Moving to knoxville?

#1
207 others

207 others

WILD & WONDERFUL - VFL & WV altfan
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#1
I've moved back to TN and living near Nashville has been (subjectively, with all due respect to this lovely area) awful for me. I'm 29 and don't want to live my youth here anymore. The grass is always greener on the other side, sure, but I'm a mountain loving, Tom Sawyer kid, and that isn't just a preference in geography. As soon as I get near the Appalachian mountains: my soul lights a fire from the voidness in my life. I've learned recently that the Appalachian mountains continue into Scotland, due to the continental drift--- that's my ancestral people. No wonder it felt like home there.

It's the people, the pace of life. The beauty, the freedom, the comradery, an extended kinsmanship, the open mindedness of being different and non conformist in thinking. You just sense that 1776 spirit when you hit mountainland. The mountainfolk were the only southerners against slavery. They believe in freedom. Anywho.. I can't do another year over here.

Knoxville seems like a really fun area. Johnson city as well- but the Vols are my lifeline. I'm open to anything, not just Knoxville, but I do want opportunities in the legal field or business. The VOLS practically saved me from a very bad path in life. I wanted to end it all, and the VOLS gave me so much to love. My grandfather smiling at me from heaven while watching games.. he was a total VFL, never missed a game or bowl. V O L S..



Seems like a blog so far, but has anyone moved from Nashville to Knoxville here? I don't know why but I do NOT fit in here in Nashville. Seems anyone I meet judges me as a hillbilly, rowdy redneck, not a well read philosopher, outdoor enthusiast, and business minded legal expert.. it's not like I want to change being a high energy, wild and free, God loving (HUGE deal for me) mountaineer. I look through pictures every day lately of life out east. I just don't feel like I'm in the true USA here. I meet someone and they have New York accents these days. And I reaaally don't fit in to that.


Sorry for the blog, I figured this is the pub and I loved to rant at the bar, in the good days for me. This is a 2 year deductive conclusion for me.
 
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#2
#2
I moved to Knoxville in 1998 with a wife and 3 kids. Neither of us had jobs there, nor did we have a plan. We just packed up and moved. I do not suggest moving without a well thought out plan. Know what part of the area you want to be in. Maybe you can't work it out to be in that area to start off, so get a reasonable place to rent and work toward the goal. Take some vacation time and spend a week exploring the area and figure out your plan.

EDIT: Try these

Job Search

Mobile
ut.taleo.net
 
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#3
#3
superdave1984 said:
I moved to Knoxville in 1998 with a wife and 3 kids. Neither of us had jobs there, nor did we have a plan. We just packed up and moved. I do not suggest moving without a well thought out plan. Know what part of the area you want to be in. Maybe you can't work it out to be in that area to start off, so get a reasonable place to rent and work toward the goal. Take some vacation time and spend a week exploring the area and figure out your plan.

EDIT: Try these

Job Search

Mobile
ut.taleo.net
Click to expand...
Thank you so much. You inspire me to stop being so complacent. Rotting away! I am going to get serious for once and look deeply into that resource. This is potentially a life-changing reply!!! Thank you.
 
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#4
#4
207 others said:
Thank you so much. You inspire me to stop being so complacent. Rotting away! I am going to get serious for once and look deeply into that resource. This is potentially a life-changing reply!!! Thank you.
Click to expand...
Just giving you part of my experience. To quote Andy Fiddler (The Man): If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
 
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#6
#6
I live in Nashville. Moved here from Knoxville in 2010 at the age of 59 so we're on different ends of our work careers.
I'd give Nashville a 8 and Knoxville a 6. Just more of what we want and a grandaughter.
OTOH, I'm from Oak Ridge and wife is from Athens, TN. We both miss the beauty of E. TN.
Law, You might look at Law school in Nashville. Nashville School of Law or other i.e. Belmont. Look for financial aid.
Work + Law School.
Nashville might have a higher cost of living?
You seem proud of you religious beliefs. Hopefully you don't try to discuss politics or religion when trying to get a job or at a job.
I probably would not limit myself to a particular city. Maybe all of E TN. Much of middle TN has hills or mountains.

