Tell me something you don't like/concerns you about Knoxville & surrounding areas (Memphis: appointed, rental)

[piedmont]

I know there are fans of Knox who believe all is wonderful with this place. Frankly, I like the town of Knoxville very much. However, there are challenges with any place. My observations are simply that--JMHO, based on living here.

One of the cultural pluses of the area is the mountain culture. That is a wonderful and unique feature. However, the overall ethnic, religious and yes cultural diversity is really quite limited compared to many parts of the country. Compared to Cleveland? I am not the right one to evaluate! I know this "feature" may or may not matter to the OP. And people have many different meanings of "diverse", as well.

By less educated, I am simply referring to census info on high school and college graduates numbers. Compared to high tech/research intensive areas I am more familiar with (triangle, nc, silicon valley, noVA, Mass/Rte 128, Sea/Tac), there are fewer college grads and folks with post grad education. This does affect employment opportunities, as certain kinds of companies and organizations tend to emerge out of areas with concentrations of highly educated populations. It's interesting that even with UT and ORNL, the education numbers really are quite different from other "knowledge industry" areas in the U.S. Now, this observation may or may not be relevant to the original poster. One friend in NC who does not have a college degree comments that in the triangle, you need a master's to make lattes :-) I don't think that is the case here!

One last comment: What is it with the sushi in Knoxville? (rant on/)It is disturbing how much average and poor quality sushi is being served in a land-locked city. Please, people, stop it and get back to quality regional cuisine! (/rant off)

OP, good luck with your investigations of TN + job hunting.

[Beretta]

Very, very good sushi about 6 miles south of the airport:
Lemon Grass

And I just can't resist this one: we're so smart here that we don't even need college degrees to make latte's much less masters! :P

[hiknapster]

JMT is such a wonderful person. I love his observations!

I don't care about education statistics. I happen to be extremely uneducated. When I was in high school I moved 15 times in one year. I added it up once - and I don't remember the exact tally - but I probably attended less than two years for my four years of high school. I think it was about 15 months.

My friends on this forum are aware of this, most have college degrees, and yet they treat me as an equal. That means so much to me.

But that is the magic of Knoxville. Mobile homes sit next to $300,000 homes. For the most part, people from different backgrounds, educational levels, etc., harmoniously coexist. That's diversity.

One final thought: Every day, I help a lot of people that are highly educated. Sometimes I wonder how they find their front door in the morning.

[mbmouse]

Education does not = smart
"Diversity" has nothing to do with the color of your skin.

To the op and to get this back on topic what is your employment field?
Some fields you can find a job within a week, others may take you longer.
If you give us a bit more info, maybe the great folks of Knoxville can give you better answers.

(JMT, I have to spread the love around some more, but sending it your way anyway. )

[gemkeeper]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

JMT is such a wonderful person. I love his observations!

I don't care about education statistics. I happen to be extremely uneducated. When I was in high school I moved 15 times in one year. I added it up once - and I don't remember the exact tally - but I probably attended less than two years for my four years of high school. I think it was about 15 months.

My friends on this forum are aware of this, most have college degrees, and yet they treat me as an equal. That means so much to me.

But that is the magic of Knoxville. Mobile homes sit next to $300,000 homes. For the most part, people from different backgrounds, educational levels, etc., harmoniously coexist. That's diversity.

One final thought: Every day, I help a lot of people that are highly educated. Sometimes I wonder how they find their front door in the morning.

JMT is wonderful as an ambassador for Knoxville and a friend of all of us who love E. TN. And, as usual, he is absolutely correct. I have lived most of my life in University towns, large metropolitan centers - including Philadelphia, Detroit (YES, it counts!), Hartford, CT., Boston, and many others. Do they have anything that Knoxville doesn't have? Well, maybe a few more millionaires, but little else.

There is not a city that you can name that has the cultural gifts that Knoxville has to offer. Mountain culture, music, art, cuisine is alive and well and envied by many who have a brief exposure and must move on. Plus, the added gift, as JMT so succinctly stated, all of the blended cultures that the rest of the world has shared with Knoxville.

