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I am looking to potentially relocate to the Knoxville area sometime in middle of Summer. I'm currently living in the Denver area, but really do not like it here at all. Being a native of the Pacific Northwest I really hate the ugly brown scenery here and even the mountains right near Denver are just not that spectacular compared to what I am use to living in Oregon, Washington or even Idaho. However, I was very impressed with the beauty of Knoxville and the Appalachian mountains were so spectacular that I would easily put them miles ahead of the beauty of most of the dry barren peaks you see in most of Colorado. Of course Colorado has its gems, but most of the most spectacular sites you see on the postcards require a 3-6 hour journey from the city. I was impressed by how much spectacular beauty was right outside of the city (and even inside) the city of Knoxville, itself. The scenery in Knoxville reminded me a lot of West Africa (but with even bigger mountains) and it has all those beautiful things I miss from the Pacific Northwest such as lush vegetation, flowers, large trees, lakes, rivers, etc.
As far as my situation, I am a partially disabled software developer. My disability is more in regards to not being able to sit for consecutive long hours anymore at a desk. I have nerve damage in my neck. It doesn't really limit me in doing many activities, but sitting long hours at a desk is not possible anymore. As long as I take frequent breaks and have an ergonomic work station I can work 12-14 hour days. But, I cannot work an office job in a software company anymore, because many require you to work 10 hour days with minimal breaks in very poor working conditions. The typical sight you see these days is the developer hunched over his laptop sharing a tight desk with 20 other developers.
So, I have a new goal in life. I have over 16 years of experience in software industry and I am training myself in the latest and greatest web technologies and changing my career title to full-stack developer. I have been getting hordes of recruiters sending me mail and calling me here in Denver, but I have no desire to be stuck in a cubicle for 10 hours a day then sitting in traffic for another 2 hours a day (more sitting). So, my goal now is to start my own business or get a telecommuting software job, even if it means a huge paycut. I am open to doing some type of part-time work possibly and may explore what (little I am sure) opportunities Knoxville may have with software jobs. Well, on this note, I want to relocate somewhere cheaper, with low taxes, where starting a home business or telecommuting is a real possibility. In Denver, it is not very easy, because it is so expensive to live here. I am going to take out a loan and will be living on small salary as I am also will be working part-time for a family business I helped built. I will be trying to live a minimalist lifestyle for the next couple years until I can find a telecommute job or get my business launched. I've not been on the job market for like 15 years, so will need to spend a year preparing for interviews for telecommuting jobs in addition to my other work. I need to live as cheap as possible. Knoxville I know is getting more expensive, but the prices still are quite low compared to other places I see. As well, I really love the beauty, mountain and outdoor opportunities. Nashville looks way too expensive and is far from the more grandiose scenery of the Appalachians. I also would prefer to be in a place that has more Southern culture and is not strictly a city of NJ/NY/PA transplants like Charlotte was. I'm not saying Northeasterners are bad people, but I like Southern culture and not a big fan of Northeastern culture.
Anyway, I would like to know what areas around Knoxville that are within hopefully a 30 minute drive (without traffic) where I can find a decent place (around 1000 sq ft would be ideal) for around $800/mo. If I have to live in a smaller place then it is possible, as I will be storing a majority of my possessions here in Colorado and selling more things off. I've sized down a lot. If I could even find a cheaper place to rent, it would even be better. I'd rather not pay more if possible. I am ok with living out in the country a ways, but I do need high speed internet access for my job. I would prefer to live in a single family home, but any arrangement where I don't share too many walls, like duplex, condo, manufactured home (or even a decent shape double-wide trailer) could work out too. My goal is to be in a place with low crime, quiet and within reasonable commute to the city.