I thought I was going nowhere until about the age of 33. Find a job that interest you. Low pay is what you get when you first start.
Take all this with a grain of salt.
 
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#7
#7
Go aeiou said:
I live in Nashville. Moved here from Knoxville in 2010 at the age of 59 so we're on different ends of our work careers.
I'd give Nashville a 8 and Knoxville a 6. Just more of what we want and a grandaughter.
OTOH, I'm from Oak Ridge and wife is from Athens, TN. We both miss the beauty of E. TN.
Law, You might look at Law school in Nashville. Nashville School of Law or other i.e. Belmont. Look for financial aid.
Work + Law School.
Nashville might have a higher cost of living?
You seem proud of you religious beliefs. Hopefully you don't try to discuss politics or religion when trying to get a job or at a job.
I probably would not limit myself to a particular city. Maybe all of E TN. Much of middle TN has hills or mountains.

I thought I was going nowhere until about the age of 33. Find a job that interest you. Low pay is what you get when you first start.
Take all this with a grain of salt.
Click to expand...
That is inspiring I am far behind no doubt. What were some cons of Knoxville? I do try to keep surface level at work! There definitely is the Cumberland plateau
 
#8
#8
207 others said:
I've moved back to TN and living near Nashville has been (subjectively, with all due respect to this lovely area) awful for me. I'm 29 and don't want to live my youth here anymore. The grass is always greener on the other side, sure, but I'm a mountain loving, Tom Sawyer kid, and that isn't just a preference in geography. As soon as I get near the Appalachian mountains: my soul lights a fire from the voidness in my life. I learned recently that the Appalachian mountains continue into Scotland, due to the continental drift--- that's my ancestral people. No wonder it felt like home there.

It's the people, the pace of life. The beauty, the freedom, the open mindedness of being different and non conformist in thinking. You just sense that 1776 spirit when you hit mountainland. The mountainfolk were the only southerners against slavery. They believe in freedom. Anywho.. I can't do another year over here.

Knoxville seems like a really fun area. Johnson city as well- but the Vols are my lifeline. I'm open to anything, not just Knoxville, but I do want opportunities in the legal field or business. The VOLS practically saved me from a very bad path in life. I wanted to end it all, and the VOLS gave me so much to love. My grandfather smiling at me from heaven while watching games.. he was a total VFL, never missed a game or bowl. V O L S..

There was not much hope east of that ridge in the Virginias, beyond adventure. I always figured I'd be famous for my banjo skill there. It peaked years in-- a break up during a fantasy engagement, planned wedding, with a prominent politician's daughter, 350 acre farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Included were several more farms, cabins, a gated lakehouse where Mike Pence had property-- and a careerbreaker: a promise to not have to work beyond maintaining many properties--- and the poor life decisions after, knowing forever she is the one that got away. The Vols helped me forget this. Likely I won't find that again.. it sucks. My mountain mama.

I lived in my friend's guest cabin shortly after, driving a mustang 6 miles up a giant mountain, entirely gravel, full of ruts and potholes, waiting on her. That guest cabin had no running water, and I made an outhouse and stream shower. The winter was awful in that holler, and the cabin was actually a mechanics garage down the property, with a 10x20 bedroom upstairs. 300 yards to take a warm shower, but the best view in Appalachia. I was used to that life anyway, picking persimmons and hunting down gensing roots to survive. That is just another year of my life, I've been as deep as the book "Hatchet" for far too long, reality is now eating me alive.

Seems like a blog so far, but has anyone moved from Nashville to Knoxville here? I don't know why but I do NOT fit in here in Nashville. Seems anyone I meet judges me as a hillbilly, rowdy redneck, not a well read philosopher, outdoor enthusiast, and business minded legal expert.. it's not like I want to change being a high energy, wild and free, God loving (HUGE deal for me) mountaineer. I look through pictures every day lately of life out east. I just don't feel like I'm in the true USA here. I meet someone and they have New York accents these days. And I reaaally don't fit in to that.

