Love The Outdoors and TN Is Looking Good! (Knoxville, Chattanooga: transplants, house)

[chilepepper]

I had some questions maybe you all could help me with. My husband, 2 kids, 11, 13 are looking for a change that will end up being where we ultimately retire. We love the water and my husband works around boats. We like to hike around and my kids wake-board for fun. Phx has just become so crowded on the lakes, trails etc. When the kids are out of school it's smoking hot and we spend a lot of time indoors and in the winter when they are in school the weather is great but we don't have time to enjoy it.

Anyway, I'm checking out TN. My husband wants acreage and I like access to a downtown for shopping and such. We would love to live near or on a lake for easy boat access for fishing and sports. Any good area's I should look at? Does it snow at all? We like some snow and rain. We long for cloudy days since we've had our fair share of sun all our lives. We just started researching TN we thought we wanted to move to New England a couple years ago but chickened out over the winters and cost of living. I never thought of TN until I was checking out lakes and outdoor activities...we love to kayak also. So where would a good spot be to research for a family that loves the water and a less hectic lifestyle?

[DaveC20853]

Ummmmm. Knoxville?

Seriously. Where in the Knoxville area is the real question and only you know exactly what floats your boat. So come and spend some time looking around. There are lakes and mountains all around. You can be a 30 minute drive from downtown and be "far into the country". I'm a West Knox fan (came here from D.C.). We also have Maryville and Fountain City fans here.

P.S. Don't talk to the people here. They'll make you want to pack up the old place and move here right away. At least that's what happened to us.

[hiknapster]

We're transplants, too, and love it here. It barely snows. Just enough to enjoy it and then it melts. In six years I've never needed to buy a shovel or gloves. It's more humid then you are going to be use to, though. I lived in Florida for awhile, though, and prefer this climate. And it is a heck of a lot milder than New England, too.

It's going to come down to where you can get a job, though.

[Barking Spider]

We have a lot of sun days.
We also get a lot of rain, over 50" a year.
Humidity might be a deal breaker for you coming from AZ. Come in July and see for yourself.
You really need to come for a visit and see for yourself what the area is like, and what kind of properties fit your needs and budget.
Keep in mind that property on the water will be pretty high $$$. Of course, that also depends on your budget. I just inspected a lake house today for a man moving from CA. It was going for $1.3M. Obviously in his budget, obviously way out of mine.
You can't pick a place to live from the internet. You need to visit, drive around, and talk to as many people as you can. Plan on at least a week.
If you have to work for a living, you really should secure employment before moving here.

[chilepepper]

Thanks for the great info! We are just starting to look around TN on the internet and will definitely head out there to check it out. Yes we still work and that would be a factor, I would never move without jobs so it could take awhile. We have a friend that just got on with VW and so it sounds like there is hope for us folks on the outside. In Aug we get really bad humidity in Az with over 100 degree temps so I can't say I'm crazy about it but would like to experience it in TN before a move for sure. Nothings perfect but I would love to live around some greenery for once in my life

[virgil tatro]

I'd go to Minnesota, but Tennessee is nice as well. as for where at in the state I could not tell you. but it is very pretty out there, I live in montana, but tennessee is nice. Minnesota is my favorite.. best of luck to you..

[yarddawg]

Originally Posted by chilepepper

Thanks for the great info! We are just starting to look around TN on the internet and will definitely head out there to check it out. Yes we still work and that would be a factor, I would never move without jobs so it could take awhile. We have a friend that just got on with VW and so it sounds like there is hope for us folks on the outside. In Aug we get really bad humidity in Az with over 100 degree temps so I can't say I'm crazy about it but would like to experience it in TN before a move for sure. Nothings perfect but I would love to live around some greenery for once in my life

Huh? Maybe you should define what you consider really bad humidity. Weather data seems to indicate that Tennessee humidity typically runs more than 20 points higher than Arizona. Pretty much year round. It's a little cooler than Arizona here in August but we still see a lot of 90s and some low 100s.

Lots of historical averages here (also broken down by month and major cities): Average Humidity by State - Current Results

[weisgarber1]

Originally Posted by yarddawg

Huh? Maybe you should define what you consider really bad humidity. Weather data seems to indicate that Tennessee humidity typically runs more than 20 points higher than Arizona. Pretty much year round. It's a little cooler than Arizona here in August but we still see a lot of 90s and some low 100s.

Lots of historical averages here (also broken down by month and major cities): Average Humidity by State - Current Results

Hot weather depends on what part of Tennessee you are talking about. Low 100s are very uncommon for most of East Tennessee, very uncommon. West Tennessee can be a tinderbox in July and August, comparatively, as can parts of Middle Tennessee. In East Tennessee, Chattanooga and the southern part of the valley can be hotter during July and August, but absolutely nothing compared to Arizona. Average number of days of 90 or higher for Knoxville is 31, but in 2009 ther were only 11 days above 90. Last year was a record tying year for 90s with 77 days, so it varies from year to year, sometimes tremendous variation, as between 2009 and 2010. The entire state though, is much more than "a little cooler" than Arizona.

[yarddawg]

Originally Posted by weisgarber1

Hot weather depends on what part of Tennessee you are talking about. Low 100s are very uncommon for most of East Tennessee, very uncommon. West Tennessee can be a tinderbox in July and August, comparatively, as can parts of Middle Tennessee. In East Tennessee, Chattanooga and the southern part of the valley can be hotter during July and August, but absolutely nothing compared to Arizona. Average number of days of 90 or higher for Knoxville is 31, but in 2009 ther were only 11 days above 90. Last year was a record tying year for 90s with 77 days, so it varies from year to year, sometimes tremendous variation, as between 2009 and 2010. The entire state though, is much more than "a little cooler" than Arizona.

Not sure what nerve I touched here so I'll write it up to subjective language. Tennessee usually runs about 10-20 degrees cooler than Arizona depending on what part of Tennessee and what part of Arizona. The penalty is much higher humidity. I'm on the southern end of the Cumberland Plateau, far from the toastiest part of the state. Today at my house at 11am it's 91 degrees with a 52% relative humidity and a dewpoint of 70. I would not consider today to be either extremely hot or extremely humid for this area and this time of year based on the 40+ years I've lived here. But conditions like that might be a problem to someone who thinks that Arizona has "really bad humidity" in August. That's all I was trying to say.

[weisgarber1]

Originally Posted by yarddawg

Not sure what nerve I touched here so I'll write it up to subjective language. Tennessee usually runs about 10-20 degrees cooler than Arizona depending on what part of Tennessee and what part of Arizona. The penalty is much higher humidity. I'm on the southern end of the Cumberland Plateau, far from the toastiest part of the state. Today at my house at 11am it's 91 degrees with a 52% relative humidity and a dewpoint of 70. I would not consider today to be either extremely hot or extremely humid for this area and this time of year based on the 40+ years I've lived here. But conditions like that might be a problem to someone who thinks that Arizona has "really bad humidity" in August. That's all I was trying to say.

No nerves touched at all, just simply trying to give the evidence as it exists on the differences mentioned.