Knoxville advice

My wife and I are considering moving to Knoxville for a job at the University. Do any of you residents (or former residents) have any advice about the town? The proximity to climbing is one of the main factors that convinced us to consider it, but we are trying to learn more about the town itself. It seems to be affordable, but is it a nice place to live? Curious about the basic stuff like traffic, restaurants, schools, public transportation, friendly people, etc.

Overall, is it a safe place for a family? Seems like Tennessee usually ranks pretty high on the crime scale. Is it easy to avoid the rif-raf by staying away from certain areas?

Any recommendations on neighborhoods to consider living or avoiding?

Thanks for any advice!

I lived and climbed in Knoxville/Obed for a few months on rotation there. It's a nice city, and I never felt unsafe there. The downtown is pretty trendy and there are really good neighborhoods scattered around. It can get pretty miserably hot and humid during the summer, and it seemed to rain every weekend (and just during the weekend, which made climbing unfun) while I was there. Obed is pretty cool and T-wall/The Red aren't far away either. There is definitely some rif-raf, but honestly it just felt like low income areas, rather than anything dangerous. There are a few cool restaurant, but obviously not as many as a larger city. Downtown is pretty nice, but you can walk all of it in about a half hour. The public transit downtown seems ok, but I didn't live near the city so I never used it. I don't think it's great if you live in the suburbs. If I were you, I'd recommend living near Farragut/Turkey Creek. It's a nice area and nicely proximate to both Obed and the University. But if you preference an easier commute there are some nice places in South Knoxville. Hope that helps. Knoxville is better than a lot of other places in TN. In terms of schools, I have no idea. Hope that helps.

I currently live in Knoxville and love it. We bought our house and considered a couple other places, but none fit what we were after better than Knox. We bought in South Knoxville near the "Urban Wilderness" due to proximity of 42 miles of Mountain Bike trails, hiking, swimming, kayaking, and now we have been developing a crag here as well. South Knox is in the middle of a rejuvenation currently with a lot of outdoor focus. There is little crime and I never feel like unsafe no matter time of day or location in the area. East Knox is a little sketch so avoid there. West Knox is a nice area, with more expensive things. In my opinion the majority out west is a little snooty for me, still friendly, but if you don't drive a new car and have a 300,000$ house get a weird vibe.

We are within a days drive of a ton of climbing. As stated above Obed is the main local place to climb and depending where you live its anywhere from 45-90 minute drive with a 5-30 minute approach depending where you're climbing. There is also bouldering at Obed as well. Within 3 hours you can be anywhere. Atlanta, Chattanooga, Rocktown, Asheville, Charlotte, Louisville, Nashville, Birmingham. Literally 90% of South East Climbing. Red River Gorge is 3.5-4 hours away depending on traffic.

Our public transit exists but isn't great. Our food scene is good and constantly improving. Tons of stuff to do downtown, plus 30 minutes to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg for other stuff. Good bar/beer scene. Decent music culture. Depending where you live good schools. Everything is pretty cost effective as well. If you end up here you won't regret it. Feel free to email me if you need any help with looking for houses/apartments or just anything else. My wife and I are friendly people and would be more than willing to help you get situated and show you around. Sending you a PM now with contact info.

South Knox is really cool. For me, I'd rather not drive through downtown to get out to Obed, but the 15 minutes isn't really a big deal. The nature and trails and stuff around there is very cool as well. South Knox is also closer to Riversports which is a plus.

The red is only 3 hours away if you take the back roads! Also in terms of traffic in the city, there is definitely a rush hour on the major highways around the morning and 5pm, but honesty it doesn't seem to slow down that much, even when it's pretty congested. Although, that obviously is occasionally not true. Most of the times traffic is pretty sedate though.

Knoxville is a weird city, it has a very urbane, young and trendy core, but within a couple blocks it feels like a much more rural area. It's a very small city. If you're going there to try and experience big city life you'll be disappointed, but I think you could definitely raise a family there. It's on a very short list of places I am considering living.

