What do you LIKE and DISLIKE about living in Knoxville? (Central: affordable apartment, income)

[hiknapster]

I used to live in Southwest Florida. If she doesn't like poisonous snakes or gators or incredibly nasty biting ants or flying cockroaches the size of Buicks then she be best stay away from Southwest Florida.

Seymour isn't mountainous. Neither is Knoxville. We're in a valley.

I checked your other post. Southwest Florida is no place to raise a child. Port Charlotte is chock-full of retirees. I call that place a retirement ghetto because the area isn't particularly nice, kind of run-down, and lousy with retirees. Nothing wrong with that age group. I'm rapidly coming up on it myself. But I've found over the years that any place that has too much of one demographic easily runs the risk of shutting out others in unexpected ways.

I left Florida when my child started kindergarten. The schools are very good and the kids seem to grow up too fast in Florida.

Also, there is a Lutheran school in Knoxville. Lot of nice Lutheran churches, too. I was raised Lutheran but now attend an Episcopal church. Great Episcopal school, too!

Tell your wife to set her sights on Florida for her retirement if she insists but let her know she's going to find a lot more nasty creepy crawlies down there!

[Travelin'Time]

I am from Port Charlotte (really Englewood the town immediately bordering Port Charlotte). My parents still live there. There are literally no jobs there, not even part time. My college aged sister was just hired part time at Kohl's after spending over a year applying to every place in the area multiple times. My friend's father has to live in Ohio and send money back home to his wife in Englewood, because his once booming concrete company died and he can't find another job in the area. Also, your kids will be obese because, for the majority if the year, it is impossible to do any kind of physical activity outdoors for more than a few minutes, aside from swimming. When I say that, I mean being outside is literally hazardous to your health. I'm not trying to be negative, just honest. On the plus side Siesta Key, arguably the best beach in the whole state, is a short 45 minute drive.

I also agree with Hik, about the schools and retiree atmosphere. Even the mall is dead, although somewhat improving. When there is nothing wholsome and appealing for teenagers to do, they find other less desirable ways to occupy thier time. That goes for adults too. When my sister was young, my mom had to make a rule for several friends that they could only hang at our house because when she went to drop my sister off, the parents of the other child were obviously high on something. It's one thing to get high on your own time, it's another to do it when your supposed to be entertaining someone else's child. I don't recommend moving there.

My husband and I are moving to Maryville this summer. We have been to the area on scouting trips numerous times and as other's have said, Seymour is not as bad as your wife thinks. It is only in the foothills, not the actual mountains.

[ThatTNGuy]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Also, there is a Lutheran school in Knoxville. Lot of nice Lutheran churches, too. I was raised Lutheran but now attend an Episcopal church. Great Episcopal school, too!

If you come to Grace Lutheran, you might see me ringing handbells in the choir loft on Sundays.

[Learning Owl]

Thank you hiknapster, travelin'time, and thattngguy…

This is so helpful. Please keep the reality about Port Charlotte coming and SW Florida. We want to place our kids in private schools. Where would you recommend. We are looking for a mid to small city near Knoxville. Kings Academy in Seymour? How about Maryville Christian School or perhaps the outskirts of Knoxville? We are ELS Lutherans or conservative. How are the lakes? My boys love to fish? What do you recommend.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Learning Owl

Thank you hiknapster, travelin'time, and thattngguy…

This is so helpful. Please keep the reality about Port Charlotte coming and SW Florida. We want to place our kids in private schools. Where would you recommend. We are looking for a mid to small city near Knoxville. Kings Academy in Seymour? How about Maryville Christian School or perhaps the outskirts of Knoxville? We are ELS Lutherans or conservative. How are the lakes? My boys love to fish? What do you recommend.

First Lutheran is Missouri Synod. I'd stick with that, frankly. It's kindergarten through eighth. Then if you insist on private, I'd send them to the Webb School, if you can afford it.

Have you been to Knoxville before? I think you need to visit first. You are going to see that Knoxville is a pretty small city and it feels more like a very large town. There is a very big difference regarding small cities, large towns, small towns and rural areas up north as opposed to in the South. Different vibe, etc.

I don't have first-hand knowledge of King's Academy. Maryville Christian is spirit-filled. I'm very, very aware of the differences between ELCA, MS and WELS and you might find some distinct differences between your religion and theirs.

I also feel that the Knoxville area is so far removed from Southwest Florida that it is staggering. The latter is full of Midwesterners though, so maybe it's a better fit for you. If you don't like friendly people that aren't rude or aggressive, then we aren't the place for you. We are also very authentic, not superficial, something that I found to be the case in Southwest Florida. Frankly, it was a horrible place to live.

