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First off, any of you who read this post in full, thank you. I know it is going to be lengthy, but I’ll do my best to keep it to the point.
This is the very beginning of our thought and research. Nothing may come of it, or maybe in the next 12-24 months, we’ll take anther giant leap? It’s more about gathering as much info as possible to help assist in our decision moving forward.
I grew up near the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio. After 23 years of life, I was done with winters, lake effect snow and gray gloomy skies. My wife and I moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 2005 and have been here ever since. We started a family and now have 2 children (9 and 3) living in one of the Valley’s best rated suburbs of Gilbert.
Over the past few years, the influx of people here has been incredible. Not that it is anything new for these parts, we are part of the growth of the early 2000s, but I fear Phoenix is on its way to becoming another Los Angeles. The evacuation of California is absolutely affecting Arizona right now.
My wife and I always said we would be in North Carolina or Tennessee if we did not choose Arizona. Well, after 15 years, we have had stirrings in our heads and hearts about if we could accept making another cross country move, specifically to the Knoxville area. I have loved AZ and the fact we can drive 2 hours north and be at an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet with temps 20-30 degrees cooler than the Valley is awesome. There is some gorgeous landscape in this state, all easily done in a same day trip if so desired.
Our biggest downside has become the increased congestion, the outrageous price of homes and property now (a good thing for our situation at the moment), and the small postage sized lots that did not seem to bother us when we were not parents.
We love the town of Gilbert we live in as it is very safe, friendly, and has excellent schools. It too has become much more crowded as development out here continues to spread out, a good 30+ miles in all directions from downtown Phoenix.
I seriously dislike cold and snow, but it is odd celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas when it is 70 degree outside every year. I absolutely love the fact the skies are blue 90% of the year. It really does do something for your mental health.
Of course, there are downsides as I mentioned a few earlier. The summers do seems to be getting longer, hotter, and drier. There use to be multiple great Monsoon storms, and now it feels like if we get 1-2 a season, we are lucky. I do also miss the large body of water that is Lake Erie and the rivers and streams of the surrounding parks.
One other thing I truly miss is Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, one of the best thrill ride amusement parks around, and was only an hour drive away from me growing up. There is absolutely nothing out here that compares unless you drive to LA nearly 6 hours away. Perhaps it is all my nostalgia coming back, now with having kids and the experiences I grew up around. I have never visited Dollywood or Gatlinburg, but they seem like spectacular places to have great times with family.
That is really what got me started looking at Tennessee as my wife would love to live in Nashville. I need to have the elevation changes, the mountains, the water, etc. We once drove through Ashville, NC on our way to see family in Raleigh, and I will always remember the stunning landscape of the Smoky Mountains. I was almost tempted to just stop and stay in Ashville and not look back at that time. However, Ashville is just a bit too small for me. I need some of the more modern conveniences and amenities that a larger city offers, including an airport nearby if we decide to travel, without driving hours to reach one.
So, I suppose I have a handful of questions I’d love to see if I can get some feedback on:
1. I know they only way to truly know for sure is to physically visit and see everything live and in person. If you could pick 2 best and 2 worst times of the year to visit, when would those be? Same as I tell anyone who wants to live in the desert, you better come hang out in the middle of July or August for a week if you really want to see if you can cut it. I would want to do the same when planning to set down new roots once again. Also, would be an adequate amount of time to explore the area?
2. Location/Schools. I have read a lot of people prefer west and south of Knoxville for families. We would be looking for a location with good schools, but would also love to have around 1-2 acres, as the 1/4 acre postage stamp lots of all these new housing developments are just not cutting it. Don’t want to jump into another exact setup. Can this be found within 10-20 miles of downtown?
3. High speed internet availability. There is a very likely possibility that I would be keeping my employment from my current employer in AZ, but having high speed (preferably fiber), would be high on the list of needs in order to efficiently work remote. I’ve tried looking into it a little, but have not had a lot of luck with maps showing internet speeds in different area. AT&T and InfinityX pop up with fiber options in Knoxville, but without having any specific addresses, tough to get that confirmed.
4. Dollywood/Gatlinburg, Smoky Mountains. Do locals frequent these places or are do they become so touristy, that it becomes not worth the hassle or visit? I truly think I would get season passes to Dollywood just having an amusement park so close by that we can take to the kids to all the time. It looks so charming and beautiful.
5. Weather. This one is tricky. As I mentioned, I love seeing blue skies day in and day out. I understand a lot of weather fronts are constantly rolling over the mid section of the US, and Ohio had all kinds of weather changes, but it always just seemed to linger and stay gloomy. Are summers brutal with the tropical humidity? I do remember the feeling of never feeling clean in summer, even after just showering. Here, everything evaporates so quickly, you can quickly become dehydrated without ever knowing it. And winters, we are very spoiled here, as highs are usually always in the mid 50s to low 70s, with extreme lows getting down to around 28 in the outlying areas. However, zero snow! If you want to see snow, you just drive the aforementioned 2-3 hours north to go play in it, then come back home. How rough are winters there? I assume not much snow, but what about ice? I’ve done the black ice stuff, and that is one of the scariest driving conditions around.
