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My wife and I are considering moving to Knoxville due to a somewhat lucrative job offer and we were trying to find out if Knoxville is a place we would want to live. As such we have some questions and any input or advice beyond those questions would be greatly appreciated!
1. Neighborhoods! If we moved to Knoxville we would want to build an estate in the 1M range. What area/neighborhoods meet that criteria? View a must.
2. Culture. We understand Knoxville is not NYC, however, we are young (30 y/o) and enjoy concerts/shows/local affairs (such as festivals and the like.) What does Knoxville have to offer?
3. Food! Are there many fine dining opportunities (other than steak houses?) Also, is there a decent selection of ethnic food? Where could I find a list of good restaurants and/or what are your favorites?
4. Activities, What kind of typical activities does Knoxville or the surrounding areas offer? Again, we are young and enjoy staying active.
5. Negatives. What are some of the drawbacks or negatives of Knoxville? Every city has them.
6. Compared to Chattanooga. We have lived in Chattanooga for a short period of time a few years back so we were wondering how Knoxville compares to that city?
Thank you all in advance for any replies you may have! What you have to say matters to us and we would love to have some input before we make any kind of decision on a place we may end up living the rest of our lives in!
Congratulations on the job offer, and welcome to Knoxville. I will try to answer your questions, but others will probably chime in with their input too.
1. First it would depend on what view you are interested in: mountains, or water, or both. There are several sub divisions around Knoxville that have homes in the 1M range, some one the water, some not.
2. The Tennessee Theatre has national acts that play here, as well as Thompson Bolling Arena, the Bijou, and a few other places. There are several street festivals each year, mostly on Gay Street or Worlds Fair Park.
3. Yes, there are some fine dining places in Knoxville. I don't frequent them, but apparently they are good. Ethnic food is a little harder to find. I moved here in 94 from Los Angeles, so my opinion may be different from people that have moved from smaller towns.
4. Mountains and lakes offer a huge amount of outdoor activities. Pick something that you like to do, and you can probably do it here, or close by.
5. I'm hard pressed to find negatives about living in Knoxville. Some stores that we had in CA are not here, such as IKEA, Trader Joes, Costco, etc., but they are only a couple hours drive away if we really have to go. Some people complain about traffic, but coming from Los Angeles, I have a totally different perspective.
6. I have never lived in Chattanooga, and have only been there a few times, so I can't comment on that question.
1. Sequoyah Hills is just west of downtown/UT and has some very nice homes. As Barking Spider said, it depends what you mean by a view, but some of those homes are on or have a view of the water. 1M puts you basically wherever you would like to live though.
2. There are local venues that get some big shows, but many mainstream tours will skip Knoxville and perhaps hit Nashville or Atlanta. There are several festivals in the summer (e.g., Rossini festival).
3. I was always very pleased with dining options in Knoxville, but I tend to prefer the restaurants with a laid back style (Sunspot, Tomato Head, etc.), which would likely not qualify as fine dining. Here is a list of some restaurants downtown; you can peruse them and see what you think: Restaurants in Downtown Knoxville | Taste of Knoxville.
4. Activities that involve ... well, activity, are mostly related to the outdoors. Hiking, biking, running, etc. Those options are plentiful given the geographic area and mild winters (although skiing options are pretty bleak). Then there are the non-active activities, which usually involve watching others be active. Sporting events are probably the most significant of this category (UT football, etc.).
Wow! 30 and can afford a $1 million estate? Congrats to you!
1. Sequoyah Hills, no doubt. You said you like to go to plays and such, so definitely pick Sequoyah Hills since it is so close to those activities.
2. Knoxville has a decent amount of shows to keep you entertained, but don't expect a great weekly selection like in major cities. Check out the Tennessee Theatre website for more info.
3. Being honest, Knoxville isn't the best when it comes to fine restaurants. There are several restaurants but not many fine restaurants. Knoxville has a great selection of $ and $$ restaurants on a $$$$ scale. Compared to Chattanooga, I think Knoxville would have more of a selection.
4. Primarily outdoorsie activities. Not only is there hiking, but also there are many water related activities due to the amount of lakes surrounding Knoxville.
5. Drawbacks? Well that all depends on who you are. If you come from a big city with a vibrant urban area, that will probably be the first thing that you will notice Knoxville doesn't have (a large vibrant downtown), although they are beginning to revive many areas downtown, so this may not be the case in 10 or so years. As anothertntony said, look at the thread he referenced for more info.
6. Chattanooga and Knoxville are a lot a like. There are several threads comparing Knoxville and Chattanooga. If I were you, I would just google Knoxville vs Chattanooga to get an idea.
If I may..
1) Sequoyah Hills is not the only neighborhood with finer homes. There are multiple neighborhoods further west (more surburban that accomodate this price range and some are swim/tennis...Gettysvue, for example, is a country club neighborhood with a golf course) I would recommend you go the public listing for the Knoxville Association of Realtors and do a search in your price range...you will see a trend on the map for where most of these homes are located. 1M on the water will be challange. A lot of people tend to slam West Knoxville for being "too surburban with mcmansions, etc." but if you'll be having a family, this area is where alot of your contemporaries will be located. But, to each their own.
2) When I think of fine dining, I think of restaurants like The Orangery, Bistro by the Tracks, The Highland Grille, Le Parigo, Echo Bistro to name a few. I believe Knoxville, for it's size, has it's fair share of ethic dining from the typical Asian & Mexican to Egyptian and Korean and everything inbetween. Sometime you might have to look a little harder...
4) I agree about the outdoor activities with anything on the water being sort of a given.
5) Some may consider Knoxville's urban sprawl a drawback...I personally don't. Some complain about traffice...after living in Atlanta for 10 yrs, I don't complain about Knoxville traffic. Again, to each their own...
