Knoxville vs Nashville taxes, cost of living, etc.. (Memphis: apartment, universities)

[onetoughkitty]

Real estate in general is up across the board everywhere. I would not say particularly Knoxville. Knox does not have the jobs/careers to make it an up & coming city and definitely not the pay. We have a fairly small airport so we really cannot bring in larger companies like international airports can. I don't think that the area takes advantage of all the government ties it has in Oak Ridge like it should.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by onetoughkitty

Real estate in general is up across the board everywhere. I would not say particularly Knoxville. Knox does not have the jobs/careers to make it an up & coming city and definitely not the pay. We have a fairly small airport so we really cannot bring in larger companies like international airports can. I don't think that the area takes advantage of all the government ties it has in Oak Ridge like it should.

There are plenty of areas where real estate is going up that do not have the local employment base. Asheville comes to mind, and Knoxville is doing way better than that economically.

[Mister 7]

Originally Posted by onetoughkitty

Real estate in general is up across the board everywhere. I would not say particularly Knoxville. Knox does not have the jobs/careers to make it an up & coming city and definitely not the pay. We have a fairly small airport so we really cannot bring in larger companies like international airports can. I don't think that the area takes advantage of all the government ties it has in Oak Ridge like it should.

Oh I disagree with this. I'm not saying Knoxville is Silicon Valley, but there are plenty of big companies here. HGTV comes to mind, Regal, etc. Let's not forget UTK, Oak Ridge, TVA, etc. (and I know I'm leaving a few out.) I think for the size of Knoxville, there are plenty of employment opportunities with big companies. I read somewhere legit once that Knoxville has the highest number of PHDs per capita, or something like that, likely bc of Oak Ridge, etc. I can't remember what the source was but it was legit.

Our airport is small but easily expandable. At least it's a truly nice airport now. Small, but super nice and updated.

[geranium]

If you're willing to believe Forbes, Knoxville didn't make the cut.
https://www.forbes.com/pictures/fjle.../#3e5446bb70b3

Universities and areas specializing in research tend to have much higher education levels. State universities such as UT place teaching before research. And frankly, funding research is expensive.

Does anyone know the size of the Oak Ridge research staff? Or is that a secret?

[Mister 7]

Lol people forget that we made the damn atomic bomb...in 1945. I'd say there are plenty of smart people around here.

I wish I could remember what exactly I read, but it mentioned Oak Ridge, UTK, etc. and something about education per capita. Maybe it was #1 in cities its size?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by onetoughkitty

Real estate in general is up across the board everywhere. I would not say particularly Knoxville. Knox does not have the jobs/careers to make it an up & coming city and definitely not the pay. We have a fairly small airport so we really cannot bring in larger companies like international airports can. I don't think that the area takes advantage of all the government ties it has in Oak Ridge like it should.

Originally Posted by geranium

If you're willing to believe Forbes, Knoxville didn't make the cut.
https://www.forbes.com/pictures/fjle.../#3e5446bb70b3

Universities and areas specializing in research tend to have much higher education levels. State universities such as UT place teaching before research. And frankly, funding research is expensive.

Does anyone know the size of the Oak Ridge research staff? Or is that a secret?

Yeah, when I lived in Knoxville and was on the faculty at U.T., I kept hearing locals say things like Knoxville has the most PhDs per capita in the country, more public school teachers with PhDs, and on and on. It just simply isn't true. Knoxville isn't even in the top 50 in the country even though other SEC cities or cities the size of Knoxville are in that list. Knoxville is a fine city, and while I enjoyed the 12 years I lived in Knoxville, there's no need to get carried away.

Since this is a Knoxville vs. Nashville thread, here's how the two stack up, using 2015 data available right here at city-data.com:

high school degree or higher
Knoxville - 88.9%
Nashville - 88.1%

Bachelor's degree or higher
Knoxville - 29.2%
Nashville - 37.9%

graduate or professional degree
Knoxville - 12.4%
Nashville - 14.7%

median household income
Knoxville - $37,200
Nashville - $51,393

per capita income
Knoxville - $23,477
Nashville - $30,138

new jobs 2015-2016
Knoxville - 5,100 (+1.3%)
Nashville - 34,400 (+3.7%)

unemployment rates
Knoxville metro area - 5.4%
Nashville metro area - 4.3%
Knox County - 4.7%
Davidson County - 4.1%

new homes built, 2016
Knoxville metro area - 3,371
Nashville metro area - 18,557
Knox County - 1,588
Davidson County - 8,683

airport traffic, 2016
Knoxville - 1,827,989 (+4.6% from 2015) (17 non-stop destinations)
Nashville - 12,979,803 (+11% from 2015) (45 non-stop destinations including 3 international)

[hiknapster]

I agree with JMT.

I will say that the area definitely takes advantage of its ties to ORNL.

A LOT of research is done. However, under the current administration, the scientists are very concerned.

The University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory – University of Tennessee

[geranium]

I did want to play fair and add that people in Knoxville do read. In 2013 Amazon listed their tops cities for book sales and Knoxville was number two. In 2014 we were number three.

We seem to have found other interests, however, and weren't even on the 2016 list.

Nashville was.

Again UT and the other institutions of higher learning probably was a big factor. But we do have a really good library system.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by JMT

Yeah, when I lived in Knoxville and was on the faculty at U.T., I kept hearing locals say things like Knoxville has the most PhDs per capita in the country, more public school teachers with PhDs, and on and on. It just simply isn't true.

I graduated from UT in 2001 and heard innumerable variations of local boasts of this kind. I was there when Peyton Manning was there and all of these people thought the entire globe revolved around Knoxville. The fact is that UT isn't even as big as the second-biggest state school in some other states. For example, The University of Cincinnati is bigger than UT, and Ohio State in Columbus is roughly 2X as big.


When I was there Downtown Knoxville was a ghost town. Almost every building was boarded up. But it has made a great comeback and it has a lot of charm. Much nicer than the area around campus.


My brother owns a home off of Broadway near Senior Taco. It's a pretty nice area with low home prices and not too much traffic.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

I graduated from UT in 2001 and heard innumerable variations of local boasts of this kind. I was there when Peyton Manning was there and all of these people thought the entire globe revolved around Knoxville. The fact is that UT isn't even as big as the second-biggest state school in some other states. For example, The University of Cincinnati is bigger than UT, and Ohio State in Columbus is roughly 2X as big.


When I was there Downtown Knoxville was a ghost town. Almost every building was boarded up. But it has made a great comeback and it has a lot of charm. Much nicer than the area around campus.


My brother owns a home off of Broadway near Senior Taco. It's a pretty nice area with low home prices and not too much traffic.

They've been working on the Cumberland Strip for two years now. It is projected to be finished in August.

An additional sidenote: They are doing a MAJOR overhaul of the campus as well. They are knocking down buildings and rebuilding. It's pretty staggering.