Looking for some info on North Knoxville (Central: apartment, for rent)

[HHK]

I am thinking of moving to North Knoxville in the coming year. Possibly in the Old North section. I have loads of questions and was hoping maybe some of you that live there or near there could answer some of them. I would appreciate any help whatsoever.

Here is a little information about me which could give you an insight of what I am looking for.

Single mother, will be working part time and going to school part time. I will be on a limited budget because of this. Looking for a family friendly area, not looking for any type of nightspots because hey, I won't be having a life! lol Looking for information on daycares (centers only no home daycares). Looking for information on any type of subsided child care programs if there are any. Looking for any info on Pellissippi State Technical Community College (would you recommend it or not?). Is the Old North area of Knoxville low crime and on the quiet side? Are there various grocery and drug stores around the area (within say 10 to 15 minutes)? Does it snow much there (truthfully)? What about tornadoes? Would you recommend this area to someone who is looking to live there long term? I intend to settle down there and eventually buy a home.


Like I said any type of info would be helpful the more the better.

Again thank you very much.

[creeksitter]

Well Old North Knoxville proper is getting gentrified and likely to be pricey, though you might find a deal on the fringes. You're better off looking in Oakwood/Lincoln Park. For the most part crime isn't bad in OLP but there could be trouble spots here and there. There are groceries and drug stores on Broadway, not on Central.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by HHK

I am thinking of moving to North Knoxville in the coming year. Possibly in the Old North section. I have loads of questions and was hoping maybe some of you that live there or near there could answer some of them. I would appreciate any help whatsoever.

Here is a little information about me which could give you an insight of what I am looking for.

Single mother, will be working part time and going to school part time. I will be on a limited budget because of this. Looking for a family friendly area, not looking for any type of nightspots because hey, I won't be having a life! lol Looking for information on daycares (centers only no home daycares). Looking for information on any type of subsided child care programs if there are any. Looking for any info on Pellissippi State Technical Community College (would you recommend it or not?). Is the Old North area of Knoxville low crime and on the quiet side? Are there various grocery and drug stores around the area (within say 10 to 15 minutes)? Does it snow much there (truthfully)? What about tornadoes? Would you recommend this area to someone who is looking to live there long term? I intend to settle down there and eventually buy a home.


Like I said any type of info would be helpful the more the better.

Again thank you very much.

Unfortunately, I don't think you told us enough about you. I would like to know where you are moving from? That is so pertinent, especially when it comes to how you define "quiet" and how to answer the "how much snow?" question.

Also, where did you come up with Old North Knox? Did a friend recommend it?

Now I'll try to answer the questions without this info.

Old North Knox is a lovely area of old homes but it is in the city. Our city is pretty tame, so that area is not high crime but there can be some nuisance stuff. I think it's grand, but not everyone thinks it is ideal. It depends on what you are looking for. I wonder why you picked that area because it is not close to Pellissippi State.

Although I agree with creeksitter - that rents use to be pretty high there - they have come down quite a bit throughout the entire Knoxville area.

If you consider about one inch of snow a year to be a lot, then yes, there is a lot. So, my answer is, no, typically there is not a lot of snow. And tornadoes hit west and middle Tennessee but usual break up by the time they get to Knoxville.

Moving is all about perspective so I wish I had more info about you to give a better answer.

[knoxgirl80]

I live in North Knoxville (near the channel 10 studios) and personally love it. I don't know what kind of prices you are looking to pay in rent. But, when I first moved into the area I rented a house for around $550 a month. It wasn't very big, but had two bedrooms and a great backyard. I liked the area so much I decided to buy a house. This was about three years ago when I bought it and I live in a three bedroom two bath house for just under $100,000. There is a great park for kids and tennis courts, which the city just redid. I like that there are plenty of sidewalks to take nice walks with the dogs, kids, etc. The neighborhood has lots of young families so your child would have plenty of friends to play with. There are several grocery and drug stores with in 5 minutes of here and some shopping. About 10 minutes from the neighboorhood you can get to east town mall, target, home depot, wal-mart, etc... Sorry to go on and on, but I think this is a great place to live esp. if you're on a budget.
As far as Pellissippi State goes, I did not attend there, but I have many friends who have and I know several professors there. The impression is that it is a good community college and haven't heard any complaints from my friend about it yet. A lot of them went there for two years and then transfered to UT to finish their degrees, so that's something to think about. Good luck on your search!

