Living In Knoxville? (Oak Ridge, Maryville, Farragut: rental, how much, house)

[greg9706]

I have been traveling for the past 10 years since graduating highschool... Im tired, I want to find the perfect area (or close to perfect) to settle down and relax.. The knoxville area looks like a winner... I would love to hear more about the outlying areas and lake communities surrounding Knoxville? I am a general contractor and my girlfriend is a midwife, what is the consenus of work for a contractor? Is the area flooded with contractors or is there a need? I want to ideally settle in a community that is laid back but not uptight, on a lake, in close vecenity 30 - 1hr from shopping and city life... I have not visited yet but plan to next month, any ideas on things to do and places to visit to get a good picture of what living here would be like? All information is greatly appreciated

[sliverbox]

Well, a good question would be where are you coming from? One thing you might want to do first is compare how much a contractor would be getting paid versus what you get paid where you currently live. When I lived in Knoxville, it seemed that manual labor type jobs didn't pay near as much as they do in other areas that I've lived in.
I'd say the cost of living for middle income families is about average in the area now, as there has been an upward shift in housing costs. Less than 10 years ago, my parents bought a rental house for 28k. That same house is now valued at 85k. This is 30 minutes out of town.

The immediate area around Knoxville is pretty sprawly. The actual city is very nice, clean, vibrant, and so on. But for many of the surrounding areas, the story is a seemingly endless sea of subdivisions. There are some older well-established suburbs like Fountain City, Norris, Clinton, and parts of Oak Ridge. Even some rural pockets inbetween like Hieskell, Brushy Valley, and so on where homes can be had on decent chunks of land for 130-50k.

I'll be honest and say that comparing Knoxville to the way it looked when I was young is a little disheartening in some ways, encouraging in others. There doesn't seem to be much in way of controlling the sprawl and Wal-Marts and Home Depots build wherever.Forget anything like Mom-N-Pop stores. The typical new housing being built is pretty ugly looking stuff too. That's just me though. At the same time, there is a spirit of rebirth, revival, and cultural preservation. The economy is doing very well there too.

All and all, a robust holdout for fairly comfortable middle class living, especially if you compare it to many other larger metros.

My advice: Check out the BLS web site: http://www.bls.gov/ which shows you what wages are in your field average in any given area. if the economics make sense, then start looking around. Good luck!

[mmcginn2]

I was born & raised in East Tennessee, and as far as water goes, it's one of the most lake- and river-filled areas you'll see. In fact, the development I live in is fairly new and is on a river in a surrounding county. Two more developments like it are going up right now. We paid just $33,000 for a 2.5 acre river lot nearly four years ago--now the same size lot is going for $78,000. Taxes in the county are VERY low ($1200 for a home valued at $225,000), and there are no building restrictions/codes (I'm not joking--no inspections except for electricity & septic) in the county. If you want to look for specific developments in more rural areas, look for Norris Lake, Cherokee Lake, and Holston River. Some people might tell you Lake Loudon is okay, and it is, but it's quickly becoming very crowded due to outrageous expansion in the Farragut community. Although it might *look* like it's rural--it's not. The *real* rural areas are the ones I mentioned, and they're all about an hour away from Knoxville, maybe a little closer, depending on what you choose. I'm not sure if you're used to rural living, but if not, there are some things to be aware of--school systems aren't so hot; volunteer fire departments (not staffed full-time), and two police officers patroling an entire (large) county at any given time; no garbage pick-up; no cable; no sewer. I'm used to these things, but some peope are shocked.

There is an abundance of contractors in Knoxville--subdivisions there and in surrounding counties are going up like mad. Although the rest of the country is starting to see a dropping in housing development and value, Knoxville's market is staying pretty steady right now. And not many people here use midwives, to my knowledge.

[Joe Navarro]

I am a retired Postal Service employee residing in northern New Jersey, i am trying to find a place that is inexpensive (cost of living,housing, etc.) and safe; are there any towns near Knoxville that meet these criteria?? J.N.

[oldmanbob]

Hey Joe, all the towns that surround Knox are all less expensive, than where your from, and probably can name dozens that will work, so it all depends on wheter you want to be east,west and etc. Let us know, a little more about what your retirement interest are, and the first thing I think of, is the Tellico Village area, located in Loudon county, only a thirty minute drive into Knoxville, or the airport, located in Alcoa and Maryville. The village, is full of retiress, and has a great actvities center, or two.