Considering the Knoxville Area (Oak Ridge, Maryville: environment, relocating, trip)

[D&D_3-22-00]

My fiancé and I are looking forward to getting out of Florida and starting a new life together in Tennessee area, specifically; Knoxville, maryville, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, newport, Greeneville and Elizabethton. Eveything I have rea says nothing but great things about all these places! However! Could someone perhaps guide us to which one might be more suited for us? We are in our mid 30’s and I have 10 year old son. I need a highly rated elementary school, close to populated areas for shopping and yet quiet.

We plan on taking a trip up there for a week in Late July early Aug of this year. Moving to another state can be frustrating when you don’t know where to start and are not familiar with were you want to go. Some personable help would be refreshing. This forum is great because I really get a feel for good areas and problem here is that they ALL seem good! So I do not know were to start and I just can't believe that ALL these places have no faults? It is very important to me that my son have a good environment to grow up in-he plays soccer and is an honor roll student and I would like to keep him on this path. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

[suzycue]

Check out the Knoxville forum for more info...My husband and I are also relocating from (Miami) Florida. We are putting our home on the market next month...me nervous...Maryville could be a good area for you too...check it out..there are great schools there..Trust me, I know how you feel about not knowing where to start...I am in the same boat...I am selling my home next month and I don't even have a job yet in Knoxville...this situation has me nervous, but how can I apply to a job if I can't get out of here until I sell my home...you know? I believe that there are plenty of job opportunities in Knoxville...so, we'll see...not sure of your situation, are you relocating with a job or are you searching from here in Florida?

[D&D_3-22-00]

Well, I figure people move to another state all the time! How do THEY do it? It is frustrating. We are lucky enough to be financially secure enough to make a move not based on a job-I am like you, I am just trying to remain positive and feel that I will get a job when I get there-no point in applying now since I am not even there.

Miami huh? I went to college there, nice place to visit but that's about it. I am searching and researching all via internet from Florida. We plan on taking a trip up there soon to scout but we would like to have a game plan first.

[suzycue]

Originally Posted by D&D_3-22-00

Well, I figure people move to another state all the time! How do THEY do it? It is frustrating. We are lucky enough to be financially secure enough to make a move not based on a job-I am like you, I am just trying to remain positive and feel that I will get a job when I get there-no point in applying now since I am not even there.

Miami huh? I went to college there, nice place to visit but that's about it. I am searching and researching all via internet from Florida. We plan on taking a trip up there soon to scout but we would like to have a game plan first.

We were just there for memorial weekend..checkout my posts and some pictures...We loved it! We want to start a family pretty soon, so Knoxville seems to be a great place for work, play and start a family...People up there are so nice, everyone say hello, drivers are very respectful (most) and there is a lot of youth because of the university...for searching for jobs I have used two sites:
Knoxville Region job search and jobs posting. Find a high quality employee. Find the perfect job.
KnoxNews

Now getting out of here is going to be the most stressful part for us…cause we have a lot of heavy things, so we might have to hire a moving company, but we still do not know where we want to live..I mean clearly Knoxville, but not sure if it will be Oak Ridge, Downtown (for a while) or Cedar bluff area….we just want to be close to the job market to start off and then once we get familiar with the area we will start searching for a place to buy…we are going to rent for now…good luck and keep in touch on your progress..

When do you plan on moving? our goal is to be there no later than Spring 2008.

[lmhughes]

To begin with... Downtown is not great for children, so if you are planning on starting a family soon, Don't go Downtown!! We moved here when our son was 14 months old and lived DT for 2 years. We lived , but there is no space for a kid there.