I did spend some time living in Charlotte, NC and even spent a couple nights in Knoxville, but did not get to explore the town much. I was living in Charlotte for 3 months in the Summer and got to experience the dreadful heat and humidity. To be honest, I would prefer that weather to the high altitude summers in Denver where the sun feels like it eats your skin up. As well, the winters go from -10F to 60F in the same week and the temperature changes drive me mad and the cold is very very cold and eats up your skin. As long as I can get a decent A/C, I can live with the summer. I also hear Knoxville is not as hot as Charlotte, which is good. It doesn't appear that Knoxville is much colder than Charlotte, as Charlotte has even gotten more snow this year than Knoxville.
For all its hype, I feel like Colorado is literally a wasteland unless you get up to certain remote part of the mountains. I guess ski resorts are probably part of what makes the area so desirable. I don't ski or snowboard, but I am an avid hiker. However, so much of Colorado's beauty is at over 9000 ft and I am learning how annoying the sun and extreme weather is at those elevations. The lack of trees, greenery, water is very depressing and I didn't realize how it would get to me. I still cannot understand why people pay $1,000,000 to have homes in these ugly barren landscapes with no nature or anything around. The luxury neighborhoods you see in Portland and Seattle have exquisite landscaping, beautiful tree lined streets and gardens. Here you see medium sized homes surrounded by plots of dirt and these homes are worth a million dollars in cookie cutter subdivisions. I won't go on extensively and continually rant about why I don't like Denver or Colorado, but I just want to get out of here.
Anyway, I appreciate people's help. I will also be looking at Greensboro, NC/Winston-Salem,NC and some other lesser expensive areas of the Southeast. I also have may consider Southern MO or Northeastern Arkansas, but as a single soon to be 41 year old, I feel I probably will be bored out of my mind with not much to do there. I do have a friend who lives out there who is trying to convince me to come down there. THe housing costs there are the cheapest I have ever seen for being in a place with as nice of scenery as the Ozarks offer. However, I think I would be happier in a place like Knoxville. The fact that Knoxville just opened up a new Bud's Gun Shop and indoor shooting range is another real plus I also hear the brewery scene in Knoxville is thriving. I cannot even begin to tell you how overrated the beer is in Denver.. Even if Seattle and Charlotte didn't have as many breweries as Denver, I will say the beer was way better there. Ugh.. No more ranting about Denver.
Last edited by RotseCherut; 02-01-2019 at 08:26 PM..
I'm in IT. I have a high school classmate and personal friend from the Tri-Cities who founded a development company in Knoxville around a decade ago. This guy is now worth into the eight figures.
He relocated his businesses from Knoxville to Chattanooga for two principle factors - 1) talent - Chattanooga is much friendlier toward developers and has a much deeper dev/engineer culture than Knoxville. 2) internet - his business required a level of service beyond what Comcast Business could provide. He relocated to Chattanooga partly because of the EPL's level of service and bandwidth, which is still not equalled in Knoxville.
I'm nowhere near the bleeding edge this guy is at. With that said, there are very few IT and even development opportunities in Knoxville that aren't funneled through one of two staffing agencies - 1) ITR - Information Technology Resources or 2) TEKSystems Knoxville office. Your best places to look would be direct hire opportunities at SAIC, Oak Ridge National Labs, UT-Medical Center, Covenant Health, or Tennova, and apply directly to those companies. Many of their opportunities do not make it to Indeed or Dice.
I'm in IT. I have a high school classmate and personal friend from the Tri-Cities who founded a development company in Knoxville around a decade ago. This guy is now worth into the eight figures.
He relocated his businesses from Knoxville to Chattanooga for two principle factors - 1) talent - Chattanooga is much friendlier toward developers and has a much deeper dev/engineer culture than Knoxville. 2) internet - his business required a level of service beyond what Comcast Business could provide. He relocated to Chattanooga partly because of the EPL's level of service and bandwidth, which is still not equalled in Knoxville.
I'm nowhere near the bleeding edge this guy is at. With that said, there are very few IT and even development opportunities in Knoxville that aren't funneled through one of two staffing agencies - 1) ITR - Information Technology Resources or 2) TEKSystems Knoxville office. Your best places to look would be direct hire opportunities at SAIC, Oak Ridge National Labs, UT-Medical Center, Covenant Health, or Tennova, and apply directly to those companies. Many of their opportunities do not make it to Indeed or Dice.
