Information about Rockwood (Roane county) please (Knoxville, Chattanooga: real estate, rent, condo)

[lhendri479]

I know this is in a whole other county, but this is the only place I can find to post it.

If there is another forum that I don't know about to post this on, please let me know.

Pros and Cons about Rockwood and/or Roane county?

Good places to eat in the area? Shopping? High Speed internet access?

Anything else you want to mention wheather good or bad.

Thank You very much - Linda

[frbenson]

I have no idea what your circumstances are but, personally, I like Roane county. I can't speak to the quality of the schools, job opportunities, nor do I know what sort of resteraunts and shopping facilities, cultural activities, or nightlife that you're interested in. For me, virtually everything I want or need is located within a short drive...major grocery stores, convenience stores, Lowe's, a Super Walmart, Mom and Pop resteraunts, fast food resteraunts of about every variety, several banks, and a moderately sized hospital. High speed internet access is readily available. Additionally, Knoxville is a very reasonable drive away. Bear in mind, however, that I'm a 65 year old retiree, and that my needs and preferences may well be markedly diffferent from yours. As most anyone would advise, you need to spend some time in the area and then reach your own conclusions.

Frank

[ceeglass]

My peeps are from Roane County way back. I know the RC is all down with their lineage and history, but very welcoming to newcomers. I still have cousins there. Here are a couple of links that may interest you:www.roanealliance.org/ and www.roanetn.com/. Half of Oliver Springs cemetery is full of my relatives. Anyway I hope the links help - and Roane County is beautiful.

[lhendri479]

Frank - I am also a retiree, and so is my husband. I am so busy that sometimes I think I need a job just so I can rest!

We have bought a place in Rockwood and are painting and fixing it up a little bit. Since we are also growing a veggie garden there, we just haven't had time to drive around the county to see it. When we do get it ready to move into we will pack up and move from North Carolina.

But what I have seen so far I like and the neighbors I have met have been just wonderful.

Thank you very much for the links. Appreciate them.

Lineage and history is good since I am a big genealogy nut. I love history whether it is mine or where we are living.

Thanks for responding

Linda

[piedmont]

Originally Posted by lhendri479

Pros and Cons about Rockwood and/or Roane county? Good places to eat in the area? Shopping? High Speed internet access?

It sounds like you have never been to anywhere in Roane County. It's a quiet place with some beautiful sections (lakes and valleys) and some not so beautiful (ex. the town of Rockwood). Total population of the county is only around 55,000, so it really is a quiet place. Harriman is an interesting victorian era town with a nice old home section. Jobs in the county are not plentiful. Many residents are older or retired.

Basic shopping needs can be met, but may require driving all over the county (ex. Kroger and Lowe's are near Harriman in Midtown, Walmart is in Rockwood, Food City + Ace Hardware are in Kingston). Restaurants are few and modest. It is about 45-50 minutes from Rockwood to the mall/sprawl/restaurants of Turkey Creek in west Knox (via I-40).

High speed internet is spotty (we can't get it). So is cell phone coverage. However, if you are right in town you may not notice this.

There are a number of nice lake properties in the county and a fair number of marinas. Farms are also quite prevalent. We enjoy relatively easy access to Chattanooga as well as Knoxville from Roane; we also like recreation opportunities along the Plateau.

[lhendri479]

Piedmont - thanks for additional infoAppreciate itLinda In NC

[ecs66]

We were within a few hours of buying a beautiful home for cash in Rockwood. The deal fell through at the last minute. Although it was probably one of the most horrid, stressful experiences in our life, everyone local was absolutely wonderful. The residents are great. (Sadly, can't say that about the out-of-state players in the deal.)

Basic shopping and decent restaurants are easy and close. For more up-scale stuff, Knoxville is do-able. Planning to leave southern California, if we never see another "up-scale" Macy's or Starbucks again, it'll be too soon. We just want a calm, relaxing life around people who don't put on airs. In the two weeks we were there we didn't hear the phrases, "bikini wax" or "facelift" once, and that was refreshing.

Verizon cell service seemed to be every place we needed it.

We're Baptist and there's no shortage of Baptist churches in the area.

And... it's SO BEAUTIFUL.

When the trauma of this real estate deal has worn off, we'll jump in again and start over to find our retirement home there.

[lhendri479]

We bought a house there and are continuing to make repairs, etc before we move from North Carolina to Rockwood, TN.

We too find all of the people to be very friendly, down to earth, and honest.

We haven't decided if we want to live in the house, sell it or rent it quite yet. We are really torn between the county in Rockwood and the city of Knoxville, TN. We did put a 40 x 50 foot garden in and just picked some sweet corn today. Next week - more corn, different variety. I also have moved 7 fig trees up there and they figs are getting bigger every day!!

We have gutted and installed a new bathroom and have now enclosed the front porch too.

My daughter and son in law have a condo in San Diego that she is not renting out because she has gone to Portland, OR due to work transfer. She loves Portland and now does not want to go back to San Diego.

If you ever do get into TN - give us a shout

Moderator cut: deleted

Thanks for answering my post. I appreciate it.

Linda

[CosmoMoon]

Rockwood is just a short drive from the interstate to Knoxville. However, I wouldn't move there because of the TVA ash spill. All that toxic ash went into the river and went downstream. It will be YEARS before they get it cleaned up. But even then, the damage has already been done to humans and pets.

[lhendri479]

I have been reading everything that I can about the ash spill, scary stuff. Have you seen any environmental reports about this? I'm sure it has been devastating to the fish and wildlife. We bought a place in the downtown section of Rockwood. I would love to know if and how much the spill impacts the drinking water right in downtown and others that live in Rockwood itself.

Thanks for the info - Linda