Knoxville for us? (Chattanooga, Oak Ridge, Wartburg: fit in, foreclosure, lofts)

[michael49]

My wife and I are in our mid 30's, professionals, no kids and currently live in New England. We love the outdoors (hiking, running, camping, biking, kayaking), but the winters here are starting to take their toll. Plus, to be honest, I generally prefer southerners to northerners .

We have considered several areas and some have suggested Knoxville to us. I was at a conference last year in Nashville and we visited Chattanooga, but it seemed incredibly small and quiet (not much going on).

How's the hiking/camping in the area? Are there neat places to hang around downtown or in West/north Knoxville area (coffee houses, breweries, etc)? Does having the University help keep interesting things in the area? (I currently live in a college town).

My wife and I are pretty down to earth. We make decent money but we are not into material things very much; we usally prefer small, cheap bakery/cafe food (Panera type stuff - man I wish there more La Medeleine's!) to a fancy restaurant. I probably spend more money on my photography hobby than anything else. We prefer to spend our time and money on outdoor activities or travelling. Would we fit in here? Any suggestions?

[Barking Spider]

I don't remember all of your questions, but I think the answers in order are: yes, yes, yes, and uh.....yes.

My suggestion would be to plan a get away and vist Knoxville for a few days. Before I moved here in 94, I did a bunch of research including subscribing to the newspaper and charting the weather, etc.(before internet access) Decided that July was the worst month (for me) and planned to visit in July and spend a week. At the end of the week, we bought a house, went home and sold ours, and moved here.

Come visit, talk to as many people as you can, get out and visit as many places as you can, and see how it fits. Based on your post, my gut feeling is you will find Knoxville a good fit. But I'm biased.

Good luck with your search

[hiknapster]

Michael, where are you in New England? Are you a native?

barking spider: Are you a native New Englander? If so, so am I!

[michael49]

My suggestion would be to plan a get away and vist Knoxville for a few days.

Yea, I know. That is exactly what we should do - maybe take a 3 day trip. Thanks for the input.

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Michael, where are you in New England? Are you a native?

I grew up in CT and I now live in Western Mass - Northampton area - extremely liberal area. I'm liberal leaning, but compared to most people around here I wouldn't even be close to being considered a liberal.

People here are almost too liberal. They are so anti-development that nothing ever seems to change. And the housing prices are ridiculous. We went to look at a "new" Condo the other day. Its a huge old Victorian home that a developer gutted and turned each floor into a Condo. Its very nicely done and close to town, but they want $500k for it!! 500k for a 2 bedroom condo in Northampton!! It just blows my mind.

I also lived on the West Coast of FL for a few years and I really missed the Seasons, plus the summers were brutally hot there and there was no where to hike besides the Everglades (hot and sticky!).

I realize that no place is perfect, but my wife and I are just hoping to find somewhere we can settle down and enjoy life at little.

[hiknapster]

I grew up and lived on the Mass/CT line for 34 years. I also lived in southwest Florida, in Bonita Springs and Fort Myers. Our daughter was born in Naples. I hated it there.

I'm surprised to see that you thought Chatt wasn't happening. That's an incredibly revitalized city compared to what it use to be. However, there are not a lot of employment opportunities.

We've lived in Knoxville since 2005. It reminds me of Worcester. A lot.

You definitely need to visit. This may be what you are looking for, but it is very different than New England. You'll have to see for yourself.

I had to laugh when I read: "I generally prefer southerners to northerners." I've always felt the same way. I now have the opinion that people are the same all over. Some are nice and some are not.

[knoxgarden]

Definitely take a look at Knoxville, particularly downtown living. May suit you to a T.
I'd recommend a weekend at the Hotel St. Oliver, a nice boutique hotel right on Market Square. Very affordable.
Hotel St Oliver - Knoxville, TN
It would give you a good taste of downtown life. A lot of old stores and factories have been converted to wonderful lofts. You can get something amazing for $300,000 and below.
Check out Metro Pulse, the alternative weekly, for what's going on, particularly downtown. There's a healthy live music scene, including good live Jazz.
There are great places to hike in addition to the Smokies. House Mountain State Park is within Knox County limits and a 30-minute drive from downtown.
TDEC: DNH: House Mountain State Natural Area
Frozen Head State Park is about 45 minutes away. An hour's drive will take you to Wartburg TN and the entrance to Obed Natural Wilderness Area.
Obed Wild & Scenic River - Obed Wild & Scenic River (U.S. National Park Service)
UT offers a lot to the community. They have some great Personal and Professional development classes. I've taken everything from Interior Design to Pottery to Forensic Anthropology. There are lots of opportunities to get involves in natural events, from Ijams Nature Center to the Smoky Mountain Field School.
Visit and see how you like it.

[michael49]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I grew up and lived on the Mass/CT line for 34 years. I also lived in southwest Florida, in Bonita Springs and Fort Myers. Our daughter was born in Naples. I hated it there.

I'm surprised to see that you thought Chatt wasn't happening. That's an incredibly revitalized city compared to what it use to be. However, there are not a lot of employment opportunities.

