Lake City/Rocky Top? (Knoxville, Oak Ridge: crime rate, houses, living in)

[lovesufjan]

Hello,

My husband and I are moving to the area and had a couple of questions maybe someone would be kind enough to answer. My sister lives in Clinton so we want to be close to her. We were looking at a house in Lake City with some land but were wondering about the area. Is Lake City a run down town? Is it a nice place to live? I am not trying to sound rude asking if it is run down and I know everybody's opinion is different, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[hondaguy83]

I wouldn't say Lake City was nice or run down...Its not really either...Its a decent place to live if you like the rural small town slower pace of life feel...I'm sure you could find some pretty nice acreage in LC for a decent price...Far as things to do goes,You would end up spending most of your time in Clinton and Oak Ridge probably since there really isn't a whole lot to do or see there

[hiknapster]

It's very small; less than a couple thousand. Crime rate isn't too bad but 32 percent of its folks live at the poverty level or worse. That's staggering. It's only about 30 minutes to Knoxville.

https://www.city-data.com/city/Lake-City-Tennessee.html

[cuatro]

It is a run down town IMO...and a lot of stereotypical issues that unfortunately tend to go along with poverty. With out going into great detail, I went out there a lot for work related reasons.

[lovesufjan]

I guess it is just been really hard for us to find the right place without living in TN and knowing the areas. There is an awesome home in Lake City with almost 3 acres for about $230,000. I would most likely be working in Knoxville (dental hygienist) so I guess I wouldn't be spending much time in Lake City, but I am worried we will find a house and regret moving to a "bad" town. To me it seems like in all of the tiny surrounding towns you have nice homes sandwiched between trailers. Is that the norm?

[cuatro]

That is my impression too lovesufjan....and I lived here for about 4 years. Coming from Virginia Beach, I had some culture shock.

Are you specifically looking for a house with a lot of land?

[lovesufjan]

Yeah, at least 2-3 acres, hopefully more. The most we are looking to spend is about $250,000, which seems like we could get something pretty decent. I am down for living just about anywhere in the area. I was just looking on realtor.com and Tellico Plains seems pretty nice too. I don't know how far that is from Knox. I just started looking at houses there a couple of minutes ago.

[creeksitter]

Surely you can find something in your price range closer to work. The money and time you'd save on commuting could be used to do repairs if need be.

[hondaguy83]

Tellico Plains isn't much better than Lake City...Its about a 45 min drive to Knox from there..That is if you go up 411 and thru Maryville without to much traffic...Tellico Plains is near Madisonville,And Madisonville isn't the best area...Talk about trailer parks and run down places,Thats about what it is down there..Not to mention all the meth users thats in the area as well...Why not look into Norris or something? Theres some great lakefront property there thats really not to pricey either yet...Just my two cents on the matter tho

[BRH]

Originally Posted by lovesufjan

I was just looking on realtor.com and Tellico Plains seems pretty nice too. I don't know how far that is from Knox. I just started looking at houses there a couple of minutes ago.

I wouldn't really recommend Tellico Plains if you are working in Knoxville (unless you don't mind really long commutes). T. Plains is about 60 to 70 miles from Knoxville. It lies at the foothills of the Cherokee National Forest near the Cherohala Skyway. It's a beautiful area if you like the mountains, but is really rural and out of the way. It is at the lower end of Monroe County, which is a very large county (landwise). The upper end of Monroe County (around Sweetwater) is located on the interstate and is much closer to Knoxville (about 35 to 40 miles and 35 or 40 minutes), but from the upper end of Monroe County (Sweetwater) to Tellico Plains is 25 miles on a state road which adds another 30 minutes or so. Also, there is very little in the way of stores and restaurants in Tellico Plains. (Sav A Lot is the only grocery there). The closest basic shopping would be about 15 miles away in Madisonville (Wal Mart, Ingles, fast food chains, etc.). But for larger shopping needs, like malls, Lowes, Home Depot, nicer restaurants, etc., you'd have to drive to Maryville, Knoxville, or Athens (all of which would be at least 45 min. to 60 min. away).

Don't get me wrong. T. Plains is a beautiful area, but it is off the beaten path and will require a long commute for most things. I would look closer in to Knoxville (and near either I-75 or I-40). I would check places like Lenoir City, Loudon, Kingston, Philadelphia, Harriman, etc. to the west and south. All of these would give you a 20 to 30 min. commute into west Knoxville (the main area of shopping, dining, business offices, etc.) Also, you can find rural areas with the amount of acreage you want in these places, usually a few miles outside of the towns. The counties I'm talking about would be Loudon, Roane, upper Monroe, and Blount).

(Oops, I forgot you wanted to be close to Clinton. If that is your first priority, then I'd probably look north of town off of I-75. The Norris suggestion would be a good idea. Coming from the north side, you'll be farther from all of the shopping, etc. that's centered in west Knoxville, but you'll be closer to your relatives in Clinton. The mention of Tellico Plains had me thinking west and south of town. Tellico Plains would definitely NOT be recommended if you want to commute to Clinton. It's in the opposite direction from Knoxville and would be about 80 miles and 1 hour 40 min. from Clinton, according to google maps).