Relocating to Knoxville

[Old Ironhead]

Boy someone got up on the wrong side of the bed today. Apparently you misunderstood my intentions. And it was "American" humor. I think this will be my last post for awhile as I do not want to offend you nice people. I really do appreciate all the help offered. Apparently hiknapster is offended by my humor and I apologize for that. I don't want to turn this into a verbal battle. I just want some honest answers for some very difficult decisions. Making a move like this is very hard on the family, so we use humor to make the transition a little easier. Again I really want to thank you for all your help that was offered. I will check back soon. Sal

[abst14]

Returned from a couple days in Knoxville. It was bigger than I expected. I stayed downtown which was unbelievably quiet. UT was within walking distance but I'm not used to those mountains. I know they're not mountains to the locals but they were definitely hills. One block up, one block down...not great for high heels. No one else was wearing them around.

Ended up at Cotton Eyed Joe one night - fine, the Strait concert on the second night - fantastic.

Found a late night Walmart one night.

You're right it is filled mostly with chain restaurants. I stayed near the highway most of the time so it was strip malls and the usual USA stores.

The ride to Nashville was pretty.

[sliverbox]

Hey Old Ironhead,
As far as lake property, there's quite a bit of it. You just want to remember that almost all of the lakes in the area are man-made and get drained to lower levels in the winter. So in reality, half of the year might be spent looking down into what looks like the grand Canyon. Property seems to be getting bought up by luxury builders around lakes these days. At least that's what my dad told me. So expect to pay more.

There aren't that many gated communities in Knoxville. Another big difference between say Knoxville and OC, NY is that the majority of Knox county citizens reside in the middle income category. Probably the total opposite of what you are used to in NY. There are also lots and lots of monsterous 4 bedroom, 3 car garage houses that can be had for a seemingly sweet deal. But I've seen a few of these things being built and they seem to be made mostly of fiberboard, styrofoam insulation and generic plastic siding thrown over it. Some of the "nicer" ones have brick, but basically they all look equally hideous, gigantic, and squished together on some muddy hill that used to be a farm.

You can get into a historical home with character for a pretty good deal- say 100-150k and have something to be proud of versus the typical wal-mart special Mcmansion.

Knoxville and most of the Southeast is getting innundated with people from all over who either appreciate the cheaper cost of living or laid-back lifestyle. So you will likely run into more people from your own neck of the woods than you think. That said, locals are indeed proud of their background and understandably have a fear of being generically assimilated into the Northeast. So as long as you are respectful and friendly, you will make lots of friends fast. good luck!