Is all of Tennessee high humidity? (Knoxville, Oak Ridge: low crime, home, inspections)

[Jim Mac]

We're looking into retirement areas in a small town, low crime, lakes close by to fish, affordable housing, near the mountains and NOT HIGH humidity. I read about Maryville as a possibility. What areas and small towns do you recommend? Thanks.

[RS-1080]

NOT HIGH humidity, anywhere in TN?

Good luck

There are some cheap area's to live in with nice hills near lakes ( or at least the lake here ). Taxes on our 5 year old 4 bedroom and 11 acres is only 330.00 a year, and car tags are only 24.00 a year also.No inspections, no emissions testing and no wheel taxes here either.Pretty cheap living, but living here since 74, I can tell you it is humid. I remember going to Texas and working a job there during July and Aug, and in Sept when I retured home in TN, I sweat my but off here in 10 degree cooler temps than Texas was when I left there not sweating. Low to mid 90's here you'll sweat outside, but summer before last it stayed over 100 for weeks hitting 108 one day breaking a record in our county.Talk about hot,add our humitity to that and you'll smother. While working in TX in temps exceeding ours in the late 80's, it seemed like a dry heat 'to me' and I didn't sweat a lick there after being used to our TN sticky kinda heat. Dad tells me each summer that TN humid heat ain't nothing to complain about as he was raised in FL.

If it's more humid down yonder, you can bet I'll just stay up here in TN

[Jim Mac]

Thanks. What about the mountain areas like Maryville? High humidity also?

[alleycat]

You can go to the main City-Data page and look up weather information for most towns, along with all sorts of other information.

Here's the page for Maryville: https://www.city-data.com/city/Maryville-Tennessee.html

[shammy79]

Honestly, I think it's relative to your own tolerance level for humidity. Compared to where we used to live (MD/VA/DC region) it seems as though there is no humidity. However, many of the "locals" continuously comment on how humid it is here.

[kamoshika]

IMO, much of NE Tennessee offers most if not all of what you're looking for.

RE: humidity, it's really the dew point that matters more in terms of comfort. Here are the average (mean) July & August temps and dew points for three places over the past three years:

La Crosse, WI: temp. 73, dew point 63

Tri-Cities, TN: temp. 75, dew point 63

Maryville, TN: temp. 79, dew point 66

[LauraC]

Compared to what you (coming from the North) are probably used to it's very hot and humid here in the summer. I live in Oak Ridge which is slightly north and west of Knoxville. My favorite time here is mid-October through mid-May for being outdoors for long periods of time.

Between May 15 - October 15, I go outside for shorter periods of time during the day because the humidity just zaps you.

If you go to the Maryville page on City Data:

https://www.city-data.com/city/Maryville-Tennessee.html

there is a humidity chart (scroll down).

Do you consider Maryville to be a small town with a population of 27,600? It's 15.9 square miles with a population density of 1681 people per square mile. City Data categorizes any place with a population of more than 6,000 as a bigger town.

[Suzanne45]

Originally Posted by Jim Mac

We're looking into retirement areas in a small town, low crime, lakes close by to fish, affordable housing, near the mountains and NOT HIGH humidity. I read about Maryville as a possibility. What areas and small towns do you recommend? Thanks.

We are originally from WI but have lived in the humidity capital of the US--inland Central FL for 30+ years. I feel that residency allows me to speak from experience--

From our 5-week experience in Maryville during July and August, I can tell you that TN humidity doesn't hold a candle to humidity in the Orlando area. Yes, the mornings are steamy--hence, Smoky Mountains' name--but by 9 or 10 the humidity goes back to 'normal' and wha la--gorgeous weather.

[knoxgarden]

I've been to Wisconsin in August (Cedar Lake area) and I thought the humidy was worse than Knoxville area. It was a lot hotter, especially at night.
I moved to Knoxville from south Georgia and I also lived in Washington, D.C. for most of my life. I find the humidity in Knoxville to be non-existent compared to both of those places. You don't start dripping as soon as you walk outside.
For most of the summer, Knoxville, Maryville and surrounding areas get a nice breeze off the mountains starting about 3 in the afternoon.
East Tennessee's climate in general is very agreeable. It doesn't stay too hot for long or too cold for long but you do have four real seasons.

[JoAnn5]

Tims Ford Lake down in southern middle TN is nice... very near mountains and is about as "un-humid" (lol) as anywhere else in the state. The housing is affordable also.