Igor Blevin's, "A Native Californian in Knoxville" (Maryville: low crime, new home)

[mzfroggez]

THe best high schools in the area have math scores in the 20s?

Originally Posted by Igor Blevin

The above is mess to read because I am anal, so I like to add links to support, etc, but it makes it unreadable.

The format is unreadable, so I have redone it for easier digestion. This is a little more clear. You still have the links above, so you can dig deeper and look at other cities like Sevierville or Lenoir City.




Best Elementary Schools

West Knoxville, Sequoyah Elementary School - Math 85%, Reading 81%

West Knoxville, Farragut Middle School, Knoxville - Math 74%, Reading 65%

Maryville, Sam Houston Elementary School - Math 70%, Reading 60%

Maryville, Foothills Elementary School - Math 60%, Reading 65%

Oak Ridge, Woodland Elementary School - Math 50%, Reading 40%

Oak Ridge, Glenwood Elementary School - Math 45%, Reading 40%


Best High Schools

West Knoxville, Farragut High School - Math 35%, Reading 72%

West Knoxville, LN Stem Academy - Math 25%, Reading 80%

Maryville, Maryville High School - Math 20%, Reading 67%

Maryville, William Blount High School - Math 22%, Reading 43%

Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge High School - Math 16%, Reading 57%


The lists above were just taking the best couple of schools in each city. This does not mean that say, the top school in Maryville is better than the top 3-5 in West Knox. I just wanted to give a quick representation, best vs. best for the 3 cities. If I a made a list of best 20 elementary shools, for all I know it could be several are West Knox before one in Maryville or Oak Ridge. I don't know - I didn't dig that far.

Parents like West Knox. Schools improve with wealthier, active parents. It becomes self fulfilling.

[Igor Blevin]

Your Knoxville/East Tennessee housing update for 2023, from WATE 6 TV news.

I am still house hunting and finding nothing I want west of the Pellissippi Parkway in my $450,000 price range. I will give it one more year before I strongly consider giving up on West Knox and settle for Powell, Halls Crossroads, or Maryville.

It looks like I will be on the sidelines again all 2023. I am waiting for the right home, not for a price reduction or any kind of a "crash". The longer I wait, the more I will have to pay as Knoxville homes are still appreciating on strong demand.

Knoxville is still booming.


The WATE video below is short, but here is the jist of it.

It is still a Seller's Market in Knoxville/East Tennessee.

New homes are selling as fast as they are built, with waiting lists for new construction. No starter homes or affordable homes are being built. Builders are going for maximum profit. Who can blame them when everything is selling?

Existing home inventory is back to 2019 pre-pandemic levels, when supply was still inadequate for the demand, but not massively so.

Existing home sales are slowing and price appreciation is flattening. Area homes will appreciate another 5% this year.

Knoxville median selling price is $318,000, down from $335,000 last May, so sales of luxury homes are probably falling off faster than less expensive homes. The least expensive homes are still being immediately snatched up.

The most expensive areas are Farragut, Concord, Bluegrass, Hardin Valley, and downtown Knoxville. They didn't mention tony Sequoyah Hills, so maybe nothing is even for sale there.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWunjyjsaUk

[Igor Blevin]

Originally Posted by mzfroggez

Too funny. I figured it was a typo but wasn't coming up with what it might be/even googled it in case it was an acronym that I was too old to know

I just finished reading all your posts as well as the many replies. Thank you so much for your insight. You covered so many issues that concern us as well.

What would be some good news sources for the surrounding Knoxville area? Local radio or local newspapers/websites/facebook pages?

I've heard positives about good sheriffs in various localities which may be of more and more importance in the coming days, months, years so another thing we'll be checking out.

PS Thanks for the heads up on crime stats.

PSS : Is the area a "I do not comply with anything called a new normal" ? Hope so.

I don't know of any good news sources. I am out of touch. No TV and I don't read newspapers.

It is worth mentioning that I get lousy radio reception out here in West Knoxville. I can't be sure of that. Maybe Knoxville doesn't have very many radio stations in English language that aren't just sports or religion. I don't know. It seems like the numerous hills interfere with radio broadcasts and Kxoxville may not have repeating stations out here.