It's seems around here-- it's all about money money, business business, real estate, stocks, startups, business, companies, companies, money, money; it just feels Biblically evil-- all I ever hear about is materialism. I'm not talking adults in their financial prime. That gets a huge pass to me. I'm talking fellow 29 year olds I meet at the park, at a bar, at church, at an activity club... "My BMW, luxury vacations, my golf course, 401k plan, insurance, real estate deals, banking, mortgage, wife, Mercedes SUV, my LLC, my marketing firm, my pool, my renovations." It makes me feel so alone and isolated. The ladies seem to love that here, and I do want a family, but I am not a successful person yet, despite feeling that I am worth just one shot in life. I have no network. I'm practically wanting to die living here. Why can't I find genuine people, just go hike and fish, or drink beer and talk about life? To talk about the weather, or a pretty overlook.. I want opportunities sure, that's why I left a region where people sleep in cars, and kids walk around getting lost while parents overdose.

I'm in a rut career wise it seems, despite graduating at UTC in business, I can't get a single look past entry level $17 an hour crap. They can smell that I am a desperate, low value man, out of this world in accordance to the Lord. I want to get into law, I have tons of time, a paralegal sounds good. I'm an incredible writer, this is just 3 minutes of typing. I had the #4 ACT in the state for WRITING. Probably last at everything else (lol). What is the market there? It's not like I have a single network path here. So that won't matter moving anywhere-- it won't be worse. I take construction TDOT road work jobs for crying out loud; I am thankful they give me chances, but I have a very powerful brain and nothing in Nashville has given me hope-- 750 resumès since 20-- no real job yet.

Anyone have advice? I can't go back to WV, I feel like a sellout, sure, but there is 0, and I mean zero opportunities there. I don't think I've ever had a real job yet.. despite being very knowledgeable, passionate. I have a lawyer and business mindset, seems I've had to hustle to survive since 20, often just working for myself and figuring it out when adrenaline kicks in. I worry I'll not be able to feel home without being poor, so I believe east Tennessee is the best option for feeling at home and having a shot at life. Not many friends, broken family, no prospects, no wife, nothing really. Is resetting life for the 5th time just immaturity, or should I head for the hills? They call me Tom Sawyer where I come from-- I've lived on boats, off grid cabins, harbors, farms, ranches, moved more cool places than most, adventure like no other, always dreaming and fantasizing a grand wonder. Yet I guess in Nashville that is a red flag, having gaps in employment to live the life God blessed us with while still young.

Sorry for the blog, I figured this is the pub and I loved to rant at the bar, in the good days for me. This is a 2 year deductive conclusion for me.
Click to expand...

Ahem... cough cough... look over here:

JonnyArterburn.com :)
 
#9
#9
KnoxRealtorVOL said:
Ahem... cough cough... look over here:

JonnyArterburn.com :)
Click to expand...
You got it!!!!!!! Bookmarked, I only do business with VFLs! Sold at the intro of your site. Seeing a ton of dream homes for sure ✨️ I am a po boy at the moment, about 40k in crypto and 820 credit score with a dodgy job history, likely won't qualify for much over 120k, ill have to be in a holler lol!
 
#10
#10
207 others said:
You got it!!!!!!! Bookmarked, I only do business with VFLs! Sold at the intro of your site. Seeing a ton of dream homes for sure ✨️ I am a po boy at the moment, about 40k in crypto and 820 credit score with a dodgy job history, likely won't qualify for much over 120k, ill have to be in a holler lol!
Click to expand...

I can make it work. Give me a shout when you're ready :)
 
#11
#11
207 others said:
That is inspiring I am far behind no doubt. What were some cons of Knoxville? I do try to keep surface level at work! There definitely is the Cumberland plateau. Yes and From Greenville to the east your are in mtns.
Click to expand...
Some things just depend on your age. Neither of us worked in Knoxville so no comment.
In Knoxville we expected to go out to eat most nights. We lived on the west side of town, and found the selection was not that great. Better choices in Chattanooga.
Nashville has good restaurants which was great for about the first 5 years we lived here. Now we are in our 70s and we seldom go out for dinner.
Ha, at our age health care is important. Excellent in Nashville. We were not unhappy with health care in Kville.
Maybe just things that are better in larger cities.
Somethings are worse: Crime?
 
