Want to start a homestead... (Knoxville: apartment, crime, cheap house)

[SaphRose]

Hey everyone! My boyfriend and I are looking to buy a cheap house and retrofit it to be as "green" as possible. We'd also like to keep a few chickens and have a pretty large garden, eventually perhaps a goat or two... and bunnies!!!

We really like the sound of the Knoxville area, but are uncertain if this is doable within the city (stupid zoning codes!!) Does anyone know if we could in certain neighborhoods or should we look in the surrounding suburbs to do this? If there is a place in Knoxville, what neighborhood should we look? We both want to be in or very close to a city being from Chicago.

Thanks!

[BirdieBelle]

Are you wanting to be near Nashville or Knoxville, or are you researching both? They are in different time zones and 3.5 hours apart. I would recommend the Knoxville area. I also recommend this book by a woman in the Knoxville area who did the same thing. It relays in detail what the experience is like:

Amazon.com: Barnheart: The Incurable Longing for a Farm of One's Own (9781603427951): Jenna Woginrich: Books

[hiknapster]

You can raise chickens in Knoxville, thanks to a new ordinance that was passed last year. But you are asking about Nashville in the Knoxville forum. Perhaps it's fate? A Freudian slip, kinda, sorta?

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

Are you wanting to be near Nashville or Knoxville, or are you researching both? They are in different time zones and 3.5 hours apart. I would recommend the Knoxville area. I also recommend this book by a woman in the Knoxville area who did the same thing. It relays in detail what the experience is like:

Amazon.com: Barnheart: The Incurable Longing for a Farm of One's Own (9781603427951): Jenna Woginrich: Books

Woginrich had her first job as a graphic designer in Knoxville but she lived in a tiny apartment and didn't farm, homestead or anything else. She moved away to Idaho where she gathered information and then rented a farm in Vermont and now lives in a farm in upstate New York. I just wanted to set the record straight on that. This website and these people would be a great place to start. I'm also interested in this subject matter but have never got around to meeting these folks.

[RamblinRoseRanch]

Here's a link to my favorite site, full of homesteading folks. I have the same username on there.... minus the 'h', lol.

www.homesteadingtoday.com

[creeksitter]

Also check out the blog agrarian urbanite.

You will find kindred spirits in the Vestal neighborhood which is both city and county, though it is primarily a blue collar area. The "suburbs" beyond vestal are more middle class and offer rural living close to the city.

Vestal has cheap houses and a bit of a crime problem in places but it's not a battle zone. The lesson here is check out your immediate neighbors. If someone is home alot of the time you likely won't have a problem.

[Barking Spider]

I was checking out the City of Knoxville web site for recycling info and looked up livestock. There is a permit process, and a fee. It's not a slam dunk that you can have livestock in the City, but sounds like if you meet the criteria, and inspections, you can have your own little Green Acres.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Barking Spider

I was checking out the City of Knoxville web site for recycling info and looked up livestock. There is a permit process, and a fee. It's not a slam dunk that you can have livestock in the City, but sounds like if you meet the criteria, and inspections, you can have your own little Green Acres.

True, but it's not too bad and far better than many cities that simply won't allow them. It's a great point, though. Here's a super link for anyone that is interested in the process. This breaks it down.