Newbie questions for Rockwood area (Knoxville, Crossville: home, organic, live in)

[fred42]

I will soon be moving to Rockwood area, having bought a "dream house" there. Oh----it has a Rockwood address but is just over the county line in Cumberland County. I have a ton of questions I haven't seen anywhere and hoping that someone can help. So, here goes..
1. Is the water hard or soft? Is there an online site that tells ?
2. Are there health food stores around? Something like Whole Foods with organic foods also
3. Is there a farmer's market?
4. Can you burn wood, trash in an open pit on your property--assuming you take proper precautions? Are there days when the air quality is bad and there are rules saying you can't?
5. Are there any rules or regulations about wood burning stoves ?
6. What are the best TV cable companies that service the area? (house is cable wired
7. What is the best Internet service available?
8. What about phone companies? I'm not sure if I want a land phone or just go with a cell phone
Thank you for any help you can give this "newbie" to Tennessee. We are really looking forward to being a part of this great and friendly state.

[bbkaren]

Okay, I'll take a crack at this. I don't know any answers but might be able to suggest some sources--

1. Is the water hard or soft? Is there an online site that tells ?
------------I'd say that's a crapshoot. You're best off asking someone who lives nearby, and even then their water might be different from yours (I guess if it's city water, the water dept. would be able to tell you).

2. Are there health food stores around? Something like Whole Foods with organic foods also
------------Phone book, Google, or superpages

3. Is there a farmer's market?
------------Someone at the county offices might know.

4. Can you burn wood, trash in an open pit on your property--assuming you take proper precautions? Are there days when the air quality is bad and there are rules saying you can't?
---------------See #3

5. Are there any rules or regulations about wood burning stoves ?
---------------See #3

6. What are the best TV cable companies that service the area? (house is cable wired
7. What is the best Internet service available?
8. What about phone companies? I'm not sure if I want a land phone or just go with a cell phone
---------------Someone here might have answered these; do a search on this forum--or again, google/superpages, etc. or even that same person at the county offices might be willing to give you some advice.

If your realtor is a local, he/she might know the answers to the utility questions too. We just bought land in Roane (Kingston/Loudon border) but aren't at the point where we're even thinking about these details yet lol--

The people in the government offices (frankly, everywhere we went in TN) are so friendly and helpful. They don't mind answering questions that aren't specifically related to their duties (unlike here in NJ where it's like "Okay, get to the point--?")

Good luck!

[TendoQueen]

All right - here we go. I lived there my entire life and just moved three months ago...I know this question was posted in March, but maybe it'll still come in handy...

1.) Not sure about the water; never heard any complaints about it, though. Call the Water & Gas guys - they'd be happy to help.

2.-3.) Specialty stores? Lol! You won't find anything like that closer than Knoxville's Turkey Creek center (a 30-minute drive...it's not that bad, I promise!), but there are farmer markets abound - and people will sell you their luscious, home-grown stuff (veggies, milk, eggs!) for a great price if you ask.

4.) No one has any problems with burning anything, as long as you call the fire department beforehand. Unless it's a really windy day, you should be fine.

5.) A lot of people have wood-burning stoves, so that's not a problem in the least. The smell of a wood fireplace reminds me of home like nothing else.

6.-7.) Everyone used Comcast for their cable. Everyone. Their high-speed internet is the best around.

8.) My family had no problem with Vonage at all; as far as cell phones go, though, everyone - everyone! - had Verizon, then AT&T. Both had great reception - and I know Virgin Mobile didn't work well in a lot of places.

Heh. Hoped that helped...someone!

[oldmanbob]

Your realtor , should have supplied all this information, and would probably be happy to, so give them a shout. Your also will be 30 minutes or so from Crossville and like she said, only 30 minutes from West Knozxville and the new Turkey Creek.

[Bones]

4. Can you burn wood, trash in an open pit on your property--assuming you take proper precautions?

You can NOT burn trash, paper, cardboard, etc. in Cumberland county !!!!!! Only natural environmental things as trees, fields,etc....

[piedmont]

Originally Posted by oldmanbob

Your realtor , should have supplied all this information, and would probably be happy to, so give them a shout. Your also will be 30 minutes or so from Crossville and like she said, only 30 minutes from West Knozxville and the new Turkey Creek.

You are at least 45 minutes from Turkey Creek shopping, which has Earthfare. If you are away from the I-40 exit at all, add more minutes on to this. I do the drive from Kingston (exit 352) frequently enough to know that this is 30 minutes to Turkey Creek :-)

I don't think Crossville has any Whole Foods or large natural foods groceries (but if it does, please tell me!).

I was just in Cumberland County doing some hiking yesterday. It's a beautiful area (in the countryside), but not exactly bustling. You might want to double check on high speed internet availability. It can be rather spotty in some rural parts out here.

[Ask Jacki]

I actually live in the Rockwood area of Cumberland County. If you are on utility water, you probably won't have any "hard" or "soft" problems. If you have a well, it depends on where you are. Do you have a well? Beside comcast you can also utilize Hughes Network for satellite cable and internet. I use both. Verizon works very well for phone. Bellsouth, not so much. Burning permits are required from October to May and sometime more while the drought is on. The Westel Volunteer Fire Dept is excellent and very helpful. Giving them a yearly donation is not only sensible, but helpful. The local Kroger at exit 350 offers organic selections that are reasonably priced. Wood stoves are everywhere and truth be told, lots and lots of people burn alot of amazing things on their property. You will find alot of helpful folks all around the area. I can't recall the last time I ran into a rude Tennessee homeowner. Welcome to Tennessee.