Greenville SC or Knoxville Tn (compare, places, bigger, populations)
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I haven't been to Greenville but my impression is that you can get into the mountains in about 25 minutes, whereas Knoxville is at least 45 minutes. I don't understand why people are picking Knoxville for scenery given that fact.
Also, according to census data's website, Greenville metro area is 950k versus 890k for Knoxville, so Greenville is a bit larger (and moreso by about 400k if you count Spartanburg, which isn't unreasonable to count since the suburbs of those two cities run together).
My other critique of Knoxville is that it seems the entire city has been built along I-40, stuffing every single car dealership, mall, and fast food place onto basically the same road. The last time I drove through there, I found the traffic to be pretty dense as a result. And the sprawl isn't as pretty as Knoxville should be with its pretty terrain.
What I love about Knoxville is lack of dangerous areas, the weather, the festive feeling from having UT there and proximity to the mountains. As for Greenville, they seem to be in a more central location and you get the feeling the Greenville area is only taking off faster and higher from here on out. I love the feeling of hopefulness that comes with that kind of prosperity.
1. Downtown-both are pretty strong and have gotten a lot better in the past 2 decades or so. I would give the slight edge to Knoxville though, due to the original, historic, cool area of the Old City, but they are very close
2. Walkability/Bike paths-Both are close. I'd give the edge to Greenville
3. Location-Knoxville gets a slight edge I think, due to proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Greenville is close to Charlotte and like 2 hours from Atlanta. Knoxville is about 2 1/2 hours from Nashville, and 1 1/2 hours from Chattanooga, roughly
4. Climate-both are very similar. Knoxville will get a touch more snow, but both have pretty mild winters overall, compared to the midwest or the northeast
5. Scenery-Knoxville, due to the majestic Smoky Mountain views
6. Architecture-Knoxville
7. Transportation (Car and Public)-public in both cities is not incredible, but I'd give the car edge to Knoxville, due to I-40 and I-75. Greenville needs a new interstate on the west side
8. Suburbs-Knoxville's west side is incredible in terms of "nice suburbia," so it beats Greenville, but Greenville's are good
9. Bars/Restaurants--close, but Knoxville gets the edge
10. Recreational Activities-close, but Greenville gets a bit of the edge but super close
11. Economy-Knoxville wins this one
12. Where would you rather live?-Knoxville. It's a bit bigger vibing to me, and offers a bit more shopping/restaurant variety. But again, tough choice. Edge to Knoxville.
I'm curious as to why Knoxville gets the edge in architecture. Seems like they'd probably be a draw at best.
Greenville has I-85 and a spur connecting it to I-26. What cities would a new interstate on the west side connect it to?
I'll have to check out west Knoxville on Streetview.
I'm willing to bet Greenville > Knoxville for bars and restaurants.
I don't think Knoxville wins the economic argument as handily as you seem to imply. It does have large public sector anchors that Greenville lacks like UT and Oak Ridge, but Greenville's private sector seems to be more dynamic.
I'll give Knoxville credit for UT having a better football team than Clemson this year though.
Yes, Greenville has a very attractive and impressive Downtown for its size, but large parts of the rest of the city look like a semi-rural dump.
That seems to be an 'Appalachian' thing more or less. I was a bit surprised to stumble across the parts of Chattanooga outside of downtown that looked like that also. And the outskirts of towns in Gaston County, NC, just west of Charlotte, had me thinking I was somewhere near the set of Deliverance the first time I drove through several years back. The less-than-glamorous parts of Greenville somewhat reminded me of the parts of Canton not yet touched by newer suburban development when I lived there circa 2010-2011.
I haven't been to Greenville but my impression is that you can get into the mountains in about 25 minutes, whereas Knoxville is at least 45 minutes. I don't understand why people are picking Knoxville for scenery given that fact.
It's actually about the same amount of time to really get into the mountains from Greenville as well. Peaks like Caesar's Head are closer but you still have to go a little further north to really be 'in' the mountains.
