Is Knoxville my dream city??? (Maryville: home, schools, college)

[Goblinnoni]

Hi everyone;
I live in Florida but it is too hot, the bugs are huge, there are no seasons except for sweltering most of the year with a couple of months of cool weather, and I am over the hurricanes and flooding. I have been thinking about Knoxville for my next home. What is it like to live there? How is the weather, the people, the schools? I am a nurse and basically live paycheck to paycheck here in Florida because of the high cost of living and the low wages. I am convinced that there has to be a better place and way to live. Help!! My coworker said that Knoxville has a lot of tornados? Is that true?
Thanks,
Norah

[Tn405]

We have moved to Knoxville from Florida. When choosing cities and considering weather well here is what Knoxville has.....I have lived here two years and have not seen tornadoes here, there have been warnings around the areas but it seems not to happen in the valley at least as far as the last two years. We have had some wicked winds and very strange weather but no tornadoes in this general area. There may be sleet and snow but the ice storms are not bad as the trees snapping due to it. We have had some snow in the last couple of years but from what I hear nothing like the blizzard of 93. And if we can get from 1993 to 2009 with only a few inches or dustings then that is great by me. Summers can have a warm spell especially in August but definitely not the humidity of Florida. And Spring and Fall are wonderful. Ok I have been rambling but to put it short I love Knoxville, even the rainy days which are going to make my flowerbeds beautiful.
PS medical field worker here.....several hospitals in the area

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Goblinnoni

Hi everyone;
I live in Florida but it is too hot, the bugs are huge, there are no seasons except for sweltering most of the year with a couple of months of cool weather, and I am over the hurricanes and flooding. I have been thinking about Knoxville for my next home. What is it like to live there? How is the weather, the people, the schools? I am a nurse and basically live paycheck to paycheck here in Florida because of the high cost of living and the low wages. I am convinced that there has to be a better place and way to live. Help!! My coworker said that Knoxville has a lot of tornados? Is that true?
Thanks,
Norah

What tornadoes is your coworker talking about?? Knoxville does not have a lot of tornadoes.

[Servpro Will]

Agree with JMT, not many tornadoes at all, must have been hearing about middle TN, they get a few more. Though once my 5 year nephew told me he really wanted to see one. I told the young man that if he ran in circles fast enough in the middle of a field, he might make his own. That was a funny 30 minutes...and the closest thing I've seen to one in 30 years here.

[Goblinnoni]

Hi;
When I think of places with a lot of tornados I think of Kansas (Wizard of Oz??) or places with vast flat open spaces anyway my coworker must be thinking of somewhere else like middle Tennessee like you said because I thought that mountains made it difficult for tornados to keep turning. Meanwhile Florida has it's fair share of tornados especially when the hurricanes come. We had a tornado come through our property and rip off the top of the chimney and mess up the yard and it wasn't even hurricane season at the time. I just wanted to make sure that if there were tornados in the Knoxville area that they were little ones and not F5's! I honestly don't remember seeing big tornados or any tornoados on the news for Knoxville but my all knowing coworker says I am wrong and that tornados are a major problem in Knoxville. Thanks for the information as I trust someone who lives there more than my coworker who has never been to Tennessee. Thanks to the other people who responded to my post I appreciate any information I can get. I would like to come to Tennessee in the summer and see how it is in person as I have researched the city on the internet. It looks beautiful!
Norah

[piedmont]

FYI, Knox city + county is not especially affected by tornadoes. Some of the counties along the border of the Cumberland Plateau, like Scott, Fentress, Morgan, and even Cumberland do get a bit more severe weather with the spring and fall storms. Nothing like OK or AR though (or FL for that matter).

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by Goblinnoni

Hi;
When I think of places with a lot of tornados I think of Kansas (Wizard of Oz??) or places with vast flat open spaces anyway my coworker must be thinking of somewhere else like middle Tennessee like you said because I thought that mountains made it difficult for tornados to keep turning. Meanwhile Florida has it's fair share of tornados especially when the hurricanes come. We had a tornado come through our property and rip off the top of the chimney and mess up the yard and it wasn't even hurricane season at the time. I just wanted to make sure that if there were tornados in the Knoxville area that they were little ones and not F5's! I honestly don't remember seeing big tornados or any tornoados on the news for Knoxville but my all knowing coworker says I am wrong and that tornados are a major problem in Knoxville. Thanks for the information as I trust someone who lives there more than my coworker who has never been to Tennessee. Thanks to the other people who responded to my post I appreciate any information I can get. I would like to come to Tennessee in the summer and see how it is in person as I have researched the city on the internet. It looks beautiful!
Norah

Tornado Myth:

Tornadoes....Nature's Most Violent Storms

MYTH: Areas near rivers, lakes, and mountains are safe from tornadoes.
FACT: No place is safe from tornadoes. In the late 1980's, a tornado swept through Yellowstone National Park leaving a path of destruction up and down a 10,000 ft. mountain.

[Kitties of Domination]

West and middle TN can be prone to tornadoes. I have only seen a few my entire life here.

[aquila]

Knoxville is an absolutely WONDERFUL place. It's beautiful down there. The weather would be much nicer than Florida....distinct four seasons that really don't include harsh winters, though it does get cold there, and Autumn is gorgeous. Spring is pretty with all the dogwoods in bloom. Summer affords the opportunity to cool off in the Smokies, which are within an hour's drive. It's a very quaint place. Has all the great small-town charm but with all the big city amenities. It's both historic and contemporary, quiet and active. I truly feel at home there. The people are friendly, of course, but perhaps a bit suspicious of outsiders at first until you get to know them. I've never once felt unwelcomed there. I think you'd like it, and sure there would be plenty of opportunities for nursing jobs. Keep in mind you don't have to restrict yourself to Knox County. There is also Maryville and Sevier County which are both growing areas.

[a_fl_vol]

Originally Posted by Tn405

.... but from what I hear nothing like the blizzard of 93. And if we can get from 1993 to 2009 with only a few inches or dustings then that is great by me. Summers can have a warm spell especially in August but definitely not the humidity of Florida. And Spring and Fall are wonderful. Ok I have been rambling but to put it short I love Knoxville, even the rainy days which are going to make my flowerbeds beautiful.
PS medical field worker here.....several hospitals in the area

Aaaaah, the snow blizzard of 1993! Now there is a great memory. My first son was a product of that storm. I was in my Junior year at Maryville College.