How would you characterize Knoxville? (Oak Ridge: rentals, how much, construction)

[Wildflower Summer]

My family is looking to relocate from Virginia (which, to us, is almost perfect) for better job opportunities. We've decided we're only going to apply for jobs in places we really want to live. Knoxville has come up. I'm looking for a general feel, though, and was hoping for some feedback. Thank you in advance.

Liberal, conservative, moderate?

Religious, secular, live and let live?

Outdoors-y, indoors-y?

Family-oriented, singles-oriented?

More sunny than cloudy, more cloudy than sunny?

Humid, dry, temperate?

Hot, cold, temperate?

Greener and lusher, drier and browner?

White collar, blue collar, no collar?

More educated population, less educated population?

Open-minded, more traditional?

Lots of culture, less culture?

Foodies-haven, fast food-haven?

Friendly, keep to yourself?

Lots of crime, not so much crime, even our prisons don't have locks?

I realize some of these questions may seem stupid, but you get the general gist. Please feel free to add any information you think might be relevant. Thanks again!

[weisgarber1]

Most of those questions have been answered/commented on, sometimes ad nauseam. Just search the forum.

[Wildflower Summer]

Well, that answers the second to last one, now doesn't it?

[creeksitter]

I think that's an interesting list and no, the questions haven't been answered without a bit of digging.

I think I can sum it up quite nicely: except for the questions about humidity and greenery, the answer is "All of the above". Seriously, Knoxville is a well rounded city. You can find people and places that fit all the descriptions. They pretty well balance out.

[Barking Spider]

First of all, many of these questions could be answered by a quick Google search, such as weather.
Second, these questions have been asked over and over again (a quick search on past threads will answer most of your questions), so it is a little tiring for us that frequent this forum, to keep answering the same questions over and over again.
But I will give it a shot..

Liberal, conservative, moderate? This has been really hashed out, but here is my take. Knoxville may have a lot of conservatives, but there are also liberals and moderates too. Personally, I don't engage in political discussions, so I don't have a clue where someone stands on issues when I meet them. I do have a neighbor that is the most conservative person I know, and I won't discuss politics with him at all.

Religious, secular, live and let live? I'm not sure how to answer this. There are certainly a lot of churches here (I attend one regularly), but I have never met anyone trying to shove their religious views down my throat. So, maybe live and let live.

Outdoors-y, indoors-y? Not sure what you mean here. There is a ton of outdoor activities one could get into if they wanted. Hiking, fishing, hunting, water sports, biking. However, no one is forcing anyone to take part, so I guess you could call it indoors -y too, since there are lots to do inside as well.

Family-oriented, singles-oriented? Yes, we have both living in Knoxville.

More sunny than cloudy, more cloudy than sunny? You would have to look up the number of "sun" days, but I would say its more sunny than cloudy.

THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS MAKE ME THINK THAT YOU HAVEN'T EVEN TAKEN THE TIME TO Google KNOXVILLE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS.

Humid, dry, temperate? We get over 50" of rain per year. The summer is VERY HUMID.

Hot, cold, temperate? I'm not sure how much Knoxville differs from Virginia. We get some snow in the winter, and it can get pretty cold. That said, a client of mine is moving here from Minnesota, so the day I did her inspection is was in the 20's, and I was cold, but she said it was like a spring day to her. Summers can get pretty hot, and humid.

Greener and lusher, drier and browner? With 50+" of rain per year, its pretty damn green here.

White collar, blue collar, no collar? The University of Tennessee and the Oak Ridge National Lab is in Knoxville (Oak Ridge is right next door) so there are a lot of highly educated people living here. There are also a fair amount of blue collar types because we also have a fair amount of construction, etc jobs. There are also some uneducated redneck hill billies that live here.

More educated population, less educated population? See answer above.

Open-minded, more traditional? Depends on who you are talking to, or hanging out with. Just like any other city, there are ALL types that live and work here.

Lots of culture, less culture? There are opportunities for culture here. Not as much as Atlanta, or Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle - you get the picture.

Foodies-haven, fast food-haven? There is as much fast food as you would want here. There are also a huge number of national chain restaurants too. There are also some pretty great places too. Again, you are not going to find the variety that you would in Atlanta, etc, etc, etc.

Friendly, keep to yourself? I would say that Knoxville is very friendly. Its one of the main reasons we decided to move here from Los Angeles 20 years ago. That said, there are also some unfriendly types, as well as the keep to yourself types.

Lots of crime, not so much crime, even our prisons don't have locks? Crime? Every city has crime. Knoxville has its share, but overall, I would call it a very safe city.

I realize some of these questions may seem stupid, but you get the general gist. Please feel free to add any information you think might be relevant. Thanks again!

While I did take the time to answer your questions, I have to say that my initial reaction to your post was, "WHY CAN'T THESE PEOPLE LOOK AT PAST THREADS?????"
I almost didn't bother responding to your questions because of your somewhat snarky retort to a comment.

Knoxville is a great place to live, however it is not for everyone. You would do well to visit and see for yourself if its a good fit. My last bit of advice is to line up jobs before you decide to move here. Jobs in your field may not be available, and/or, they may not pay what you are used to, or need.

Good luck with your quest!

[DaveC20853]

It wasn't an "unfriendly" response. Just good advice on the best way to use this forum. If you use the search function and use any of your questions key words and you'll see.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Wildflower Summer

Well, that answers the second to last one, now doesn't it?

No need to be snarky. All posters are expected to follow the Terms of Service. In there you'll find this:

Please use the Search this Forum tool to find info you need, as much has already been written about schools, jobs, weather, crime, prices, rentals, walkability and other aspects of a location. If you don't find it, please sign in and ask your questions. New users should use the Search this Forum tool before posting a question that may have already been answered. Let us know that you have searched the forums, so we don't assume otherwise.

[creeksitter]

I get the impression the OP had a list of questions to cut and paste to a number of cities.

It is a bit disconcerting to encounter someone who has to categorize a place as either/or to such an extent. And judge the demeanor of an entire city by the comment of one person.

Weisgarber, this part of your comment "sometimes ad nauseam" seemed a little snippy - to me at least, otherwise it was helpful advice. Sometimes a new poster hasn't figured out he search function.

My advice, which can be followed or not, is to hold off on long answers unless we hear back from the OP that Knoxville might meet her wish list.

[firefly119]

Wow!! Poor Wildflower. My husband and I will be moving to TN next year. We have been tossing around pros and cons of different areas in Eastern TN. I have tried to use the search and when I do get a result, which isn't all that often, it is several years old. Are you saying Knoxville doesnt change?
Well I have a question I can't Google or find in past threads. Maybe someone could take the time to answer me with more compassion than they did Wildflower.
My daughter is in a biracial same sex relationship and they have a beautiful daughter. I do not want to move anywhere that my granddgranddaughter or her parents would face an environment of intolerance. What is the general opinion of these situations by the good folks of the Knoxville area?

[creeksitter]

There will be tolerant people and intolerant people. Plenty of biracial children.

Not too knowledgeable on the SS issue beyond hearing a woman at my church mention her daughter was facing some grief at school due to having 2 moms. Could that be avoided if she was attending a different school? Don't know.

Will your granddaughter be attending school here or just visiting?

On edit: TN is very humid. It seems that would be a bigger concern than intolerance. Have you looked into Boise or Spokane?