My wife , and I are thinking of Relocating (Knoxville, Loudon: for sale by owner, real estate)

[allan11694]

Hi . My wife , and I currently live in Queens , NYC . We own a single family home . We are in our 40,s . I am retired , and my wife works part -time . We could sell our home in NYC , relocate to the Knoxville area , pay cash from the profit of our NYC home , for a much bigger home , on a much bigger piece of land , and not have a mortgage . Would people in the Knoxville area be friendly to people from the Northeast ? Can you recomend low crime areas to buy a home with at least an acre of land ? Does Knoxville have any good pizza restaurants ? How does the winter , and summer in Knoxville compare to the weather in NYC ?

[Eat]

The weather here is pretty darn good. We are far enough north to escape the extreme heat, while being far enough south to escape harsh winters.

Everyone here is friendly. It is a community trait. It is nothing like New York City. There are few exceptions, of course, but pretty much everyone you meet will be polite, friendly, and will engage you in conversation.

If you don't have to work, you will find your best bang for your buck either in a very rural area, or if you want some city conveniences, in the outlying counties of the Knoxville area. Housing and land prices are lower if you stay out of the high end communities like Tellico Village, where you get to pay for the name.

We live in the rural Stockton Valley area of Loudon County. There has not been a single break-in, assault, vehicle or equipment theft that we are aware of in the six years we have been here.

[knoxmomma]

I think you will love it here. We moved down from Philadelphia. Knoxvillians are warm and welcoming and I don't see being from the northeast as a problem. Winter can be chilly but is quite comfortable and NOTHING like NYC or Philly. Plenty of good pizza, there was actually a thread on this a week or two ago. Land is plentiful, put in 1+ acre in your search on realtor.com.

Moving from NYC will certainly be an adjustment (as with any move), but I think you will like it here.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by allan11694

Hi . My wife , and I currently live in Queens , NYC . We own a single family home . We are in our 40,s . I am retired , and my wife works part -time . We could sell our home in NYC , relocate to the Knoxville area , pay cash from the profit of our NYC home , for a much bigger home , on a much bigger piece of land , and not have a mortgage . Would people in the Knoxville area be friendly to people from the Northeast ? Can you recomend low crime areas to buy a home with at least an acre of land ? Does Knoxville have any good pizza restaurants ? How does the winter , and summer in Knoxville compare to the weather in NYC ?

What made you pick Knoxville? Have you been here before?

Some people love Knoxville, some people hate it, and some people think it's okay. You need to come here and check for yourself. This is a very different place than NYC on so many levels that moving just to get a beter bang for your buck is not advised until you visit.

[Eat]

Originally Posted by knoxmomma

Land is plentiful, put in 1+ acre in your search on realtor.com.

For Knoxville and surrounding counties, it is best to avoid realtor.com with all its ads and use the Knoxville MLS directly. Here's a link.

Don't forget the for sale by owners(FSBOs). They are fairly common around here. Look in craigslist and City-Data's own classifieds. Hint: Be creative with your search terms. Narrow the results with the county or counties you are interested in. If you are looking for land, search using each of these terms individually: acre, acres, acreage, land, and parcel. This will maximize your results, as some of these search functions discriminate between plural and singular and will not find derivatives, as Google sometimes will. If you don't do this, you are likely to miss some postings.

If you find something in craigslist that was posted by a realtor, my advice is to ignore it. The same property will be in the MLS and you can peruse that at your leisure without involving any real estate person until you are ready. Otherwise, be prepared to divulge personal information to the realtor for the privilege of getting to see the listing.

[jabogitlu]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

This is a very different place than NYC on so many levels that moving just to get a beter bang for your buck is not advised until you visit.

Agreed 100%. The cultural differences are vast. Can you come for a weekend (or better, a week), stay in a hotel and do some exploring?

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Agreed 100%. The cultural differences are vast. Can you come for a weekend (or better, a week), stay in a hotel and do some exploring?

I agree. If you're just coming for a cheap place to live, it might not be right for you. You need to spend some time here in non-tourist places.

[Eat]

They just asked for information, folks. Those "it's so different here" posts seem a bit much to me.

[HappyWife]

We are coming down to Knoxville in a couple of weeks to see if it would be a good place for us to retire. We are spending about a week. Could anyone recommend a nice but not super expensive hotel (around $70 a nite)? We really just need a clean, safe place to sleep because we plan to spend most of the day looking all around, so any motel within a 10-15 mile radius of downtown would do. Thanks for your help. I love this forum - you are all so helpful and wise! I've done searches on the net, but I trust your opinions more than their reviews.

[Eat]

Try the Best Western West or the Best Western Cedar Bluff. The former is near the new Turkey Creek shopping area and is a little further from downtown. The latter is located in the heart of West Knoxville at arguably the worst intersection in the greater Knoxville area , but one that everyone who visits the West Knoxville area learns to deal with. You will see Knoxville traffic at its worst, which will give you perspective.

Plug those names into the Best Western website for rates and availability.