Luttrell: Reasons to Like...or not to Like? (Memphis, Knoxville: for sale, real estate)

[bbkaren]

As some of you may recall, my husband and I are looking to get out of NJ.

We need peace...and to be away from people (meaning we need more personal space than some people do). That's our biggest concern. We need to be a half hour or so from a wal mart and a job, but do not want to be in the middle of "civilization". Remember we're coming from New Jersey.

We're both weekend musicians (I play right now in an 80's band and hubby plays classic, 90's and current rock) and would like to be within a manageable distance from, probably knoxville, both for work and the music scene for mad money.

The health indexes (per sperling's) are important to us since we all suffer from allergies, and we have a toddler who's really showing symptoms of following in our footsteps.

We'd like woods, maybe in or near the mountains, hopefully water of some sort (not in a lake community, but maybe creeks, rivers, lakes not too far away for fishing or just enjoyment).

We'd also like to buy land in a place where we can afford to purchase outright so we can ease the pressure (to be exact, our pressure right now is a $3,500 a month mortgage payment on a fairly modest house on a 1/2 acre of property, which includes nearly $10,000 a year in taxes)

I thought I had really looked into our options and pretty much decided on Blount County (probably Maryville) but for some reason Luttrell hadn't seemed to be an option.

But now, I'm seeing very low real estate prices, pretty darned rural looking areas (density of 212 ppsm), great numbers for air, water, and superfund sites.

It's around 20 miles from Knoxville.

What's not to love? Come on, tell me, I can take it!

What is it? Schools? What?

And...if not Luttrell, where? Hubby doesn't like tri-cities because he doesn't trust that the cities are "hopping" enough (sigh--I loved Erwin! lol). So he feels strongly that he wants to be within 45 min of Knoxville but quite secluded.

Thanks for any input!

[hiknapster]

Bear in mind a couple of things:

The cities in East Tennessee are very small; about 10 to 15 minutes out of the city it can get very rural. Knoxville proper may not seem "hopping" to folks that have experienced northeast cities; they are very small. Knox County's population includes the suburban sprawl and rural communities.

Also, allergies are very prevalent in Knoxville. I didn't experience problems before, but now wake up with a swollen face every morning, due to enviromental issues. My doctor says that because of the huge amount of flora waste coming down from the hills and mountains, Knoxville has a huge amount of allergy problems.

Have you visited Knoxville and Luttrell, yet?

I am sure that you are most welcome here, by me included, but just throwing some issues out there.

[bbkaren]

Thanks for your input!

We've been to Knoxville on many occasions, to visit a friend who lived there. We didn't venture too much out of Knoxville (he did not live directly in the city, but on the outskirts. Callahan Road, although I don't recall the exact address). Every time we visited we spent some time around town and in the city area as well for hockey games and nightlife.

The area our friend lived in was okay (certainly better than NJ)...although we would prefer to be further from the main roads and people in general.

We never noticed our allergies getting any worse when we visited Knoxville; I'm presuming air quality on Sperling's measures pollen count and other factors. Knoxville gets a 24 in air quality (incidentally, my NY hometown gets a 32, and our town in NJ gets a 33). Luttrell is an 84, which I would assume has to be an improvement over either of the places I've lived in!

I grew up in upstate New York and for the last 10 years have lived in New Jersey. My husband grew up in NJ, and has watched it go downhill. One of our biggest fears is what has happened both here and upstate.

Rapid progress has brought throngs of people, along with their problems and mentalities. Every inch of beautiful woods is being developed, or "improved" for park land: trees cleared, grass planted, picnic tables installed

For instance, the state recently opened a nearby reservoir to the fishing and boating public. Suddenly the dirt road around our peaceful reservoir is littered with junk from the people from the city bringing their kayaks here. Suddenly every fancy SUV on the face of the earth is parked alongside the dirt road and people are hanging out in the road, glaring as we pass to get home from work.

I guess this sort of this is what we figure: if we get far enough from the city, it'll be that much longer before we have to deal with overcrowding. Whether or not overcrowding is going to be an issue in Tennessee remains to be seen--but it's a fear of ours!

This is the first time I've really verbalized these thoughts so they might not sound very rational...but as I mentioned, we're people who keep to ourselves, so we'd like to buy a few acres so that we know that we'll have at least that distance from others when one day the area is more developed.

I know I sound like a hypocrite, and that it seems that we plan to do in Tennessee exactly what we're complaining about others doing to New Jersey or my hometown.

But I know we're meant to be out of here. We're meant to live in peace, in the country. People know us as hillbillies, of sorts (for New Jersey especially ) We've got the camo and the quads and the big ole dogs to prove it!

We do nothing but scramble and run from one place to the other. We have to pay the bills so we work all week then on the weekends too. We have a toddler that we struggle to spend time with!

It is our heartfelt desire to know, help, and love our neighbors, and be part of a community. And contribute to society...I know we'll be an asset to wherever we move! We need a fresh start, in a place we can really slow down and enjoy.

