Igor Blevin's, "A Native Californian in Knoxville" (Chattanooga: appointed, apartments)

[TheShadow]

Originally Posted by Needanewhome123

Are the fish not safe to eat due to past pollution?


Are the trout safe to eat? Can you recommend a good mountain for me to start my search on trout fishing areas near Knoxville? I used to fish Sierra Nevadas and trout are my fav (behind ocean salmon)

The upper reaches of the Tellico River and Citico River flow into Tellico Lake and the Bald River flows into the upper Tellico River, all are good trout streams. Also flowing through Townsend and near the entrance to the Smoky Mountains national park is the Little River. The river flows through the park, but I think it's catch and release within the park. I often see fly fishermen on all these rivers. I understand the Clinch river north of Knoxville is good for trout too. Norris Lake is on the Clinch I beleieve and it's the clearest lake in TN and probably has some kind of lake trout. Here's an article about the clinch river trout: https://perfectflystore.com/your-str...-in-tennessee/

The fish are fine to eat. The only fish you shouldn't eat are catfish from Tellico Lake anywhere downstream from Chilhowee dam to Fort Loudon Dam. This is because may years ago someone dumped some transformers containing PCBs into the river below Chilhowee dam. The PCBs are heavy and sank to the bottom, and could have washed downstream. They have long since been covered over by years of sediment and silt, but catfish are bottom feeders and could potentially be contaminated. Other fish from Tellico Lake are fine.

[TheShadow]

Igor, here are a couple of greenway trails that are good for biking and casual walking/hiking.

https://www.traillink.com/trail/knox...ity-greenways/

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/t...alcoa-greenway

[Needanewhome123]

Originally Posted by creeksitter

Hunh, I got on Zillow and there are tons of houses under 250k. Were you limiting your search to the downtown zip code? What were your parameters?

I actually looked for houses in the Knoxville area for under 300k. I see about ~15 homes on Zillow right now. If you're seeing something different, can you tell me what you're using to search?


I would prefer a home in a safe area (obviously) and my likes and dislikes are very similar to what Igor has posted in this thread. So, I think the general area he lives in would be ideal for me.



However, I recall him saying that many of the houses nearby are super expensive....so I probably cannot afford a home in that area.


I was born/raised in a suburb of the West Coast that had lots of open space and trees. I would like to replicate that if possible. I like big front lawns and big back lawns and the more trees and grass, the merrier.



I do not like downtown, concrete, and lots of buildings—but would still like to be within a ~10-15-20-30 minute drive of Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc. Is this possible in Knoxville? If so, can you suggest a few areas I can narrow my search?



$300k is actually my upper limit. This is more from a down payment perspective than a mortgage perspective. However, I hope TN has "1st time homebuyer" programs I can take advantage of. I have pretty good credit, what used to be considered a "middle class income," and no real debt as such.

Originally Posted by TheShadow

The fish are fine to eat. The only fish you shouldn't eat are catfish from Tellico Lake anywhere downstream from Chilhowee dam to Fort Loudon Dam. This is because may years ago someone dumped some transformers containing PCBs into the river below Chilhowee dam. The PCBs are heavy and sank to the bottom, and could have washed downstream. They have long since been covered over by years of sediment and silt, but catfish are bottom feeders and could potentially be contaminated. Other fish from Tellico Lake are fine.

thanks for that tip. I enjoy catch and release for bass but love to smoke trout on my smoker. Ideally, I would like to get into fly fishing one day.


How are the hunting opportunities in Knoxville—are they close by? I like to hunt deer (and make deer jerky and eat deer steaks) and would like to get into duck hunting if possible.


And dumb question...but is TN a gun-friendly state? I'm assuming it is.

[Needanewhome123]

Originally Posted by Beretta

Please read the national news; the area has been hit with the housing crisis seen across the country. Secondarily, the area is seeing a large influx of transplants from the northeast and west coast.

BTW...is the large influx of immigrants changing the culture of Knoxville?



I would be coming in there to "do as the locals do" and not change a thing. I left the west coast for a reason and I prefer to not live in an area with a ton of the people I'm trying to avoid like the plague (when I say "people", I mean people in general, I do not mean race/religion/etc. Just average people/culture in general).


I had the good fortune of experiencing the last few good years of Boise, Idaho until people from San Francisco started showing up in droves and turning (and voting) that nice city into a carbon copy of the hell hole they left. After a few years, I couldn't stand the "holier than thou progressiveness" and decided to move.


It's getting to the point where I'm somewhat considering moving to some two-cow town out in the country to avoid the current-day east/west coast types.

[Igor Blevin]

Originally Posted by TheShadow

Igor, here are a couple of greenway trails that are good for biking and casual walking/hiking.

https://www.traillink.com/trail/knox...ity-greenways/

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/t...alcoa-greenway

Thanks for some great places to check out.