Some day I have to do a deep dive into radio here, but so far it seems really deficient. There is not much. I was spoiled in Sacramento, as I could pick up stations from 90 miles away in San Francisco, and there were plenty. I am sure we can't get radio from Nashville as it is pushing 200 miles away, as is Atlanta. Our big hills are in the way of radio waves.

I am not sure I understand your last question. If you are asking about the culture in Knoxville, I would just say it is more like 70s California than current California.

[creeksitter]

You can buy a Keep Knoxville Scruffy bumper sticker at Earth to Old City in Market Square if you want one for a souvenir.

[TheShadow]

The Knoxville paper is the Knoxville News Sentinel. You can subscribe for the online version. The local TV stations with news that I watch are WATE and WBIR.

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

Originally Posted by Igor Blevin

I40 is really bad but not for hours at a stretch. If you can flex when you start and end your work day, a bit earlier or later, you can beat the worst of it and have an OK commute. Don't let it terrify you. This isn't Los Angeles where you are commuting 45 miles in gridlock. It is just 10-15 miles and doesn't last that long.

It is not like the entire 10 mile stretch is stop and go. It varies day to day where that 3-mile stack up bottleneck is. So you are really only talking about 3 or 4 miles of stop and go in that 15 mile commute. This isn't the San Francisco bay bridge toll plaza or the Holland Tunnel.

It is not that long for not that much time not all along the route. It can be worked around if you have the shift freedom and it is not a deal breaker if you don't. It is just a "con" among Knoxville pros and cons.

You also have surface streets if you are south of I40. Not really so much in the north, as you end up taking a long circuitous route just to avoid freeway congestion. You don't gain anything. You may be moving, but a lot longer distance overall. It is not worth it.

For a modest sized city, I'm amazed just how bad traffic is! Granted, much of that isn't locals/commuting, it's interstate on both I-40 and I-75 converging there. 40 seems bad everywhere, all the way to the I-81 split heading East. It's a shame because otherwise the city seems very nice, from what time I've spent there.

[Adamson865]

Originally Posted by Toyman at Jewel Lake

For a modest sized city, I'm amazed just how bad traffic is! Granted, much of that isn't locals/commuting, it's interstate on both I-40 and I-75 converging there. 40 seems bad everywhere, all the way to the I-81 split heading East. It's a shame because otherwise the city seems very nice, from what time I've spent there.

I didn't see the post you quoted because I have him on mute, but the simple answer is not to live long distances from your work and your needs. If you have a heinous 10-15 mile interstate commute from your job, then either (a) move or (b) change jobs. The 1950's suburban dream of tract houses dozens of miles out of town thankfully is ending. When I landed my job here in Knoxville, I knew I wanted to live within a three-mile radius that didn't involve highway driving. I found that, and my commute is nine minutes. I haven't seen an interstate in the month since I got here.

[TheShadow]

After living in CA my entire life (except 4 years) until I moved to TN, the traffic to me is really mild compared to what I experienced every day in CA. The rush hour here is actually an hour, not the 3 hours in the AM and 3 hours in the PM we had in CA. The only place I really have encountered an ongoing issue is near the I-40 and I-640 interchange. That area is always messed up, but only for about a mile and a half, not the 20-mile-long bumper to bumper traffic jams I've experienced elsewhere.

Your mileage may vary, but it's pretty easy to avoid traffic here. Live near your job, and don't take the freeway in the downtown area between 4:30 and 6:00 PM, and avoid Alcoa Highway northbound in the AM and southbound in the PM until that construction gets finished.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by TheShadow

avoid Alcoa Highway northbound in the AM and southbound in the PM until that construction gets finished.

I first moved to Knoxville in grad school 31 years ago and there was construction on Alcoa Hwy. I moved back to Knoxville 22 years ago and there was construction on Alcoa Hwy. I moved away 10 years ago and there was still construction on Alcoa Hwy. It will never end.

[TheShadow]

Originally Posted by JMT

I first moved to Knoxville in grad school 31 years ago and there was construction on Alcoa Hwy. I moved back to Knoxville 22 years ago and there was construction on Alcoa Hwy. I moved away 10 years ago and there was still construction on Alcoa Hwy. It will never end.

LOL! I know it's ridiculous how slow and inefficient the highway projects are here. It took them 6 years to build a bridge over the river to replace the road over the dam. 6 years on one project! They never work on nights, weekends, holidays, days that it rains or freezes, or if there's any reason at all to delay the entire project for some minor glitch in any one part of it.