If you have children or are going to you will want to live in West Knoxville, Farragut, Northshore, Hardin Valley, or commute from Maryville. I live in West Knoxville we have two small children. It is a very safe city. TN's crime rate is skewed by Memphis to be frank. The restaurant scene is OK and improving rapidly.

The weather is the biggest obstacle to climbing here. Having lived in WY, CO, WA, and CA, I can say that Knoxville doesn't really compare in terms of climbing mostly due to the humidity and rain. You will also drive 20-30 minutes longer to climb. That being said the Obed is fantastic climbing and you can get a half day in pretty easily and even a few pitches in after work if you're motivate. You can hit most of the best climbing in the SE in under four hours (most is within 3).

You won't find an outdoor culture here like you will in the West but there is a strong core. I find the gym almost unusable to be honest but I wouldn't move to a place based on the climbing gym.

If it is the right job, I wouldn't hesitate to make the move. I will PM you my phone number and email. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need help finding the neighborhoods on a map.

My wife and I moved to west Knoxville two weeks ago from across the country. I can not get over how close everything is and how nice the people are. I have lived all over the country and I do not feel unsafe in this town. There are some low income areas but nothing that feels unsafe. I can not get over how nice the staff at my kids school is. Maybe I just got lucky and ended up in a good area but I'm glad we moved here.

I just moved back to Knoxville in January after living here for a year in 2010-2011. Although it's not as climbing friendly as some places out west (weather and proximity), there's still a ton to do. The obed is an hour away but it's totally classic and, in my opinion, some of the best sport climbing in the country. There's also a new crag that's been developed very close to downtown. It's no obed, but it's a place you can get some climbs in after work. Word on the street is there's a new gym coming to town, but I don't know too much about that or when it's happening. There's also the smokies 45 minutes away, world class white water close by, big south fork an hour away, Chattanooga 1.5 hours, Asheville 1.5ish. You'll never run out if things do do
I live in north Knoxville and I love it. Fourth and gill and old north are cool historic neighborhoods close to downtown. There are lots of restaraunts and craft beer places popping up around town. Knoxville has a pretty good music scene as well. Lots of mountain culture and music plus a lot of acts coming through Nashville or Atlanta. Knoxville's a good medium size city. There's enough going on that you won't be borded but not some much that you'll be overwhelmed or stuck in traffic.
As for the people...I'd say they're a special breed around here. As some people have said, once you leave town it gets pretty rural. Get ready for southern accents. For the most part people are really nice though. Just make sure you can handle Volunteer orange. It's the primary color of this college town.

I made the opposite move (Knoxville --> Salt Lake) a few years ago. I spent about 6 years in K-town during and after college. I loved it, and I will likely be moving back at some point. For reference, I grew up in the southeast.

The climbing.
With the exception of the newly developed Ijams quarry crag, Knoxville lacks the close 'half-day' climbing like Big/Little Cottonwood. Obed is about an hour, and within weekend range (3-4 hours) there's a lot: T-wall, Foster Falls, Red River gorge, New River Gorge, North Carolina areas. Overall there are a lot less options for low-angle, moderate routes as the climbs tend to be steeper with longer reaches. The vast majority of good Obed routes are 5.10 or up, and in my mind the really good climbing starts at 5.11. Generally speaking, I found the Salt Lake area to have more quantity and variety but the southeast areas to have more quality climbing. The climbing community is smaller, but big enough and pretty welcoming. When climbing at the Obed I felt like I knew half of the people I saw by name. The on-campus gym isn't much compared to a place like Momentum, but I think it's way better than the Climbing Center (but I'm partial, I used to work at the campus gym).