[Igor Blevin]

In my area of Knoxville, south of Farragut and a few miles east and west of me along the Tennessee River, there are a ton of homes on big lots with large spacious front yards full of grass. You see a lot of sit down lawn mowers here. And trees are in abudance, front and back. You don't need to buy acreage here or a ranchette. But they are expensive homes and "nobody sells till they die" sort of thing.

There are a lot of common homes on really large lots. That said, for under $300,000 you are not likely to get a house on a large lot unless you are on the fringe of town in a more rural setting.

[Barking Spider]

Originally Posted by Needanewhome123

BTW...is the large influx of immigrants changing the culture of Knoxville?



I would be coming in there to "do as the locals do" and not change a thing. I left the west coast for a reason and I prefer to not live in an area with a ton of the people I'm trying to avoid like the plague (when I say "people", I mean people in general, I do not mean race/religion/etc. Just average people/culture in general).


I had the good fortune of experiencing the last few good years of Boise, Idaho until people from San Francisco started showing up in droves and turning (and voting) that nice city into a carbon copy of the hell hole they left. After a few years, I couldn't stand the "holier than thou progressiveness" and decided to move.


It's getting to the point where I'm somewhat considering moving to some two-cow town out in the country to avoid the current-day east/west coast types.

The two cow towns out in the country (and there are lots) are not always the best place to move. In a very small town you will be an outsider, and might take a long time to ingrain yourself into the community. My daughter moved to a small town outside of Cleveland, TN and found the locals were somewhat difficult in a passive aggressive way. Nothing overt, but still, it was clear they were not accepted. They moved into Cleveland, TN and it was much better, but found that, while Cleveland is a fairly good sized town, it was VERY small town, as far as people knowing your business, etc.

[Igor Blevin]

My area of West Knoxville around Farragut is expensive. I went to Zillow to search for homes under $300,000 in a greater area around West Knoxville.

I did a search on "Knoxville", then I clicked on "remove boundary" and that gave me homes all over the map, not just within Knoxville. I then clicked the "houses" button and unchecked every box except for "houses" so only single-family homes for sale showed. Lastly, I set the price range to $0-$300,000.

There was only 1 home for sale in my area of West Knox, south of Farragut. None in Farragut. 1 in Harding Valley. And a score of homes much closer to downtown clustered around Amherst and Wooded Acres. Almost nothing south of Interstate 40.

However, there are a bunch of homes in and around Maryville, Oak Ridge, and Lenoir City. Maryville is the most like West Knoxville and probably where I will end up if I decide to stay in the Knoxville metro area, as homes are less expensive there. Maryville is actually closer to downtown Knoxville if I ever want to go to Market Square or see a show or something.

Since you have a $300k budget and want a more rural experience, there are a lot of homes for under $300,000 in the areas between these cities. You might be able to find exactly what you want as long as you stay away from the developed areas of the cities, and you would still have access to all of the outdoor activities you want.

You can even look for a house up near Powell or maybe south of South Knoxville.

I want to be "in town" sort as far as a developed suburb, so I am stuck with more expensive options than you are. If you just want land and trees and to be left alone, you may be able to get that by looking for a home between towns rather than in them. I don't mean out in the sticks but beyond the edges of town.

Blount County seems to have a lot of homes under $300,000 if you don't mind living furthr from town and shopping and such. At 63, I want to be fairly close to medical, and close to shopping as I age and it gets more difficult to drive. If you are younger and healthier, you could live in the gaps or away from town, and probably find exactly what you are looking for. There are a lot of choices here for under $300k, just not in the super popular "West Knoxville-near-the-river" area I love.

[creeksitter]

This is absolutely bizzarre. I logged into Zillow and did a search in Knoxville for 180k - 300k and found 257 agent listings and 39 other listings in Knoxville. Most (though not all) could be considered respectable neighborhoods. I wonder if Zillow tagged your phones as being from California and guide you towards higher prices. You might see if you have better results at a local library. (other than Farragut perhaps?)

[Igor Blevin]

creeksitter

I just did the same search you did but got 127 agent listings.

OK, I just zoomed out which dropped the Knoxville boundary, and matched your number of 257 listings.

My issue is not the number all over creation in all the areas I don't want to live or have high crime, it is finding a single-story home in my desired area. That is the issue, not how many are in the greater area overall with no regard to desired area.

Member "Needanewhome123" was probably just looking in the area where I want to live. If they widen their search, then yes there are a lot more choices. And that is how you end up buying a home -- you find out you are completely priced out where you really want to live and then you "settle" for a worse area where you don't really want to live but you can afford.

We are more at the starting point of "what can I get here" phase. Those 300 listings will come in handy when we get to the "well crap, I can't live anywhere I love because I can't afford it so where can I settle and compromise on" phase.