#13
#13
Go aeiou said:
Some things just depend on your age. Neither of us worked in Knoxville so no comment.
In Knoxville we expected to go out to eat most nights. We lived on the west side of town, and found the selection was not that great. Better choices in Chattanooga.
Nashville has good restaurants which was great for about the first 5 years we lived here. Now we are in our 70s and we seldom go out for dinner.
Ha, at our age health care is important. Excellent in Nashville. We were not unhappy with health care in Kville.
Maybe just things that are better in larger cities.
Somethings are worse: Crime?
Click to expand...
Love the insight. Chattanooga was a nice place, lot of crime, definitely some outskirt Appalachian culture there. Liked soddy daisy & sale creek. Tellico plains felt like home
 
#15
#15
Go aeiou said:
Some things just depend on your age. Neither of us worked in Knoxville so no comment.
In Knoxville we expected to go out to eat most nights. We lived on the west side of town, and found the selection was not that great. Better choices in Chattanooga.
Nashville has good restaurants which was great for about the first 5 years we lived here. Now we are in our 70s and we seldom go out for dinner.
Ha, at our age health care is important. Excellent in Nashville. We were not unhappy with health care in Kville.
Maybe just things that are better in larger cities.
Somethings are worse: Crime?
Click to expand...
Knoxville has an insane amount of fantastic dining options for its size.

The only thing I really find lacking is a good Cuban place.
 
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#18
#18

207 others said:
Thank you good sir, that is definitely a good option too!!
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Unless you have a decent stack of cash, I'd stay away from Knox, Anderson, Sevier, and Blount Counties. Very expensive if you actually want to have some land. The northern Tennessee Valley, which is quite hilly offers cheaper land...though some of the land will be unusable because of it's steepness. Our farm on the Union/Anderson County line has got to be one of the steepest farms in the state. Some places will straight up scare you to death if you are driving a tractor over it. But.....it is very beautiful, mostly wooded.
 
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#19
#19
norrislakevol said:
Unless you have a decent stack of cash, I'd stay away from Knox, Anderson, Sevier, and Blount Counties. Very expensive if you actually want to have some land. The northern Tennessee Valley, which is quite hilly offers cheaper land...though some of the land will be unusable because of it's steepness. Our farm on the Union/Anderson County line has got to be one of the steepest farms in the state. Some places will straight up scare you to death if you are driving a tractor over it. But.....it is very beautiful, mostly wooded.
Click to expand...
I bought(with 2 other people) 300 acres+- below Kingston near Midway School. It backed up to a Mtn. We sold it in 6 tracts, the last one in 2023. 3 of the buyers were from California.
 
#23
#23
207 others said:
I've moved back to TN and living near Nashville has been (subjectively, with all due respect to this lovely area) awful for me. I'm 29 and don't want to live my youth here anymore. The grass is always greener on the other side, sure, but I'm a mountain loving, Tom Sawyer kid, and that isn't just a preference in geography. As soon as I get near the Appalachian mountains: my soul lights a fire from the voidness in my life. I've learned recently that the Appalachian mountains continue into Scotland, due to the continental drift--- that's my ancestral people. No wonder it felt like home there.

It's the people, the pace of life. The beauty, the freedom, the comradery, an extended kinsmanship, the open mindedness of being different and non conformist in thinking. You just sense that 1776 spirit when you hit mountainland. The mountainfolk were the only southerners against slavery. They believe in freedom. Anywho.. I can't do another year over here.

Knoxville seems like a really fun area. Johnson city as well- but the Vols are my lifeline. I'm open to anything, not just Knoxville, but I do want opportunities in the legal field or business. The VOLS practically saved me from a very bad path in life. I wanted to end it all, and the VOLS gave me so much to love. My grandfather smiling at me from heaven while watching games.. he was a total VFL, never missed a game or bowl. V O L S..

There was not much hope east of that ridge in the Virginias, beyond adventure. I always figured I'd be famous for my banjo skill there. It peaked years in-- a break up during a fantasy engagement, planned wedding, with a prominent politician's daughter, 350 acre farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Included were several more farms, cabins, a gated lakehouse where Mike Pence had property-- and a careerbreaker: a promise to not have to work beyond maintaining many properties--- and the poor life decisions after, those infamous "West Virginia decisions" you hear about, knowing forever she is the one that got away. The Vols helped me forget this. Likely I won't find that again.. it sucks. My mountain mama.

