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This wasn't true 3 years ago, nor is it true today. "Outsiders" (and insiders) can go downtown to enjoy a Barons game, RR park, McWane, music halls and festivals at venues like Iron City or Sloss, many hotels, and on and on. This imaginary line that people think divides all wealth and prosperity and safety between the city property and OTM is a sure sign of someone repeating what they have heard who has no real experience with this city.
I find Knoxville to be kind of eerie. Not sure if I could explain why
I like this comment and it points out that Knoxville is not a bland boomtown. Maybe because most of the downtown construction is from the turn of the previous century. For an understanding of Knoxville's underbelly you can read Cormac McCarthy's "Suttree".
I get a little boggled reading the "no development in downtown Knoxville" comments. The last decade or two has added hundreds of downtown dwellings if not a thousand. But they are in older buildings not new construction so may not ping the radar of someone looking for shiny towers. There is a large new apartment block under construction but it is designed to resemble older architecture so might not be noticeable either.
BTW, for eerie tourism, I recommend Armstrong's Alley between market square and Gay st. High end graffiti in an alley setting. What's not to love?
The difference here is, UT is IN Knoxville. As someone who loves sports, that can't be stated enough, as while Tuscaloosa is close, it's still a ways a way. And in terms of what UT brings into the picture, not just with sports but in general, UAB I'm sure is nice, but just can't match it. Knoxville may not be as big, but it's downtown, with the kinda compactness to it and Riverwalk and all just has a nice feel. Now, Birmingham as an entire metro offers more, there's no question. But, the bigger separating fact here, is that for anyone who loves nature, while Birmingham does have nice hills near town, it simply doesn't compare to being able to go to the Great Smoky Mountains every weekend, and Knoxville also has more bodies of water nearby (and running thru it) as well. Not to mention, it has a mix of quaint historical towns AND modern Disneyfied attraction type places within an easy day drive. At the end of the day, people living in Knoxville are living in a vacation destination, that, once you get out on trails, isn't surrounded by tourists, while Birmingham simply isn't. Also, I think weather can be a prohibitive factor in Birmingham from like June-September. Knoxville summers aren't a joke either, but, if you're going to the Smokies anyways, it will be significantly cooler there, and it's cooler in Knoxville than Bham to begin with.
Overall, it just has an outdoorsy/fun vibe, even if not as big of a city as BHam, though it still has many offerings. In Knoxville, though they aren't huge, they have an art museum, natural history museum, zoo, orchestra (playing in a beaux arts theater), virtually all the things Bham has apart from upscale shopping. But, the difference is, Knoxville has different thing also, including an 18th century house of one of the signers of the US Constitution.
This isn't a knock on BHam, and if Knoxville weren't by the Smokies Birmingham would probably win for me as I love the industrial look, but there's just too much going well for Knoxville here.
I get a little boggled reading the "no development in downtown Knoxville" comments. The last decade or two has added hundreds of downtown dwellings if not a thousand. But they are in older buildings not new construction so may not ping the radar of someone looking for shiny towers. There is a large new apartment block under construction but it is designed to resemble older architecture so might not be noticeable either.
I follow development pretty closely, and when living in Knoxville, I got to see it up close. Yes, Knoxville has added a decent bit of residential stock downtown, and there's something to be said for redevelopment vs. new development (I love that they are saving old buildings)....however, as I commented a few years ago, DT Knoxville has had a hard time landing the BIG developments downtown. Lots of cities are redeveloping buildings, adding lofts, and whatnot...but Knoxville definitely lags behind the trend of urban development right now. Forget about Nashville, but Chattanooga is absolutely kicking Knoxville's tail in this regard. And for the purposes of this thread -- so is Birmingham.
That's not to say DT Knox doesn't have a lot of great things going for it, but it has been curiously slow to develop compared to regional peer cities.
Nashvols, were you living in Knoxville in the 90s when a series of far fetched developments were trotted out, up to and including a planetarium? I happened to be sitting in a city council meeting when the planetarium promoter revealed that the whole point of the planetarium was to sell bonds and if the city wouldn't back them it was a no-go.
So yes, Knoxville/Knox county is fiscally conservative. Even the socially liberal mayor is fiscally conservative. I think we all know which of the two cities has a higher bond rating. Though apparently that hasn't stopped private development in B'ham.
Quote:
Chattanooga is absolutely kicking Knoxville's tail in this regard.
Besides being off topic, is this supposed to be a dig? I personally hate the bland brown developments on Chattanooga's north shore. Consider having one grandpa with a shiny new Cadillac that impresses the country club crowd and another with an old SUV that takes you 4-wheeling in the wilderness. Seems like you put a lot of emphasis on bragging rights. Plus Knoxville has its own dedicated wilderness right in town.
Nashvols, were you living in Knoxville in the 90s when a series of far fetched developments were trotted out, up to and including a planetarium? I happened to be sitting in a city council meeting when the planetarium promoter revealed that the whole point of the planetarium was to sell bonds and if the city wouldn't back them it was a no-go.
2004-2009.
Knoxville has just been slower seeing the urban boom than other peer cities.
Someone who is a known hater who posts links with nothing to add is exactly proving my point. I don't live in a Forbes slide show click bait article. IRL this city is nothing like the party line narrative those articles portray. The can twist and weight that data to come up with the results they want. Here's a top ten list of most dangerous cities using FBI data. Oh, crap Birmingham ain't on it...what now?
Someone who is a known hater who posts links with nothing to add is exactly proving my point. I don't live in a Forbes slide show click bait article. IRL this city is nothing like the party line narrative those articles portray. The can twist and weight that data to come up with the results they want. Here's a top ten list of most dangerous cities using FBI data. Oh, crap Birmingham ain't on it...what now?
I already addressed the "dangerous city" slideshow trick. Birmingham isn't in the top 10 when you don't exclude data or exclude cities.
Who gives a flip about shut down malls and shopping centers? Every city has them.
Knoxville isn't among the peer cities mentioned in your last link.
Try again.
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