Family of four Heading north.. HELP

[Kitties of Domination]

Originally Posted by J&Em

Would it make you feel better if I just said small city?? To me a medium sized city would be more like St Louis, Colorado Springs or Raleigh which all have nearly double the population of Knoxville. A large city would be double to triple that population again; Boston, Baltimore and Houston or Dallas come to mind. Extra Large or gigantic cities would be NYC and Los Angeles, with multi million population numbers. City size has been debated here at City Data as well it seems. Knoxville keeps getting put in the smallest category. In the 'not really a city' type cities because they are really very small would be places like Maryville and Alcoa.

//www.city-data.com/forum/gener...ll-city-3.html

Calling it very small was not meant as an insult, on the whole Knox is just the right size IMHO.

Sometimes looking at city populations can be deceiving. All the city population means is how much annexation has been thus possible. Sometimes the city only constitutes a small amount of the metropolitan area. Knoxville could double its population if Knox Co. went metro. Not that Knoxville is by any means large, but sometimes you have to read between the lines.

[J&Em]

Originally Posted by Kitties of Domination

Sometimes looking at city populations can be deceiving. All the city population means is how much annexation has been thus possible. Sometimes the city only constitutes a small amount of the metropolitan area. Knoxville could double its population if Knox Co. went metro. Not that Knoxville is by any means large, but sometimes you have to read between the lines.

You are right about population numbers being deceptive. That's always the problem with statistics and number crunching- and politics. The only larger numbers for Knox "metro area" are also deceptive because the include Sevierville and LaFollette or they include the surrounding counties which normally are considered suburbs, like Blount and Monroe counties. Even including all of Knox county which many here have described here as having 'lots of rural areas left' doesn't bring up the population numbers enough. The cities I used for comparison are ones I have actually been to/through and they have denser population, more city streets and more multistory buildings than Knoxville. A good part of Long Island NY (outside of NYC) seems more city like, with populations to go with it, and is considered "suburbs." By comparison Knoxville is still small with much room to grow. Being a small city is a good thing not a bad one, so I 'm not sure why everyone wants to make Knox seem bigger. I'm partial to it just the way it is!

Before the moderators have cause to delete the side track....

Jobs are hard to find no matter where you look these days. By all means look around the entire Knoxville and adjacent areas to get a feel for the place but keep in mind if you fall in love with one side of town and work outside on the other your commute might make you pretty unhappy pretty quickly. It gets hot here too, in the summer, but I suspect not as hot as long as in TX, but maybe with a bit more humidity (unless you are from Houston). I can't tell you much beyond what I've seen at city data about schools in the area. It seems that parts of Knox, Farrugut, Maryville, Blount County and Oak Ridge all seem to have well rated schools. You could make them a priority when choosing places to look at. You can be out in the country very quickly in just about any direction you take from central Knoxville. Try heading out on smaller roads and you will find often one block from the main road will often be much greener and quieter. Good luck and welcome to the Knox area!

[TXLIZARD]

Thank you all so much for your input. As far as getting out of TX.. it's not just the heat, that was just the biggest reason for me. We are also looking for a change of scenery, we are rather nomadic that way.

My husband is a truck driver so he can work ANYWHERE! I'm not real concerned about being able to find a job right away, I just want to have some options if I do decide to rejoin the workforce. My job skills are very eclectic so I don't generally have a difficult time finding a place to work.

I did some research on some of the towns that ya'll have suggested and they all appear worthy of a drive through. I sure hope to find someplace we can call home.

Thanks again for all your help!

[weisgarber1]

Originally Posted by J&Em

Would it make you feel better if I just said small city?? To me a medium sized city would be more like St Louis, Colorado Springs or Raleigh which all have nearly double the population of Knoxville.

Actually feelings have nothing to do with it, simply a correct definition. The following site, just one example, lists medium-sized cities as a population starting at 150k. I think this is representative, since cities span the gamut in size.

Moderator cut: link removed, please read our terms of service

[bevridge]

In may respects, Knoxville is a small town. In most places where you might have 6 degrees of separation, in Knoxville it is more like 2.

Even though we are a small town, we have a lot of big city amenities. And, if you don't see what you like here we are only 4 hours from Atlanta, 3 from Nashville (It will be dry again someday), 1 hour from the mountains, 7 from the ocean, and 7 lakes within 1 hour.

I think the current population of the City of Knoxville is somewhere around 180,000. The metro area is around 400,000. The MSA is about 800,000.

I would advise before you start packing though to be sure you have JOB here. I wouldn't move across the street unless I had one.

You can check out Knoxville at City of Knoxville - Newcomer Info. Schools can be checked out at TDOE: Report Card on TN Schools

Hope this helps.

Bob Evridge

[southernlady5464]

Well, it does depend on what you are looking for but don't count out Oak Ridge either. We can be in downtown Knoxville in 20-25 mins on a BAD day. We have good cell phone coverage here and because of the ORNL and Oak Ridge's history, we have good facilities here.

Some threads to check.
Oak Ridge Convention & Visitors Bureau
Ultra fast Google for city?

Something to consider...
We get all and I mean ALL our services bundled together, water, recycle and trash pickup, electricity (in an all electric house), so that includes heat and a/c. Our worst bill this year was less than $200. We are inside the city limits but live in Roane County so we pay lower taxes than those in Anderson County. But we are part of the TVA system.

And our house is not new so it isn't as energy efficient as it could be. (it leaks like a sieve and we are slowly correcting that).

We looked ALL over metro Knoxville before ending up here. We moved here from the coast of North Carolina and before that lived in Michigan.

Hot, yes it can be hot in the summer but not the same hot as the coast of NC. And not as hot as even the Piedmont area of SC (I grew up there around Greenville) or it doesn't last quite as long.

Best bet is come up and house hunt this summer to see if you handle the heat.

And consider ALL areas....do your homework about all parts of Knoxville. A good realtor will take you all over or at least send you information about the entire area. This area encompasses SIX metro areas not just one.

Liz