Not Knoxville (Greeneville: environment, rental, housing)

[Doc. T.]

Moving to Knoxville is ill-advised. The semi-truck traffic formed by the confluence of I-40 and I-75 is staggering. Plus, most of it runs right through downtown K-town. Unfortunately, freeway design was substandard and jam-ups are a regular part of traffic non-flow. Rents and housing prices have increased dramatically from '05 ot '08, and you don't get much bang for your buck. Many rentals are old and in poor condition. There is a lot of subsidized housing in this community and it promotes all of the dilemmas you may associate with such situations. Murders are frequent and highly visible - one needs to be conscious of personal safety. It's a factor that affects pyschological well being more than in many northern cities in which I've resided. People, liter highways and byways here more than any town of like size or region. The city has numerous anti-liter campaigns but folks don't place much value on the environment. It's depressing. Boating is done on the Tennessee river in mostly the spring to fall season. Since it is a "dam project" much to the water is drained in the late fall to the spring. Boating tends to cease and the water-way is not very attractive. Unfortunately, folks have simply thrown too many tires in the rivers. Certainly, it disrepects those who think green and those who simply appreciate their surrounding. Hope you find this helpful. Shalom.

[jabogitlu]

SmartFix 40 should hopefully fix some of those traffic problems around downtown. Was watching WBIR today (am in Greeneville for the moment) and saw it backed up on the traffic check-in. Euwww, I do not miss that traffic.

[bbkaren]

Not terribly helpful to me, but thanks for sharing your point of view!

[Eat]

Originally Posted by Doc. T.

Moving to Knoxville is ill-advised. The semi-truck traffic formed by the confluence of I-40 and I-75 is staggering. Plus, most of it runs right through downtown K-town. Unfortunately, freeway design was substandard and jam-ups are a regular part of traffic non-flow. Rents and housing prices have increased dramatically from '05 ot '08, and you don't get much bang for your buck. Many rentals are old and in poor condition. There is a lot of subsidized housing in this community and it promotes all of the dilemmas you may associate with such situations. Murders are frequent and highly visible - one needs to be conscious of personal safety. It's a factor that affects pyschological well being more than in many northern cities in which I've resided. People, liter highways and byways here more than any town of like size or region. The city has numerous anti-liter campaigns but folks don't place much value on the environment. It's depressing. Boating is done on the Tennessee river in mostly the spring to fall season. Since it is a "dam project" much to the water is drained in the late fall to the spring. Boating tends to cease and the water-way is not very attractive. Unfortunately, folks have simply thrown too many tires in the rivers. Certainly, it disrepects those who think green and those who simply appreciate their surrounding. Hope you find this helpful. Shalom.

A lot of the above is misleading. There is no way the the traffic at the merge of I-40 and I-75 is "staggering." There are many areas of the US with much, much worse traffic. There have been slowdowns at the downtown merge due to construction, but the western merge usually moves at the speed limit. Construction is currently under way to complete the widening of I-40 through the downtown area. It will be done in about a year and a half. If the traffic in the completed areas is any indication, we will have a pretty darn good flow right through the area.

Rents and housing prices have increased in a lot of places, but Knoxville has not had the dramatic increases that other areas have "enjoyed."

The comment on subsidized housing is bizzare and troubling in its subtext. Knoxville is no different that some othe cities. It has some subsidized housing, but the above makes it seem like it is everywhere. It isn't.

The litter is no worse in Knoxville than any other major city in Tennessee.

Boating goes on all year round. TVA manages the lakes for mutiple puposes. One of them is flood control. For that reason, they draw the lakes down a few feet in the fall so that they can absorb heavy winter rains and prevent downstream flooding.

Murders are NOT all that frequent in Knoxville. I have no idea where the OP got that idea. It is probably as safe or safer than comparabily sized cities. I don't know a single person that worries about it. Not one.

[goodbyehollywood]

The semis are, indeed, annoying, but many cities have them and no one likes them. While the rents and prices have risen here, they have risen far more in many other cities. Try getting a bigger bang in FL, CA, NY, NJ, D.C. or most other states. You'll end up with even less bucks.