Hi SeriousConversation.. I apologize for my delayed response, but I am working 80 hrs/week right now and don't have much breathing room to do anything.
I appreciate your suggestion about Chattanooga and will definitely do more research about the city. I've done some research in the past about Chattanooga and it doesn't really appear to be a place that would fit well for someone in my situation I feel though. I was told it is mostly a family and tourist town and being a single almost 41 year old Jewish guy (i.e. I don't go to church) now I kind of feel I may be bored and not have a lot to do there. I've lived in smaller family oriented towns over the years and found that it is usually pretty dismal. I've also heard Chattanooga has a serious problem with gangs and crime, although I don't know the extent. Of course, there are many great things I have heard about the area, such as it is in a beautiful setting, gigabit ethernet and an emerging IT industry. One thing though is when I look at the tech jobs in Chattanooga and Knoxville, it doesn't appear that Chattanooga has many more offerings, but I know Indeed.com alone is not necessarily a determination of what is available.
I am not sure if you read the entirety of my post, but I am actually not looking to work a corporate job and be stuck in a cubicle. In fact, the whole reason I wanted to live in a cheaper (but not totally remote) place like Knoxville is that I am striving to start my own business and work a telecommute job. I have problems with my neck which would make it hard to survive in the rigorous environment of a corporate office, such as poorly constructed work stations , long hours of sitting and having to deal with bosses, project managers who would not take well the need of someone with a disability. Even though I can work long hours, companies will insist you do things their way and won't care if it costs you your health. I cannot sit for 4 hours straight then sit for 2 hour meetings, 1 hour lunches and 2 hours of commuting time (well, maybe not in Chattanooga). I have Cervical Radiculopathy and have to move around all the time. Sitting at a crappy desk hunched forward on a tiny laptop (like many companies force you to work on), won't work for me either. In Seattle, for example, you will be hard pressed to find a job where you work less than 50 hours/week and the project managers I hear are ruthless as they come.
Anyway, this is why I have come to the conclusion I can no longer work an office job in a big company. So, if I cannot find an online software job or start my own business, I probably will just find a new career or maybe get some crappy job and live a new life. I'm hoping my years of experience won't be for nothing.
I am hoping by living cheap for the next two years and boosting my skills and resume even more, I can land something. If I am stuck living in an expensive city like Seattle, Denver or even Nashville, I will be living just paycheck to paycheck to pay my rent and have no time to pursue my goals and may end up in a very bad work environment that doesn't accommodate disabled people.
Of course, I will like to look more into Chattanooga. Maybe, being close to Atlanta, I could commute there for social life and other activities that accommodate single people. Even living in Knoxville I figure as a single guy I will not have a whole lot of social life, but at least it is cheap to live and it is near very beautiful mountains so I can enjoy some outdoor activities with the limited free time I have. It also seems to be a bit more "cosmopolitan", if I can use that word than Chattanooga and maybe could offer a bit more in the terms of culture, nightlife, social atmosphere etc for a single guy. I also think I could to go to Nashville on weekends maybe if I find Knoxville to lacking in activities for a single person. Living in Washington and Oregon I can tell you if you are not married with kids then you will be left alone in the cold unless you live in the bigger cities like Seattle or Portland and to a lesser extent Eugene (which despite being small, has a vibrant younger and less nuclear family style community).
It sounds pretty exciting how your friend managed to become a multi-millionaire. I'm always inspired by that. I actually have no desire to be a corporate drone and even if I only make $40,000 a year, if it from my own independent business I would take that over $100,000 salary being stuck in some big overpriced city and living in the dreadful rat-race. The lives I see software developers live in Seattle is awful. They make all this money and can barely afford a savings since most of their money is eaten up by living expenses, because they need that nice $3000/mo 800 sq ft apartment in trendy Queen Anne or South Lake Union. In the case of Seattle (as well as SF Bay Area), you literally have no choice but to live right near your work or your commute with the dreadful traffic could be even 3-4 hours a day.
