Looking to leave NYC---Help! (Knoxville, Gatlinburg: power lines, living in, price) - Tennessee (TN) - Page 4 - City-Data Forum

mtneer · 09-20-2010, 11:10 PM

I'd suggest coming for a week or two visit before you relocate. You might like it here and you very well might run screaming mad into the hills. In Knoxville there are things to do and there are sports bars and places to get a cold beer, as you mentioned, and find people to drink it with. Outside of Knoxville there is very little going for 20-something yr olds and even in Knox there is way less to do than you have in NYC. Also keep in mind while people do drink here there are many more who do not --in this area. Knoxville is more open on that. Outlying areas--well lets just say I joined a sports activity group and found if anyone mentions they even occasionally drink alcohol its instant shunning from the majority of the group. Remember this is a very religious area... do not expect Knoxville to be a smaller version of NYC. Come visit first!

nyr1129 · 10-03-2010, 01:40 PM

I am a little concerned about being in the whole "bible belt" area. I don't really care what religion people are, but being a non religious guy, I'm just worried about fitting in and being accepted.

Anyone live in or spent time in both Knoxville and Nashville? I'm also looking at a program in Nashville, and just curious about the two cities, especially the singles scene.

weisgarber1 · 10-03-2010, 02:11 PM

airen123 · 10-03-2010, 02:15 PM

I was raised in Knoxville, moved to Nashville last May for a job. Singles scene is better in Nash than Knox, although competition is stiffer. Men to women ratio is pretty high. Knoxville will always be home for me, but I'm liking Nashville a lot.

I've never felt the bible belt to touch Knox or Nash that much, but rather the smaller surrounding towns. I belong to a church (FBC in Farragut) but haven't attended in years. I only know a handful of close friends who do. Feel free to DM me with any questions!

J&Em · 10-03-2010, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtneer

I'd suggest coming for a week or two visit before you relocate. You might like it here and you very well might run screaming mad into the hills. In Knoxville there are things to do and there are sports bars and places to get a cold beer, as you mentioned, and find people to drink it with. Outside of Knoxville there is very little going for 20-something yr olds and even in Knox there is way less to do than you have in NYC. Also keep in mind while people do drink here there are many more who do not --in this area. Knoxville is more open on that. Outlying areas--well lets just say I joined a sports activity group and found if anyone mentions they even occasionally drink alcohol its instant shunning from the majority of the group. Remember this is a very religious area... do not expect Knoxville to be a smaller version of NYC. Come visit first!

Mteer you make this area sound very different than what I have experienced. I can't imagine what part of Knox you moved to to keep experiencing so much hatred and nasty behavior as you keep talking about.

Knox is a very small city and that is the biggest difference between it and NYC. You can be in and out of it in a matter of 15 minutes, not at all like NYC! Second biggest difference is that there are far fewer immigrants, legal or illegal, in Knox. English will be the most commonly spoken language. For those that crave diversity it isn't here in large quantities. There are plenty of places for a beer and watching a game, or other sports, if you want, and plenty of people who'll share with you. If you like hiking and biking there are groups and places for both. There are lots of car and motorcycle enthusiasts if you have an interest.

Spending several short periods of time here should give you a snap shot of what it is like and how big the place really is. As long as you realize it is tiny and very little is truly urban you shouldn't have any shocks.

hiknapster · 10-05-2010, 10:20 PM

I had mentioned it before, but Knoxville is a very tolerant area. I'm a liberal who is probably an atheist and I have zero problems. This is a college town with a nice portion of people from somewhere else and some very, very cool locals, to boot. The Knoxville I've experienced is the same as Em's. I wholeheartedly agree with her, and we are a couple of northeasterners.

leonard · 10-06-2010, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I had mentioned it before, but Knoxville is a very tolerant area. I'm a liberal who is probably an atheist and I have zero problems. This is a college town with a nice portion of people from somewhere else and some very, very cool locals, to boot. The Knoxville I've experienced is the same as Em's. I wholeheartedly agree with her, and we are a couple of northeasterners.

I like that. You don't know if you don't know that there is no God.

hiknapster · 10-06-2010, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leonard

I like that. You don't know if you don't know that there is no God.

I was probably not particularly smart by saying that I am questioning. It opens myself up to ridicule. I guess I have become complacent with my surroundings, forgetting that there are a lot of transplants on this forum, and sure enough, the person that made this comment is not a local. I guess folks in California don't question such things.

However, if you truly mean that you "like that" then I take it all back!

sliverbox · 10-08-2010, 09:45 AM

Howdy. I'm a Knoxville native and have lived in California and the East Coast for the past 12 years, so I've experienced both. First of all- as others have said- Knoxville is VERY different from NYC. For starters the actual city of Knoxville is tiny. You can walk through it in about 15 minutes. A large proportion of the area is suburban and perhaps sprawly by most people's definition.

But to address some of your interests, Knoxville has a surprisingly vibrant music scene. There is a radio station called WDVX that plays bluegrass, Americana, Alt country, and has a daily live radio show where just about anyone can play on. There are a lot of music venues in town. The Tennessee Theater, The Bijou, Square Room and the Shed out in Maryville all have regular shows, often every single week. Food-wise its gotten better. There are a number of bars that sell a wide variety of microbrews. The largest is Barleys Taproom. There is a Knoxville brewery there as well. There's some pretty good food joints downtown too. Once you leave town it mostly turns into chains.

As far as outdoorsy stuff, the Smokey Mountains are an hour away and Big South Fork is also about an hour, maybe an hour and a half away. The Smokeys are heavily visited but oddly enough, few people hike so once you get past the touristy parts of the park you can have the trails to yourself. Big SOuth Fork is mostly unknown in the area and a bit remote. But its beautiful and has modern, convenient campgrounds with showers and electricity.

A move to Knoxville at your age is probably a good idea because if you stayed in NY and met someone, got married and all that, you'd soon realize houses were unaffordable anyway and you'd probably move. Thus making the move now will make it easier in the future. Trust me- there are a lot of days I wish I had not moved away. I'm probably moving back to the South at some point.

hiknapster · 10-08-2010, 03:47 PM

Yes, it is about one hour to the Great Smoky Mountain Park from downtown Knoxville. However, to someone from such a large city it would probably be surprising to find that we are pretty rural about 10 to 15 minutes from downtown, and that Knoxville looks fairly country, even in a lot of the city. We have an incredible amount of city and county parks and about 43 miles of greenways.

Further, its about 30 minutes to Norris Dam State Park and Big Ridge State Park. From downtown, Frozen Head is 55 minutes, about 35 minutes to Walland, a little over 30 minutes to Douglas Lake, 40 minutes to Cherokee Lake, not to mention the Tennessee River that runs right through Knoxville. We have an incredible amount of outdoor stores and hiking and boating around here is wildly popular.