I love Knoxville but then I love my homestate of Colorado. (Memphis: 2013, crime rate)

[NetMaster]

I'm 16 and live in Colorado Springs. I just started looking at Knoxville. Its hard to make a decision of living here or in Colorado. I get really excited about choosing a town live in. I've gone FT.Collins,CO to Flagstaff,AZ and from Des Moines,Iowa where my moms family is from to Fargo,ND. Even though I'm still a teenager I'm already making adult decisions on where to live. I love reading Hiknapster's post and I can't remember if it was her or JTM who had diabetes. About that though, my uncle in Des Moines had a stroke from diabetes and we are moving him out here which makes me long to stay in Colorado. But Knoxville looks way friendlier and cleaner. In "The Springs" as the locals call my hometown we have rundown neighborhoods and the nearby flea market is loaded with Mexicans who don't speak English. You can't even watch the news without hearing about the latest murder or drug bust. Crime is at pretty big high here. So Knoxville here I come.

[esk456]

Since you are young, you will have to learn the lesson that there is no perfect place. Would it surprise you to know that I live in Knoxville and am STRONGLY considering moving to Denver? If it does, you might also want to know that I very much moved to Knoxville on purpose (as in, not because of a job or family or something, but in and of itself). I moved from Florida, and while I certainly like TN better than FL, I can't help but think I might like CO even better.

But let's go down your list:

- Mexicans - I actually LIKE Mexicans (especially Mexican women, REOOWRRR!!! ), but if they are a problem for you, I've got news, we have them here too. Not as many as CO, but some all the same.

- Crime: Knoxville wins.

- Des Moines: I have heard bad, bad things. Stay away.

- "Friendliness": This is highly subjective. I've heard that CO is not friendly, and that TN is. Guess what? I heard the same thing about Boston, and can attest from personal experience that is not true.

By all means, come and visit, and decide for yourself. But do so with your eyes open.

[lccouple]

My wife and I moved from Denver and have been here over a year and liked it so much just bought a house to settle down. Some big differences good and bad:

** People in TN (in general) are much more friendly and open to talk. Also things move a little slower down here than what we were used to. Now we go west and try to figure out why everybody is in a hurry!

** The humidity out here is killer! Very difficult to get to used to but the good news is that there's plenty of lakes and rivers to cool down in.

** It's almost as cold as Denver in winter but gets a small fraction of the snow. If you like the snow I would say stay in CO.

** TN is GGGREEENNNN. My wife and I actually met in Prescott, AZ just south of Flagstaff so when we went to Denver we thought it was Green. Then we came to TN and Denver doesn't seem so green after all.

** TN has lots and lots of bugs (probably because of the humidity) and it's kind of like being on a different planet sometimes.

Hope that helps! Good luck with your decision!

[NetMaster]

Thank you Lccouple. That helped alot.

[anothertntony]

Originally Posted by NetMaster

You can't even watch the news without hearing about the latest murder or drug bust. Crime is at pretty big high here. So Knoxville here I come.

I'm not sure where you are getting your information for comparing relative crime rates in Colorado Springs and Knoxville, but according to the stats on this website, Colorado Springs has a significantly lower crime rate than Knoxville.

Considering murders only, Knoxville typically has about twice as many murders per year as CS but is half the size.

[hiknapster]

Well aren't you the sweetpea, NetMaster!

Yes, no place is perfect, but Knoxville comes pretty darn close, for ME. That doesn't mean it is utopia for everyone.

First of all, I would go with lccouple when it comes to the comments. They are from CO and have given a very good and balanced assessment of what you can expect, coming from your area.

esk456, I didn't really understand what you meant regarding the Boston remark. I will say that I was born in Mass. and lived there for 34 years. I love Boston, but the people in Knoxville are a lot nicer and friendlier.

Crime is hard to judge in TN, since the cops often count one person's arrest as multiple crimes. It's also hard to judge the stats across the country because many, many places play fast and loose with the stats. Money is at stake, dontcha know.

What I can say is that there is more crime than what occured in my tiny town in Mass., but much less crime than in Boston and Fort Myers and Orlando, FL.

I understand per capita, I really do. But when it comes to feeling safe but having access to services, activities and entertainment, Knoxville wins hands down, for ME. Dealing with pleasant people in the stores and on the road sends it over the top.

