Wanting to move to Knoxville - some questions (Dayton, Rogersville: rentals, house)

[austinbound10]

Hello,
My wife and I want to move to Knoxville,TN from Dayton,OH. I was looking for some inputs before we physically visit.

We are nature and animal lovers and enjoy having events to go to like arts & craft fairs, local plays, music, horse shows, Renaissance Fairs, Holistic Fairs etc. We love antiques and thrift stores. We are both working in the Wholistic Health Field as Massage Therapists and Energy Healing.

A) We are open faith and we are an Intercultural couple, her family is from TN and I am from India. How accepting are Knoxville people to Intercultural partnerships?

B) we want open a Holistic center in Knoxville,TN where we would have a residence and center together in the same building. Is residence/ commercial possible in Knoxville? We will be visiting a Realtor in mid January '13 to ask questions, does anyone know of a reputable trusting Realtor in Knoxville?

C) We have checked the weather there and it does mention rainy days, we both have SAD and Dayton is bad for gray days (only 170 days of sunshine). Does it rain nearly every day like it says on Knoxville weather sites?

We would really appreciate some good & open information.

Thank You

[creeksitter]

It's not always gray but it has been that way a lot lately. hasn't it? Look for that to change starting today.

I'm not sure if there are officially any zones where you can have a home & studio in the same place* - you can have home offices but only with a limited clientele. Your best bet would be a house that is a commercial zone and unoffically live there, too. I don't think enforcement is very strict in that situation.

There are east Indians in Knoxville but I don't have info on their family makeup.

* there's residential and commercial together in the downtown zone but it is pricey.

[Barking Spider]

You can Google and find the number of sun days and rainfall. We typically get 50+ inches per year. There are a lot of sun days in Knoxville, but in the winter its pretty gray.

You will have your work cut out for you in finding a location where you can have commercial and live in the same building. You can try to live in a commercial space, or have a commercial space in a residential property, and it might be fine until someone complains - then you have a problem.

You may want to do a little research on Holistic centers and see if there is a market here before you make the move.

As far as the other things on your list......
There are art and craft fairs from time to time in Knoxville and surrounding areas, but every weekend.
There are locals plays, but not a huge amount.
There are lots of live music venues, as well as national acts that perform in Knoxville, but might not be to your taste.
Can't say I have heard of horse shows around here, or Renaissance Fairs, Holistic Fairs.
There are antiques and thrift stores, but not any more than most cities of the same size.

Off hand, I would say that your Wholistic Health Field as Massage Therapists and Energy Healing professions might be more successful in Asheville, NC. I might be wrong, but I think the demographic of Asheville is a lot more receptive than Knoxville.

Good luck with your search.

[creeksitter]

I agree they should do more research into the business prospects. Asheville will have a lot more demand - but wouldn't there be a lot more competition as well?

Rogersville hosts a RenFaire and it's not far away.

[austinbound10]

Thank you for your input. Yes, we researched Ashville and it is way too wealthy of an area to break in to and yes, too much saturation as it is. That is what happened to Austin. Both open progressive cities, but also lots of money needed to start up. So we thought Knoxville would be more affordable to live and easier to open a new venue. I remain hopeful for success. I am amazed at how open minded Knoxville is as there is a big community of spiritual and wholistic like minded folk there. I have loved the South but feared judgment due to my open heartedness and open thinking. I will be thrilled to come 'home' finally and explore new options.

[austinbound10]

Barking Spider, please don't tell me the spiders bark down there!!

[Barking Spider]

They have been know to! :-)

[creeksitter]

I am a little concerned you seem to be talking about buying a space. Wouldn't it make more sense to lease space for a year and see if you can build up a client base first?

[austinbound10]

No not buying for awhile, Creeksitter; we were going to a Realtor because I felt they would know more about 'rental' commercial/ residence properties for rent. I know for just a home rental, we can go to lists in many sites, but 'commercial' is not always listed. Here in Dayton, we have to go through a Realtor/ Property Management system to procure rentals. Next weekend, we will be buying newspapers, maps, and have a huge list of 'things' to look at while we visit. Still snow on the ground here (4") after 3 weeks...sigh...I don't like being limited in my nature visits.
Now, for CS and BS...and others, where are your favorite restaurants and your fav Knoxville nature site to see?

[starrynightz]

You mentioned you have sad,we have lived here since August and found it rains a great deal and it is often cloudy and gray. That keeps the area lush and green, but as far as the number of sunny days, it is somewhat better than Ohio, but probably not enough to make a difference.