[HHK]

Hello,
Thank you to everyone who has posted some info for me. This is helping me out a lot. I really appreciate it.

To answer some questions:

I am moving from Florida (yes, another one lol) so any snow is a lot of snow for me!

I do not plan on moving truthfully until next year. I am just trying to get all my ducks in a row first.

I currently live in a town of about 250,000 people so I like how Knoxville is less than that but not a tiny little town either.

Rent wise I am looking to not pay much (only because I will only be working part time while going to school and would rather not have a lot of debt piled up to catch up on) so I am looking in the $400 to $500 (or cheaper if possible) range for a 2 bedroom.

Job wise I truly do not care - It could be an office type job, manufacturing or even a grocery store since it is only part time and is not going to be my career. I have heard the job situation is quite scarce there is that true? Of course that is kind of everywhere these days.

Noise level - I am looking for a quiet non party area since I have a toddler and also will be busy studying.

I was thinking of Old North area just because I saw some houses for rent in that area and I liked them and thought price wise they were not bad. I live in an area currently that has lots of homes from the 1920's and I kind of like that.

I was thinking of Pellissippi State because I saw that they offered a large amount of online courses which would save on gas etc.

[creeksitter]

Maybe you can pass along a street name for further comment. Some of the fringes of ONK are pretty fringey. Then there's the issue of advertizers calling something ONK when it isn't. I see this a lot with 4th & gill which has better defined boundaries.

[HHK]

Originally Posted by creeksitter

Maybe you can pass along a street name for further comment. Some of the fringes of ONK are pretty fringey. Then there's the issue of advertizers calling something ONK when it isn't. I see this a lot with 4th & gill which has better defined boundaries.

Area wise - I guess I really do not care as long it is very close to stores, gas stations etc. and in a decent area. I really truthfully do not know the areas up there.

[hiknapster]

What do you consider decent?

I know that sounds funny, but you come from a city that is larger. Which city? Do you live in the city or out in a suburban sprawl? Do you like it? Want to get away from it?

I mean, what is decent? Your idea is different from everyone else.

[HHK]

To me decent is :low crime, good family environment, somewhat on the quiet side (I'm not big on noise),close to stores, gas stations etc. (don't want to drive more than say 5 to 15 minutes to get to some things),just a nice place.


It is hard to explain how it is where I live it isn't big city but it isn't really the suburbs either I suppose. More suburbs I guess than city. But I can walk (if I wanted) to various types of stores, gas stations etc.

I like it and don't. It is getting very expensive and I don't want to raise my child here (nor anywhere in Florida). I want to live somewhere it is not so fast paced, more laid back and with friendler people (Florida has very unfriendly people living here- maybe it's the heat I don't know )


Thank you for your reply.

Originally Posted by hiknapster

What do you consider decent?

I know that sounds funny, but you come from a city that is larger. Which city? Do you live in the city or out in a suburban sprawl? Do you like it? Want to get away from it?

I mean, what is decent? Your idea is different from everyone else.

[jabogitlu]

Rent wise I am looking to not pay much (only because I will only be working part time while going to school and would rather not have a lot of debt piled up to catch up on) so I am looking in the $400 to $500 (or cheaper if possible) range for a 2 bedroom.

Maybe I'm totally out of touch, but isn't that just about impossible to find? Granted I know nothing about Old North. I know it's pretty hard to find even up here in NET unless you're in a crapartment in the hood.