Anyway, I can see the Knoxville forum is a bit slow right now, so I guess I will probably have to look elsewhere to find out which neighborhoods or cities within 30 mile radius would be affordable to live and away from the crime areas.
Out of curiosity, would you say Chattanooga is more expensive or equally priced to Knoxville? If I could get a cheap enough place away from the gangs, crime, trailer parks and other riff-raff it could be a possibility.
Last edited by RotseCherut; 02-04-2019 at 04:23 PM..
Of course, I will like to look more into Chattanooga. Maybe, being close to Atlanta, I could commute there for social life and other activities that accommodate single people. Even living in Knoxville I figure as a single guy I will not have a whole lot of social life, but at least it is cheap to live and it is near very beautiful mountains so I can enjoy some outdoor activities with the limited free time I have. I also think I could to go to Nashville on weekends maybe if I find Knoxville to lacking in activities for a single person. Living in Washington and Oregon I can tell you if you are not married with kids then you will be left alone in the cold unless you live in the bigger cities like Seattle or Portland and to a lesser extent Eugene (which despite being small, has a vibrant younger and less nuclear family style community).
FYI: Chattanooga is quite a bit closer to Nashville, too. Knoxville is much more isolated. While Chattanooga is within 1.5-2 hours of either Nashville or Atlanta, Knoxville is 2.5 hours from Nashville and 3.5 hours from Atlanta.
I've also never heard anyone say that Chattanooga is a more family-oriented town than Knoxville. If anything, because of Knoxville's better schools I would consider it to be more family-oriented. Chattanooga's urban core is much more "hip" than Knoxville's. Chattanooga's Whole Foods is downtown, for example, while Knoxville's is in suburbia. Chattanooga's IMAX is downtown, Knoxville's IMAX is in suburbia. Chattanooga's minor league baseball stadium is downtown while Knoxville's is in a different county. Chattanooga has a wildly popular minor league soccer team while Knoxville lost its minor league soccer team. Knoxville does have minor league hockey, something Chattanooga does not have.
---
its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
It sounds like from some of responses here I would be best avoiding Knoxville and to look at Chattanooga instead.
JMT, how would you say the prices of housing would be in Chattanooga compared to Knoxville? I didn't realize Chattanooga was even closer to Nashville than Knoxville was. Also, I was told that Chattanooga is not really near any mountains, but just near a pretty scenic gorge or plateau area, but has much more limited outdoor activities compared to what you would have in Knoxville. Is this true? How far are the real Appalachian mountains and hiking areas from Chattanooga? I am sure the area is 100 times more scenic than what I have in the land of dust, tumbleweed, sickly looking fake trees and dirty snow (i.e. Front Range of Colorado). I'm still scratching my head as why people pay millions to live near these mountains. The Appalachian mountains I saw in North Carolina and Tennessee are so much more scenic than what I see here in the Front Range.
Do you think for $700 or $800 a month I can find a decent place over 800 sq ft (preferably more) within 30 miles to downtown (or wherever the life of the city is) in Chattanooga?
I'm assuming if you are single guy and want some social life I'd probably have to go to the bigger cities for entertainment and social life, since I am not married with kids or involved in church activities. I'm not saying there is no potential in Chattanooga, but this has been my experience living in smaller cities in the Pacific Northwest, especially ones that are more touristy. There usually is no activities for people who are not married.
Also, would you describe Chattanooga as more Southern or does it have a lot of Northeasterners/California transplants? The culture shock I had in Charlotte, North Carolina was not from being in the South, but being surrounded by so many people from suburban New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. In fact, I almost never heard a Southern accent in Charlotte, unlike when I was in Knoxville, where it was common. Everything from the way people dressed (e.g. pink polo shirts tucked into brown khaki shorts ), social interactions and lifestyle was very hard for a more rugged, down-to-earth Northwestern person like myself to comprehend.