The Town.
I spent all of my time living near the downtown area or 'South Knox' (south of the river), and I thought it had a nice balance of urban/rural culture without being a big city. Personally, I love southern culture and think Knoxville is more diverse and less polarized than life in SLC (I lived in Millcreek). Football is the predominant religion, and you can expect downtown to be on its head for worship services, I mean game days. Market Square and the 'Old City' have most of the night life, and you can even get real beer on tap!

The Weather.
The humidity is a force to be reckoned with. A humid 90-degree day in Knoxville feels hotter than 100 in SLC. The trick is not to fight it. East Tennessee has something Utah doesn't: water. Check out the lakes and rivers during the summer. A hot summer day is best spent soaking in a creek in the Smoky Mountains. When we climbed in the summer (which was a lot), we often spent the heat of the day soaking in the Obed River or Clear Creek and climbing in the morning and afternoon. Be prepared for your entire summer wardrobe to be made of wicking fabrics. You are going to sweat, a lot, all of the time in the summer. The winters can be tough (most are not like this past year's) because it will often be 36 degrees, humid and raining. Tennessee gets ice storms instead of snow storms (usually). Since the crags are steep we did a lot of climbing in the rain. It's going to rain a lot more than you're used to, but personally I missed the summer afternoon thunderstorms once I left.

Where to live.
As suggested by RMC, West Knox and Farragot, even Maryville, are nice, upscale places to live. I think they could also be described as 'yuppie' and suburban sprawl. You will be looking at a significant commute through traffic and will be far out of the University's orbit. Neighborhoods like the '4th and Gill' area are on the up for young professionals and families, but those areas don't meet everyone's standards for being clean cut. You could also look far east (towards Strawberry plains) where there are new developments. I would highly recommend looking into South Knox. The houses won't be as big or as new as Farragut, but there are a lot of outdoor-centric families and many people bike-commute to the University from there.

I think it's a safe place to live, but I don't know anyplace that seemed as safe as my neighborhood in SLC. I often walked home late from the library or the bar downtown and never thought twice about it. I also had my car cd-player stolen while I lived downtown in the Fort Sanders neighborhood (to be fair, my car also got broken into in SLC, and I only lived there a year). Let's just say there are distinct areas with different rates of crime. Check out city-data.com for the details.

Just curious, what are you going to be a professor of?

East Tennessee is the place to be! Go Vols!

other than the climbing and the kayaking, the south fucking sucks. society is just kind of backwards. been trying to get out my whole life and i *kind of* finally have. i can't speak for knoxville specifically, but chattanooga is one of the most progressive towns (comparatively) in the south and it's not really up to par. other than the climbing, the only thing i like about chattanooga is the weather: i love heat and humidity. and yes i know i'm fucking crazy for that.

but Eli, you have to keep in mind that he currently lives in Utah. That's the state that is currently trying to make it legal to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, where possession of a personal keg of beer is illegal, and car dealerships are required by law to be closed on Sundays.

Eli does have a point though. Tennessee has it's fare share of blue laws and is pretty d'rn conservative compared to someplace like California...but it's still more liberal than Utah.

Good point, although i've heard SLC and a couple of other towns, such as Moab, are very progressive unlike the other 95% the state. why is it that such an awful social community hogs so much amazing climbing?

Eli Poss, I am sorry that you have had such a poor experience in the south; however, I find your experience living and growing up in this area to be quite different than mine. In fact, I love it here. I've lived out west, and loved it as well, but there is something special about Appalachia: the people, the weather, and the lifestyle. It's a perfect place to raise a family. In my opinion, for what it's worth, (remember, I reckon I am one of those "backward" ignorant hill-billies, this place rocks. ClimbHunter, you hit the nail on the head!

that's interesting. i have found very few people who grew up in the south, went out west, and are satisfied with the south. and the few people i know came from the most progressive of southern towns ie auburn.

Think coal fields of Eastern Ky, far east Tn, and south Ga. Not exactly "progressive."

wow. i guess some people really do like it. well i'm glad it worked out for you but i've been trying to get the hell outta the south my whole damn life