Possible Move to Knoxville After Graduation (rentals, theater, school)

[darrenlamb45]

Hi all,

I am currently a senior in college set to graduate in May with an adult and community education major and Spanish minor. I am originally from central Illinois but am looking to move to Tennessee after graduation. I am considering Knoxville due to its size.

Without further ado, let me list off some questions about each area that I hope you, the fine people of city-data, will help me answer! Thanks!

1. What is the cost of living like in Knoxville (rent specifically)? I've budgeted an $800 cap for rent each month if that helps. Is there a "best time" to move? Are there noticeably "good" and "bad" parts of the city?

2. Are there any nice suburbs or small towns close to either city that are significantly cheaper (I'm not opposed to small town living)?

3. What are the job opportunities like? My degree is human service-oriented, but, given my minor, I want to use it to teach English or Spanish in a community setting (I have my TEFL). Would the universities and community colleges be good places to look for these type of jobs?

4. What are some cool things to do? Hiking? Sports? Attractions? Fun city traditions?

5. I'm a big concert goer, I have seen via my BandsInTown app that Knoxville gets decent shows rather consistently. That begin said, what are some of the cooler venues there? Any genre-specific venues/bars?

6. This is a random one, but how big is the influence of the universities on life there? Obviously UTK is there, but I ask because UTK is much bigger than city and school I go to.

7. How hard is it to get a TN license plate, ID, etc?

Thanks for reading, I do appreciate it! If you have any other information about the cities, I am all ears! Again, thank you all very much!

[hiknapster]

You've been asking the same questions, more or less, to different city forums for over two years. Several people have answered you, but there is never any interaction beyond that, from what I could see. My suggestion is to use the search feature to find your answers.

[janet bubby]

^ Thank you so much for pointing this out, I love Knoxville and was about to dive in and answer a few but looked at post history instead. What the

[delhidi]

It's called doing research. He/she been doing this all through college. Barring from traveling to every city, inquiring on these forums is a good way to get a feel for an area. Help the kid out. I've been researching and visiting places for several years to try and make a determination on where to retire. We're pretty sure it'll be the Knoxville area. But still several years out and things can always change. Good luck.

[DubbleT]

Your budget will probably work if you aren't expecting anything grand for that amount, my sons last few rentals have been in the 700-800 range for one bedroom, no laundry hookup. Decent affordable apts can be difficult to find right before school begins, at least that was his experience.

Plenty to do for outdoor activities, especially if you aren't opposed to driving for a bit. My son goes hiking and skiing as often as he can. UTK football is big of course. Various festivals and events, some my son enjoys more than others. He likes the Tennessee Theater although I don't think he actually goes that much, lol.

https://dl.safety.tn.gov/_/#1, they are strict on this, make sure you have the correct forms of ID with you, not photocopies. Tags will vary by county but here is a good place to start https://www.dmv.org/tn-tennessee/license-plates.php

[Barking Spider]

Originally Posted by delhidi

It's called doing research. He/she been doing this all through college. Barring from traveling to every city, inquiring on these forums is a good way to get a feel for an area. Help the kid out. I've been researching and visiting places for several years to try and make a determination on where to retire. We're pretty sure it'll be the Knoxville area. But still several years out and things can always change. Good luck.

Research should include looking at past threads to get answers to many questions that are asked over and over. Pretty much all of the questions have been answered many times.
Many of the answers are a simple Google search.
Most everyone on this forum try to answer questions and help people. However, (and maybe its just me), I find it somewhat irritating when someone asks a long line of questions that make it apparent they have not taken the time to even try to search past threads.