We've lived in Knoxville since 2005. It reminds me of Worcester. A lot.

You definitely need to visit. This may be what you are looking for, but it is very different than New England. You'll have to see for yourself.

I had to laugh when I read: "I generally prefer southerners to northerners." I've always felt the same way. I now have the opinion that people are the same all over. Some are nice and some are not.

Thanks for all of the info. Chattanooga was nice, but it seemed very quiet and almost "sterile". There was hardly anyone around - it seemed like a ghost town. I was very surprised because I had heard alot of nice things about it.

Wow, Knoxville like Worcester - that surprises me. I've actually never spent much time in Worcester; mostly just on the way to Boston.

We'll have to plan a short trip sometime soon.

Originally Posted by knoxgarden

Definitely take a look at Knoxville, particularly downtown living. May suit you to a T.
I'd recommend a weekend at the Hotel St. Oliver, a nice boutique hotel right on Market Square. Very affordable.
Hotel St Oliver - Knoxville, TN
It would give you a good taste of downtown life. A lot of old stores and factories have been converted to wonderful lofts. You can get something amazing for $300,000 and below.
Check out Metro Pulse, the alternative weekly, for what's going on, particularly downtown. There's a healthy live music scene, including good live Jazz.
There are great places to hike in addition to the Smokies. House Mountain State Park is within Knox County limits and a 30-minute drive from downtown.
TDEC: DNH: House Mountain State Natural Area
Frozen Head State Park is about 45 minutes away. An hour's drive will take you to Wartburg TN and the entrance to Obed Natural Wilderness Area.
Obed Wild & Scenic River - Obed Wild & Scenic River (U.S. National Park Service)
UT offers a lot to the community. They have some great Personal and Professional development classes. I've taken everything from Interior Design to Pottery to Forensic Anthropology. There are lots of opportunities to get involves in natural events, from Ijams Nature Center to the Smoky Mountain Field School.
Visit and see how you like it.

Wow; some great info here. That Hotel looks great for the money; I'd love to check out the downtown area.

Thanks again for all of the info. Now I just have to figure out when to visit.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by michael49

Chattanooga was nice, but it seemed very quiet and almost "sterile". There was hardly anyone around - it seemed like a ghost town. I was very surprised because I had heard alot of nice things about it.

It might be because Chatt really set itself up as a tourist venue in many respects, but it may be very quiet due to the recession. There is a lot of foreclosure in that area. People might be hurting.

[piedmont]

I think Knoxville is worth investigating. Compared to Durham and Raleigh, NC, i find the downtown areas pleasantly vibrant and the neighborhoods slowly gentrifying--but not disgustingly so. Check out Market Square and old North Knox neighborhoods to get a feel of the area. Maybe go to the food coop on N. Broadway + check out that neighborhood, too. I would say that Knoxville as a whole does not feel dominated by UT (except during football games, or so I've heard). The Ft Sanders area, which is close to UT, is very student dominated, but other sections really aren't. There is a small coffeehouse scene downtown, too. Lots of live music downtown, too.

After a couple of months here, we finally went to Townsend and Cades Cove in the Smokies for the day. It is so close from Knox to very nice hiking! House Mountain just NE of Knox is a nice day trip, but if you come soon, you could also go to the western side of GSMNP (before it gets too busy with tourists). I also love Haw Ridge in Oak Ridge (amazing wildflowers--great for photography) and Frozen Head, up past Oak Ridge near Wartburg. Then there is also Big South Fork (up towards the Kentucky border) + Cherokee National Forest (Smokies).

I think this is potentially a very nice home for outdoorsy folks who are pretty laid back and enjoy a small city. Besides hiking, there is some very prime paddling here. Bikers are less prevalent then where we lived in NC, but there are some nice bike paths and opportunities in the mountains (ex. some roads are closed to bikes only 1 or 2 days a week). We are country folks who will be living an hour from downtown Knox, but every time we're in the city we really like it.

And BTW, this area is a whole lot less posh (and expensive) than something like Amherst or Northampton (which are beautiful, but $$$ and as you noted sort of "professionally liberal" (and I say this as a liberal myself!)). Since you mentioned that you liked to travel, I would encourage you to explore flights into and out of Knoxville. They are rather limited compared to what I am used to.

[knoxmomma]

Lots of places I think you'd like downtown: Brewery on Gay Street, Nama for sushi, Tomato Head for pizza/burritos/etc, La Costa for Latin food, Preservation Pub, Crown and Goose Pub, good coffee houses. I've always found West Knoxville to be way too suburban, but I have to admit it is handy to go to Lowe's, etc. Prices are coming down a bit on downtown condos. You'd probably like Old North Knoxville/Fourth and Gill- lots of older houses that young couples are fixing up. Outdoor activities, in my opinion, are unrivaled ANYWHERE. Whether it's hiking, flyfishing, watersports, we've got it all.

Definitely worth a trip down. I would advise not coming during a UT football weekend, though. Very crowded and not a good representations. Love it or hate it (and I love it), football games only come six days per year!