Took a great job that will require me and the family to relocate to Knoxville area. I have family scattered throughout the area, but would like some local 2A/ARF input as well. Any specific areas to avoid?

Simply driving around should give you the obvious areas to stay away from.

Any school age kids?

What area of town is your job?

Also, when you say "Knoxville area" can you be a bit more specific? Is this near Knoxville or in the city proper? Makes a big difference.

Son is 10. Job is in West Knoxville.

Wife is looking in Farragut, Maryville, Bearden, and West Hills. Basically within 30 mins of work.

Driving around shows nice houses but that doesn’t always paint the whole picture. There are plenty of nice houses in areas that I wouldn’t live in here.

Sounds like your son is still in elementary school, but not too far from middle school. If he will be in public school you need to be very careful where you live.

West Hills is not a bad place to live, but it’s heyday was back in the 60’s and 70’s. Most of the houses are very dated although there are pockets of more up to date homes. Farragut will have better schools but more pricey house wise. The Bearden area encompasses a lot of both. I live in Rocky Hill and grew up in this and the Bearden area. I’m old school west Knox and to me Farragut is waaaay out there. It was when I was growing up and still is to me now. What will likely dictate things is your house budget.

I cannot speak to Maryville, even though I have been over there and through there all of my life. I would not know the better areas. You can get real rural near Maryville. I would also bet your bang on your house buck would go farther there than the rest of the places in Knoxville. I do know the Hardin Valley area has grown like wildfire the last 20 years or so. I would not venture to or be near Oak Ridge if you might look there. OR is a declining city with lots of issues regarding taxes and infrastructure issues.

Here is a website that you can look up properties in Knox county and see what schools you are zoned for and the tax rate. Knoxville city taxes are pretty high and West Hills is in the city. Bearden is pretty much city too. Once you get towards Rocky Hill and further west it’s county taxes only.

kgis.org

Click on the maps button and you can do a search by address.

I don’t know where in GA you are from, but I guarantee the “demographics” here are not what you’re used to.

ETA:

My son was zoned for Bearden Middle and we had friends that had kids there and we were not interested in sending him there. BM is huge compared to about all of the elementary schools and there is a part of the zoning for it that is sketchy to say the least. We ended up sending him to private school for middle.

Just about all of the middle schools in Knox county are really big and it is easy for a kid to get lost there in the system.

What a lot of people do when moving to a new area is to rent a place for at least 6 months in order to get the lay of the land. That may or may not be possible for you and I know rental rates for houses and apartments (good ones) are sky high and scarce too. But you might consider that.

Any of the areas you mentioned are good and within a short distance from each other with the exception of Maryville.  The West Hills and Bearden areas are older and some of the neighborhoods may be slightly more weathered.  But they are still decent and convenient places to live.  Farragut is newer and a little more upscale.  Maryville is only about 15 min. from West Knoxville by Pellissippi Parkway and has a smaller town atmosphere than West Knoxville.  It's also in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains if you enjoy those types of activities.  I've lived in West Knoxville for 40 years and really like the area.  As you may have already noticed, houses sell quickly here in the current market.  Be prepared to act quickly if you find something you like.

You said a mouthfull on that one!

Just like about all other markets right now, west Knox is hot.

50+ year member here

I grew up in West Hills and attended Bearden Middle.  It had some rich and vibrant students 30 years ago, I imagine its even worse now.  I would recommend Cedar Bluff, Farragut, or Hardin Valley before I would recommend BM.  The zoning line used to be Francis Rd., not sure if it still is, but the further towards downtown from there you go, the more hood the area becomes.  
OP, have you considered Alcoa?  The schools are top notch, and it is convenient to most anywhere in Knoxville.  I own a rental there and it is in very high demand as a ton of people want their kids in the school system there.

Originally from west of ATL, which used to be rural but is now rich and vibrant. I am south of ATL in a 2A stronghold, but it is slipping fast due to the influx of libs from the film industry.

Son is in private school here in GA now and does better in smaller environments. What private school did you go with?  

We have noticed that homes move super fast. We have options of places to stay up there if needed while we look.

Are there any state level 2A groups there?  Similar to Georgia Carry?  I already found and drove by the Volunteer Range. Any other suggestions?  I also know I’m going to have to take a class for TN weapons license. Any specific places to use or avoid?