The infrastructure in every city I know of needs to be improved, and I have yet to be in any city where traffic jams aren't an issue. In fact, they're much more of an issue elsewhere and the roads are in much worse shape elsewhere, too. You can forget having your car aligned in CA or the NE-- you won't make it home without whacking it asunder in a pothole.

Regarding the purported plethora of subsidized housing, the frequent, highly visible murders and the psychological toll of having to be hyper-vigilant of your personal safety-- have you ever visited Atlanta... Detroit... Washington, D.C.... Raleigh? As for the rampant littering, poor boating and lack of thinking green-- please share with us where these floating paragons of clean green are and we will drive our Priuses there in droves. I, too, would like to boat, dam-free, on high, tireless water under a clear blue sky, only I can't seem to find that utopia here on earth. We seem to have trashed it and overpopulated it-- and a lot less in Knoxville than in many places.

So unless you're moving here from the farm, much of what you deplore is a fact of life in practically every city across America. Yes, Knoxville is a city. Cities have problems. And if you really want to see problems, head on over to Miami or New York or L.A. or Baltimore. Then come back and give us a more realistic perspective on crime and traffic and housing and litter RELATIVE to other cities. Because if our psychological well being would be so much safer elsewhere, we'll row on over. Shalom, ya'll.

[Wilkes]

Moderator cut: cut the Knoxville area seems to be at the beginning stages of cleaning itself up. I hail from Pittsburgh originally, back when it was a real "Steel City". It was the dirtiest place I've ever seen, until I went back in '98. It cleaned up real well! Maybe there's hope for Knoxville - too.

[gemkeeper]

I have to agree with GBH, Wilkes, and Eat. The Knoxville that we have known over the past 10 years is a garden spot compared to many other major cities.

We frequently drive the I-75/40 corridor from GA to MI and have found it one of the easiest cities to traverse, even during rush hour.

One would have to live in a bubble not to expect some (very little) violent crime, litter, or infrastructure problems in any city that is on a growth curve. With the kind of interest and concerns that I see expressed in the Knoxville paper and from its residents, I envision all of these things addressed on a daily basis.

I think that the waterfronts are quite well cared for and lovely. This is an asset that no city or state will jeopardize. The lakes and river system are important to Knoxville's economy and growth.

I think, Doc.T, that this, like so many things, is a matter of perspective. Do you live in the Knoxville area? Are you looking for a city to move to? I hope that one day your opinion of Knoxville will change for the better. I guess this is why we don't all live in the same place. We view them differently. To each his own, to quote my mentor!!

[Doc. T.]

Anti-litter campaigns remain prevalent in Knoxville. Fortunately, there is a 1-800 number setup for that purpose. Plus, numerous billboards next to freeways (e.g. 640) help to positively reinforce the issue. Raising the social conscience, that's progress! Perhaps, the doing will now be done! Misstated the confluence of freeways (I-40, I-75). More accurately, it should have read at the downtown juncture of I-275 and I-40 - problematic since there is no major ring around this town. Murder rate per-capita is higher here than in many major metros (e.g. Honolulu, Minneapolis-St.Paul, Pittsburgh-US Census data). Hard issue that requires attention and resolution. Shalom, always.

[TheShadow]

Murder, in any U.S. city, is most frequently committed by a family member or personal acquantance. So I guess one needs to be conscious of our personal safety in our own bedrooms. Whose psychological well-being is being adversely affected by crime stastistics? Where does that information come from?

[Barking Spider]

Dear Doc,
Having moved here from Los Angeles, I can honestly say that if you think the traffic is bad ANYWHERE in the Knoxville area, you need to get out more. The worst day in Knoxville is an every day occurence on the LA freeways.

As far as crime goes...again having come from an area where car jacking's and drive by shootings were an every day thing, Knoxville is pretty tame.

It's pretty easy for someone to take pot shots at just about any city, especially if they dwell on every negative (real or imagined) aspect of the community.

I'm sorry you have such a negative view of our fine city, and if you do indeed live here, I would like to offer my services to help you pack so you can move back to the lovely area you seem to be judging everything else by. By the way, if you do live here, why in the world did you move here? And if you do live here, why in the world do you stay?

Peace