My husband and I currently live in the Tampa Bay area of FL and have been here for approx. 1 year and don't like it much. We are considering moving next year to the Knoxville (surrounding suburbs) area. We're looking at Maryville, but are open re other areas in the vicinity. We are retired and are looking for a good, safe, friendly environment with a relatively low cost of living factor. We are looking to move into an apartment and would like to have inside info on what apartments are nice and where they're located. We prefer a gated or secure rental community. We presently own a home here in FL, but don't want
to get bound in to another one. If anybody out there has any inside scoop (good or bad), please respond. We are familiar with Gatlinburg, Piegon Forge areas. Thanks. Also, is there much snow in the Knoxville area during the winter months?

Hi phyldon, the Knoxville vacinity is a beautiful area. It's located in a perfect part of the U.S. All those counties of Eastern TN are sitting next to those amazing mtns and so many lakes to view. Knoxvilles latitude is not too North and not too South. The towns nearby to Knoxville have the luxury of using the cities medical, entertainment and schools etc. Maryville is pretty and so are many towns there . Winters are generally mild, not much snow compared to whats North of there.Why, why would you ever want to leave Tampa? It is wonderful there! Everytime I visit Tampa I never want to leave!!

My husband is from Knoxville. Winters tend to be pretty mild. Any snow they get is usually flurries that melt quickly. A lot of retirees are moving there and loving it. I don't know about gated apartment communities but I can ask my in-laws what they know. I'm sure they have some good ones.

If you do go up to Knoxville, take a side trip over to Townsend. Lovely waterfalls and a nice bike path. I love going over there.

Annalee: Thanks for the information. It's quite helpful. The reason for moving from the Tampa area is the over-crowding (especially in the winter months), traffic and constant worry about hurricanes. Florida is a pretty state, but we are ready for a change.

atlswan: Thanks for the information and reply. We look forward to your in-laws input. I have been to the Townsend area and it is very beautiful.

You will probably be ok w/ the summer humidity being from FL. Winters tend to be pretty mild. Have you thought about other areas in TN? I really like Chattanooga more than Knoxville. There are some smaller towns/cities that you may want to consider as well depending on what you are looking for...Johnson City, Bristol, Elizabethton....

Just found this forum. ATLSWAN do you still have a list of upscale apartments for the Knoxville area? We are running from hurricanes (since the devastation here with katrina) and am looking for nice apartments for my parents. Would like a log house for us. Any info? Thx

Hurricane, I just saw your post. I am actually going up to Knoxville tonight for the weekend to visit the in-laws and will ask them. They have Internet access so I will post tomorrow and let you know what I find out.

Sorry I don't have anything for you at this moment. If anything, I'll grab the local apartment guide and let you know what I find.

As for log cabins, I don't know much about the market. I do know that Townsend seems to have a number of them, for rent and for sale.

As a Tennessean I hope I can give you a little help. I went to school in Knoxville and think it is a wonderful place. All that has been said is true. The only thing you might have a problem in is finding many gated communities. Tennessee is a relatively safe place and there aren't that many gated places, especially in rural areas. I live in Middle Tennessee near Nashville. There are no gated communities in my town of about 20,000 which is only 30 miles from Nashville. Good luck in your search.

Thanks a lot altswan and smoot60. I'm not so much worried about the "gated" apartments. I just said that cause I find here that those that are gated are generally the nicest with the most to offer. I'm really interested in things like attached garages, garden tubs that are a little larger than normal for my elderly folks, decent sq. footage for 1 bedroom apt (not under 1000), nice view, etc. Just more of an upscale type apartment.

Hurricane, I'm here in Knoxville. My in-laws do not know of any apartment complexes with attached garages. Those are more common in condos/townhouses. Renting one of those might be something to consider as they tend to be more upscale than your average apartment.

We plan to stop by the store on our way out and I'll pick up some apartment guides while I am here if you would like me to mail them to you. I've also saved the real estate section from Saturday's Knox News if you'd like that as well.

We were coming home last night and went through an area near the mall where they have a lot of apartments. One called the Meadows at least had covered parking from what I could see from the road. Not an enclosed garage but a covered space. We did see one gated complex. At the same time, the area is a bit congested and your folks might like something with less traffic.

Will report more later!

In investigating the Knoxville area I have now discovered that there is some kind of fault running through there. Am I now leaving a hurricane prone area in New Orleans to get stuck in an earthquake? What are the chances of earthquakes in Knoxville, and do people living there get earthquake insurance? If so, is it affordable?

Hurricane, I'm back from Knoxville. I picked up three free magazines that list the different apartments in the area. Leafing through it, I see that a few are gated and some indicate they have some kind of garage.

If you'd like me to mail them to you, contact me at my screen name, Atlswan, at hotmail.com. I'd be happy to send them along.

As for earthquakes, no, I've never heard of one posing a problem there.

Just as an FYI, the famous St. Louis arch in Missouri was built over a dormant fault in the 1960s. And they've never experienced a problem either.

All of East TN is amazing! You couldn't do wrong to move to any of the cities here. I grew up in Chattanooga, and it's my favorite place in the world. But my job moved me to Knoxville, and I'm currently living in Oak Ridge. If you're retired, I know the area has great hospitals, shopping, and of course, everything is close to the Smokies.

As for earthquake insurance, I bought it just to be on the safe side, though we are NOT prone to earthquakes. I pay $35 a year for it, so it's very reasonable.

I have friends in Maryville and they love it; but if you can't find something in Maryville - Walland and Townsend are adjacent and are very charming towns as well.

Good luck!