Knoxville, Tennessee

The West Hills neighborhood is located north of Interstate 40 and Interstates 75. This highly popular neighborhood includes the area east of Bridgewater Road and Hardwicke Drive, south of Walker Springs Road, North Gallagher View Road, Middlebrook Pike, and west Weisgarber Road. The homes within this neighborhood are surrounded with character and beautiful trees. West Hills is one of the premier neighborhoods in all of Knoxville and is conveniently located across from West Town Mall on one side and bounded by Middlebrook Pike on the other.

The West Hills neighborhood was established in the middle of the century with a strong sense of community. The residents living within the West Hills neighborhood are concerned with protecting their quality of life. West Hills is surrounded by stores such as Borders, Old Navy, Kohl’s, and Bed, Bath and Beyond Food City, and Krogers.

The neighborhood also has its own YMCA that is located on the edge of the West Hills neighborhood on North Winston Road and is within walking distance of many homes here. However, if outdoor activity is more your style, the the West Hills Park is also located just off of N. Winston Rd and includes the Jean Teague Greenway. Hungry West Hills residents have no shortage of restaurant choices with mainstays such as Copper Cellar and Cappucinos, which are close by and are always good bets. If you are in the mood for something with a more international flair, you can try Stir Fry Cafe Tomo Japansese Restaurant.

The Harrill Hills neighborhood is a quaint neighborhood filled with older and historic homes with easy access to parks, which are filled with beautiful mature trees. Harrill Hills is located right in the heart of Fountain City right off of Jacksboro Pike and can be accessed easily by either Interstate 40 or Interstate 640. It is encircled by Forest Lane on the north, Gaineswood Road on the south, Brier Cliff Road on the east, and Jacksboro Pike on the west.

Harrill Hills is a historic neighborhood, which established as the result of a partnership between a builder and Fountain City’s biggest grocer during the 1920s, A. Hale Franklin, who purchased the property on Terrace View Drive that is now known as Harrill Hills in order to build his family a larger home. As a way to pay for the home, Franklin struck a deal with a local builder to barter out groceries in exchange for labor and building materials. The rest of the neighborhood was developed several years later, in 1927.

Today Harrill Hills is a very laid-back, picturesque neighborhood with lots of mature trees and greenery. Although most homes were built during the 20s and 30s, building continued well into the 60s, giving Harrill Hills an interesting mix of architectural styles, which includes everything from stone cottages to mid-century ranchers.

Location wise, Harrill Hills is in a pretty sweet spot as it is located between two schools, which are Shannondale Elementary School and Central High School. It is only a few, short miles from Fountain City Park and Fountain City Duck Pond, which is a small heart-shaped body of water with a nice fountain in the center dating built in 1893 where the locals would really prefer you call it the Fountain City Lake.

The Colonial Village neighborhood is located only four miles south of the downtown area and right off of Chapman Highway across from Lake Forest. For college students who live in this beautiful and scenic neighborhood they find it to be an easy commute for them to not only the University of Tennessee campus, but also to Downtown Knoxville. This is a very scenic and quite affordable neighborhood that is not too far off the beaten path, but far enough to be out of the way of city life.

The Colonial Village neighborhood was registered in the Knoxville City deed books on the eighteenth of September in 1940. Streets within this neighborhood include Stone, Magazine, Neubert Springs, Old Valley, West Ford Valley, Colonial, West Redbud and Mapleloop Roads, as well as Mayflower, Catlett, Royal Heights, Lakeview, and Brandau Drives.

During the springtime, the Colonial Village neighborhood is always part of the Dogwood Trail with its older, yet cozy homes ensconced in woods. The entire Colonial Village neighborhood was once part of the McCall Family two hundred acre farm, which was developed during the late 40s and 50s. The majority of the homes here were built during this time frame, but there are many ranchers and cottages surrounding them in the neighborhood.