[Learning Owl]

Thank you again Hiknapster, My wife is from France and I am ... from everywhere. We like outgoing friendly people, honest, ect... I was a little confused about the differences between small cities, large towns... I am betting that Knoxville feels like a place where you can get to know your neighbors and feel as though one is living in a suburb. You are correct about getting to know the area first. We are planning on renting for about 6 months in the area before buying so we can better decide. You didn't mention anything about the lakes...Douglas... Is the fishing good? Hunting too? I was also wondering...will my boys be picked on because the might have Northerner accents, Yankees? Forgive the silly questions, but it's nice to find these things out.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Learning Owl

Thank you again Hiknapster, My wife is from France and I am ... from everywhere. We like outgoing friendly people, honest, ect... I was a little confused about the differences between small cities, large towns... I am betting that Knoxville feels like a place where you can get to know your neighbors and feel as though one is living in a suburb. You are correct about getting to know the area first. We are planning on renting for about 6 months in the area before buying so we can better decide. You didn't mention anything about the lakes...Douglas... Is the fishing good? Hunting too? I was also wondering...will my boys be picked on because the might have Northerner accents, Yankees? Forgive the silly questions, but it's nice to find these things out.

From what I understand, the fishing is good around here. I'm not really into that, being an older, exhausted, single mom.

Of course people aren't picked on for accents. I promise that you aren't exactly going to stand out. There are a lot of transplants here. Maybe in a small town. Maybe not, of course. People are pretty polite although I prefer not living in those areas. I'm from a small town, never imagined I'd live in a city but it turns out - after living in different areas around here, that I prefer Knoxville.

[RazorbackFan1]

I have lived in Knoxville, TN for two years (July 2011-May 2013) while attending the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Graduate School.

To be honest, Knoxville, TN is a great college town; however, it is not my type of city to live permanently. I have several reasons:

1) Although it is a city of almost 190,000 population, it's actually more of a big college town. Even Little Rock, AR (my current location) feels more newer and more urban.

2) I admit that Tennesseans and Knoxvillians are super friendly compared to my introverted personality and most Arkansans, I still found it to be difficult to break into social circles. It's very cliquish. All of my friends in Knoxville were transplants from other surrounding states, especially Georgia and Northern Virginia.

3) My main pet peeve about Knoxvillians is that people tell you one thing and they don't do it. Few people kept telling me repeatedly that we will go to see a movie one weekend or hang out at Starbucks but it never happens. They showed no effort to plan anything; they sometime cancelled the plan at the last minute. Later, I found out that they ended up doing exactly the same thing with people they really know from high school or church. I prefer for people to be blunt with me rather than making up excuses just to be polite.

4) Knoxville is very beautiful. I happen to be a big city boy and Knoxville's mountain country culture can get old pretty fast.

I know Little Rock, AR does get stereotypes of being strong redneck/hillbilly. It's actually not that bad anymore due to its urban atmosphere in Downtown area. Several projects since the 1990's have changed Little Rock a lot. We always can thank former President Bill Clinton for putting the city on the map.

I am not being negative against Knoxville or anything like that. It's just not for everyone. I will always cherish my graduate school memories (excellent professors; a few friends; amusement parks in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg & the Smoky Mountains; and Vol Navy, Marching Band, Lady Vols, & the Neyland Stadium).

[ThatTNGuy]

Originally Posted by RazorbackFan1

3) My main pet peeve about Knoxvillians is that people tell you one thing and they don't do it. Few people kept telling me repeatedly that we will go to see a movie one weekend or hang out at Starbucks but it never happens. They showed no effort to plan anything; they sometime cancelled the plan at the last minute. Later, I found out that they ended up doing exactly the same thing with people they really know from high school or church. I prefer for people to be blunt with me rather than making up excuses just to be polite.

I'm sorry you ran into some flaky people while you were here, but it's a huge stretch to try and apply this characteristic to everybody who lives in Knoxville. Flakiness is an individual problem that has nothing to do with geography.

[RazorbackFan1]

Originally Posted by ThatTNGuy

I'm sorry you ran into some flaky people while you were here, but it's a huge stretch to try and apply this characteristic to everybody who lives in Knoxville. Flakiness is an individual problem that has nothing to do with geography.

I am not saying that all Knoxvillians are flaky. Even people I met who are not flaky, I still found it difficult to break into the circles because I am not from the area (local high school and church). We were like friends on surface as in friendly conversations but never really hang out. All of my good friends were from out of state (LA, GA, & Northern VA) and they actually felt the same way about Knoxville being cliquish. Like I said, it is not for everyone.