Moving to Knoxville and need advice (Oak Ridge, Maryville: for sale, apartments, rentals)

[joncin]

Hi . Let me first apologize for the long post.

We are a family of 6 with the usual pets. We currently live in Georgia. My husband and I have decided to move to Knoxville, and we are hoping that the people from this forum may be able to answer some questions and give us some much needed advise.

My husband suffers from Panic Attacks and Agoraphobia, Many people who suffer from this have what is referred to as "safety zones" as a coping mechanizism. My husbands main safety zone is the hospital. We have been looking for rental property through the internet, mainly Craig's List and several maps that point out rental property for you, and we also recieved one of Knoxvilles Sunday papers, but so far no luck. All the neighborhoods and subdivisions are a little confusing to us at this point.

What we need is some information on some nice residential areas that are a quarter of a mile to a mile from a public hospital, with a great school system, and also reasonable rent.Also, if anyone knows of a better way to look for rental property other than craigs list, it sure would be appreciated. We have looked under classifieds in the knox online paper, but it redirects you to a 3rd pary site, and everthing is mixed in- homes for sale,apts...etc.

My husband and I thank all who took the time to read this, and any advice you can offer will be most appreciated.

Thanks

[JMT]

Originally Posted by joncin

Hi . Let me first apologize for the long post.

We are a family of 6 with the usual pets. We currently live in Georgia. My husband and I have decided to move to Knoxville, and we are hoping that the people from this forum may be able to answer some questions and give us some much needed advise.

My husband suffers from Panic Attacks and Agoraphobia, Many people who suffer from this have what is referred to as "safety zones" as a coping mechanizism. My husbands main safety zone is the hospital. We have been looking for rental property through the internet, mainly Craig's List and several maps that point out rental property for you, and we also recieved one of Knoxvilles Sunday papers, but so far no luck. All the neighborhoods and subdivisions are a little confusing to us at this point.

What we need is some information on some nice residential areas that are a quarter of a mile to a mile from a public hospital, with a great school system, and also reasonable rent.Also, if anyone knows of a better way to look for rental property other than craigs list, it sure would be appreciated. We have looked under classifieds in the knox online paper, but it redirects you to a 3rd pary site, and everthing is mixed in- homes for sale,apts...etc.

My husband and I thank all who took the time to read this, and any advice you can offer will be most appreciated.

Thanks

What do you consider to be reasonable rent?

Oak Ridge and Maryville both have excellent school systems, but you have to actually live within those cities to be in their school districts. Both are 20-30 minutes outside of Knoxville and both have very good hospitals. The Oak Ridge hospital, in particular, is in the middle of a residential area so maybe you would have a better chance of finding something reasonably priced near that hospital.

[joncin]

Hi JMT,

Thanks for your reply. We would like to live in knoxville. The thing with the hospital is that it alleviates anxiety just knowing that a hospital is close by in csae of a panic attack. As for reasonable rent, we would need a three bedroom house, and are looking for something in the price range of around 650.00 to 950.00 per month.

My husband is a remote server admin for a very large hosting company, so the good thing about that is that he can take his job with him wherever he goes.

My 2 oldest sons are musicians, and they feel as though they wiil have a better chance at what they want to accomplish in a larger city. Too, the cost of living in Knoxville is 17% less than it is here, not to mention that it's beautiful, and it has 4 seasons.

We live in a small town in GA with a large univeresity,which really makes it expensive here.

The most important thing is being close to a hospital, and we would like to live in Knoxville.

We sure appreciate any help.

Thanks

[Beretta]

Check out the Cedar Bluff area (Peters Rd./Middlebrook Pike). It is near ParkWest Hospital and a nice area with a lot of rental possibilities.

[joncin]

Hi,

Thanks for the information. It was most appreciated, I know this is a rather odd request for help, however my husband does have panic attacks and agoraphobia, and requires the need to live very close to a hospital.

We have seen houses for rent that state N. Knoxville, less than a mile from st. Mary's. Would anyone know the area they are referring to and if it's a nice location.