My DH and I have chosen to spend the rest of our days in this little piece of heaven on earth because of this gift of culture, people of the finest caliber in the nation and the best doggone Red Velvet Cake known to man.

I love the people here. They are a big slice of what makes Knoxville and Tennessee the 8th wonder of the world in my book.

And, hiknapster, a degree does not make a person educated. Anyone with the cash can earn a degree of some sort from Someplace U. Many of them are just B.S. anyhow. You are more educated than many folks I know who have all kinds of letters behind their names. Letters like B.A., L.O., and N.E.Y. !! We all know people with that type of education.

[Suzanne1945]

A piece of paper containing a few capital initials or life's experiences?

[JMT]

Thanks so much to all of you who wrote or left me rep points for your support! I tried to rep all of you, too, but have to spread the love around some more first.

When I was young and thought I was mature, I couldn't wait to get out of Knoxville. But after seeing the rest of the world, I finally get what Knoxville is all about. It took me a while, but I love it here. And I don't think that it's just a coincidence that the Tennessee forum (and the Knoxville forum in particular) seems to have such wonderful people. If you don't believe me, go check out other forums and see just how mean some people can be. While part of it is due to our wonderful moderators, it's also because the people who live here (and those who want to live here like gem) are nice. I mean genuinely, honestly, NICE.

Places like Raleigh and Atlanta are booming because people can live there and make a lot of money. But Knoxville is growing because people really want to live here, whether they make a lot of money or not seems to be completely irrelevant. Folks just like it here. They come here on vacation and love our mountains, but it's the genuine friendliness of the people that keeps them coming back.

So, to those who want to move here just so they can make a quick buck, I say, well, you might not like it here. But for those who want to move here because of our beautiful mountains, our wonderful mountain culture, and our supremely friendly people (whether they're "educated" or not is supremely unimportant), come on over!

[the painter]

Well I consider myself to be rather diverse. Living from Chicago to Florida and now wanting to get back to TN. I am college educated (acct degree) and chose to paint houses, I am white and pass as a Latino from May to Sept. I was raised with one side of my family being extremely wealthy and the other side poor as dirt. I have lived in a trailer and a 3000 sf home. So geeze do I fit in?

[dave1961]

I don't like to see all the run down trailer homes and junk surrounding them, scattered all over out in the country areas. I wish Knox County had better zoning laws, so you wouldn't see a $400,000 home next door to a single wide. Doesn't make sense to me. And, what's up with the trampolines??? I've never seen so many homes with trampolines in backyards as I see in Tennessee!

[gemkeeper]

Originally Posted by dave1961

I don't like to see all the run down trailer homes and junk surrounding them, scattered all over out in the country areas. I wish Knox County had better zoning laws, so you wouldn't see a $400,000 home next door to a single wide. Doesn't make sense to me. And, what's up with the trampolines??? I've never seen so many homes with trampolines in backyards as I see in Tennessee!

Dave, I understand your concerns, but where I see a trampoline I see a couple of involved parents and 2 or 3 really happy kids! If they don't make me jump, I won't interfer with their "boing, boing, boing"!

There are as many folks who complain about too much zoning regulation as there as those who insist upon some zoning ordinances. Usually, the folks who have lived their whole lives happily in a modest home, maybe a trailer, feel that suddenly new zoning ordinances concerning the type, style and size of their home that is being dictated to them are an infringement of their time-honored rights.

Then, there are those who want to move out into the country and build a nice 4000 sf home and are offended that the folks who own the 8 acres abutting their property live in a trailer. If someone is unhappy with the surroundings when house-hunting, then they should look someplace else. The local folks who have probably had their land for a couple of generations should not have to conform to the wants and visual aesthetics of the new guys.

Tennessee is a very big state and there are plenty of developments that have their own HOA bylaws and regulations. That is the place to look for a home if an individual doesn't like looking at someone else's trailer home. And, that is the name of that tune.