Retirement in Knoxville? (Alcoa, Loudon, Adams: 2013, apartments, lofts)

[Charlie&Rose]

Be very careful with Advantage plans.....for example, Mayo clinic in Fl, will not except Advantage. It may sound like a good plan, but for everything major, I have heard nothing but bad things. I do not know about TN, but I would do tons of research.

[Beretta]

Best advice is to come visit. You will learn a lot more that way. It's not easy to acclimate to this area if you are alone, and a senior, in my opinion.

Also, you may want to look into the Retirement forum to discuss Medicare advantage plans.

[DaveinMtAiry]

Having done this exercise several years ago before electing to stay in Maryland I can say that in my opinion the Knoxville area is a great choice. We were looking for a smaller town with easy access to Knoxville and decided Maryville fit our needs after researching every small/mid-sized town from West Virginia on down.

One thing I really liked about Knoxville is the extensive highway system makes getting around so easy. A look at a map, and using Washington DC as my reference point, I figured a journey would be 45 minutes and it was more like 20. As for safety I believe the east side of Knoxville may be a bad area, someone can correct me. But overall I got the impression that the area was safe, and the people sure are nice.

[Ampleapricots]

Having done this exercise several years ago before electing to stay in Maryland

May I ask why you decided to remain in Maryland after your search?

[Mom2M&J]

Hello! We are in a similar situation. We are 63, Jewish, conservative, and have late-in-life twins who are 16. We started looking into Knoxville when they both mentioned they're considering UT, and we like what we have read. We are going there on vacation next June to look at the school and neighborhoods.

[Adamson865]

Originally Posted by Beretta

It's not easy to acclimate to this area if you are alone, and a senior, in my opinion.

This comment stuck out at me and I wanted to ask why you think that is.

I waited until today to ask the question because today I finally got my offer letter - I'll be working at the UT Medical Center starting in mid-February. (First post in the Knoxville forum - hi everyone!)

I'm a single gay male, almost-senior (don't qualify for any discounts yet but AARP is after me to join!!!), but will be gainfully employed. Relocating from Tucson, Arizona, which was scruffy long before Knoxville ever assumed the mantle. (It's still very scruffy, but it's the desert!)

Libertarian politically so a pox on both the houses but that's not relevant. I've already identified quite a few things I want to get involved in, but was curious as to the "not easy to acclimate" statement.

[Riley.]

Originally Posted by Adamson520

This comment stuck out at me and I wanted to ask why you think that is.

I waited until today to ask the question because today I finally got my offer letter - I'll be working at the UT Medical Center starting in mid-February. (First post in the Knoxville forum - hi everyone!)

I'm a single gay male, almost-senior (don't qualify for any discounts yet but AARP is after me to join!!!), but will be gainfully employed. Relocating from Tucson, Arizona, which was scruffy long before Knoxville ever assumed the mantle. (It's still very scruffy, but it's the desert!)

Libertarian politically so a pox on both the houses but that's not relevant. I've already identified quite a few things I want to get involved in, but was curious as to the "not easy to acclimate" statement.

Congratulations. I'll be out your way in the spring. Time to leave the NE.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by DaveinMtAiry

Having done this exercise several years ago before electing to stay in Maryland I can say that in my opinion the Knoxville area is a great choice. We were looking for a smaller town with easy access to Knoxville and decided Maryville fit our needs after researching every small/mid-sized town from West Virginia on down.

One thing I really liked about Knoxville is the extensive highway system makes getting around so easy. A look at a map, and using Washington DC as my reference point, I figured a journey would be 45 minutes and it was more like 20. As for safety I believe the east side of Knoxville may be a bad area, someone can correct me. But overall I got the impression that the area was safe, and the people sure are nice.

The east side is really rough. I've been through there more times than I care to.

OP - West Knoxville and Farragut are generally the most affluent parts of the area with the best shopping, nicest/newest homes, etc. There are exceptions.

Maryville is fine, but it's across the river, not terribly easy access to south side Knoxville with the airport traffic/river crossing, and there's not much "there, there" - IMO. I had a job offer there a few years ago - it didn't fit at all for me or my girlfriend at the time. We preferred to stay where we were.

Like anywhere, it's about what you can afford and what you expect in terms of amenities and such. Great for some, not for others. I'd like Knoxville fine, much better than upper east TN for a variety of reasons, but certainly not on my "preferred" list.

[DaveinMtAiry]

Originally Posted by Ampleapricots

May I ask why you decided to remain in Maryland after your search?

I can pinpoint the moment. I was riding my bike at a friends house in a small town on the Chesapeake Bay on Maryland's Eastern Shore. As I rode by farmland smelling the salt air I was reminded that 100 miles away as the crow flies where we live in Mt Airy you can see the Appalachian Mountains from Main Street. The 2 areas look like you are in 2 different parts of the country. I was reminded how much I like Maryland and most everyone we know and love are here. We would have known nobody in Tennessee and without working that may have limited our opportunities. Never had a problem making friends but I've also never had to start from scratch before either.

I also started driving Uber in retirement and decided I really liked it. Driving around chatting with people was a job meant for me. Had we moved to Tennessee in 2024 as planned we would have been financially independent. The decision to stay means I will have to drive a day a week for the foreseeable future. I'm willing to do that.

But I will always have a soft spot for Tennessee, such a beautiful state. I have been rooting for Vols football for several years, in part because I went to Maryland and wanted to experience REAL big time college football. I still love the area and probably would have liked it but we just like it here.

[SkyNSea55]

Originally Posted by Mom2M&J

Hello! We are in a similar situation. We are 63, Jewish, conservative, and have late-in-life twins who are 16. We started looking into Knoxville when they both mentioned they're considering UT, and we like what we have read. We are going there on vacation next June to look at the school and neighborhoods.

Have your twins visited the UT campus? Our son graduated from UT Knoxville, however the majority of the students came from TN high schools. He transferred in from a northeast college due to our relocation, but it was difficult for him to acclimate. Could have been because he did not start as a Freshman, but many of the students had interests that differed from what he had been familiar with. A bit of a culture shock, but he got through it and then relocated to the SC coast.
On the other hand, I thought TN was a refreshing change from the northeast once we settled in. Nice people, beautiful scenery and no state income tax!