6) I can't compare the two having never lived in Chattanooga.
If I may..
1) Sequoyah Hills is not the only neighborhood with finer homes. There are multiple neighborhoods further west (more surburban that accomodate this price range and some are swim/tennis...Gettysvue, for example, is a country club neighborhood with a golf course) I would recommend you go the public listing for the Knoxville Association of Realtors and do a search in your price range...you will see a trend on the map for where most of these homes are located. 1M on the water will be challange. A lot of people tend to slam West Knoxville for being "too surburban with mcmansions, etc." but if you'll be having a family, this area is where alot of your contemporaries will be located. But, to each their own.
I don't think anyone said that Sequoyah Hills is the only neighborhood with finer homes. I actually live off Westland and pass Gettysvue daily, so I know all about Gettysvue. It's a beautiful neighborhood, but if you want to go to concerts, festivals, shows, and be involved in the city, it's not as easy out in West Knoxville. You can still participate in all the festivals downtown, but you aren't as close as if you were living in Sequoyah hills. I was just thinking from my perspective. If I had $1 million, wanted to go to all the festivals, concerts, shows, etc. I would have no doubt in my mind where I would move. But if I wanted to live on a golf course in a McMansion in the suburbs, I would probably choose Gettysvue or some other large house golf course neighborhood in the Westland, Lakview, or Farragut area.
Thanks for putting the suggestion in there, though, because maybe the OP is interested in something more suburban. If you are, definitely look at West Knoxville and Farragut.
Welcome, my husband and I are 28 and we would kill to build a $1million house!
1. If you want to build, I would definitely go lakefront along Northshore, perhaps Choto area. Other areas are Duncan's, Boyd's Station, Turkey Creek Road (Not to be confused with Turkey Creek Shopping area) I don't know of many lots available to build in Sequoyah, they are mostly older homes.
2. Downtown has come a long way in the last ten years or so, but it definitely isn't anywhere near NYC. Market square hosts festivals and concerts year round. Sundown in the city is popular in the summer. Some acts do come to the Bijou, Tennessee Theater, but nothing on par with "Wicked" in NYC. Asheville is an hour (ish) away and has a lot of cultural art going on.
3. Knoxville at one point had the most restaurants per capita, not sure what it is now. Chains that began in Knoxville are Calhoun's, Ruby Tuesday's.
Local fare that many would suggest would be Ye Olde Steakhouse, Naples, L&N Station, Altruda's, Litton's
4. Millions of things to do. Highest proximity to most climbing/hiking trails than anywhere in the US, and Knoxville's runner's club is one of the largest. Plenty of lakes for boating activities.
5. Negatives. It's a little big city, and that can be a positive or negative thing. It's a football town, becomes the largest city in TN for a season.
6. Much larger than Chattanooga, and IMO, much prettier.
I'm actually a Knoxville native and have lived both in Boston and now the SF Bay Area. In my opinion Knoxville and any large city in the Northeast are going to be like comparing different planets: The two are going to be drastically different in every which way.
First of all- the actual city of Knoxville is tiny. About 75% of the area is comprised mainly of subdivisions, shopping malls, stretches of outlying rural areas, and cloverleaf exits with large quantities of chain eateries and big box stores. Yes- its is a pretty sprawly area. But that's more or less the story of the Southeast these days. The city itself is small and charming. When I lived there back in the 90's the downtown was totally dead with nothing to do. Now its been fixed up. Just keep in mind that most of the "action" in downtown Knoxville is pretty much on one or two streets: There is Gay street which is a tad more upscale and then there's Old Town which is a bit more grungy and artsy. The music scene is fairly vibrant for a small town.
As far as restaurants go, well again- its not going to be anything like the options available in a large metro. There used to be no such thing as a Sushi restaurant anywhere near Knoxville until maybe the last 3-4 years and of these I haven't bothered to try ( Because why would you eat Sushi in Knoxville when what they do well is BBQ?) There are a few restaurants that I would consider excellent and on par with some of the best I've had in SF. But not a ton either. Again- 90% of what's here are chains.
1 Million bucks is a LOT of money in Knoxville and I'm sure compared to NYC will buy you a verifiable HUGE Mcmansion with a 3 car garage, pool, and so on and so on. Cheaper real estate is one of the primary drivers for growth in the area and there are a LOT of people from the Northeast and West Coast moving in for just that reason alone. So you do get more bang for your buck for sure.
As far as having stuff to do, well if you're an outdoorsy person the one good thing about the state and national parks here is that about 95% of those who visit them rarely leave their cars. So as a result its not uncommon to go to a trail in the Smokeys or maybe Big South Fork and be the only person on the trail all day long. I recently visited my parents for Christmas and was blown away that when we took a day trip to Big South Fork- a park with HUGE natural stone arches and beautiful streams- that we were the only people on the trail the entire day. In California the trails would have been a traffic jam.
In regards to comparing Chattanooga to Knoxville, I think these are two very different cities. Chattanooga was first to heavily revitalize their downtown back in the 80's and 90's. They made the downtown fun and for such a small city it has a lot of art options. I personally like Chattanooga a little more in regards to the level of sprawl: There's less of it. Then again Chattanooga is a smaller city.
There are defintely neighborhoods that have wonderful homes in the $1Mil range. Since the area is hilly you have agood chance of a view, but no guarantee.
There are wonderful shows, concerts, festivals, comedians, etc. And the Smoky's aren't too far for some awesome hikes. Someone said Ashville is 1 hour and that's sooo wrong. It is 2 hours.
Ethnic restaurants?? Some, but no Ethiopian. Mostly mexican and Asian.
Good luck deciding. I vote that you come and spend a few days here looking around, not at houses but the whole city.
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