6. Utilities. Do you use a ton of heat and A/C throughout the year? Our most expensive time is summer of course as the A/C units run nearly non-stop for 3-4 months, and electricity probably costs around $2,800/year for us. Heating is much cheaper and probably only around $700/year.
I'm sure I may come up with other thoughts/questions but appreciate your thoughts and input.
I would suggest visiting mid to late spring to see how you react to all the pollen. It would be a bummer to find the perfect spot to land and find out there are terrible allergies in the family.
You don't mention a housing budget. The market here is hot. It's hard to say which area as most new developements are postage stamp lots. I'm in a 60's developement in west Knox with one of the largest lots on my street at about 1/2 acre, some lots are much smaller. You should also consider Oak Ridge and Maryville for good schools. Here is a link to the MLS here where you can set your criteria and see what matches:
I know many born and raised locals who enjoy Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Dollywood. For me it's just to touristy and awfull traffic. But I have been to all.
My gas and electric (heat and air) run around $200 a month for 3000 sq ft.
You can also use the search function on this forum to find previous threads on a particular topic.
When looking at retiring here we made several trips down (8 hr drive from Md) to decide on which area we wanted to be in and then house hunting that area.
I'm very happy to be here escaping from the DC area.
We moved from Wisconsin to Fairfield Glade, TN about 1 1/2 yrs ago. As the previous poster mentioned the pollen can be rough. I do not have allergies but I still get hit with watery eyes every now and then. We made 3 trips down here and stayed for a weekend before deciding to move. The only thing I wish we would have done is rented for a year before buying a house. I know a lot more about the neighborhoods now than I did back then. However, home prices are crazy and demand is very high with all the California and New York escapees.
Regarding the winter weather. It is common for the highs to be around 40-55 in the winter, although we do have both colder days, some in the 30s, and some occasional warm days in the low 60s. Nights typically get down into the 30s in winter, with some very cold nights in the teens or 20s. It snows a couple times a year, but usually a dusting to about 3 inches. It usually is gone by the next day, if not by lunch! No shoveling is usually required. We did have one storm in 2013-14 when we got about 7 inches. We've had one or two ice storms in the last 10 years. Black ice can happen if the temps drop after a rain, but it's not that common. The winter can be sort of grey and brown because most of the leaves drop and that can be dreary sometimes, but spring is glorious and summer is so very green. It rains in the spring and summer every few days, but usually only for an hour or two, so things just grow like crazy. Fall colors are nice, but can vary from year to year, not as amazing as up north, but still pretty.
The best times to visit in my opinion late April to May, and late October for fall color. The time to see how humid it gets is late July/August. Those are the worst months for heat/humidity. It's not as bad as Mississippi or Florida, but it's a big change for someone from a dry climate. You do acclimate after a few years.
Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are family tourist meccas. It can get really crowded in summer and the month around spring break. Most of the rest of the year it's do-able, especially mid-week. We avoid it during the weekends.
High speed internet access varies widely. In more suburban areas, no problem. In more country areas, you need to check with a specific address. You can certainly find homes with 1/2 acre and larger lots in the outer suburbs of Knoxville. For the best schools try Oak Ridge, Maryville, or Farragut.
Utility costs are widely variable. Everybody likes their home a different temp and has different sq ftg and different efficiencies of equipment, but we've had a very mild summer so far this year with few days over 90 yet. Energy costs per unit are pretty darn cheap here due to TVA electricity being so low cost (usually about 10 cents a kWH). We only get propane at our place, no gas line way out here, so can't say NG unit costs. Our propane is half the cost per gal of what we paid in CA. We buy for the whole year in the summer, so we get the best possible rate. Oh, and gasoline is about $2.75 a gallon right now. Very reasonable.
Come for a visit. Check it out. Visit the areas you might think of moving to get a feel of it. No other way to find out really.
You don't mention a housing budget. The market here is hot. It's hard to say which area as most new developements are postage stamp lots. I'm in a 60's developement in west Knox with one of the largest lots on my street at about 1/2 acre, some lots are much smaller. You should also consider Oak Ridge and Maryville for good schools. Here is a link to the MLS here where you can set your criteria and see what matches:
Thank you so much for that link. We've been scanning Zillow and Redfin, but the actual MLS will be very nice to have now too. We are probably looking for homes around the $400k range.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fishingupnorth
The only thing I wish we would have done is rented for a year before buying a house. I know a lot more about the neighborhoods now than I did back then.
This is what we have been debating too. Possibly seeing if ew could find a short term rental (3-6 months) to get a feel of the region and feeling most comfortable with choosing the area we would want to permanently settle in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheShadow
The best times to visit in my opinion late April to May, and late October for fall color. The time to see how humid it gets is late July/August. Those are the worst months for heat/humidity. It's not as bad as Mississippi or Florida, but it's a big change for someone from a dry climate. You do acclimate after a few years.
