Igor Blevin's, "A Native Californian in Knoxville" (Memphis: 2014, renting)

[Igor Blevin]

"Ivan" works, since Igor Blevin is just a joke name. Ivan Blevin would have worked as well, except that I have a very good ear for words and Igor Blevin just sounds better.

[Igor Blevin]

It is August 2022.

I just saw a local newspaper - "Knoxville Apartments are 99% full".

No wonder Knoxville rents are up 28% year-over-year.

So we have a housing shortage and an apartment shortage.

I whine a bit about having to patiently wait to buy my house, but I am SO grateful to have a roof over my head. I love my apartment and I am leased up until next summer, so at least my rent can't increase until then. I know I am blessed.

I really feel for people moving to Knoxville today. It must be just brutal finding housing. I see a lot of apartments being built but I guess they are not coming on line as fast as prospective renters are moving to Knoxville. Only time will tell if housing is catching up in Knoxville or is falling behind compared to people moving in.

Knoxville is definitely a national hotspot. Maybe not like Nashville, but still pretty hot.

[Igor Blevin]

After 16 months in Knoxville, I don't really notice the ugly overhead power lines and power poles anymore. They are still a horrible eye sore, but I have kind of tuned them out after a year driving around town.

I have gotten somewhat used to driving on twisty narrow roads with no shoulders next to guardrail or drop-offs. It still rattles me at night in the dark, especially in the rain. Maybe it is just the way my headlights are adjusted, but I am adamant about not buying a home on a dark twisty narrow road. My aging eyes are not going to be able to take it. If you are young, this is irrelevant.

Liveability in my area of western West Knoxville is still fantastic with low hassle factor.

I was watching a YouTube where people in a city were regularly getting parking tickets by aggressive meter maids. I went through that my 10 years in San Francisco. I once jumped into a store for not more than 10 minutes, and had a ticket on my truck when I came. Here, parking is free everywhere with return privilege, like most suburbs are. I don't see a parade of police trying to herd everybody into a mile within the speed limit and ticketing everyone for revenue. That may happen downtown but I am not there much.

My biggest problem with my area is the lack of walkability. If I could wave a magic wand and fix one thing, it would be a lot more sidewalks along major streets, and more trails or sidewalks connecting neighborhoods. It is a temporary problem as I am aging and slowing down, so the benefit of the low hassle factor of Knoxville supercedes any problem I have with walkability.

My biggest concern with walkablity is losing my drivers license someday. I will be forced to move to a condo or apartment where I can hobble on foot to all my services.

[shinestx]

Igor, I didn't see that you've bought a home yet. Hopefully so as I've heard and seen that Knoxville is an up-and-coming boom city. If the weekend I visited last May is any indicator, the downtown was packed with people. There were groups hanging out at all the bars on Gay Street. Knoxville has always struck me as a very clean city. I hope it grows sensibly. Still hate the traffic.

[Lizap]

Originally Posted by shinestx

Igor, I didn't see that you've bought a home yet. Hopefully so as I've heard and seen that Knoxville is an up-and-coming boom city. If the weekend I visited last May is any indicator, the downtown was packed with people. There were groups hanging out at all the bars on Gay Street. Knoxville has always struck me as a very clean city. I hope it grows sensibly. Still hate the traffic.

The interstate traffic is what I remember about Knoxville. Have you found it to be problematic?

[aslowdodge]

Hi Igor, as a former California resident for 57 years and now overwhelmingly happy in Georgia, I look forward to going back and reading this thread. From what I’ve seen I like Tennessee.

[shinestx]

Originally Posted by Lizap

The interstate traffic is what I remember about Knoxville. Have you found it to be problematic?

Yes, although WFH and suburban development for office complexes have helped somewhat. The problem is exacerbated by the through-traffic, which catches both N-S (I-75 and I-81) and E-W (I-40) with NO BYPASS, other than the short inner loop I-640. There needs to be an express bypass from I-75 north of the city to the I-40/-75 junction on the far west side. Even an upgrade of Ball Camp road to Pellissippi would help tremendously. Sadly the window for that to happen is all but closed. Too much high priced development toward Hardin valley has happened. TDOT is always slow to act where needed.

[Igor Blevin]

Never again. I am never trying to walk along Kingston Pike from my car Dealership to the coffee shop again.

Suburban Knoxville is just not "walkable". I have to face facts and quit fighing city hall.

Once again, got an oil change and walked the mile and a half from Dodge almost to the mall for coffee, through parking lots and over barriers, and over grass with slopes too steep for my age to handle. On the way back I slipped climbing one slope toward an intersection and fell flat on my face in the grass near the traffic signal. No harm no foul.

It was actually good practice for falling as I age.

The worst was all of the times there was no choice but to walk along the street, cars flying by at 50 mph less than 2-feet away from me. That is way too risky and dangerous for my taste. At least when I was a highway engineer, I had a neon green vest for visibility, protected by a work truck with flashing lights, and had a co-worker acting as look out. All I need is to get hit by some driver texting, an elderly stroke victim, or just someone who has target fixation.

So it is over.

It is time to just accept that suburban Knoxville is not walkable.

I had gotten used to being able to walk for transportation and use the opportunities for health. So many people walk for excerise. I am fortunate that I can walk to my local Target and Publix and I often do, so I see that as a way to get some exercise. I like walkability and having the option to walk for errands rather than mandate driving.

Suburban Knoxville is not that, and that is my problem.

That is OK. As a car nut, my rule the first 20 years driving was, "never walk where you can drive". I love to drive, so there is that. Here is hoping that self-driving vehicles are mainstream by the time I lose my driver's licence in 15 years or so, or I am screwed.

Based on these robots roaming UT, maybe that day will be coming sooner than later.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6YFPfTOp5Q

[DubbleT]

What about KAT, do you have access? I don't know much about it other than my son sometimes used it as a student and seemed to think it was ok, as in not dangerous or anything. Could that be an option for you for your later years?
One of the things I like about the house I bought is that I am close enough to the bus route to walk to a stop or call for a pickup. Service is limited but the bus can get me to medical services, grocery stores, walmart and our little downtown area, so it's a good option for when I can no longer drive.

[Igor Blevin]

All I know about KAT is that they are temporarily dropping bus routes due to a current driver shortage.

Knoxville is booming and more retirees are moving into the area. It is likely that services will be better 15 years from now, but a walkable city does allow for the use of a scooter or wheelchair or what have you. By the time I lose my driver's license, I probably won't be that active anyway, so it might not matter. I can always Uber around I suppose.

The point is, I am trying to clue others into my Knoxville living experience and I do want to let people know that if you are looking for a particularly walkable town, this is probably not a great candidate for you unless everything else is so perfect, and you can live without it.

For my part, I love West Knoxville liveability. So far, the lack of walkability is worth the tradeoff for superior liveability with no state tax, low cost of living, low crime, low hassle factor, scenic beauty, friendly people, summer thunderstorms, minimal winter snow and ice, proximity to amenities in places like Nashville and Atlanta, and being a day away from the beach when the urge strikes.

FWIW, Knoxville government is hearing that people want more sidewalks and is responding as the video below explains. What I don't want to see is a bunch of outsiders like me, moving to Knoxville and then turning Tennessee into California with their demands of more spending and taxes.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ10l0yk9qA