We have also seen an add, I believe the house was in lovell <sp> rd,subdivision, or something to that affect, and the add stated that it was just minutes from 2 hospitals, but didn't name them, and walking distance to shopping. Does anyone know where this may be?

Also, I know many of you look at this and are wondering wth Agorabhobia is. I f you would like to know more we will be more than happy to go into detail, and how it affects my husband.

We appreciate the help so far, nad we really look forward to hearing from others. We do appriciate all help.

Thanks in advance.

[aquarijen]

The area right around St Mary's is patchy - some nice and some not great (IMO - I'll probably get blasted for writing that).

Cedar bluff is great, but you'll probably have to up your rent in order to actually live within 1/4 mile to the hospital because that is going to narrow you down to Gulf Park Subdivision only and there is not much for rent there in your price range - or really at all. But, it has fabulous schools, so it may be worth it. It is a nice area if that's what you are looking for. I've lived in Gulf Park for three years. I'm about to move because I felt it was too quiet and not quite "urban" enough. This might be a good fit for you. There are apartments a little farther than 1/4th mile from Parkwest - Sunchase - they seem nice, but I have no idea the cost.

Baptist hospital in South Knoxville is closing.

Around Ft Sanders is not a safe place to live for a family IMO.

Lovell Rd - You'd be close to Baptist and to ParkWest, but not at all within walking distance unless you lived in Turkey Creek, in which case, you could be close to Baptist, but it is a super pricey area with huge throngs of people.

[oldmanbob]

Lovell rd, is only minutes from Park West and the New Baptist on Turkey Creek. It may be difficult to find rentals in that range. Other than craigs lists, not sure where to send you. Sorry.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by aquarijen

The area right around St Mary's is patchy - some nice and some not great (IMO - I'll probably get blasted for writing that).

Baptist hospital in South Knoxville is closing.

Around Ft Sanders is not a safe place to live for a family IMO.

Lovell Rd - You'd be close to Baptist and to ParkWest, but not at all within walking distance unless you lived in Turkey Creek, in which case, you could be close to Baptist, but it is a super pricey area with huge throngs of people.

I was going to say the same thing about St Mary's. There are some lovely neighborhoods around there with beautiful old homes in good condition. But there are also some very iffy neighborhoods around there. I wouldn't hesitate to live anywhere around there, but I'm a single guy with no kids. I'd be much more cautious if I had kids.

St Mary's bought Baptist and in the process is going to close St Mary's, tear down Baptist and build a brand new hospital where Baptist is currently located. So if you're planning on being here long-term, I don't know if you can rely on those two hospitals for much longer (although we're still talking several years in all likelihood).

I'm just curious about something. I know it's none of my business, but why do you HAVE to live in the city of Knoxville? You'd probably have better luck living in a nicer neighborhood within your price range near the hospitals in Oak Ridge and Maryville. The schools in Oak Ridge and Maryville would probably be better, too.

[goodbyehollywood]

To echo the other posters, finding a three-bedroom house with your parameters in West Knoxville is going to be difficult. We own rental property and the low end of the going rate is generally around $1,100-$1,300. You can always find bargains, but renting with pets is always more challenging and many owners will ask for higher rent or a nonrefundable pet deposit. It's going to be even more challenging looking for an apartment or condo with pets and musical instruments, and some complexes will not want to consider one or both.

North or South Knoxville is your best bet. If you're flexible, you might be able to meet your needs in those areas, though you will probably have to make some compromises. If Craigslist isn't working for you, a good option is to find neighborhoods you like and drive them, looking for "for rent" signs in the yard. The rent may be lower, too, because the owner will save the listing fee. And once s/he meets you and your family, s/he is more likely to consider your pets. Good luck to you!

[BRH]

Also, since others mentioned Maryville and Oak Ridge; another possibility, if you are willing to live outside of Knoxville itself, would be Lenoir City in Loudon County. Fort Sanders built a new hospital just off of Hwy. 321 in Lenoir City a few years ago. Also, it is a growing area but still somewhat affordable. And it is within 10 or 15 minutes to Turkey Creek and West Knoxville (so you would also be close to two other hospitals; Parkwest and Baptist West).
Just another possibility you might want to look at.