Family moving to Knoxville! Need Help! (Maryville: appointed, salon, foreclosure)

[sabroc]

Hello, we are a family of five with 3 children (ages 3,6,&7). We currently live in Detroit and want OUT! I have been a carpenter and amachinist most of my life. In Detroit these professions are reliant on two things- the building industry and the automotive industry. Both here are dead! I recently obtained my cheafurs license and was working on getting my
CDL-A.

We have lost our house to foreclosure along with most of the state, and cannot rely on this economy anymore. We are currently on assistance no work & I had an injury (torn ACL tendon) that I had surgery to repair. It's been about 9 months since the surgery now, and the knee seems to be pretty good. My wife is a hairstylist, & going to college to obtain her liberal arts degree.

I have down all the usual research. Unemployment rates, housing, available employment, pretty much anything you can do with the internet. Yet, I was wondering if there is anyone that can give us some heads up about Knoxville. I don't think you can get the best grasp of a place from the internet. Where to start looking for a lower income home. We do need at least three bedrooms, and due to the foreclosure we are restricted to renting. We ae worried about leaving here though just to be stuck in the same rut somewhere else. You know, "out of the frying pot and into the fire"? We simply want to find a place to make a better, stable, & safe life for our kids. When looking at the cost of living factors it would be a decrease of nearly 20% between Detroit and Knoxville.

Does anyone know much about the trucking industry in TN? What about obtaining CDL there? Minnimum length of residence restrictions? Do you have to attend schooling in TN to test? What costs are associated with getting your CDL there?

I apologize for the long post, and appreciate any information anyone could give me.

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by sabroc

Hello, we are a family of five with 3 children (ages 3,6,&7). We currently live in Detroit and want OUT! I have been a carpenter and amachinist most of my life. In Detroit these professions are reliant on two things- the building industry and the automotive industry. Both here are dead! I recently obtained my cheafurs license and was working on getting my
CDL-A.

We have lost our house to foreclosure along with most of the state, and cannot rely on this economy anymore. We are currently on assistance no work & I had an injury (torn ACL tendon) that I had surgery to repair. It's been about 9 months since the surgery now, and the knee seems to be pretty good. My wife is a hairstylist, & going to college to obtain her liberal arts degree.

I have down all the usual research. Unemployment rates, housing, available employment, pretty much anything you can do with the internet. Yet, I was wondering if there is anyone that can give us some heads up about Knoxville. I don't think you can get the best grasp of a place from the internet. Where to start looking for a lower income home. We do need at least three bedrooms, and due to the foreclosure we are restricted to renting. We ae worried about leaving here though just to be stuck in the same rut somewhere else. You know, "out of the frying pot and into the fire"? We simply want to find a place to make a better, stable, & safe life for our kids. When looking at the cost of living factors it would be a decrease of nearly 20% between Detroit and Knoxville.

Does anyone know much about the trucking industry in TN? What about obtaining CDL there? Minnimum length of residence restrictions? Do you have to attend schooling in TN to test? What costs are associated with getting your CDL there?

I apologize for the long post, and appreciate any information anyone could give me.

I don't know much about the trucking industry except to tell you that while this area has been hit a little softer than the rest of the country we are still having an economic slowdown. We have lost a lot of jobs and competition for the jobs out there is tough. I don't sugarcoat and tend to be a realist. I would rather have you pleasantly surprised than bitterly disappointed.

As far as a CDL goes I can answer a few questions there since I employ CDL drivers. There is no set residence time. You must be a fully established state of TN resident and already possess a state of TN DL at the time of application. At the application you will be set up for a time to come in and test. This usually takes about a month. Additionally, you will have to have an MD health attestation. You will have a written as well as driving test at one of the CDL locations. If I am not mistaken there are two in this area. We always use the Straw Plains area though. The entire process took about 4-6 weeks. I have had smart employees that passed the first time and smart employees that passed on the third attempt. Costs. Hmmm, I am trying to think of what those are. I believe, without the health assessment, that it was around $100 but if you go to TN.gov and then go to driver's license you can check that site out and find out more info on CDL and everything.

Hairstylist work is always available but do not expect big $$. Once she is established there are plenty of educational institutions that she can choose to start back to school. Finding a place to rent with a foreclosure on your record won't be easy but it isn't impossible.

I guess what I am trying to say is this is America and nothing is impossible if one puts enough effort and energy into obtaining the dream. Best of luck to you. Write again if you have further questions.

[Suzanne45]

Try this link for a sampling of jobs available in Maryville located 25 minutes from Knoxville.

MaryvilleDailyTImes* online recruitment classified ads

[Kitties of Domination]

If you get in at an upscale salon and build your clientele, you can make $$.

[SnoutOut]

There's a lot of land development around Knoxville. As of last year, Knoxville was growing substancially becasue of it's low cost of living and housing. Good place for a carpenter.

With that said, I'm not sure if the recent problems in the secondary loan market have caused that to building boom to slow.