What do you LIKE and DISLIKE about living in Knoxville? (Cleveland: restaurant, shops)

[weisgarber1]

Originally Posted by bfskinnerpunk

I haven't ever stopped in Chattanooga, but the school systems there probably have to compete with Georgia just over the border.
The Georgia school system probably gets their pick of the finest of Chattanooga due to the increased pay available.
That may, partly, play a role in their school issues.

Increased pay though wouldn't necessarily indicate that Walker County schools are better than Chattanooga/Hamilton County.

[Kitties of Domination]

Originally Posted by weisgarber1

So much for the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce plug. Knoxville/Knox County has always had the better of Chattanooga/Hamilton County going back to the 1960's, when the two counties were of similar size. Knox County now has about 100k+ more population than Hamilton County. That growth is "ONE" indicator of Knox's greater desirability.

250k+ larger metro. Also, Knoxville metro is still the fastest growing metro in east TN. Yes, downtown needs some work. But Chattanooga is probably reaching its plateau IMO; Knoxville has more unrealized potential.

[epiphoney]

Thing to like about Knoxville: UT Football, pleasant weather, affordability, friendly people.

Things to dislike about Knoxville, UT Football, lack of diversity, traffic, road construction that NEVER ends.

Chattanooga is a waaaay cooler city in my opinion =) And it's growing faster than Knox. TVA baby.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by epiphoney

Thing to like about Knoxville: UT Football, pleasant weather, affordability, friendly people.
Things to dislike about Knoxville, UT Football, lack of diversity, traffic, road construction that NEVER ends.
Chattanooga is a waaaay cooler city in my opinion =) And it's growing faster than Knox. TVA baby.

I like Chatt. It's very cool with the aquarium, art museum and other attractions. But I think Knox has more day-to-day things for its residents. Better restaurants, beautifully restored movie theater, The Bijou, Clarence Brown Theater, Thompson-Boling Arena, the incredible Tennessee Theater, etc. But they are both nice. I just think Chatt is geared more towards tourists.

But Chatt has just as much traffic and construction. Diversity is about the same and the stats show that we are growing faster.

There are certain reasons why I settled in Knoxville, rather than Chattanooga, though, such as the school system. It had more jobs, at the time.

And the TVA is headquartered in Knoxville so that one went right over my head.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by epiphoney

Thing to like about Knoxville: UT Football, pleasant weather, affordability, friendly people.
Things to dislike about Knoxville, UT Football, lack of diversity, traffic, road construction that NEVER ends.
Chattanooga is a waaaay cooler city in my opinion =) And it's growing faster than Knox. TVA baby.

How is Chattanooga growing faster than Knox? Census stats show that Knoxville/Knox County is growing considerably faster than Chattanooga/Hamilton County, same goes for the Knoxville MSA vs. the Chattanooga MSA.

And as far as Knoxville road construction that never ends, have you driven I-75 through Chattanooga the last few years??

[Kitties of Domination]

Originally Posted by epiphoney

Thing to like about Knoxville: UT Football, pleasant weather, affordability, friendly people.

Things to dislike about Knoxville, UT Football, lack of diversity, traffic, road construction that NEVER ends.

Chattanooga is a waaaay cooler city in my opinion =) And it's growing faster than Knox. TVA baby.

Uh, you may want to check your demographic info again. City limits are trivial, and Chattanooga has a larger city area (sq miles) and lower population density. Makes you wonder how much more the other TN cities could have grown if their mayor had asked the census for a recount... The Knoxville metro is growing much faster than the Chattanooga metro. Issued building permits average nearly double that of Chattanooga's MSA. TVA? TVA is no longer the major economic driving force in the TN valley. And TVA is headquartered in Knoxville. You indicated traffic as a dislike in Knoxville. Doesn't traffic denote a faster growing area? Do some research before posting next time


As of 2008:


73 Knoxville, TN MSA 691,152 616,079 +12.19% Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN CSA


sq miles: 101 square miles
density: 1994 people per square mile

Knox County 430,019 47,987 12.56% 19

98 Chattanooga, TN-GA MSA 518,441 476,531 +8.79% Chattanooga-Cleveland-Athens, TN-GA CSA

sq miles: 135.2 square miles
density: 1264 people per square mile

Hamilton County 332,848 24,952 8.10% 30

[VolDude]

Chattanooga is not way cooler. Its waaaaaay lamer, in fact. It has it advantages, like being more scenic and the Walnut St Bridge, but it also has horrible bars and music scene, and an absence of certain things like a theater that shows indie movies.

[Kitties of Domination]

I don't dislike Chattanooga by any means, but I get irritated by inaccurate "hype". Why does it seem like some people in Chattanooga try to "compete" with Knoxville anyway? Funny thing is, nobody in Knoxville even pays attention when they do...

[marmac]

Originally Posted by Kitties of Domination

Uh, you may want to check your demographic info again. City limits are trivial, and Chattanooga has a larger city area (sq miles) and lower population density. Makes you wonder how much more the other TN cities could have grown if their mayor had asked the census for a recount... The Knoxville metro is growing much faster than the Chattanooga metro. Issued building permits average nearly double that of Chattanooga's MSA. TVA? TVA is no longer the major economic driving force in the TN valley. And TVA is headquartered in Knoxville. You indicated traffic as a dislike in Knoxville. Doesn't traffic denote a faster growing area? Do some research before posting next time


As of 2008:


73 Knoxville, TN MSA 691,152 616,079 +12.19% Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN CSA


I never could figure out why a city as far away as LaFollette is counted as part of Knoxville's statistics.

( same could be said for counting Athens as part of Chattanooga's statistics )

sq miles: 101 square miles
density: 1994 people per square mile

Knox County 430,019 47,987 12.56% 19

98 Chattanooga, TN-GA MSA 518,441 476,531 +8.79% Chattanooga-Cleveland-Athens, TN-GA CSA

sq miles: 135.2 square miles
density: 1264 people per square mile

Hamilton County 332,848 24,952 8.10% 30

I never could figure out statistics that count La Follette as part of Knoxville and Athens as part of Chattonooga.

[rpmgatech]

I have been here for about 1 year.

What I like:

• Nice Weather.
• Not much traffic.
• Very Nice People. (unless if you are wearing another college's logo on your shirt and they are a Vol fan)
• Slow paced lifestyle.
• Cheap.
• Safe, low crime.
• No state income tax.

What I don't like:

• UT or bust (if you don't like UT, you are an outsider ... but I guess that's expected).
• It's tougher to meet friends here than other cities because many people were born and raised here and already have a circle of friends.
• No Macy's .
• Small town feel with no Metro area (I know this is a positive for many, but I am from larger towns).
• Not as close I would like to be to a beach
• Not as much diversity as I would like (compared to Atlanta and New Orleans ... my previous residences)

Conclusion: Every city has its positives and negatives. If you can live with the negatives, you should be fine. I can definitely find a way to live with the negatives I have listed here for K'ville. The low crime and low cost thing is HUGE. But the difficulty of meeting friends and the lack of family here for me make it difficult.