Also, I found some of people very snooty and in your face with their liberal politics, which was also something I was not use to. Even people in Seattle (outside of some transplants I met) would not be mocking me and calling me racist because I said Ghanaians are good soccer players. I was in Ghana for 3 months (and in Africa for a total of 6 months), witnessed their deep passion for soccer, learned several African languages and I am not racist; in fact I am much more cross-cultural and accepting than most people I meet. But, one guy from Pennsylvania screamed at me saying the man is French and I am racist for calling him a Ghanaian. LOL.. The guy was from Ghana and joined (or recruited) to the French National soccer team. I'm not use to this level of "political correctness". I felt threatened to say anything to some of these people for risk of "offending" them.
Last edited by RotseCherut; 02-04-2019 at 06:28 PM..
It sounds like from some of responses here I would be best avoiding Knoxville and to look at Chattanooga instead.
JMT, how would you say the prices of housing would be in Chattanooga compared to Knoxville? I didn't realize Chattanooga was even closer to Nashville than Knoxville was. Also, I was told that Chattanooga is not really near any mountains, but just near a pretty scenic gorge or plateau area, but has much more limited outdoor activities compared to what you would have in Knoxville. Is this true? How far are the real Appalachian mountains and hiking areas from Chattanooga? I am sure the area is 100 times more scenic than what I have in the land of dust, tumbleweed, sickly looking fake trees and dirty snow (i.e. Front Range of Colorado). I'm still scratching my head as why people pay millions to live near these mountains. The Appalachian mountains I saw in North Carolina and Tennessee are so much more scenic than what I see here in the Front Range.
Do you think for $700 or $800 a month I can find a decent place over 800 sq ft (preferably more) within 30 miles to downtown (or wherever the life of the city is) in Chattanooga?
I'm assuming if you are single guy and want some social life I'd probably have to go to the bigger cities for entertainment and social life, since I am not married with kids or involved in church activities. I'm not saying there is no potential in Chattanooga, but this has been my experience living in smaller cities in the Pacific Northwest, especially ones that are more touristy. There usually is no activities for people who are not married.
Also, would you describe Chattanooga as more Southern or does it have a lot of Northeasterners/California transplants? The culture shock I had in Charlotte, North Carolina was not from being in the South, but being surrounded by so many people from suburban New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. In fact, I almost never heard a Southern accent in Charlotte, unlike when I was in Knoxville, where it was common. Everything from the way people dressed (e.g. pink polo shirts tucked into brown khaki shorts ), social interactions and lifestyle was very hard for a more rugged, down-to-earth Northwestern person like myself to comprehend.
Also, I found some of people very snooty and in your face with their liberal politics, which was also something I was not use to. Even people in Seattle (outside of some transplants I met) would not be mocking me and calling me racist because I said Ghanaians are good soccer players. I was in Ghana for 3 months (and in Africa for a total of 6 months), witnessed their deep passion for soccer, learned several African languages and I am not racist; in fact I am much more cross-cultural and accepting than most people I meet. But, one guy from Pennsylvania screamed at me saying the man is French and I am racist for calling him a Ghanaian. LOL.. The guy was from Ghana and joined (or recruited) to the French National soccer team. I'm not use to this level of "political correctness". I felt threatened to say anything to some of these people for risk of "offending" them.
I've copied your post above to a new thread in the Chattanooga forum where you'll have a better chance of having questions about Chattanooga answered.
---
its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
It sounds like from some of responses here I would be best avoiding Knoxville and to look at Chattanooga instead.
JMT, how would you say the prices of housing would be in Chattanooga compared to Knoxville? I didn't realize Chattanooga was even closer to Nashville than Knoxville was. Also, I was told that Chattanooga is not really near any mountains, but just near a pretty scenic gorge or plateau area, but has much more limited outdoor activities compared to what you would have in Knoxville. Is this true? How far are the real Appalachian mountains and hiking areas from Chattanooga? I am sure the area is 100 times more scenic than what I have in the land of dust, tumbleweed, sickly looking fake trees and dirty snow (i.e. Front Range of Colorado). I'm still scratching my head as why people pay millions to live near these mountains. The Appalachian mountains I saw in North Carolina and Tennessee are so much more scenic than what I see here in the Front Range.