My son went to Sacred Heart, although we are not Catholic. It’s very small and tougher to get into if non Catholic.

Volunteer range ain’t much. The far better and larger range is in Oak Ridge on the west side of the city. Google ORSA, Oak Ridge Sportsman’s Association. Up to a 1,000 yard range which is primarily for competition use.

Knoxville is far less vibrant than Atlanta by a long shot. The west side of town is far less than the rest of town, but it’s hardly an issue up here.

I live in west Knoxville near Cedar Bluff and Middlebrook Pike in the Karns area.
Nice area. But Hardin Valley is much nicer. Farragut is overpriced on everything. They think way too much of themselves in land taxes and property values.
Lots of nice places near Pellissippi College near Hardin Valley.

Knoxville is our goal too. I want to move there - BAD.

I curently work at one of ORNL's "sister" labs but getting on has been tough. They unionize my job there (sort of) which makes for a bunch of inside action, even though labs like to hire from other labs. I'd need to find a non union slot and that's harder for a techncian's role, even if you are a senior. I may have to end up trying to find something else out there.

You may want to do this.

Due to the market being hot, buying a place now and possibly regretting it later could bite you in the ass. As I have said before, be aware of the differences between the city and county and where you might live. Realtors are bad about not being upfront about that. Regardless of where you live in Knox county, you always pay county taxes. City of Knoxville taxes are almost the same as county so in essence you pay double. Yes, you get some city services but if you run the numbers it's still a rip off.

It also allows you time to get acclimated and find the area that suits your needs best. It also allows you to find the traffic patterns that suit your work commute too. Not that Knoxville traffic is that bad, but it has its moments. In no way is it like or even close to Atlanta, Nashville, etc. but it can get bad in certain directions.

Good thoughts. We’re actively trying to avoid the city tax double dip as we have that situation in our current home. It sucks when the tax bill comes due.

Are there other things we need to consider that I haven’t asked about?  Trying to cover all the bases up front in our thought process.

Other than city taxes and schools, I can't think of anything other than your daily commute. Other than the interstates, there are other side roads to navigate around town. You will discover those once you get here but it is all about which direction you are traveling in the AM and which in the PM coming and going from work. But we are not Atlanta or Nashville, although some complain about the Knoxville traffic go check those two out or somewhere like Raleigh or Charlotte. We have it made.

These areas are generally ok. Before you buy a house or rent an apartment, drive by at night and see what the cars look like/how many are there.

Farragut will be the most expensive.

I would also route your potential commute to work from google maps etc before committing. The triangle between 140(Pellissippi), I-40 and 129 has some rivers through it that can only be crossed in a few places. Make sure that you don't live close to work as the crow flies but 4 times as far to actually get there by road.

Rent here is high compared to buying a house. Especially if you want a garage. I am baffled at how many houses here do not have one or a real basement. If you can buy, I would. It is my belief that is due to the college downtown soaking up so much of the supply.

I've been here almost 4 years now.

I agree, most of the older homes (pre 1980 or so) don't have garages. I think a lot has to do with our somewhat milder climate and possibly lot size/dimensions. I know that growing up in a basement rancher our house originally had a garage but was enclosed and made a family room. A lot of houses built back in the 50's, 60's and 70's did this.

The newer homes are basement less mainly due to construction costs and time to build. Building on a slab or crawl space is somewhat cheaper and fast again. But regardless, both can be found if you want them. Digging basements can also get expensive due to rock in a lot of the areas around here.

Rent is high here along with everywhere else I am told by friends in other cities and having worked out of town for a couple of years. Not many new apartment complexes were built (mainly west Knoxville) from the 90's to the early 2000's. There has been a big explosion of new building in the last few years starting not long after the recession back in 2008.

The housing market is hot here and is pretty much everywhere else right now, Knoxville is no exception.

I do disagree with UT soaking up a lot of the supply with the exception of the UT/south Knoxville area. In those areas yes, they soak it up but out west and north, UT is a blip on the radar in my opinion. There is so much more student housing not only on campus but just off of it. I went to UT in the mid 80's and can tell you compared to now, off campus housing is light years ahead and much more of a supply than back then when off campus housing was getting a dump in Fort Sanders.