Oakridge and Maryville have the best schools. Most of the schools in Knoxville are good, by Tennessee standards.
Maryville feels a little... bumpkin? There is a working drive-in with cheap prices, though!-
Actually Maryville's center of town is super cute. They have a pretty good selection of activities... Even a place called Mountain Yoga. It's cute... very small.
Oakridge is great. They have an excellent children's museum. The schools are GREAT. Again... small town.
We live in Knoxville, proper. It is a good fit for now. The public schools are good. The private schools are great. The city sponsers a lot of activities. Movies/concerts in Market Square every Thursday from Spring through fall. There are a few natural food grocery stores.


Now the downsides:

The people here are really nice when you meet them, but that's were it ends. One local said to me once- I have enough friends. Why would I want any more?- which seems to be a commonly held opinion. So everyone is nice, but it has been hard to make lasting friendships.
Service industry here is superb... food service especially. But there is always a wait of about an hour at any good restaurant. 7 days a week.

The whole area feels very small town, even though it is not. I used to live in Miami Beach and in Ft. Laud. It will be a BIG adjustment. ~THE WINTERS ARE COLD!!!!~

Best of Luck... Don't know if I have been any help...

[SmokyMtnGal]

Originally Posted by D&D_3-22-00

My fiancé and I are looking forward to getting out of Florida and starting a new life together in Tennessee area, specifically; Knoxville, maryville, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, newport, Greeneville and Elizabethton. Eveything I have rea says nothing but great things about all these places! However! Could someone perhaps guide us to which one might be more suited for us? We are in our mid 30’s and I have 10 year old son. I need a highly rated elementary school, close to populated areas for shopping and yet quiet.

We plan on taking a trip up there for a week in Late July early Aug of this year. Moving to another state can be frustrating when you don’t know where to start and are not familiar with were you want to go. Some personable help would be refreshing. This forum is great because I really get a feel for good areas and problem here is that they ALL seem good! So I do not know were to start and I just can't believe that ALL these places have no faults? It is very important to me that my son have a good environment to grow up in-he plays soccer and is an honor roll student and I would like to keep him on this path. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

Foothills Elementary School in the Maryville City Schools is a straight A school, practically brand new facility, etc. You do have to watch where you buy in Maryville City to get into Foothills. Many consider Foothills to be nicer than some private schools in Knoxville.

I had to laugh at lmhughes post above: Maryville is bumpkin, and the winters are cold. LOLOLOL. We had an extremely mild winter last year. I so love being in a "bumpkin" town. As far as friends, those of us that are natives do have strong ties that go back generations (everybody's daddy drag raced together), however, we are willing to make new friends provided that they don't think that they are "big stuff" and condescending toward us natives, our hometowns and our lifestyles.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by SmokyMtnGal

As far as friends, those of us that are natives do have strong ties that go back generations (everybody's daddy drag raced together), however, we are willing to make new friends provided that they don't think that they are "big stuff" and condescending toward us natives, our hometowns and our lifestyles.

Exactly!

Plus, just because someone wants to be your friend doesn't mean that they have to be your friend. I am always amazed when people say things like that to me: "Why don't you want to be my friend? I want to be YOUR friend, after all."

The Europeans who settled this part of the country were from the Scottish Highlands. They, too, weren't very open to outsiders and were very cautious about whom they wanted as friends (the Scots are infamous for that). Couple that with the isolation that many people in these parts endured for generations, and you have a community that isn't quick to accept outsiders. And why should they? Just because someone from Florida comes bouncing up my driveway proclaiming me as their new best friend doesn't mean that we are.

My family is of French heritage, and the French are like that, too. They don't make friends easily. However, just like the good people of Appalachia, once you're able to penetrate that outer shell, they'll be friends for life.

[hiknapster]

New Englanders come from a similar background and behave like that. It takes awhile for me to get to know you (and I've become extremely suspicious after living in Florida) although I may be outwardly friendly. Once you become my friend, you are a friend for life.

Since I operate the same as most locals, I have been making lots of friends.

[E.J.]

Hello D & D

I just moved back to Knoxville myself and believe it is the perfect place to live. It is just as wonderful as you were told.
Take care
Cheers
EJ