Today, the neighborhood is home to four churches, one elementary school, one city park and a beautiful duck pond known as McCall’s Pond or Butterfly Lake. The great outdoors is right at the fingertips for the residents here, who can take a casual stroll on the Gary Underwood Greenway or at the Gary Underwood Park.

Local legend suggests that the Bearden neighborhood got its name when early pioneers stumbled across a bear den. However, the truth is that the Bearden neighborhood was actually named for former Knoxville Mayor Marcus DeLafayette Bearden, who was also a Union Veteran. His cousin, who had the exact same name as him, was a famous railroad investor as well as a steamboat captain. This second Bearden became part owner of a paper mill, which was located on what is now known as Papermill Road located within the Bearden neighborhood.

Unofficially, the Bearden neighborhood begins at the western shopping district of the greater Knoxville area. West Knoxville is a shopper's paradise, but in the Bearden neighborhood shopping has a bit of class added to it that other areas lack. Within this neighborhood, one can find several quaint and suburban upscale strip malls such as Homberg Place, Colony Place, and Mercedes Place. There is a wide variety of shops within this area from antiques to interior shops to collectibles.

Through the Bearden neighborhood stretches Kingston Pike, which is the main strip. Interstate 75 and Interstate 40 encircle the Bearden area from the north, while Westland Drive and the Tennessee River surround it from the south. Along the east side of the Bearden neighborhood is Morrell Road and along the west is Cherokee Boulevard.

The Bearden neighborhood is a truly nice area where many Knoxvillians have chosen as their homes for years. The homes here are mostly older style homes with classic architectural designs. Bearden is also a place where individuals have the opportunity to window shop during the afternoon without having to spend the entire day inside the mall.

Knoxville is about the largest city I would like to live in. It offers some of the most friendly, quietest streets I have seen. I have travelled to several cities around the country and have never found the hospitality or friendliness. Knoxville is in a valley, it is shielded from most bad snow storms, has several lakes and campsites in the surrounding mountains and is full of green. These factors may not mean a lot to people, but Knoxville offers a great cost of living, a huge variety of restaurants and a very respectable night life. Downtown Knoxville is of course where the college is located.

The college may be a little cramped, but that is because it is an every growing school. UT is one of the best schools in Tennessee. Knoxville is also one of the best cities in Tennessee. Out of all my travels, it offers a perfect mix of big city living, and small town feel. Knoxville has a good public transportation system, for the main areas of town and is easily accessible from the surrounding areas. It would have to be a really special place to tempt me to move away from Knoxville. I have lived here most of my life, and really could not see moving anywhere else.

Knoxville is about the largest city I would like to live in. It offers some of the most friendly, quietest streets I have seen. I have travelled to several cities around the country and have never found the hospitality or friendliness. Knoxville is in a valley, it is shielded from most bad snow storms, has several lakes and campsites in the surrounding mountains and is full of green. These factors may not mean a lot to people, but Knoxville offers a great cost of living, a huge variety of restaurants and a very respectable night life. Downtown Knoxville is of course where the college is located.

The college may be a little cramped, but that is because it is an every growing school. UT is one of the best schools in Tennessee. Knoxville is also one of the best cities in Tennessee. Out of all my travels, it offers a perfect mix of big city living, and small town feel. Knoxville has a good public transportation system, for the main areas of town and is easily accessible from the surrounding areas. It would have to be a really special place to tempt me to move away from Knoxville. I have lived here most of my life, and really could not see moving anywhere else.

