I'm Heeeeeere - Newbie In Oak Ridge (Knoxville: apartment complex, to rent)

[LauraC]

Here I am again...at the library (you get 2 hrs a day on the Internet). Thanks everyone for the welcome. It means a lot.

I'm official now. I just got my Tennessee plates (one with the smallmouth bass) today. Unfortunately, that's the closest I have gotten to a fish. Went fishing yesterday morning but I was apparently offering TV dinners when the fish wanted steak. They were jumping all around me but I didn't have what they wanted. I did get a tip this morning though and apparently my color lures were wrong. Will try again later this week.

So, now I have been here 15 days. I have my driver's license, my plates, my checks with the new address, my fishing license, my parking tag for the college and my library card. I have cable (there is no TV station I had in Maryland that I don't have here plus I get a few more here in TN - all on different channels, of course).

The only reason I don't have Internet yet is because I don't have my desk yet and didn't want to get connected without the desk or I would have that already. I must say every service-related experience has been great so far.

Here's what took me a little longer to find in Oak Ridge but I did find them:

a car (the kind for lazy people where the machines do the work) wash - this is actually on the road where I live. DUH!

Home Depot (it's right by the college, I just didn't notice it before)

talk radio stations - I was looking in all of the wrong places. I just assumed the nationally syndicated people were all on AM like back in MD and I couldn't find who I wanted to listen to by surfing the stations but 2 of the 3 people I listen to are on an FM Knoxville station. I had to do that research on the Internet or I would have never found them. The other one is carried on an AM Knoxville station.

hot dogs in their casing - found Boars Head in the deli section of Krogers

Italian: Also located sweet Italian sausage, hunks of Romano cheese (for grating), tomato paste and tomato puree.

Unlike one poster mentioned in the past, I have had no problem with finding decent meat (not grey). I think it may be because the 2 stores (Krogers, Food City) I food shop in appear to do a lot of business in my new town so the meat turns over quickly. I haven't purchased chicken yet.

The jury is out on the bagels in the bagel store. I have heard that the reason bagels taste different in different cities/towns/states is because of the differences in the water and not because of the way the bagels are made. There isn't anything wrong with them. They're just different.

I have found all of the same brands of food that I use with the exception of frozen cavatelli, ravioli and seltzer.

Another plus, I thought I was going to have a problem locating Tart Cherry Juice which you usually find in health food stores but I actually found the same brand here in an organic section of Kroger's.

My bank is here in OR. My Insurance company is here in OR. There's a multiplex movie theater here in OR. There's a Blockbuster here. Every fast food joint I had in MD is here with the exception of Boston Market but then again, OR has Buddy's Barbecue so who needs BM.

What I wish there was in Oak Ridge - A Best Buy and a Border's Books. But, I had to drive to another town for them where I used to live so it's a wash.

Pimpy, I saw Big Eds. I will try it. Don't know about that swing, though.

[jmarkey]

There is a Books-A-Million near Kroger. I know it's not as good as Borders, but it's good in a pinch if you don't want to go into Knoxville and the prices are better. It's in the next plaza up S. Illinois from the Kroger plaza.

[Pimpy]

Forget Books-A-Million and Borders. If you live in Oak Ridge, the only bookstore you need is Mr. K's Used Books, in the Kroger shopping center on Illinois Ave.

The last time I was in town, I bought Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full in mint condition hardcover for $2.00. Yes, you read that right: two dollars. The price at Books-A-Million? $28.00.

They have never not had what I've gone in looking for, and I read some pretty obscure stuff. They also give you credits for books you bring in, so if you've got a large stockpile of books you don't need anymore, you can trade them straight up for stacks of new books.

Only shop at those fancy bookstores if you just love throwing your money away.

[jmarkey]

Thanks for the tip, Pimply.

I'll be hotfooting it down there ASAP. Sounds like a really good bookstore.

[carla4945]

Great post LauraC, You are covering all the bases, making it easy for us, that are in the planning process!!! Thank you soo much!!!
Carla
PD: How come you like italian food so much?

[GrannyLois]

Laura, so glad to hear that things are going so well. Your report was so thorough and so positive!

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by Pimpy

Forget Books-A-Million and Borders. If you live in Oak Ridge, the only bookstore you need is Mr. K's Used Books, in the Kroger shopping center on Illinois Ave.

The last time I was in town, I bought Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full in mint condition hardcover for $2.00. Yes, you read that right: two dollars. The price at Books-A-Million? $28.00.

They have never not had what I've gone in looking for, and I read some pretty obscure stuff. They also give you credits for books you bring in, so if you've got a large stockpile of books you don't need anymore, you can trade them straight up for stacks of new books.

Only shop at those fancy bookstores if you just love throwing your money away.

I read almost 100% non-fiction and it's mostly political or event related so I'm usually buying those books when they first come out or they are "old news." But for biographies, true crime, and reference I'll check out the used bookstore by Krogers. Books A Million does not seem to have "timely" nonfiction so I'll probably go back to ordering the political stuff from Amazon.

[hiknapster]

I get all of my current non-fiction from the local library. What they don't have they can order.

Speaking of libraries, I just drove by the Oak Ridge library, so you must have been in there LauraC! Had I only known, you could have met Lauren and me.

We were over in Oak Ridge because I went to the doctor off of Pellissippi and then, in the interest of city-data research <cough,cough>, I had lunch at Big Ed's.

It tastes like New York pizza. I'm not a fan of that style, but the dough is homemade and the local ambiance is terrific. It's very basic pizza, no fancy designer stuff, and soda and beer.

We really liked it. Lauren and I give it 4 out of 5 stars!

[inave]

Hey, LauraC and Hiknapster, I'll be at the Secret City Festival on Saturday from 9-11:30 at our church tent (West Village Christian Church). I think it's going to be close to the petting zoo. Would love to meet ya both! Welcome to Oak Ridge, Laura. I think you live in the same apartments some friends of ours just moved into. Gorgeous, 3 bedrooms. Love it.

[hiknapster]

Thanks! I'll have that day off. Lauren and I will come on down!