I lived in my friend's guest cabin shortly after, driving a Mustang 6 miles up a giant mountain, entirely gravel, a lot just animal paths, full of ruts and potholes, waiting on her. That guest cabin had no running water, and I made an outhouse and freezing cold stream shower. The winter was awful in that holler, and the cabin was actually a mechanics garage down the property, with a 10x20 bedroom upstairs. 300 yards to take a warm shower, but the best view in Appalachia. I was used to that life anyway, picking persimmons and hunting down gensing roots to survive. That is just another year of my life, I've been as deep as the book "Hatchet" for far too long, reality is now eating me alive.

Seems like a blog so far, but has anyone moved from Nashville to Knoxville here? I don't know why but I do NOT fit in here in Nashville. Seems anyone I meet judges me as a hillbilly, rowdy redneck, not a well read philosopher, outdoor enthusiast, and business minded legal expert.. it's not like I want to change being a high energy, wild and free, God loving (HUGE deal for me) mountaineer. I look through pictures every day lately of life out east. I just don't feel like I'm in the true USA here. I meet someone and they have New York accents these days. And I reaaally don't fit in to that.

It's seems around here-- it's all about money money, business business, real estate, stocks, startups, business, companies, companies, money, money; it just feels Biblically evil-- all I ever hear about is materialism. I'm not talking adults in their financial prime. That gets a huge pass to me. I'm talking fellow 29 year olds I meet at the park, at a bar, at church, at an activity club... "My BMW, luxury vacations, my golf course, 401k plan, insurance, real estate deals, banking, mortgage, wife, Mercedes SUV, my LLC, my marketing firm, my pool, my renovations." It makes me feel so alone and isolated. The ladies seem to love that here, and I do want a family, but I am not a successful person yet, despite feeling that I am worth just one shot in life. I have no network. I'm practically wanting to die living here. Why can't I find genuine people, just go hike and fish, or drink beer and talk about life? To talk about the weather, or a pretty overlook.. I want opportunities sure, that's why I left a region where people sleep in cars, and kids walk around getting lost while parents overdose.

I'm in a rut career wise it seems, despite graduating at UTC in business, I can't get a single look past entry level $17 an hour crap. They can smell that I am a desperate, low value man, out of this world in accordance to the Lord. I want to get into law, I have tons of time, a paralegal sounds good. I'm an incredible writer, this is just 3 minutes of typing. I had the #4 ACT in the state for WRITING. Probably last at everything else (lol). What is the market there? It's not like I have a single network path here. So that won't matter moving anywhere-- it won't be worse. I take construction TDOT road work jobs for crying out loud; I am thankful they give me chances, but I have a very powerful brain and nothing in Nashville has given me hope-- 750 resumès since 20-- no real job yet.

Anyone have advice? I can't go back to WV, I feel like a sellout, sure, but there is 0, and I mean zero opportunities there. I don't think I've ever had a real job yet.. despite being very knowledgeable, passionate. I have a lawyer and business mindset, seems I've had to hustle to survive since 20, often just working for myself and figuring it out when adrenaline kicks in. I worry I'll not be able to feel home without being poor, so I believe east Tennessee is the best option for feeling at home and having a shot at life. Not many friends, broken family, no prospects, no wife, nothing really. Is resetting life for the 5th time just immaturity, or should I head for the hills? They call me Tom Sawyer where I come from-- I've lived on boats, off grid cabins, harbors, farms, ranches, moved more cool places than most, adventure like no other, always dreaming and fantasizing a grand wonder. Yet I guess in Nashville that is a red flag, having gaps in employment to live the life God blessed us with while still young.

Sorry for the blog, I figured this is the pub and I loved to rant at the bar, in the good days for me. This is a 2 year deductive conclusion for me.
Click to expand...
Good luck, young man. This sounds a lot like me at a younger age, and kinda like my son (he's 31) right now. I wish I had never left East Tennessee. 🧡
 
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