Observations from Knoxville, TN (Sevierville, Sparta: for sale, rent, loft)

[mattbward]

Hey all, just wanted to take a moment to post my observations from my visit to Knoxville June 12-14th.

The Trip To Knoxville
My wife and I traveled from Greenville, SC where I had a work training, up I-85 to I-26. It was rush hour and traffic was backed up on I-26 towards Asheville so it took a little longer then planned. Also, a large thunderstorm rolled out of the mountains and hit us right between Spartanburg and Asheville. Once we got to Asheville we took I-40 West towards Knoxville. We got off on the exit that leads to Waynesville, NC and headed up to Smoky Mountain National Park where we camped for the night in Balsam Mountain Campground. Made some wrong turns and ended up on roads that even Verizon Wireless service didn't work! (ok, that's not THAT difficult in the mountains)

Balsam Campground
We quickly understood the meaning behind Smoky Mountains when we climbed up the road leading to the campground off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We became emersed in a dense fog then came to realize we were likely in a heavy low lying cloud. Upon arriving at the campsite we were greeted with on four other campers in the entire site. It was quiet yet noisy all at the same time. No animal sounds but lots of breezes blowing the fog through the trees and sounds of rustling leaves and twigs snapping in the wind. We put down our campsite and made a campfire from firewood that had not been totally saturated from the storms which other campers had left. It was a beautiful new experience. We awoke the next day after a night of heavy on and off showers. We packed the tent up and headed up the Parkway.

Cherokee, NC
We stopped for breakfast at a spot in Cherokee, NC. We were blown away to see the gigantic high rise casino/hotels right in the middle of the mountains. The entire area just seemed like it was exploding with growth from the money brought in by the gambling. Gotta love the way laws change for Indian Reservations. In their defense however, there seemed to be few run down places and the people were very friendly that we encountered here.

Route 441
If there is one thing I would have to recommend to anyone reading this. Spend a day traveling up or down 441 through the mountains. In all my travels I have never seen as much natural beauty on such a small piece of highway.

Gatlinburg, TN
Ok, I really didn't know what to expect going into it, but I was pretty taken aback by Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg as a city looks a lot like Boone, NC in it's layout with more mountains surrounding it. However, it also seems like someone took Myrtle Beach and dropped it directly into a valley in the Smokies!! Seriously, only in Myrtle Beach have I seen as many touristy businesses and gimicky joints as Gatlinburg. Not our thing, but I could definately see the draw families would have to the area. I want to note though, that it was extremely clean and seemed to have everything you possibly could need in a very tight geographic area. Sevierville was a little less toursity, but very similar.

Downtown Knoxville
We stayed at the Hilton on Church Street due to a price line score of only $70 per night for the 14th floor with mountain view. Strangely we came to find out the hotel was also have Adventurecon (a c level comic and sci-fi convention) and separately a Tattoo convention. Needless to say each elevator ride was one with interesting people. We met some great personalities that were attending the events in and around the hotel. Also ran into former pro wrestler Mick Foley (also known as Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love). He was nice and allowed us to snap a quick picture with him. Also saw Todd Bridges (Willis) and heard that Lu Farigno and Gary Coleman were also at the Adventurecon.
I cannot say enough good things about my experience in downtown Knoxville. The area was clean and well kept and only had a few homeless people that kept to themselves and heck, might not have even been homeless for all I know! We walked everywhere and got a chance to spend some time in World Fair Park as well as on the riverfront. We dined lunch at Chelsea Seafood House (I think it's called) and went out for dinner and a drink at Downtown Grill and Brewery. It's old time style and wall to wall packed house was rather impressive. Market square was amazing! We walked into market square one afternoon only to hear a violinist a chellist and a keyboard player playing a soft rendition of a Beetles song.

North Knoxville
We drove up to Fourth and Gill, a very tiny neighborhood that was pretty cute and seemed safe but just very old. Didn't see many places for rent and only a few for sale. Area was nice but really didn't do much for us. Did like the neighborhood just south over the tracks where Barleys was. It was more modern but still kept a hold of the old timey look to an extent.
That's all for now. Loved downtown, Fountain City was ok.. and we spent some time in about six different parks in the area. Very great to have so many parks all around!

[VolDude]

Did you make it to South Knoxville?

[w8tn2go]

That's very interesting - thanks for sharing! So which part of Knoxville was your favorite? Was it what you thought? Sounds like you both had a fantastic time! Got more pictures?

[mattbward]

Downtown was definately the favorite. Plenty to do and very upscale. South Knoxville had it's bright spots like Island Home area, but other then that did not do much for us. Seemed like it is hit or miss in South Knox. Lots of parks there though!

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by mattbward

Downtown was definately the favorite. Plenty to do and very upscale. South Knoxville had it's bright spots like Island Home area, but other then that did not do much for us. Seemed like it is hit or miss in South Knox. Lots of parks there though!

Except you can't afford to live there.

I live in Fountain City because it has a great family atmosphere with a cute duckpond, a beautiful playground, a great elementary school AND I could afford to buy a house there in a beautiful neighborhood straight out of "Leave it to Beaver." But hey, we have a nine-year-old.

[piedmont]

Downtown Knox is really enjoyable. And frankly, it is very affordable compared to other southern cities. You can get a really nice loft for under 300, sometimes under 250 (depends on the size).

My Durham and Raleigh friends are always impressed by Knoxville's downtown. I hope the town continues to connect the different sections to make it even better!

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by piedmont

Downtown Knox is really enjoyable. And frankly, it is very affordable compared to other southern cities. You can get a really nice loft for under 300, sometimes under 250 (depends on the size).

My Durham and Raleigh friends are always impressed by Knoxville's downtown. I hope the town continues to connect the different sections to make it even better!

I should have mentioned that he has said in a previous post that his cap on buying a place is $100,000.

[mattbward]

Yeah, we wouldn't be looking to buy in downtown, 250k better have 5 acres of land and be near some mountains for me

[piedmont]

Originally Posted by mattbward

Yeah, we wouldn't be looking to buy in downtown, 250k better have 5 acres of land and be near some mountains for me

Well, you have lots of choices around here for that budget/desire, too!

[mattbward]

Lol, my budget is logically 100k on buying, just because I am one to understand the issues people create living beyond their means. Hence the mortgage crisis. I could afford by most "standards" 145k, but I would rather stay around 100k and continue to save for the future.

I will be moving to the area possibly for the first time in the end of the summer, so probably will rent for at least 6 months first to get a real idea where I should buy.