West Coast People in Knoxville- What are Your Thoughts? (Chattanooga: condos, new construction)

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaGrl

I did look at Seymour, would be great for my parents. But for me I think in Knoxville is better for job prospects. We found a house online we are interested in. Great to know people are friendly. I am ready to get out of the rat race.

Maryville has good housing, but then again a job for myself, I don't know about the area, or that there is that much available there. A commute to anywhere is not something I want to ever do again after California.
Thanks for the input!

Glad you are happy there!

You will enjoy Knoxville.

[PhxBuckeye]

We (my wife, our two daughters under 10yo and I) are officially moving from the Phoenix-metro area to the Knoxville area in March. I can't wait to leave my daily commute behind! I'll be working from home once we get there. I'll gladly trade the Phoenix area's/Maricopa County's 4-million for Knoxville.

We're not total strangers to East Tennessee as my parents live in Tellico Village and we've visited the area several times. We'll be back for a week in October to scout neighborhoods, churches (leaving our current church here will be by far the hardest part of the move) and schools. My wife and I were also married in Tennessee and honeymooned in Gatlinburg.

If we end up in Maryville we'll be happy with that as we've met some very nice people there (hi Kathi & Mark) and went to service at a great church, Blount Community Church, that felt a lot like ours (Christ's Church of the Valley). However, if I had to say right now, things are trending towards West Knoxville for us.

From what I've seen, the commuting issues in Knoxville are nothing compared to Phoenix. My wife didn't learn to drive until she was in her 20s when she moved to this country from the Philippines and doesn't like to drive too much. She's a nurse and there seem to be more opportunities in Knoxville for her than there are out in Maryville, so I feel obligated to live in that area.

I can't wait to enjoy the seasons again, which I haven't had regularly since going to college away from Phoenix nearly 20 years ago. My oldest is having a little anxiety over leaving her school. However, she loves fishing and her grandparents so I have no doubt she'll feel comfortable quickly. I'm also hoping the fall foliage will be at its peak when we're there in October. That would really sweep her off her feet.

I'm really looking forward to leaving the heat behind (I know it's a dry heat). It's not so much the 100-plus degree days that I don't like, it's that when they start in May/June they don't stop until the fall.

I'm also looking forward to living in a college football-crazy town. I don't think I'll ever be able to claim UT as the program I throw my 100% of my support behind, but I love college sports and can't wait to attend big time college football games again regularly. Too bad UT is orange as I've always thought it's a terrible color for clothing. Still, it's a lot better than the pretentious, made up color of "maize."

Anyway, sorry about the stream of consciousness. We're excited to get there!


P.S.

Does anyone know of a map that shows the names of the neighborhoods/subdivisions in West Knoxville? One of the issues we're having while trying to research areas we want our real estate agent to focus on is knowing the names of the neighborhoods. We're use to much more defined neighborhoods. We want to be in a neighborhood/subdivision that has a community feel, but not one where the houses are as on top of each other as they are here. We just don't want it to be too spread out where the girls can't comfortably and safely walk/bike to their friend's houses.

Thanks in advance.

[CaliforniaGrl]

Thanks for your thoughts on moving, my parents and myself are about to put our places on the market in San Diego and we have been looking at houses in Farragut and all other areas including Strawberry Plains.
I think Maryville is too far out for finding decent work, I'm a medical assistant and I can't see a lot of job opportunities in Maryville. Check out the maps on "Redfin". You can scroll the map and the houses in each area will be shown for sale, it helps you get an idea of the names of the areas.
Good luck to you both in your move, and hope you find a church out in the area you guys will be happy with. The west has turned in to a nightmare, overcrowding, rude people, and overpricing. Not to mention the heat and drought, and the possibility of devastating earthquakes.

[PhxBuckeye]

The "culture" here has really changed and not for the better.

[CaliforniaGrl]

I hear ya! that's the truth of it

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by PhxBuckeye

I'm really looking forward to leaving the heat behind (I know it's a dry heat). It's not so much the 100-plus degree days that I don't like, it's that when they start in May/June they don't stop until the fall.



Does anyone know of a map that shows the names of the neighborhoods/subdivisions in West Knoxville? One of the issues we're having while trying to research areas we want our real estate agent to focus on is knowing the names of the neighborhoods. We're use to much more defined neighborhoods. We want to be in a neighborhood/subdivision that has a community feel, but not one where the houses are as on top of each other as they are here. We just don't want it to be too spread out where the girls can't comfortably and safely walk/bike to their friend's houses.

Thanks in advance.

Heat runs from May straight into the fall. It was in the 90s here on Sunday. It has finally cooled down today. It's also an incredibly humid heat. It doesn't feel as bad as South Florida, but coming from the West, it may not be tolerable to you.

What is your housing budget? How much do you want to spend on buying a house?

I can't find a neighborhood map, but this one really gives some great info. Just scroll down a bit.

https://www.city-data.com/county/Knox_County-TN.html

[PhxBuckeye]

Ideally, I'd like to be at $275k or under as my wife if making noise about wanting to continue her education and I'd like for her to be able to do that without having to work at all while going to school. Being in a neighborhood with three really good assigned schools is the first priority.

We were back there for nearly two weeks in August. I didn't think the heat/humidity were too bad.

Thx

[Mister 7]

Originally Posted by PhxBuckeye

Ideally, I'd like to be at $275k or under as my wife if making noise about wanting to continue her education and I'd like for her to be able to do that without having to work at all while going to school. Being in a neighborhood with three really good assigned schools is the first priority.

We were back there for nearly two weeks in August. I didn't think the heat/humidity were too bad.

Thx

Check zipcodes 37919, 22, 23, and 34. Cream of the crop of West Knoxville, basically. $275k will get you quite a nice home. Not McMansion, but think good-sized 4br updated with nice appliances, floors, and countertops. (What are real estate prices like in PHX btw?)

Also, the orange is supposed to be tacky. It's just a Vols thing. My husband is from upstate NY and wondered the same thing. Now he bleeds orange, especially after I just took him to his first game at Neyland. I agree other teams have prettier colors but I wouldn't want ours any different, not in a million years. But, I'm from here, lol. I moved out west for two years (Los Angeles) and was so homesick I had to come back, lol.

[Barking Spider]

Here is the story of the UT colors. I don't think "tacky" was one of the reasons.

Charles Moore, president of the university's athletic association, chose orange and white for the school colors on April 12, 1889. His inspiration is said to have come from orange and white daisies which grew on the Hill. To this day there are still orange and white flowers grown outside the University Center. Although students confirmed the colors at a special meeting in 1892, dissatisfaction caused the colors to be dropped. No other acceptable colors could be agreed on, however, and the original colors were reinstated a day later. The University of Tennessee's official colors are UT Orange (Pantone 151), White, and Smokey Gray (Pantone 426).

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Barking Spider

Here is the story of the UT colors. I don't think "tacky" was one of the reasons.

Charles Moore, president of the university's athletic association, chose orange and white for the school colors on April 12, 1889. His inspiration is said to have come from orange and white daisies which grew on the Hill. To this day there are still orange and white flowers grown outside the University Center. Although students confirmed the colors at a special meeting in 1892, dissatisfaction caused the colors to be dropped. No other acceptable colors could be agreed on, however, and the original colors were reinstated a day later. The University of Tennessee's official colors are UT Orange (Pantone 151), White, and Smokey Gray (Pantone 426).

Thank you. Funny how a couple of transplants know this story.

I even know the Pantone colors by heart. I guess that comes from punching your ticket at the VFL booth.