What do you LIKE and DISLIKE about living in Knoxville? (Chattanooga: for sale, to rent)

[byebyecinci]

We did all the research and after moving here can strongly say - there is nowhere better than Knoxville, nowhere in the world! This place has everything you need and nothing you don't.

Knoxville has an abundance of high paying jobs and we heard it has the lowest unemployment in the country. Housing is a give-a-way!!! The market is flooded with steals. A nice house in a decent area will only set you back in $250k range... and rentals are everywhere cheap cheap! Prices are still coming down so you might pick up a real steal... and comparing these prices to anywhere in Florida you might want to buy a half dozen and rent them to all the new people coming in.

Now on to the best part. Everyone loves mountains and there are mountains everywhere... you can't look without seeing one. Step here - mountain... look over there - another mountain... It's all mountain, all the time!!! Driving is a thrill again too... all over East TN there are twisty-turn roads and steep grades which will make a sports car nut out of the most calm driver. If you like water there are rivers and lakes that make Minnesota and Florida look like the Mojave...and some great lake properties starting in the half million range. Try to buy a lake property anywhere in FL for a half million!!!

We just can't say enough good things about this place... the more we learn the more we love. We've lived all over the country from New York to Florida to California to the upper Midwest..and just came from Ohio. Knoxville, TN is the only place we've ever been that is flawless and perfect in every possibly way. People are coming here in droves and as a new Tennessean we want to welcome everyone and all your friends! We believe that one day most of the country will call East TN home! Finally... we found it!

[hiknapster]

Well, welcome cinci! Glad you love it! That's great to hear!

I have to say that I have a nice house in a decent area and I paid well less than $250,000. Having said that, my house is far from new. It's 54 years old, but it's solid. My neighborhood is lovely and five houses away from a highly-rated school. However, if you wanted to buy new and in a good area, you can still pay less than $250,000.

Also, pay is here not very high. It's not the worst, but it's The South, so it is not great and we do not have the lowest unemployment in the country. We do have about the best rate in the state, I think, but it is far from low.

Yes, driving is so much more fun than Florida. I always drive a stick and it was great to actually really NEED it. I grew up on hilly, curvy roads so it was a thrill. And the scenery is great.

But my favorite part about the area is the people, hands down.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Well, welcome cinci! Glad you love it! That's great to hear!

I have to say that I have a nice house in a decent area and I paid well less than $250,000. Having said that, my house is far from new. It's 54 years old, but it's solid. My neighborhood is lovely and five houses away from a highly-rated school. However, if you wanted to buy new and in a good area, you can still pay less than $250,000.

Also, pay is here not very high. It's not the worst, but it's The South, so it is not great and we do not have the lowest unemployment in the country. We do have about the best rate in the state, I think, but it is far from low.

Yes, driving is so much more fun than Florida. I always drive a stick and it was great to actually really NEED it. I grew up on hilly, curvy roads so it was a thrill. And the scenery is great.

But my favorite part about the area is the people, hands down.

I can tell you that hik lives in a GORGEOUS neighborhood, and her house is fantastic. The same house in a similar neighborhood in Atlanta or Nashville would be waaayyyy over $200,000, maybe even closer to $300k. And, of course, there's NOTHING like it anywhere in Florida except--maybe--some of the older neighborhoods in Tallahassee.

There are many things I love about Knoxville, too, but first and foremost is the people; East Tennesseans (even those who move here from elsewhere) are just generally really, really nice. Maybe it's our beuatiful countryside or our mild climate with four very distinct seasons. But we're a very happy lot.

We've joked around in this forum about the rituals that make life enjoyable here for those of us who aren't in any hurry: the dance at the four-way stops where everyone waves everyone else to go first; the cashier who asks how you're doing and really means it; the neighbors who drop by for a friendly chat rather than just texting; and even the teenagers who roam the malls are friendly and courteous. One time a teenager came running around a corner at the mall and nearly knocked down a friend of mine. The teenager stopped, turned around and apologized to my friend, calling her "ma'am" and making sure she was ok. It's the little things.

