country towns around knoxville (hotel, cost, shop)

[hiknapster]

Congrats on your good phone interview! It's going to be so much easier to help you if you can say what the general vicinity is of the job. It will make a difference if it is Farragut, Oak Ridge or something else. Otherwise, I'm writing reams on scenarios that may not even be the case, and that really isn't fair. Same with counties. I'm not looking for street addresses, just the general area. If it's in Oak Ridge, say Oak Ridge.

As you can see, your assumption about property taxes is flawed. Check Oak Ridge in Anderson County. It's $4.7370. Yet, you could buy a house in Knox County and the property tax would be $2.3200.

http://www.comptroller.tn.gov/pa/LR.asp?W=13

[Barking Spider]

Why not fly and rent a car? Its a 1.5 hour flight to Chicago. Beats spending two days driving back and forth.

[creeksitter]

Taxes are high in Oak Ridge because they put a lot of $$$ into the school system. But it doesn't have the rural feel you like.

There are still rural areas in the Karns Community - NW Knox county. Suburbia has been creeping in but hasn't filled in everywhere.

[thunderstruck666]

Location will be at Westbridge Business Park, Wescott Boulevard & Hardin Valley Road. I'll certainly keep the advice about flying in mind, but when I checked prices the other day it was pretty expensive flying out of O'Hare compared to driving. I'd only use about 9 gallons one way, so that comes to $72 to drive. And a nice relaxing drive over scenic, non concrete jungle, non totally flat terrain would be kind of relaxing. I'm not necessarily looking for totally rural i.e. tractors driving down dirt roads, roosters crowing at the crack of dawn, just areas that have things like grass and trees. I'd like a sense of community, where you know your neighbors. As long as it's not near an airport.
I have the property tax rate table, but w/o a detailed map showing county and city boundaries it's not real useful. Residents already know where the demarcation points are.

[Keptinthedark]

If you haven't already, you should check out Frontier Airlines - I got a Kayak alert for fares from Chicago to Knoxville for around $80 R/T, which is pretty unbelievable. And did I understand correctly that you can get 550 miles on only 9 gallons of gas??

[thunderstruck666]

Yep. I drive a diesel Passat and it's capable of an honest 60 MPG on the highway.

[creeksitter]

Karns is super convenient to Westbridge. Going the other direction is Hardin Valley which is more upscale.

Plenty of subdivisions with grass and trees and 1/2 acre - 1 acre lots. If that is enough elbow room for you you'll have plenty of homes to choose from.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by thunderstruck666

Location will be at Westbridge Business Park, Wescott Boulevard & Hardin Valley Road. I'll certainly keep the advice about flying in mind, but when I checked prices the other day it was pretty expensive flying out of O'Hare compared to driving. I'd only use about 9 gallons one way, so that comes to $72 to drive. And a nice relaxing drive over scenic, non concrete jungle, non totally flat terrain would be kind of relaxing. I'm not necessarily looking for totally rural i.e. tractors driving down dirt roads, roosters crowing at the crack of dawn, just areas that have things like grass and trees. I'd like a sense of community, where you know your neighbors. As long as it's not near an airport.
I have the property tax rate table, but w/o a detailed map showing county and city boundaries it's not real useful. Residents already know where the demarcation points are.

You just described all of Knoxville. Unless it is the tiny downtown core - although there are trees and some grass - the entire city and county is full of trees. I live in an apartment complex in the city proper and when I look out my window I see a forest with enormous trees. People are incredibly friendly here. Coming from the Midwest, it will be pretty shocking.

Knoxville isn't a city like Chicago, it's not a big city at all. It's a small city that feels more like a large town.

By the way, Hardin Valley is full of trees and will probably feel almost rural to you.

http://geology.com/county-map/tennessee.shtml

[thunderstruck666]

Have that much more of an appreciation for small towns after going downstate to visit family over the long weekend. My brother lives in a city of 4400 people and we watched the 4th of July parade. Nice to see ultra conservative rednecks like me aren't limited to the south. The Democrats in the parade were sandwiched between the Korean and Vietnam vets floats and the Tea Party and Republican floats. They looked a little nervous.

[Barking Spider]

A couple observations.....
1. Not every one in the south is an "ultra conservative redneck". and,
2. Not all Korean or Vietnam vets are Republican, or ultra conservative.

I can't remember that last time I was on a dirt road in the Knoxville area.

While its great your car gets such great mileage, you should consider what your time is worth. Two full days of driving have got to be worth something.

Good luck with the job, and your move. Spend a little time driving around the area, and you will probably find an area that will fit your needs.