Knoxville or Chattanooga? (Maryville: house, neighborhoods, public schools)

[bls5555]

I have my house on the market and plan to move to Tennessee. I have been looking at those 2 cities but other cities are options also.

Anyone want to provide me with some info on why you would choose 1 over the other (or a different city, such as Nashville)?

I have two kids who would be entering grade school fairly soon (1 next year and the other in 3 yrs), so schools obviously are a big issue.

I would be looking to spend $175000 on a house MAX, but like most people I don't want to come anywhere near my max. Would I be able to find a nice fixer upper (I should say updater) in nice family neighborhoods around these cities?

I really appreciate all the help, as the house could go soon or it could sit for awhile, so I would like to be prepared.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by bls5555

I have my house on the market and plan to move to Tennessee. I have been looking at those 2 cities but other cities are options also.

Anyone want to provide me with some info on why you would choose 1 over the other (or a different city, such as Nashville)?

I have two kids who would be entering grade school fairly soon (1 next year and the other in 3 yrs), so schools obviously are a big issue.

I would be looking to spend $175000 on a house MAX, but like most people I don't want to come anywhere near my max. Would I be able to find a nice fixer upper (I should say updater) in nice family neighborhoods around these cities?

I really appreciate all the help, as the house could go soon or it could sit for awhile, so I would like to be prepared.

No doubt about it, both Knoxville and Chattanooga are nice.

What kind of neighborhood are you looking for? That might help you make up your mind. Chattanooga has some nice in-town neighborhoods, but the inner-city schools in Chattanooga are pretty lousy; if you lived in Chattanooga you'd probably want your kids to go to suburban schools.

Knoxville, however, has some decent inner-city schools. Not great, but decent, and probably better than Chattanooga's inner-city schools.

Knoxville has booming suburbs. Chattanooga's not growing very fast over-all, so your $175k might go further there than in Knoxville.

I personally like Chattanooga better than Knoxville, but only because I really dig urban neighborhoods. Chattanooga has a cool downtown, something Knoxville is trying to copy but about 20 years behind Chattanooga.

On the other hand, if I had kids in public schools, I'd probably pick the Knoxville area. You could easily find a house in your price range in Maryville, a really nice suburb of Knoxville that has outstanding schools and is a real community and not just a generic burb.

[Jon F Moss]

good points JMT. Schools aside, if you're able to make it out for a visit I highly suggest doing so. We had things narrowed down between Knoxville & Chattanooga and only after the roadtrip to check out both did we make a decision on where to focus.

check out the thread at http://www.city-data.com/forum/chatt...ce-please.html

[bls5555]

Suburban schools probably would be the best, BUT I hate the cookie cutter newer development suburbs, so it would have to be someplace with character.

[bls5555]

Originally Posted by TriDad

good points JMT. Schools aside, if you're able to make it out for a visit I highly suggest doing so. We had things narrowed down between Knoxville & Chattanooga and only after the roadtrip to check out both did we make a decision on where to focus.

check out the thread at http://www.city-data.com/forum/chatt...ce-please.html

Awesome. That huge thread probably has everything I need.

[Jon F Moss]

that's why I like where we live

[JMT]

Originally Posted by bls5555

Suburban schools probably would be the best, BUT I hate the cookie cutter newer development suburbs, so it would have to be someplace with character.

Then you might want to really check out Maryville. It's next door to the Knoxville airport and is only a half-hour to downtown Knoxville, yet it's its own town with its own identity, historical neighborhoods, a real downtown, its own mall, etc. And Maryville's city schools are among the best in the state.

[Jon F Moss]

yes...do check out Maryville (or "Mur-ville" as I heard some of the natives up there call it)

[bls5555]

One other question real quick. What is Aretha Frankensteins?

[Jon F Moss]

Originally Posted by bls5555

One other question real quick. What is Aretha Frankensteins?

aretha frankensteins is the place for pancakes...so I hear