Need Rural...but w/in 30 min of Knoxville (Oak Ridge, Maryville: fit in, for sale)

[hiknapster]

I think they're pulling your leg, to a certain extent. The Eastman plant is pretty far away from Walland. And our motto is certainly not "Thank God for Mississippi."

Walland is a good 40 minutes away from Knoxville, but it's only about ten minutes from Maryville. There are bars there.

However, this is fairly accurate.

"Sinus problems are extremely common. We are seeing more and more gated communities. Meth is a problem in E. TN causing crime numbers to rise."

However, the gated communities are about the only thing that is really bothersome.

[mbmouse]

To me, it sounds like a poster with a personal issue with East TN, or TN in general and seemed to be based on no facts, just opinions.

[bbkaren]

Good, seemed that way to me too; I mean, even the TVA plant he/she has issues with is in Kingsport as well. Maybe he/she was just complaining in general...

I mean, traffic isn't that bad for a trip to Knoxville, is it? It's under 30 miles and I've heard these highways are much better during rush hour than, say, 40 or 75 (did I get those right? I don't have a map in front of me).

Hubby just wants to keep his commute under 45 minutes, since that's how long it takes to get to his job now (12 miles away!)

Thanks for the reassurance!

[bbkaren]

Hmmm... What are anyone's thoughts on Blaine? It seems to suit what we need, and there's a piece of property that we could practically buy for cash right now. Even if we didn't like the town it seems like we couldn't go wrong for this price.

Anyone know anything about Blaine? It's close enough to Knoxville and according to Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed has good air/water quality and whatnot.

My only concern was that the crime rate is a 4, where almost everywhere else was a 1 or a 2.

I can't see a reason for increased crime in the statistics and wonder if maybe someone else can provide some insight.

Thanks again for all your help!

I'm referring back to all of your answers and it seems so confusing but your insight has been very valuable!

**ETA: Bah, nevermind--it has to be sold with the adjoining lot, which is $29,900. Bah.

[chuckrut]

Hello out there,

I was just searching about Blaine, TN and came across you inquiry.
I grew up in Grainger County, TN the County Blaine is located in and I loved it! The crime is really low, I don't understand what the 4 you where talking about means? I guess maybe since Blaine is such a small place the statistics are skewed. I will tell you that the area is growing but still much smaller than other areas. As far as the school system goes, I am a physician and I attended school in Grainger Co. schools K-12. There is a medical school graudate from each of the 2 classes above me from Rutledge High School so it must not be too bad? I will say it sure isn't the best nor does it have the most money but the schools there provided me with enough to make it through college and medical school! Anyway I wasn't boasting just wanted to let you know that the schools aren't horrid but sure not the best either! So there you go! Hope this helps! To sum it up, Blaine is a quiant, little town that has big sights set for it in the future!

[bbkaren]

After much struggle and research, I think we MIGHT be settled on the Maryville area. Maybe not necessarily right within Maryville limits but that area.

We did some soul searching and decided maybe we were "over-correcting" by looking at very, very rural areas.

We've watched our hometowns in both New York State and New Jersey turn from nice little towns into overpopulated areas full of mcmansions--every square foot of land developed one way or another.

So, the knee-jerk reaction, perhaps, might be to feel like we need to buy land wayyyy out away from civilization to prevent this from happening to us in Tennessee.

But I think that Tennessee is a very different place from NY or NJ, and probably (hopefully) won't have the same sort of problems...right?

We haven't visited Blount County yet but I have a feeling it's the middle of the road we'd be looking for. Close enough...yet far enough away to have our own space.

Am I on the right track?

[Milo Bloom]

Maryville is a nice place, and Blount County is growing...so you have a little of both. McMansions are springing up, as well as a few "house farms" as I like to call them.

But you can pretty quickly travel out into the rural sticks. Within a 10 minute drive you are in the midst of cows.

Most of the serious development is happening adjacent to the major highways, namely 129/411. Also, places that have astounding views near those highways are at extreme risk.

In my limited experience, most of the land sales occur way before the parcel ever gets listed on MLS. You really need to make friends with a well-connected local realtor to find out when the new deals will be coming along.

[hiknapster]

I understand about the over-correction thing. After I moved from Florida I was pretty shell-shocked. Just know that they are building a LOT around here. Check the MLS listings to see just how much.

[sassi_britches]

I relocated to East TN in Sept 05. after losing everything to Hurricane Katrina (coast of MS). I lived in Clinton I didnt like it too much. The high school was really bad.
I met my husband and we moved to Maynardville. I love the rural area and its about 25 minutes to Halls. I dont like the morning traffic into Knoxville. But all in all I love East TN. So thankful the Lord brought me from the ocean to the mountains.
Me and my husband are trying to buy a home but our credit score is only 627 his 557 mine. The Lenders are trying to rape us on finance charges. 10.5% to 11%. I have given up on owning a home.
I will live out the rest of my life here in East TN.

[hiknapster]

Check other places. I'm not sure what our credit score is, but I can't imagine it is very good, and we got approved for 6.5 percent.