Regarding people of a different nationality, all I will say is that I go out of my way to make everyone feel welcome, no matter where you are from, even going so far to attempt my poor Spanish abilities. Bless their hearts to have to put up with that.

JMT is the one with diabetes, although there is a good chance that I may now have it, too.

I am quite sure, though, that he would back me when I say that the rest of the posters ignored the elephant in the room.

Where are you going to go to school, my dear? That's what I am most concerned about. Without a good education you are sunk.

[JMT]

Yup, I'm the one with diabetes! But it doesn't really slow me down, at least not that much. I just can't indulge in Litton's red velvet cake as much as I used to.

NetMaster, I assume you're talking about coming here for college in a year or two since you're only 16. Or do you have family who will move here with you before you go to college?

The University of Tennessee is a wonderful school. I love love love teaching here. However, be warned that it's in a fairly urban part of town, and there's some late-night crime in the neighborhoods surrounding campus. There's very little violent crime, but every month or so we hear of some student walking home from a party at 3 in the morning and is mugged.

So if you want to come to Tennessee and experience college life in a more "typical" college town you might want to try Cookeville (Tennessee Tech) or Johnson City (East Tennessee State) instead. On the other hand, there is NOTHING like going to a football game here at U.T. with 100,000 of your closest friends.

I agree with hik about the crime stats, too. It's such a hard thing to gauge since not every police department calculates crime stats the same way. I do know that the vast majority of crime in Knoxville seems to be petty stuff (car break-ins) or stuff that happens when people have had too much to drink. Or stuff between family members. When there is a random act of violence here, the entire city is shocked and outraged. (By comparison, when I lived in Memphis it seemed most violent crimes didn't even register a blip on the evening news.)

I went to college in Utah and have spent quite a bit of time out west. I LOVE it out there in the Intermountain West (Utah, Colorado, Wyoming). I've found people there to be very friendly. However, it doesn't seem to be a real, genuine friendliness. Here in Tennessee when a cashier asks how you're doing it's a genuine question, and it's perfectly ok to share details of your private life in public. Out west I never got the impression that it was a genuine friendliness.

Even though Knoxville is a pretty big city, it has the feel of a big town. Our malls aren't filled with roaming gangs of teenagers, high school kids are still respectful, men open doors for women, and our football teams still pray together before games. We've joked on here before that it can be aggravating coming to a four-way stop in Knoxville because everyone keeps waving everyone else to go first.

Anyway, you're young and have plenty of time to explore the world. Why not try coming to Tennessee for college? It might be a good experience to get away from home for a while. Keep your grades up, of course, so you can get scholarships (out-of-state tuition isn't cheap).

Good luck!

[lccouple]

Originally Posted by JMT

I went to college in Utah and have spent quite a bit of time out west. I LOVE it out there in the Intermountain West (Utah, Colorado, Wyoming). I've found people there to be very friendly. However, it doesn't seem to be a real, genuine friendliness. Here in Tennessee when a cashier asks how you're doing it's a genuine question, and it's perfectly ok to share details of your private life in public. Out west I never got the impression that it was a genuine friendliness.

JMT hit the head on the nail with this one! We went garage selling when we first moved out here and a guy we bought some stuff from invited us over for a BBQ to meet some of the locals (unfortunately we didn't go because I was a little taken back and not comfortable with the hospitality.)

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Regarding people of a different nationality, all I will say is that I go out of my way to make everyone feel welcome, no matter where you are from, even going so far to attempt my poor Spanish abilities. Bless their hearts to have to put up with that.

Coming from an interracial couple, thank you for your tolerance!

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by lccouple

JMT hit the head on the nail with this one! We went garage selling when we first moved out here and a guy we bought some stuff from invited us over for a BBQ to meet some of the locals (unfortunately we didn't go because I was a little taken back and not comfortable with the hospitality.)




Coming from an interracial couple, thank you for your tolerance!

Well, thanks, I guess. Honestly, I hate the word "tolerance." It means that I am simply putting up with something that I don't like, which is not the case.

Tha't funny about the BBQ invite. I hope you've grown used to us, by now! Or are you just tolerating us!

[lccouple]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Well, thanks, I guess. Honestly, I hate the word "tolerance." It means that I am simply putting up with something that I don't like, which is not the case.

I apologize, I suppose tolerance wasn't a good choice for what I was trying to say. So, with that said, thank you for being welcoming and open-minded!