Moving to TN b/t Knoxville and Chattanooga, where? (Cleveland: apartment complexes, crime rates)

[gth181a]

I will be starting a job in Athens, TN in January. What are some suburbs of either Chattanooga or Knoxville for a single, newly college graduate to live in?

I would prefer the suburb to be around a 30 minute commute to Athens. What are some of the "bigger and busier" suburbs between Knoxville and Chattanooga, as I'm transitioning from Atlanta (not ready for small town life just yet).

I'd just like to be closer to shopping and things to do. Also, cities to avoid (ghettos, bad crime rates, etc..)?


Any suggestions by a fellow TN resident would be greatly appreciated!

[Jim280]

Originally Posted by gth181a

I will be starting a job in Athens, TN in January. What are some suburbs of either Chattanooga or Knoxville for a single, newly college graduate to live in?

I would prefer the suburb to be around a 30 minute commute to Athens. What are some of the "bigger and busier" suburbs between Knoxville and Chattanooga, as I'm transitioning from Atlanta (not ready for small town life just yet).

I'd just like to be closer to shopping and things to do. Also, cities to avoid (ghettos, bad crime rates, etc..)?


Any suggestions by a fellow TN resident would be greatly appreciated!

The only town wthin a 30 minute commute of Athen with any size would be Cleveland (pop 37,000) all the other towns are smaller. Chattanooga is about a 50 mile commute to Athens,

[gth181a]

Thanks for the reply, good to know.

So in that case, what are some suburbs of either North Chattanooga or West Knoxville one would recommend?

[hiknapster]

Wow. It's going to be about an hour's commute from West Knoxville.

And coming from Atlanta, West Knoxville is going to seem like a snooze fest.

Don't get me wrong. I love it here. But I'm a happily-married 45-year-old woman with a young child. We can't get enough of snooze fests!

[Jim280]

Originally Posted by gth181a

Thanks for the reply, good to know.

So in that case, what are some suburbs of either North Chattanooga or West Knoxville one would recommend?

Your best bet for good information on either town would be to post in the Knoxville and Chattanooga sub- forums. They can give you more accurate information than I can, I live about an hours drive NW of Chattanooga.

[Botts]

My wife and I live just South of Athens, TN - and have for the past eleven years. For nine years prior to that, we lived in Cleveland, TN. And prior to that, we lived in Atlanta.

It was something of a culture shock for us, at least at first - and especially for the kids who were deep into the cool Atlanta suburban scene. However, it didn't take long for us to adapt to the small town country life and now we love it!

Cleveland is a nice place and is now experiencing the growth pangs of being a distant suburb of Chattanooga. One of the biggies for you might be the fact that Lee University is there and is considered by most folks to be a very good school. That puts a lot of younger people in the area and there are related things to do for the younger crowd. That having been said, however, it will not replace Atlanta, if you are really into the city social scene.

If you are open to it, there are really great things to be said about small town, country life. One of the first things that pops to mind is the friendliness of everyone. Some have said that the "insiders" don't take a liking to "outsiders" but we never found that to be a problem. One thing we noticed about the friendliness around here is how a lot ot people wave at you when you're driving your car - you know, driver to driver. A two finger wave from the steering wheel is for anyone - even strangers. Four fingers from the wheel is for someone you know. If it's a close friend, you can hang out the window and shout (kidding).

I guess it's like any new thing in life: if you go into it with a chip on your shoulder, you will have a bumpy road ahead. If, however, you view life as an adventure and this is only a new chapter, you will make many freinds and have a great time.

One last thought, Athens ins't too bad itself... There's a small, private, liberal arts college there (Tennessee Weslyan) so it gives Athens something of a small college town atmoshpere anyway. Also, altho' there aren't too many restaurants in town, the one's there are fairly good - we especially like "Mexi Wing" just of the courthouse square.

Best of luck!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by gth181a

I will be starting a job in Athens, TN in January. What are some suburbs of either Chattanooga or Knoxville for a single, newly college graduate to live in?

I would prefer the suburb to be around a 30 minute commute to Athens. What are some of the "bigger and busier" suburbs between Knoxville and Chattanooga, as I'm transitioning from Atlanta (not ready for small town life just yet).

I'd just like to be closer to shopping and things to do. Also, cities to avoid (ghettos, bad crime rates, etc..)?


Any suggestions by a fellow TN resident would be greatly appreciated!

According to mapquest, Farragut is 45 miles (all interstate) from Athens. Farragut is probably the closest Knoxville suburb to Athens. While Farragut is in a fast-growing area of metropolitan Knoxville, it's very family-centered. In fact, I can't even remember ever seeing any apartment complexes in Farragut. Knoxville has a very young population, but they don't tend to live in the suburbs (see hiknapster's comments).

As was mentioned earlier, there is a small Christian university in Cleveland as well as a community college, so Cleveland might not be TOO bad for you, but much of that depends on just what it is you're looking for and how wild of a singles lifestyle you want.

The Chattanooga suburb of Ooltewah (between Chattanooga and Cleveland) is experiencing some fast growth and might be more of what you're looking for since it's closer to Chattanooga for those weekends out on the town. But compared to Atlanta's crowded and busy suburbs, you'll probably wonder where everyone is hiding.

[Botts]

IMHO Knoxville is the next-generation Atlanta. It has the same basic characteristics at a much earlier stage of develpment. The 'West End' of Knoxville is much like the North side of Atlanta, outside the Perimeter. The West End Mall is the Perimeter Mall; Farragut is to Knoxville as Dunwoody is to Atlanta; and Kinsgton Pike is to the West End as Roswell Road is to Sandy Springs.

Again, IMHO it's a bit far to commute, altho' you would be going the opposite direction of rush-hour traffic. And that's another thing we certainly don't miss about Metro Atlanta - the traffic! Here, in McMinn County (Athens is the county seat), three cars at a stop sign is traffic! When you get further into Knoxville from the West End Mall, traffic is much like the I-75/85 corridor in downtown Atlanta - when they were doing all the construction work!

[gth181a]

Thank you all for the excellent replies!!! Will take into consideration all these comments.