When it comes to commuting, there are several highways/roads that I absolutely hate traveling. Having lived here all of my life I have seen some of these become really bad with the growth and all. In no particular order, I despise Chapman Hwy., Alcoa Hwy., John Sevier Hwy. the most. I hate the stop and go on Broadway in Fountain City. I know those on the north side complain about Kingston Pike and they are correct but once you get the lay of the land you can navigate off of the Pike and minimize travel there.

Pellissippi has bad traffic in the mornings and afternoons but during the day is usually not too bad. I-40 west from the 640 merger to Campbell Station pretty much sucks in the afternoons. East bound is not too bad unless there's a wreck on the west bound side and everyone has to look.

Renting isn’t really in the cards as we will buy once we sell our house here. Appreciate all the insights. Are there any TN 2A orgs I need to be aware of (like GA Carry here)?  Matches, etc?

We have the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA).

Tennessee Firearms Association

One nearby range that hosts matches is the Oak Ridge Sportsman's Association (ORSA).

Oak Ridge Sportsman's Association

Thanks. I saw ORSA mentioned in another thread. I’ll check out TFA as well.  

Happy New Year - time to leave GA post haste.

May want to look at Lenior City or Kingston areas if you eventually make the move. So you can drive into ORNL from the west side Via 95.

What’s wrong with renting? Even Dave Ramsey isn’t against it if it’s only short-term. What if you don’t like where you are or your financial situation changes? Though houses in the Knoxville area move quickly it’s still a pain in the ass.

I am in total agreement ESPECIALLY when moving to a completely new city/state. Renting allows one to take in the scene over a period of time and do some investigation work on schools, commute, etc. and does not tie you down to something that may be hard to unload in the future.

I live 2 hours east of Knoxville and have always heard great things about the Farragut area. It is a bit more expensive then most other areas but it also, from what I've heard on Dave Ramsey show, Farragut has some of the best schools in middle-east TN.

My limited knowledge of the are puts home buying anywhere from the 250s to the 400s in Farragut. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Welcome to the wonderful state of Tennessee! If you like the woods and outdoors then you MUST come to eastern part and check out all the fun stuff to do. Also the parks service has 2-3 firing ranges that is a part of the parks system so for $2 you have a full day's use of ALL the firing ranges AND the parks other common areas such as picnicking, hiking, and lake access.

No issue with renting as we did it when my job took us to TX. We have family (lots) we can stay with in the area if we need to. Also, our house here is paid for, so we will be able to put a significant amount down on a house there.

That jives with the recon we’ve been doing.   Not up there full time yet, but can’t wait. I’m an active hunter so I will definitely be exploring as I have a young son who needs to learn the old ways.

I know there are some GREAT hunting areas around. I personally don't know them since I never was around hunting much when younger. But I can point in the right direction of some small local gun stores that have great deals and would know of, if any, public hunting grounds.

http://www.barnettsguns.com/
They are located in Hampton, near one of the park services ranges and Watauga lake. The swimming area and "official" camping area is near there as well as a really good marina to rent boats from.


http://www.handshuntingandfishing.com/
H&H hunting, they are a hunters paradise for the gear and hunting supplies they have. They are located in Elizabethton which is on your way to Hampton so I would check there before Barnett's.

And finally, http://www.mahoneysports.com/#home.html
They used to be the hunters superstore, still are to a point. They have just gotten EXTREMELY hippied out since they opened up their add-on for hiking and general outdoor gear.
Great selection for all your outdoor needs but I feel less of a personalized experience, feels more like a big box store than when I purchased my first firearm through them.

Since there is so much private land in east TN mountains and federal parks, those first 2 (H&H and Barnett's) would probably know where, and if there are public hunting grounds to go trompin through the woods on.

Here's where you can check for all TN hunting requirements and areas.  There are several wildlife management areas (WMA) around Knoxville.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but a lot of basements around here (Knoxville) have issues with water/dampness.  When I moved back here five years ago, every single house we looked at that had a basement had a dehumidifier running and it smelled and felt damp.  I suppose a walk out basement might solve that problem, but do your due diligence if you would like a basement.  After living in Colorado and having a full underground basement, a basement was real high on our "want" list, but we never found a house that didn't have basement issues.  We probably looked at over 40 homes before we settled on our current home (with no basement) in south Knoxville.

Good info that I hadn’t heard previously. Thank you!