxville is better in terms of shopping, schools, crime, etc. That's a general consensus.

[oldmanbob]

Agreed, better choices for West for all the above, and nothing wrong with Maryville either!

[WinterStar]

East Knoxville sucks, West Knoxville civilized

[danielj72]

West Knoxville has most of the shopping, food etc. It is also the nicest and safest hands down. East Knoxville is cheaper but you need to really check the area out before you commit. Some nicer areas over on the east side of Knoxville would be Halls, parts of Fountain city, and further out toward Corryton or Straw Plains. North of Knoxville has the Powell area which is decent too. I also agree with Oldmanbob, Maryville area is nice, I would have no reservations about choosing that area either. There is a website, I believe its called raidsonline, it shows you all the crimes that have happened in Knox county in the last few weeks, and where its happened. Their map gives you a good idea of the places you should and should not find yourself in.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by danielj72

West Knoxville has most of the shopping, food etc. It is also the nicest and safest hands down. East Knoxville is cheaper but you need to really check the area out before you commit. Some nicer areas over on the east side of Knoxville would be Halls, parts of Fountain city, and further out toward Corryton or Straw Plains. North of Knoxville has the Powell area which is decent too. I also agree with Oldmanbob, Maryville area is nice, I would have no reservations about choosing that area either. There is a website, I believe its called raidsonline, it shows you all the crimes that have happened in Knox county in the last few weeks, and where its happened. Their map gives you a good idea of the places you should and should not find yourself in.

I just wanted to point out that Fountain City and Halls are very much due north of the Knoxville core. I've never heard anyone call those areas "East Knoxville." I don't know anyone that considers Corryton East Knoxville, either. It's a rural community that is due northeast but not considered East Knoxville. Now Strawberry Plains - often called Straw Plains - is in East Knox County. Usually when an area is referred to as East Knoxville they almost always mean the immediate eastern part of the city. It's not considered to be a good area. Straw Plains is considered to be fairly rural but safe.

To add to the confusion, Lonsdale, Western Heights, etc., just to the immediate area west of the city core is probably one of the worst areas in the city as well, along with just east of the city. But when folks refer to West Knoxville they mean the area that is the most popular in the area to live, starting from Sequoyah Hills along Kingston Pike and moving due west.

[Wordy]

We are moving to East Knox but yeah--West Knox is more white bread and suburban. I think in order to move to East Knox you really need to go into it with both eyes open. My husband and I have grown children, so schools are no longer a personal consideration for us. If they had been, we probably would not have opted for our upcoming adventure as urban pioneers . For us, it was the house as well as the immediate surrounding neighborhood that was the draw. I just don't want to live in the suburbs anymore, and I'm also not interested in condos or downtown lofts, so that left the countryside or something a bit more urban.

I will say that most of the people who are moving to East Knox to some of the revitalizing neighborhoods seem to be either younger or not from around here. I have noticed that Knoxville natives hear that you are interested in anything on the east side and positively shudder with dread, then tell you in grave tones that it's dangerous over there. Well, yeah. It probably is not the smartest idea to hang out in some places east and south of Knoxville. I have also noticed that many of the native Knoxvillians who give that advice haven't been out that way in decades, though. The downtown/east Knoxville of the 70s and 80s is not the downtown/east Knoxville of today in many instances.

However, for what you are describing, I think you might be better off sticking to the West side or maybe the north side, where Fountain City is. We very nearly moved to Fountain City last summer but it our home sale fell through at the last minute and we had to start from scratch. I really loved it there, though.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Wordy

We are moving to East Knox but yeah--West Knox is more white bread and suburban. I think in order to move to East Knox you really need to go into it with both eyes open. My husband and I have grown children, so schools are no longer a personal consideration for us. If they had been, we probably would not have opted for our upcoming adventure as urban pioneers . For us, it was the house as well as the immediate surrounding neighborhood that was the draw. I just don't want to live in the suburbs anymore, and I'm also not interested in condos or downtown lofts, so that left the countryside or something a bit more urban.

I will say that most of the people who are moving to East Knox to some of the revitalizing neighborhoods seem to be either younger or not from around here. I have noticed that Knoxville natives hear that you are interested in anything on the east side and positively shudder with dread, then tell you in grave tones that it's dangerous over there. Well, yeah. It probably is not the smartest idea to hang out in some places east and south of Knoxville. I have also noticed that many of the native Knoxvillians who give that advice haven't been out that way in decades, though. The downtown/east Knoxville of the 70s and 80s is not the downtown/east Knoxville of today in many instances.

However, for what you are describing, I think you might be better off sticking to the West side or maybe the north side, where Fountain City is. We very nearly moved to Fountain City last summer but it our home sale fell through at the last minute and we had to start from scratch. I really loved it there, though.

Agreed. I think that a lot of East Knoxville has some redeeming qualities, especially in the older neighborhoods such as Parkridge. It isn't for everyone, though, and it probably isn't a great idea if you have kids but to each his own.

In the immediate west, there are a few lovely older homes in Mechanicsville but in general, I don't care for the area, especially a bit further west in areas such as Lonsdale. I think that area can be the most dangerous in the city.

I think South Knoxville is generally rundown. Yes, there are a couple of nice neighborhoods but the area is still struggling with a lot of stores closed and the others mostly dollar stores/pawn shops. A few drug hotels like in East Knoxville, too.

By the way, the immediate northern part of the city is not East Knoxville but North Knoxville. I know of one person that thought that was East Knoxville but it isn't. I agree that places like Fourth and Gill are full of folks from somewhere else. I like that area a lot. If it wasn't for the schools - I'm a single mom and I can't drive my kid to another school - that would be my ideal area.

[creeksitter]

I will say that most of the people who are moving to East Knox to some of the revitalizing neighborhoods seem to be either younger or not from around here. I have noticed that Knoxville natives hear that you are interested in anything on the east side and positively shudder with dread

Wordy, your comment made me smile and gave me Deja Vu all over again. Back in the 80s when people would call about apartments in 4th & Gill - they would ask "where is it" and I would reply "are you from Knoxville?" I made it sound like I was asking in the context of giving directions but really i wanted to know if they were local. if so, I would be polite but end the conversation as quickly as possible, no point wasting my time. Of course now the neighborhood is all trendy and I have the opposite problem.

[Wordy]

Ha, well as luck would have it, we got the appraisal back today and the appraiser located the area as "North Central Knoxville." But: It's in Parkridge in the historic overlay district on Jefferson. And the appraisal came back almost 10% over what we are paying so yay! But that's neither here nor there to this poor poster who started the thread.

I have been coming to Knoxville since 1984 and watched the west side build up over the years. My husband is a proud graduate of Farragut High School. I never would have dreamed I would end up rejecting the west side in favor of our hopefully upcoming adventure, but I think for me and my particular current sensibilities, the west side is just too congested. Most everybody else seems to love it, though. Right now we are renting a house right off Cedar Bluff. It's very nice here. It's just not where we want to buy a house.

Creeksitter: You definitely know exactly what I'm talking about! My MIL was born and raised here and rarely ever left it. She was kind of famous in town for years (she was a professional singer). Having been raised here, as she was, and having watched the area where she grew up go into blight and neglect, I can understand that she had a particular point of view (one which my husband shared, for sure--until he came out where we are moving and saw for himself that things are not as he remembered but instead are revitalizing).

The other thing that drives a lot of people who don't choose the west side: If you are looking for an old house, you kinda have to go where they are