And I hope that in Tennessee we're able to find such a place and feel at home once and for all!

Just anxious to know some info on Luttrell--it seems like such a nice quiet area, though close to Knoxville, and housing is so reasonable...it seems there must be some reason why it's not more in demand.

I've been really interested in Walland (although all the land for sale there seems to be in gated communities, which we want no part of) as well as Maryville (I can't think of anything really to complain about with Maryville...although Luttrell seems to have less expensive land for sale).

I've jabbered long enough. If you've read this far, thank you! If you respond, thanks a bunch!!

[maliretriever]

Hi! You sound just like us! Except we looking to escape from Memphis. We have been researching east Tennessee, looking for safety and community!

[JMT]

You have articulated very well the reasons you want to leave NJ for TN. And I think there are many of us here in this forum who can empathize with you.

I don't know much about Luttrell except that it's the home of Kenny Chesney. Is that why you picked it?

Otherwise, from what I know about Luttrell, I think it sounds like what you're looking for, at least for now. It's not too terribly far from Knoxville, but be warned: Knoxville keeps spreading farther and farther out, and someday Luttrell may find itself as just another cookie-cutter suburb like Halls Crossroads and Powell Valley.

But I do understand your husband's desire to be closer to Knoxville. It's not as "happening" as some other big cities, but to me that's part of it's charm. Knoxville's a big city but doesn't feel like a big city. Except maybe the groomed suburbs in West Knox, there doesn't seem to be the need here to always be in a rush, to always keep up with the Joneses. If you want an active nightlife, there are plenty of opportunities. But if you just want to be near a big city with the malls, restaurants, movie theaters, etc., but don't want the high taxes and insane bureaucracy of NJ, then Knoxville is a great alternative.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by maliretriever

Hi! You sound just like us! Except we looking to escape from Memphis. We have been researching east Tennessee, looking for safety and community!

Oh my goodness, I left Memphis four years ago for Knoxville and have never looked back! There are plenty of things I miss about Memphis (namely the fantastic restaurants and the really cool urban lifestyle) but I absolutely do NOT miss the crime, the high property taxes, the lousy schools, and the way that racial issues permeate every aspect of life in Memphis. Plus, living in Knoxville means you're close to some beautiful lakes and the stunning Smoky Mountains.

[hiknapster]

BBKaren:

You are coming here for all the right reasons.

I fervently pray that these "gated communities people" will stay away. Honestly, they keep coming. They think that they are keeping us all out; little do they know that we want to keep them IN.

As far as I know, Luttrell is fine. Go on the Tennessee website and check school report cards. I do not know about the schools.

Knoxville is great. I hope it stays that way.

[bbkaren]

"...It's not too terribly far from Knoxville, but be warned: Knoxville keeps spreading farther and farther out, and someday Luttrell may find itself as just another cookie-cutter suburb like Halls Crossroads and Powell Valley..."

Yikes, that's what I'm so scared of!

"...I fervently pray that these "gated communities people" will stay away. Honestly, they keep coming. They think that they are keeping us all out; little do they know that we want to keep them IN..."

I can so relate to that; It's so hypocritical! I mean, you move to the country and try to make it become something it's not. That's what happens here too.

In a gated community, it's like they've got their own little ecosystem. Groom the forest and customize it to suit their landscaping.

Here, they build their big mansions in the country, and then complain when the bears **** in their yard or knock over their garbage. But they don't want to allow a bear hunt to control the population.

They feed the alien canada geese but complain that there's goose **** everywhere, and then cry when the town responds by euthanizing the geese to curb the population.

They clear 2 acres of land and then plant a couple of corkscrew bushes around their McMansion and park their Humvee outside.

Everything is about status. Ugh, this place is so plastic. I hope TN doesn't become this way...

I just want to get a couple acres and live literally in the woods. I don't need much!

There I go again. Sorry!

[bbkaren]

Funny it bleeped out the word p - o - o - p! lol

[insanesmooch]

Luttrell was always one of those towns that I never really paid attention to as we drove by since it isn't a destination place. I couldn't really tell you any difference in it and any of the other small towns like that we drove through. Though I think it feels (driving wise) much farther away than approximately 20 miles (from Knoxville). I also don't know why this site says Baptist Hospital is 16 miles away and St. Mary's is 19. If you come back out to Broadway, you would pass St. Mary's first.

I was looking at the city data info on it to see if anything rang a bell, but it didn't. Though, I noticed their water department had some violations as recent as June 2006. You may want to look at that.

As far as allergies/sinus trouble, I grew up in Knoxville and I only had one sinus infection. I have maybe one relative who has trouble with allergies. There was only like maybe one kid in school who had asthma. Maybe the bodies of the natives become more immune to it. When I moved to Middle TN for awhile, I had much worse allergy problems. But I think one thing contributing to that was the building I was working in. Almost everyone had trouble there because of all the paper dust. Dust is really the only thing that makes my sinus pathway clog.