I've lived in Fort Lauderdale, FL; Orlando, FL; Little Rock, AR; Johnson City, TN; Knoxville, TN; and Asheville, NC and by far the most affordable cities have been in TN. I loved living in Knoxville, I have allergies, and found that the living is quite affordable. I am not a rich doctor; I work in e-commerce and make around 30k a year. We're actually planning a move BACK to Knoxville because we loved it so much and miss it. We love the proximity to the National Park and Forest, we love the shopping, the friendly people, and quality of living. I didn't find it to have a lot of storms and overcast days, and certainly the threat of tornadoes is nothing like it was living in Little Rock. I guess because where we're from in Florida afternoon thunderstorms are normal, I never noticed excessive bad weather and I am TERRIFIED of tornadoes; its precisely why we left Arkansas. All in all, I think that Knoxville is a wonderful place to live!
Terry | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Report Abuse

knoxville is the worst place to live - building costs are excessive compared to nearby cities like nashville and other south east cheap building areas - its weather is the worst in the country for storms and tonadoes and it gray most of the time from fall till summer and wet too - allergies are the worst in the nation - 10$ is going rate for all jobs - since 1995 and holding steady through 2012 - every professional works a 4 day week and is off thurs or fridays or both - so if you are a doctor or lawyer you ok - butjunior lawyers dont make much 35k per year - doctors will make about 2 times that of other cities. sun is hard to come by so leave work early when the sun comes out - sun is easy to come by in the summer only but with the price of 100 degree 100% humid days with no relief at night fall. yes its an easy city to drive around so long as you dont leave west knoxville crime is about 5 - 10 times national average in all areas of knoxville minus the west side - clothing and outlet shopping is the only plus of town as its dirt cheap. though you pay your nice hefty discount right back to the state with the 10% tax on anything - it will gag you to pay 499 for a sofa and by the time u add delivery and tax you paid 750 for it - u have a cheap 499 sofa but by the time its home its 750 - in another city you could have leather for this. food prices are very high compared to other cities and dont expect to show up at store 5 min before closing and be welcomed you will have employees gaurding the doors and turning you away - no one works a moment more than they have to - infact the work less than they should ..the mountains are no as accessible as you think - it takes a good hour to get anywhere and when the weather is good enough you wont even find parking anywhere in the mountains within an hour of the city - and it will be wall to wall people - pretty much kills the mountain experience - ofcourse you can go on one of the 275 rainy days of the year if you like that kind of thing. people here do drive relatively well obeying the road rules about as well as any place i have ever been. however they are so slow to get started at lights or stop then lights go red - that you think they must have some sort of old age related or alcohol delayed reaction.. you cant get 4 cars through a light in 12 seconds after turning green. schools are about as bad as you can get - i hope you are one of the doctors so you can afford some of the excellent private schools because the public ones are really bad and full drugs as you could never image or maybe you can. so basically its a great town for the ultra wealthy and for those that can run for sun or travel often - but for regular people who are stuck at real jobs indoors and have to work on the few sunny days you will need stock in vitamin d and therapy lights. dont expect people to rush at the store when you check out - but ask about your dog and speak about the new baby with the person infront of you even when there is a line. i hope you can choke down - tax on new car if you can afford to buy one ....... nothign like 5k for tax on car. hope you can choke that down. anyone that thinks knoxville is a great place to live just hasnt been anywhere else - is a rich republican doctor or doesnt have to work for a living and has no osteoarthritis or inflammatory conditions at all - has absolutely 0 allegies - and i know alot of people who think they dont - but after moving here you will have some - though they moderate some from year to year based on weather. on the plus side property tax is nothing almost - but so is city planning .. there is not income tax - but if you have a family of 4 you'd be much better off in a state that doesnt charge tax on food or full tax - and gives you a credit for each dependent. single people will win this game - couples will break near even - but with children better elsewhere. anywhere - and this is from someone who doesnt have children mostly because i live here. or i should exactly because i live here. there is more - i have tried to be objective and honest here - i have no intention to trash knoxville - there are worse places - and most better - and someone said this was a good place and said that there were other towns citing statistics that were worse. funny of the 10 town that person cited. i have lived in 8 and i can tell you he and the stats are wrong. most about economics and weather . you can look at stats but they really dont mean much .. for example - if you look at the national cost of housing index - knoxville is 44 of 100 - basically 44% of the national average - oh - knoxville has affordable housing you might say wow you might beable to get that big house you always wanted but cant afford where housing index is 100 . but forexaple comming from south florida - housing is much cheaper there. you will get a concrete block house with tile roof and a swimming pool for the exact same money you will get a vinyl wood paper house in knoxville with asphalt roof and no pool and no floor tile but vinyl resilient flooring for the same money.. the reason we are 44% is becauase there is way more impoverished people in knoxville and way more 50k crap boxes.. - its really distorted - infact i just got done checking some sheetrock prices - i am moving to the mountain west rurally - home depot price there 52 cents cheaper for drywall per sheet - nashville 1.12 cheaper - and these towns are across the country from each yet both represent much cheaper costs than knoxville on an item that is less than 9$ that is more than 10 % in both of the competing cities and also nieither has the tax rate we have here - thats about 50 bucks more in pocket for 500 home depot bill - its real money ..... and its everywhere u look in knoxville so i say skip knoxville travel here once per year or other year to buy clothing and such.. or you may come here and pls buy my house - with all the mildew and mold problems from no sun - i ll even leave you my pressure washer. but becareful on the roof - the asphalt shingles are really slick when you get up there to clean the moss and mildew and algea from them - and yes if there is sun all areas of my house get sun except the north face .. doesnt matter - all is green vinyl - even though its yellow under it. bring termite stakes with you as the moisture makes your home a buffet - also ants and bees are a big problem too. 100 per mo exterminator required.
jimbo | Knoxville, TN | Report Abuse