That seems to be an 'Appalachian' thing more or less. I was a bit surprised to stumble across the parts of Chattanooga outside of downtown that looked like that also. And the outskirts of towns in Gaston County, NC, just west of Charlotte, had me thinking I was somewhere near the set of Deliverance the first time I drove through several years back. The less-than-glamorous parts of Greenville somewhat reminded me of the parts of Canton not yet touched by newer suburban development when I lived there circa 2010-2011.
I totally agree re: the 'Appalachian thing,' I've seen it in Pittsburgh as well. Curious if you are talking about Canton, OH?
One difference between these cities is that Knoxville is more of a standalone regional hub than Greenville, which may have helped it develop more of a "complete" set of urban amenities and economic base. Knoxville is about 3 hours from Nashville and 4 hours from Atlanta, Charlotte and Cincinnati, so it's not in the shadow of larger urban centers the way that Greenville is to some degree.
The economy skews a little more "white collar" in Knoxville, with more of the work force in education, health care and public administration whereas Greenville has a larger emphasis on manufacturing. Most of East Tennessee outside the immediate Knoxville area is of course very different. But this economic base helps influence the west side of Knoxville and surrounding suburbs to have a large area that is consistently middle class to affluent, and featuring the type of amenities that go along with this. There is plenty of affluence in the Greenville area as well, but it seems to be a bit more disconnected with shabbier areas in closer proximity.
Greenville does have a slight edge on climate in my opinion. Being south and east of the mountains, winter cold snaps tend to arrive a little later and not drop to quite as low temperatures as in Knoxville. The mountain proximity in both areas likely helps cut down the risk of tornadoes compared to much of the South.
I'm curious as to why Knoxville gets the edge in architecture. Seems like they'd probably be a draw at best.
Greenville has I-85 and a spur connecting it to I-26. What cities would a new interstate on the west side connect it to?
I'll have to check out west Knoxville on Streetview.
I'm willing to bet Greenville > Knoxville for bars and restaurants.
I don't think Knoxville wins the economic argument as handily as you seem to imply. It does have large public sector anchors that Greenville lacks like UT and Oak Ridge, but Greenville's private sector seems to be more dynamic.
I'll give Knoxville credit for UT having a better football team than Clemson this year though.
Knoxville has a more dense overall downtown, and there are a lot of historic old, beautiful buildings remaining. Greenville has those as well, but their downtown is not as large historically, and fewer buildings to draw from.
They need a loop on the west side. If you've ever driven from Asheville, NC down to Greenville, on US Highway 25, you'd realize what I mean. The traffic there is pretty heavy and there is not a clear cut highway through there without red lights, stop lights, high density sprawl and overall traffic.
You should visit west Knoxville, as well as downtown. I was there right as the pandemic started in May of 2020, and downtown had changed in a super positive way from when I was there 3 years earlier.
Greenville is not better than Knoxville with bars and restaurants--in my opinion. I speak from experience with both cities. Greenville is good, but Knoxville is better, largely due to the dynamic student population from Univ of TN.
During the recession of 08, Knoxville was one of a handful of cities to weather it very well.
One difference between these cities is that Knoxville is more of a standalone regional hub than Greenville, which may have helped it develop more of a "complete" set of urban amenities and economic base. Knoxville is about 3 hours from Nashville and 4 hours from Atlanta, Charlotte and Cincinnati, so it's not in the shadow of larger urban centers the way that Greenville is to some degree.
Greenville is in a sweet spot where the distance to Charlotte and Atlanta provides convenience without overshadowing it. But Knoxville is more of a regional hub; although it's significantly larger now, Greenville was roughly the same size as neighboring Spartanburg until around 1950 when Greenville's growth began accelerating but Spartanburg has long had a positive business reputation with the international investment to show for it. The good thing about it is that over the years, the two cities have found it more beneficial to adopt a posture of cooperation as a default instead of competition and it has very much been to the region's advantage.
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