Apartments in Western Knoxville - Advice Needed! (Kingston, Central: transplants, hair salon)

[Madam Oink]

Hello Knoxville! I am a divorced, child-free, white professional woman, age 52. I may be moving to your area shortly for a job located in zip 37922 (just SE of where I140 and I75/40 meet). I've been looking at apartments online, and have narrowed it down to the following:

Zip 37919 - Kingston Pointe
Zip 37922 - Amberleigh Bluff & Mountain View
Zip 37931 - Walden Legacy & Forest Ridge
Zip 37932 - Lovell Crossing
Zip 37923 - Reserve @ Westland

I prefer to be in a somewhat quiet area, but still close to everyday needs such as grocery stores, pharmacy, restaurants and bars of all types, hair salons, the mall, etc.

Any comments, both positive and negative, about the above apartment complexes/neighborhoods will be greatly appreciated! Thanks....

Madam Oink

[DaveC20853]

Knoxville Apartments for Rent - Knoxville Apartments Reviews and Ratings

[florida_native]

Originally Posted by Madam Oink

Hello Knoxville! I am a divorced, child-free, white professional woman, age 52. I may be moving to your area shortly for a job located in zip 37922 (just SE of where I140 and I75/40 meet). I've been looking at apartments online, and have narrowed it down to the following:

Zip 37919 - Kingston Pointe
Zip 37922 - Amberleigh Bluff & Mountain View
Zip 37931 - Walden Legacy & Forest Ridge
Zip 37932 - Lovell Crossing
Zip 37923 - Reserve @ Westland

I prefer to be in a somewhat quiet area, but still close to everyday needs such as grocery stores, pharmacy, restaurants and bars of all types, hair salons, the mall, etc.

Any comments, both positive and negative, about the above apartment complexes/neighborhoods will be greatly appreciated! Thanks....

Madam Oink

Checkout West Knoxville Apartments - The Enclave of Hardin Valley beautiful views, only two years old.

[LWW]

Knoxville is the biggest small town you'll ever see. It's a really great place to live, and really you're going to be within 5 minutes of all you want no matter where you go.

Judging from traffic I would rule out:
Kingston Pointe: It's right off Kingston Pike (which is the main road here, most everything is right off of it, and you'll be travelling it quite frequently to get wherever you need to go when living in the area you've decided on) so it's insanely busy. It's also closer to downtown, which makes it even more busy. So if you want to go out in the afternoon or evening after work or such, it's going to be a hassle to get in and out.

Lovell Crossing: Although it's right near Turkey Creek (which is a huge shopping center, it's like a spread out mall with great restaurants, lots of shopping, just lovely) and it's near I40 which both work in it's favor, it's across the interstate and that intersection can get very very busy. There have been many times if you're headed from downtown and get off at that ramp that you could be stopped on the interstate waiting to take your exit. I love shopping over there, but fighting that every day because I lived there would just be a nightmare to me.

The rest are about even in terms of traffic and setting. Forest Ridge and Walden Legacy are quite close together and that's a really lovely area. There's sidewalks so if you enjoy running or walking outside there's a safe area to do it, there's ball camp park which is just a gorgeous area. Walden Legacy is within walking distance of a local grocery chain here, plus a few restaurants and a bank. Plus it's a hop, skip, and jump to get to Kingston Pike or the freeway connections at Cedar Bluff road.

Really you can't seem to go wrong with any of them, but if traffic is a concern I'd stay clear of the first two I mentioned. I hope you enjoy your new job, home, and town.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by LWW

Knoxville is the biggest small town you'll ever see. It's a really great place to live, and really you're going to be within 5 minutes of all you want no matter where you go.

Very true!

I have a business on Kingston Pike in Bearden and I don't ever see backed-up traffic down there. It moves along at a very brisk pace. On the highway is another thing. It can be slow at times. Of course going into the city from there would not be a problem but since she is headed west you are probably right, something closer to that area may be better.

Traffic won't be a bear around here, but heck, you might as well get as close as you can. I love the look of these apartments. Greystone Summit Apartments - Knoxville, TN:* Rates However, that is just an outside opinion.

[DaveC20853]

When anyone talks about traffic I always have to say "It depends on what you're used to". For us transplants from major urban areas the worst of Knoxville traffic is a walk in the park. Be it Kingston Pike or the Interstates.

[Madam Oink]

Well this is just great! Exactly the kind of information I was looking for....thanks!

Regarding the traffic issues....is it really that bad? I lived in Central and South FL for 26 years, and now live in Metro Atlanta! These are all heavily populated areas with LOTS of traffic on ALL the main highways. I'm thinking that a sweet little city like Knoxville, with under 200K people, can't be too terrible, right?

Also, I was wondering where the UT campus and the Vols stadium are located relative to the areas I listed above. When college is in session, is the town over-run with college kids?

Thanks again....

[hiknapster]

Traffic is barely existent. I lived in Orlando, Naples, Fort Myers, Florida as well as the northeast.

Traffic? No.

UT is downtown, on the river.

This is a college town. However, it is not over-run by college kids. This is one of those rare places where you go downtown on a Friday night and there are babies, senior citizens, and everywhere in-between. Amazing place.

[Madam Oink]

Alrighty then....so relieved to hear that the traffic is manageable.

I checked out both the The Enclave and Greystone Summit apartment links. Both may be a little out of my price range....but they look awesome!

BTW - I don't have the job yet....so this may all be moot! I have been unemployed since Dec 2009 (although I had a temp job that lasted 4 months in the middle). Chances are, I will NOT get this job. However, if I do, I will have already researched the area. It's not like I have anything else to do!!!

Thanks again everybody....

Madam Oink

[rundugrun]

Having lived in the NYC metro area and Chicago, I can attest that the traffic in Knoxville is not an issue. Even I-40 keeps moving (unless there's an accident) at rush hour. Because it's a major trucking route, you have some "traffic" on the interstate 24x7, but in my limited experience, it keeps moving at a decent speed. It's nothing like in northern NJ, where if I didn't leave my house by 7:45, I'd hit I-287 and crawl (0-5mph) for 10 miles or more.