Utility costs are widely variable. Everybody likes their home a different temp and has different sq ftg and different efficiencies of equipment, but we've had a very mild summer so far this year with few days over 90 yet. Energy costs per unit are pretty darn cheap here due to TVA electricity being so low cost (usually about 10 cents a kWH). We only get propane at our place, no gas line way out here, so can't say NG unit costs. Our propane is half the cost per gal of what we paid in CA. We buy for the whole year in the summer, so we get the best possible rate. Oh, and gasoline is about $2.75 a gallon right now. Very reasonable.
Come for a visit. Check it out. Visit the areas you might think of moving to get a feel of it. No other way to find out really.
Thank you for all that feedback. I imagine it would take some time to readjust to feeling that level of humidity in the air. Are the utility companies pretty reliable with their service? One of the perks out here is the new infrastructure and in the 15 years we have lived here, we have probably only lost power 1 or 2 times during Monsoon storms, and usually only lasting for a few hours.
We have relatively few outages in my particular area (about 30 mile SW of Knoxville). I used to work for an electric utility in the dispatch area for system outages, so I'm acutely aware of the causes of outages, and most are extremely local. Things such as poor tree trimming, overloaded substations, numbers of large birds in the area, overhead versus underground distribution lines, aging infrastructure, severe weather, etc. These issues are very much local, so my outage experience in my local area would be irrelevant to your choice of locale. But as far as county-wide, or large area type outages, there really haven't been any in my time here (8 years). We were without power for an entire day once, but that had to do with an undersized substation in my neighborhood, so again not relevant to other towns.
And yes, I have a very poor tolerance for humidity, and suffer from frequent hot flashes, so it was an adjustment. But for me the benefits of life here outweigh the inconveniences, and I've found my own ways to cope. Your mileage may vary.
Knoxville is also on our list for possible relocation. Some of the 'burbs have their pluses. When we visited Knoxville I was driving a dually and I was amazed how small the roads were---not much in the way of a shoulder to pull off, in other words.
If internet is important, you might consider Chattanooga (also on our list).
Knoxville is also on our list for possible relocation. Some of the 'burbs have their pluses. When we visited Knoxville I was driving a dually and I was amazed how small the roads were---not much in the way of a shoulder to pull off, in other words.
If internet is important, you might consider Chattanooga (also on our list).
Chatt also takes you farther south, helping you avoid some of the cold.
KUB is in the final stage of having its municipal 1 Gig symmetrical fiber internet service plan approved. The service is projected to offer cheaper and faster fiber internet connections to most of Knox County compared to services currently provided by private companies such as AT&T and Comcast, and also bring faster and reliable broadband connections to more rural areas of Union and Grainger counties where such services are lacking.
It really depends on whether the local internet services or cable provider thinks there is sufficient potential customers to make it economically viable to extend their equipment in any particular area. We are in a large neighborhood and we get broadband service from Spectrum (formerly called Charter). In our area, another large neighborhood closer to a commercial area petitioned a local fiber internet provider to extend to their neighborhood and eventually succeeded. We are hoping our neighborhood will be next for fiber, as multiple providers provide competition for better pricing. You will need to really zero in on a particular area to know what's available there.
Knoxville and Chattanooga have virtually the same average high and low daily temps, give or take 2 or 3 degrees. If you look at the city-data weather charts for both cities and compare the charts for temps, humidity, precipitation, and wind, you can just about overlay them and see that they are pretty much identical.
It really depends on whether the local internet services or cable provider thinks there is sufficient potential customers to make it economically viable to extend their equipment in any particular area. We are in a large neighborhood and we get broadband service from Spectrum (formerly called Charter). In our area, another large neighborhood closer to a commercial area petitioned a local fiber internet provider to extend to their neighborhood and eventually succeeded. We are hoping our neighborhood will be next for fiber, as multiple providers provide competition for better pricing. You will need to really zero in on a particular area to know what's available there.
Knoxville and Chattanooga have virtually the same average high and low daily temps, give or take 2 or 3 degrees. If you look at the city-data weather charts for both cities and compare the charts for temps, humidity, precipitation, and wind, you can just about overlay them and see that they are pretty much identical.
I would not call them "identical". I follow NOAA meteorological and climatological data closely, and whether for monthly, seasonal, or annual average temperature, you will always find Chattanooga weather station values higher their Knoxville station counterparts by several degrees consistently. That may not feel like much but it can make a difference in the hottest and coldest parts of the year. For example, the most recently updated records using 1991-2020 records show while TYS station (Knoxville airport) on average has 34 days each year with high temperatures at or above 90F, CHA station (Chattanooga airport) has 46. And the frost-free period is nearly 20 days longer at CHA compared to TYS. That's why the Knoxville area is in USDA zone 7a whereas Chattanooga area is in zone 7b. Also Chattanooga has higher precipitation as well, being slightly closer to the Gulf Stream
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