Do you think for $700 or $800 a month I can find a decent place over 800 sq ft (preferably more) within 30 miles to downtown (or wherever the life of the city is) in Chattanooga?
I'm assuming if you are single guy and want some social life I'd probably have to go to the bigger cities for entertainment and social life, since I am not married with kids or involved in church activities. I'm not saying there is no potential in Chattanooga, but this has been my experience living in smaller cities in the Pacific Northwest, especially ones that are more touristy. There usually is no activities for people who are not married.
Also, would you describe Chattanooga as more Southern or does it have a lot of Northeasterners/California transplants? The culture shock I had in Charlotte, North Carolina was not from being in the South, but being surrounded by so many people from suburban New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. In fact, I almost never heard a Southern accent in Charlotte, unlike when I was in Knoxville, where it was common. Everything from the way people dressed (e.g. pink polo shirts tucked into brown khaki shorts ), social interactions and lifestyle was very hard for a more rugged, down-to-earth Northwestern person like myself to comprehend.
Also, I found some of people very snooty and in your face with their liberal politics, which was also something I was not use to. Even people in Seattle (outside of some transplants I met) would not be mocking me and calling me racist because I said Ghanaians are good soccer players. I was in Ghana for 3 months (and in Africa for a total of 6 months), witnessed their deep passion for soccer, learned several African languages and I am not racist; in fact I am much more cross-cultural and accepting than most people I meet. But, one guy from Pennsylvania screamed at me saying the man is French and I am racist for calling him a Ghanaian. LOL.. The guy was from Ghana and joined (or recruited) to the French National soccer team. I'm not use to this level of "political correctness". I felt threatened to say anything to some of these people for risk of "offending" them.
Keep in mind I've only been in Chattanooga three times since I moved back to TN. The first was to help move a cousin, the second was for a long weekend to check it out and hike, the third time was to see a friend on my way back from Atlanta. Personally, I wasn't that impressed with Chattanooga, and prefer Knoxville.
One of the biggest things that I noticed about Chattanooga is, outside of downtown, it doesn't seem anywhere nearly as well kept up as Knoxville. Chattanooga's downtown is very good, but outside of that, I just wasn't impressed with the city.
The budget will probably work in either city as long as you're not too picky. I'd give Knoxville a slight edge on affordability.
I also think Knoxville will be more family friendly. Chattanooga doesn't have an affluent, large suburban area like Farragut. Knoxville is just bigger, with the state flagship, so you get both the impact of the better suburban areas, along with the impact of a state flagship. I'm sure the Moccasins are fine, but a regional branch of the state system just isn't going to have the same local impact as the state flagship.
Actually, I'm just guessing here, but my thought would be Knoxville would seem more traditionally Southern. Chattanooga has gotten a bit of buzz in tech/outdoor circles over recent years, presumably that would attract more transplants. Neither compare to Charlotte - Charlotte is a large metro with a huge employment base attracting people from everywhere. Knoxville and Chattanooga don't have anything to compare.
I really don't get the outdoor buzz about Chattanooga. Chattanooga probably has more options within a very short distance of the city core, but it's not like what outside of Knoxville is a slouch either. Both could work in that regard.
Thanks for the reply, SeriousConvesration. I think your post and some research on my part have shed some light on this situation. Not only does Chattanooga seem to lack some of the nicer outdoor amenities and neighborhoods that Knoxville has, but the rent in Chattanooga is actually much higher than Knoxvillle from what I seen. Whereas you can get a 1 bedroom apartment in downtown Knoxville for $850 or so, in Chattanooga these are going for over $1100 or more. Whoaa! If I am going to pay that kind of money I might as well just move to the Nashville area. I guess wherever IT shops open up the rents tend to just skyrocket. Considering I am going to be trying to live as cheap as possible for the next couple of years and launch my own business (or get an online job) it doesn't sound like paying that extra money would be worth it.