This past week was a perfect example of why I love this place. Interstate 40 reopened through downtown Knoxville after being closed for 14 months. With all the pomp and ceremony that accompanied it, you would've thought it was Armistice Day all over again. One of my friends who moved here from Memphis said it was an example of how we're just a bunch of hicks here in Knoxville to get so excited about a freeway. I prefer to think of it as our very casual, very laid-back lifestyle which allows us to get excited over something as mundane as a freeway reopening. And it really was exciting! Over 2,000 Knoxvillians participated in the festivities, and it was fun!

I do have one correction, though, to what byebyecinci said. Knoxville does not have the lowest unemployment rate in the country. Far from it. However, it's certainly not as bad as most big cities, and it's better than Tennessee's other big cities.

[byebyecinci]

Hi Hiknapster and JMT,

re: Unemployment. We were just repeating what we were told by our Realtor as we don't have the hard data and she did. She said a few places in Texas were on par as far as unemployment stats but Knoxville's was just as good. We're curious so we'll do a bit of research.

re: Salaries. I guess it depends on your career but it seems to us the pay here is better than anywhere we've lived outside of LA or NY.

re: Housing. I'm sure there are good houses for less than $250k but we haven't found any in the area we've looked. But regardless of what you have to pay, houses here would go for huge $$ anywhere else... To anyone reading this... it's time to pack up and head this way.

re: I40. Why not celebrate? I believe every event should be celebrated and if you don't have a freeway then all of a sudden have one... Kapow! Bring out the ticker-tape parade and full band!!!!! More proof this place is getting ready to boom!

[hiknapster]

You're realtor told you that? Well, bless her heart.

I hope to get my real estate license in the next couple of months and I solemnly swear that I will not give out the wrong information. And if I don't know, I'll find out.

Unfortunately, she was really far off on her stats. Tennessee was ranked ninth in highest unemployment in the country for the month of April.

Unemployment Rates for States

Funny, JMT. A guy from Memphis once told me that our Christmas parade is "pathetic." Apparently, they put on some sort of production number over there. I told him that we are not Vegas and prefer our "homey" parade.

You see, cinci, we like the area just the way it is. And we will stick strong to our Southern principles of kindness, politeness and abhor the "flash." I've been here for four years and Knoxville will never be Florida and we like it like that.

[hiknapster]

By the way, she may have been stating KNOXVILLE unemployment rates. I just thought of that. Fortunately, we were 8.2. I do think that's the best in the state.

Now, that's a lot better, but it is still far from the "only Texas is better" deal that she told you. We are ranked 184, with "1" being the best, out of 372 metropolitan statistical areas. Better than the state ranking, anyway.

Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas

[weisgarber1]

Originally Posted by byebyecinci

We believe that one day most of the country will call East TN home! Finally... we found it!

We certainly hope not!

[byebyecinci]

Hiknapster,

Thanks for those stats, had no idea the numbers for TN were so terrible. We really haven't looked for jobs yet, mostly just for houses. Guess we need to brush up on current data.

Does anyone know the cause of the bad numbers? Manufacturing decline, outsourcing? We thought the Midwest was bad with it's almost complete loss of manufacturing jobs, but TN doesn't look any better in the numbers. Maybe TN's were low-end retail job losses or something?

re: parade. I thought JMT said there was a big parade over the freeway... I say the bigger the better!

[byebyecinci]

Originally Posted by weisgarber1

We certainly hope not!

Hi Weisgarber1,

From what we've seen, it's just a matter of time. Everything that is needed for a perfect lifestyle is here. There's nowhere on Earth the same as Knoxville. It is truly the perfect paradise.

[hiknapster]

Cinci: Did you sell your house in Florida?

The reason that you don't see the huge influx of people is because they are stuck elsewhere, trying to sell their houses.

As I said in my additional post, Knoxville has an unemployment rate of 8.2.We are not as bad as the midwest. We really didn't notice the recession, and I mean REALLY notice it, until this January. We were one of the last in the nation. Knoxville, for some reason, is very insulated from booms and busts. It keeps us very stable.

Because of that, we will probably be one of the first to come out of the recession. As you can see, our costs are low.

By the way, I bought my house for $119,500.

You might want to look at those BLS links. They are highly valuable. They will give you a TRUE idea of what kind of salary you can expect here. I think it could be considerably less than what you think. But, once again, our costs are low.

And you have to take into account our property tax and home and auto insurance. Crazy low and fabulous bang for the buck.

And our people are the nicest in the world.

That's what you tell clients. The truth.