Let's get real for a minute; I have lived here for a little over 3 years and I am leaving. Most people like me are transferred into Knoxvilel and are fortuante to leave in 3-5 years. Here are the facts:
1 Knoxville is one of the most air polluted cities in teh country. It is among the highest in aibrone LEAD pollution, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter. If lead paint has been banned what do you think of your kisd or yourself breathing in lead all day will do to your long-term health??
2. Is is among the highest crime rated cities in the nation for its' size: greater than Los Angeles, New York City and Housont. If you ask the stupid locales or the mayor they say it is localized in one place...yes where the blacks are. talk about racisim and bigotry. It is realted to poverty and the fact the schools, city, government have done nothing.
3. The Univ of Tn is ranked 88, a dismal 88 in the nation. If you do not go to a school in the top 50 your degree is not worht the paper it is printed on. The reason: the focuse is on sports not education.
4. Schools: If you do not live in Farragut there are no good schools. The reason there are so many proviate schools and long waiting lists is due to the poor schools. Some newer high schools, like Hidden valley could be referenced as ideals for concentration camps. Yes corporal punichsment is allowed in TN! Can you believe it is the 21st century.
5. Of the roughly 355,000 people in the workforce close to 20% are employed by government. that is ridiculous and a very bad situation.
6. Close to 25% of the population in the Metro area, a little over a million people, do not have high school educations...1 out of 4. That undereducation has led to the housing crisis, defaults, corrupt realestate practices and bank difficultes in the Knoxville area. It also will make it very difficult for you to manage and interact with a good majority of the people, "belief imples knowledge" when folks are undereducated, naive and isolated (Knoxville).
6. Racisim and discrimination is still rampant.
7. Relgious fanaticism is prevelant everywhere. About 65% of the people affiliate with mostly Southern Baptists. It is a very bad situation for education since creationism and intellgient desing tend to dominate. Everywhere in the world students are studing evolution adn science. In Knoxville, Dayton TN (Monkey trial of 1927) is still alive and well..in the 21st century.
8. Many people homeschool. If you have children plan to investigate home school.
9. Who cares about restaurants, night life, music, unless you are a student. The sconomy has lost double digit employment and stadn at about 10% unemployed with only a projection of future growth of about 12%. Comparable cities future growth is close to 22% or greater.
10. IMy position was as an executive in the area. I got to see things first hand: government, people, employees, UT graduates, schools, school board, teachers, et. al. I can only describe the area as dismal at best and sad overall. Primarily, because the people are so ignorant, ill-informed, and unable to think or inquire. The first element of a good social environmen to build a city and care for its' citizens is to admit to problems and issues that must be addressed. Knoxvillians fail miserably in this intention. The failure is driven by religious fanaiticism, rigidity, excessive materialism, selfishness, general stupidity, corrupt real estate agents, poor government, all casuing the population to be fat, dumb, and pleased with their present situation. As Plato said; " If a person is raised under a round table, that person will not know what a square table is." It is a quote suitable for the citizens, government, educational establishment of Knoxville. They do not know and they refuse to learn anything, since they "believe". It is a good experience to live (3-5 years at most) in Knoxville, preferably Farragut, to get a real eye-opening experience of the 1800s and what it must have been like when Clarence Darrow defended the teacher of biology for teaching evolution In Dayton, or when Bedford Forrest started the Ku Klux Klan, and moreover to learn how to effectively deal and interact with folks that come very close to pre-historic. If the citizens spent as much time on meaningful matters as they do on the ridiculous "Vols" sports, perhaps things would be improved. The UT bears a great deal of responsibliity for the Knoxville dump. That school, understandably poorly rated among USA academic institutions, has failed the local citizenry terribly and the citiznes are too stupid to realize it becasue they are caught up in the trivialty of UT sports. One must ask where are the incubators? Where are the start-up companies? Where are the new patents, technology, entrepreneurial activities that one observes, e.g. at Univ Minnesota, Univ Texas, Univ Penn., UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt,.......Coupled with the mayor's excessive defense of "how great knoxville is" it is a bad combination. For example, the mayor would have everyone belive that the crime statistics are invalid. In other words the rating for Knoxville should be based on something different than the FBI uses for all ratings; Knoxville should be an exception. Talk about cave man thinking! Why not admit the issue and address it like responsible government and citizens do?
- Only uneducated people come here and try to stay beacuse they are looking for the $12-14/hour jobs. If you are a professional and have a choice go somewhere else or plan only to stay a short while. If you have children you had better go somewhere else. They will be disadvantaged in the Knoxville area, even if they attend private schools like Webb.