Relocating-"overwelmed/need info about work/area??" (Memphis: rental, crime rate)

[raitch in michigan]

Hello
My husband and myself are planning to relocate to the knoxville area June of 09.
I'm overwelmed with the info available.
We are concerned about how hard it will be to secure jobs.
I've been in the medical biller and receptionist for 8 years and worked as a home health aide for 10 years before that.
My husband has worked for the Detroit City Water board for 18 years as an investigator. He also has his master mechanic license for cars, trucks, motorcyles and has worked on cars for 30 years. He's one of the dying breed of men who can fix anything you put in front of him, and I don't mean just cars, I mean anything.
We are a middle class white couple in our forties with no children.
We have nothing bringing us to Tennessee other than we loved every vacation we've taken and I need warmer winters. So I'm willing to relocate any place in the knoxville surrounding area.
***If we were to arrive in June, with money saved, how long does it take to secure a decent job with benifits????
****Where is the best (safe, close to jobs) area to rent to become acquainted with the surrounding area/get jobs, before we purchase a home???

[Tn405]

Can't speak for others but there are medical jobs here. Covenant Health runs several hospitals, there is also UT medical center, and now Mercy Health Partners. Some use in house hiring, check out the web sites for general info, some use employement agencies that the hospitals pay for, staffing solutions is one of the agencies. Covenant Health has several positions online. Also there is East Tennessee Children's Hospital in Knoxville. And if you are looking in Maryville area, there is Blount Memorial Hospital. Lots and lots of dr offices.

[raitch in michigan]

Thanks Tn405
I'm noticing that jobs in the healthfield are not so much the concern as my husband finding work as a mechanic or in the water department. Ihave noticed there are several (5 if I remember Correct) different water distribution companies.
Do you see many job postings regularly for mechanics??

[hiknapster]

My husband is an auto mechanic. He makes good, but he is on his own. Be prepared for your husband to make a lot less.

Also, I think that our house prices are a bit higher than yours. Maybe not.

You really need to look at the local paper to see what is available. Have him make phone calls. That is what my husband did. But he also said he would be there in a few days to work.

I'm not sure if the local government is hiring. The are having some issues.

This is a very friendly area. If you really like talking to people, then this is your place. I just wanted to breeze through the Walmart last night. Instead, I have a fifteen minute conversation with another shopper about flat screen tvs, home theater systems and entertainment centers. You need to allow "chit-chat" time in your schedule.

We also do not beep our car horns, and life is easier if you know how to say "please" and "thank you."

Be assured that our crime rate is much lower than yours.

Knoxville does have some tourists, but we are not Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg. We are a small city that feels a lot like a large town. We are a thriving community but we aren't rental cabins and souvenir shops.

You need to look through these and see if this area will fit your needs.

knoxnews.com : Knoxville, Tennessee, News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information

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[oldmanbob]

Hey Raitch, should not have any problems finding work, with the many medical offices here, and like you said water companies. Mechanics are always hard to find, and with the car dealers here, as well as th Motor mile in Blount county, again should not be a problem. Good luck, and let us know as you get closer, and we can make some more reccomendations.

[raitch in michigan]

We're definitly looking forward to less people and no horns. We live in an area that has 4.5 million people. We have a 3 acre piece of vacation property in a small town (40,000 residents), two hour from our place in the city, and that is what started the need for a smaller (less than 4.5 million) lol, friendly community in a warmer state.
We've been to Gatlenberg several times (We have friends just over the mountains in NC.
I need to slow down! I'm a country girl raised in the city.
I don't need night life and parties, I need space and quiet.

Thanks for the info.

[raitch in michigan]

Hey oldmanbob
What is the motor mile in Blount. I've read a little on Blount county, never heard the term used??

[jimlee]

The "airport motor mile" is that mile long stretch of car dealerships on the north side of the Knoxville airport along Alcoa Highway.

They even have a website: http://www.theairportmotormile.com/

[raitch in michigan]

Thanks jimlee

Thats exactly the kind of info I can use!
And to think I hesitated for a week before posting on this site.
My husband is going to be a bit less worried seeing the posts I've recieved.
After all if you can't find jobs what CAN you DO??? not much!

We started out planning to move to Charlotte NC and decided it was starting to seem like a smaller version of Detroit. Moderator cut: deleted Thats what started the search, and now instead of nc I think tennesse may become home.
Thank you all for responding

[JMT]

As usual, hiknapster gave an excellent overview of our fair city. I was just thinking the other day, while driving along a beautiful street in Old North Knoxville that I'd never seen before, just how much I like it here. Oh sure, Knoxville doesn't have the architectural charm of Charleston or Savannah, hip neighborhoods like in Asheville or Memphis, or the cool high-rises of Nashville or Charlotte, but it's just a really, really nice place.

I love hik's story of having the conversation at Wal-Mart. I swear things like that happen all the time here. It could be the teenager filling my box of popcorn at the movie theater or the cashier at Wendy's, but it's always fun to run errands. Chit-chatting with strangers, friendly waves from other drivers, teenagers at the mall who actually respect adults...

Some people at my church recently moved here from South Florida. The wife told me that after 9/11, people in South Florida became more mellow, friendlier, and much less aggressive on the roads. It didn't last long. But she said that the way people here in Knoxville behave is like the way people in South Florida behaved right after 9/11, and she loves it here.

If you do decide to move here, come on down! I took a huge pay cut to live here, but it was all worth it.