Anyone familiar with East Tennessee or west North Carolina? we may be moving to one of these areas; can you tell me about it?

[PaigeP]

What's it like? What are the people like? Good homeschooling communities? Any college towns (I ask because my kids take violin through a local university and I'd love if we could find the same there)? Please tell me about this area if you've lived there. I'd love to hear some specific town names. Are the people more conservative/liberal? Are the people generally more educated or not?

 

......I know these are generalized questions, but I'm looking for a "general" idea of the area.

 

 

 

Thanks,

Paige

[Bree]

We lived in Knoxville TN for a year UT is located there. It was a nice place to live with lots of family friendly places but there was definitely a huge mix of conservative and liberals. I know there are alot of small areas around Knoxville that are nice to live in and Gatlinburg is close so that is always a plus :)

[Lolly]

Knoxville has UTk. The tricities have ETSU and a whole host of small private colleges. You can find a wide variety of conservative/liberal, educated/not. I'd say it is all pretty middle of the line. You can message me if you want more specific information.

[Twinmom]

I absolutely love living in Hickory, NC...great, pretty small town, nice home schooling community, cool old homes. The unemployment rate is high, however, especially for those without a college education. If you have a good job lined up, it is a great place to raise a family.

[GSOchristie]

I absolutely love living in Hickory, NC...great, pretty small town, nice home schooling community, cool old homes. The unemployment rate is high, however, especially for those without a college education. If you have a good job lined up, it is a great place to raise a family.

 

DH lived in Asheville while we were dating and his mother stayed for a long while after we got married. There are two colleges near there Western Carolina and UNCA. It is a....quirky...town, but not in a bad way. Very hippy-ish, but hippies with lots of money, if that makes sense. It is cool in the summer and cold in the winter, snows regularly. The Biltmore Estate is there, as well as the Grove Park Inn. It is definitely very liberal. I'm not sure about the homeschooling climate. We live 3 hours from there in the middle of NC and we have a very large hs community. It is easy to hs in NC, as far as I can tell :).

[Clarkd]

Johnson City TN has ETSU. I interviewed there about fifteen years ago. A beautiful area, pretty depressed economy.

[TN Mama]

I lived in East TN for about 12 years, and love it there. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me, and I'll be happy to help.

[higginszoo]

My parents live in Kingsport, I finished college (the last year and a half) at ETSU. It is gorgeous country, and the Tri-Cities area has a really strong, busy homeschool community. There is a wide mix of people, from the less-educated, but so friendly and welcoming mountain people to the scientists that have come in to work in the various industries (in Kingsport, there's Eastman Chemical, which used to be a Kodak subsidiary, my brother lives in Knoxville and works at the Oak Ridge labs). Dh would love to find a job in Knoxville or Asheville -- close, but not TOO close to my family and it is a good blend of my need for warm and his need to avoid the heat.

[DaffodilDreams]

Listening in to this thread because there's a very good chance we're moving to the Knoxville area this summer. We used to live there years ago and LOVED it, but that was pre-child. It will be a new adventure because we're in the family-friendly phase now rather than the young-and-having-fun phase. I've been researching community homeschool classes/field trips, and it looks like there are a lot of educational opportunities in Knoxville, Oak Ridge, and the Smokies. I just hope there's an easy way to meet other kids dd's age because leaving behind her friends will be the hardest part of the move. For what it's worth, OP, dh and I adored Knoxville when we lived there before and have been waiting for a chance to get back there ever since we left.

[SamuelsMommy]

We also live near Knoxville. We are actually almost halfway between Knoxville & Sevierville/Pigeon Forge in a small town called Seymour. We love it hear because is an easy 30 minute drive to Knoxville and all that the city offers, but also only about 30 minutes (or less depending on where we are going) to Sevierville & the mountains for hiking and other outdoor stuff. We have a local homeschool co-op that we love but there are numerous co-ops in the Knoxville area, as well as homeschool classes at UT, the Knoxville Zoo, the Gatlinburg Aquarium, and many other locations if desired. There is a homeschool orchestra in Knoxville too I think.

[Onceuponatime]

My dad lives in western NC, Hendersonville, I would move there in a heart beat. There is so much to do. The Geography is gorgeous, that area is very stable economically. I don't know about the homeschooling. The people seem reasonably friendly and it seems to be rather moderate politically.

[DaffodilDreams]

We also live near Knoxville. We are actually almost halfway between Knoxville & Sevierville/Pigeon Forge in a small town called Seymour. We love it hear because is an easy 30 minute drive to Knoxville and all that the city offers, but also only about 30 minutes (or less depending on where we are going) to Sevierville & the mountains for hiking and other outdoor stuff. We have a local homeschool co-op that we love but there are numerous co-ops in the Knoxville area, as well as homeschool classes at UT, the Knoxville Zoo, the Gatlinburg Aquarium, and many other locations if desired. There is a homeschool orchestra in Knoxville too I think.

 

Are the UTK homeschool classes the ones offered through the gardens? If there are other homeschool classes offered at UT, can you share a link to that info?

 

Now I'm off to search out info on the orchestra, too.

 

Thanks! : )

[MamaT]

I live in Asheville, actually 12 miles north in a small town called Weaverville. It is a wonderful area for families. There are several active community theaters, a huge art community, and beautiful outdoor areas to explore. Asheville proper is hippy/liberal, but outside the city limits are very conservative areas. The homeschool community is huge, Christian and secular. There are plenty of groups to choose from. Buncombe County has the highest percentage of homeschoolers per capita in NC.

 

Henderson County, Hendersonville, is just south of Asheville. It is a very pretty town with a very active homeschooling community.

[SamuelsMommy]

Are the UTK homeschool classes the ones offered through the gardens? If there are other homeschool classes offered at UT, can you share a link to that info?

 

Now I'm off to search out info on the orchestra, too.

 

Thanks! : )

 

Yes the ones through the gardens. And then from time to time they do special events. We haven't personally gone to any of them so I'm not sure exactly what they offer, but several families in our homeschool group have participated.

 

I was wrong. It's not a homeschool orchestra. It's a band. Here is the website http://home.kcyb.org/ However, there is a knoxville youth orchestra and their website is http://www.knoxvillesymphony.com/youth-orchestra/

 

If you want to see more of what kind of resources are in the Knoxville area, here is a helpful website to get you started http://www.tennkidsclub.org/

[Dustybug]

I absolutely love living in Hickory, NC...great, pretty small town, nice home schooling community, cool old homes. The unemployment rate is high, however, especially for those without a college education. If you have a good job lined up, it is a great place to raise a family.

 

Hey! I live VERY close to you and attend church in Hickory! Howdy! *waves*

 

 

I've lived in WNC for nearly 10 years now and I enjoy it. It's more rural than I was used to, coming from the DC metro area, but it grows on you after awhile. The area I live in is pretty conservative, but the homeschooling community is large and eclectic.

[DaffodilDreams]

 

 

Yes the ones through the gardens. And then from time to time they do special events. We haven't personally gone to any of them so I'm not sure exactly what they offer, but several families in our homeschool group have participated.

 

I was wrong. It's not a homeschool orchestra. It's a band. Here is the website http://home.kcyb.org/ However, there is a knoxville youth orchestra and their website is http://www.knoxvillesymphony.com/youth-orchestra/

 

If you want to see more of what kind of resources are in the Knoxville area, here is a helpful website to get you started http://www.tennkidsclub.org/

 

Thanks for the links!