As well, I really like the close proximity to lakes, river and Great Smokey National Park and also being closer to North Carolina. I've never been to Chattanooga, but it does appear it has more extremes, more violent crime, yet also more expensive housing. Knoxville has a lower crime rate and it seems the prices are lower across the board.
A pressing question I have that nobody has been able to answer is a list of nice towns outside of Knoxville where I can maybe even find a small house (or at least duplex) for around $700 to $800/mo. Is it possible to live 20 miles outside of Knoxville in a decent quiet town where I can find some more affordable housing?
I don't do much drinking anymore and living in rural Northwest and then in suburbs of Seattle (with most dreadful traffic in AMerica) for many years, driving a little distance doesn't bother me at all.
I've been told that you have to avoid some houses in Knoxville area due to the fact there is potential Radon contamination. I am not sure how much of a problem that is there. I would like to find some place not totally in the sticks, but in a smaller town.. Any opinions of places like Oak Ridge, Farragut, Maryville, Sevierville, Seymour, Alcoa, etc? As I said I don't have to live even in the city.
If I do end up for some reason relocating to the Nashville area, I would probably be stuck living in Murfreesboro, as it is the most affordable suburb (I hear kind of like a small city on its own). Although, the prices in Murfreesboro are not so cheap either and I have no clue what it is like commuting into Nashville. The Nashville area though is so far from the mountains that I would kind of miss that. I figure after two years, once I get myself together and get income from this business venture or land an online job maybe I could relocate to Nashville area (if I still want to do that).
"I've been told that you have to avoid some houses in Knoxville area due to the fact there is potential Radon contamination. I am not sure how much of a problem that is there. I would like to find some place not totally in the sticks, but in a smaller town.. Any opinions of places like Oak Ridge, Farragut, Maryville, Sevierville, Seymour, Alcoa, etc? As I said I don't have to live even in the city."
This part of East Tennessee is in a red zone according to EPA. That means there is a higher chance of having radon in the homes here. I have been testing for radon in the Knoxville area for 25 years. Yes there are some parts that are fairly high (above the action level of 4.0 pico curies per liter). However, its easily corrected with a mitigation system installed in the house. Its not a reason to avoid a house.
I'm sure the next question will be what areas are high, and what areas are low. Its really impossible to determine without testing. A house that has very high levels can be next door to another that has very low readings. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that comes from the ground. Undersurface rocks, etc can divert the gas as it makes it way to the surface. Geologic conditions can have a huge affect.
I once tested a house that came back with a 60 reading. The following week I tested a house that was about 200 feet away and it was below 3.
Back to your rents. You can find low rents no matter where you go, but there is usually a reason. In downtown Knoxville you might find rents in the $700 range, but there are also places renting for 2 - 3 times that amount too. Searching on the internet for a place to live without a knowledge of the City is very risky. Something that may look good on a computer screen, may not be so good in person. Or you may not feel safe once you see where the place is located.
All of the places you mentions are potentially good places to live. However, every one of them also have areas that are not exactly the greatest. You do realize that Farragut is not really a small town. Its just a community within Knox County. You would have a hard time determining when you enter Farragut driving down Kingston Pike. Maryville and Alcoa adjoin each other as well, and are very close. Seymour is kind of by itself south of Knoxville, and Sevierville.....well if you like crowds and traffic.....
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I also hear the brewery scene in Knoxville is thriving. I cannot even begin to tell you how overrated the beer is in Denver.. Even if Seattle and Charlotte didn't have as many breweries as Denver, I will say the beer was way better there. Ugh.. No more ranting about Denver. 
), social interactions and lifestyle was very hard for a more rugged, down-to-earth Northwestern person like myself to comprehend. 
