Moving to Knoxville in Aug - Need housing / Knoxville Life Beta - Also need a belay? We are looking for partners and fun people!

Hey all,

Moving to Knoxville in August. Climbed in the southeast quite a bit...love the bullet sandstone so much we decided to move into the region. Landed a job in Knoxville but not very familiar with the area other then getting pumped on the roofs in Obed and drinking beers by a fire at the Lilly pad. 

I am traveling with my girlfriend and cat. We are very low key people and both have jobs lined up in the area. Climb 12's...would gladly trade belays if nothing else. 

We would love to stumble on a nice rental house/apartment/room/schoolbus/shanty somewhere in the woods within a half hour of the city. If anyone has a place to rent or is looking for some roommates please let me know.

Also if anyone wants to throw out some favorite breweries, bars, food, parts of town or anything else that stands out in Knoxville it would be greatly appreciated.

-Zach

Zach,

    Welcome to Knoxville.  It's a cool town that is growing a lot right now.  You might want to check out south Knoxville (south of the TN river) for housing.  That's pretty much the epicenter for outdoor activity in Knoxville right now, and the land there can feel a bit more remote, even though it's close to downtown.  Ijams has a climbing crag - it's no Obed, but it is climbing close to town, which is nice.  That area also has the urban wilderness trails for mountain biking and hiking.  Old North Knoxville and Fourth and Gill are 2 other cool neighborhoods close to downtown that you might want to check out.  

    Lots of great breweries have popped up or are opening soon.  Alliance, Crafty Bastard, and Last Days of Autumn are some of my favorites.  Market Square and Gay St have lots of restaurants and bars as well.  

   My favorite close hike is House Mountain - def check it out some time when you don't want to go too far.  Of course there are the Smokies, which are beautiful, but crowded.  Big South Fork is an amazing place as well.  Check out the Honey Creek Loop to get a feel for the place.

    My last advice is get ready for lots of orange.  The Vols are king around here...

    Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions.  I hope you enjoy Knoxville!

Welcome to Knoxville. Obed is good, big south fork can be good if you find the routes, it is a great place to get away from the crowds. Devils race track is ok but I haven't found much up there.  Chattanooga is a great place is the weather is nice. You are a hop skip and jump from longer routes in North Carolina. Ijams is great for a day hike without the drive to the big parks, even Knoxville has some nice walking trails in town. Housing is afordible in oak ridge, Clinton isn't to bad of a town but there are lots of options for housing in Knoxville. I prefer west Knoxville but it's not for everyone. I don't climb 12's but if I'm free I can offer a belay. 

Thanks for the info and the warm welcomes. I have two housing options that are both located in south knoxville. Was hoping to get some info on where abouts we would want to be down there. They are not far apart and I may be splitting hairs in asking but let me know what you think. 

The locations are saved in the map above (stars). We definitely would prefer to be closer to stuff (groceries, places to eat, drink...) Also dont want to end up in any sketchy areas. If you have any pointers on south Knoxville please let me know.

Hey Zach, 

I'm a transplant as well (been in TN for a couple yrs now) I'm east of Knoxville in sevierville.  the two stars you dropped are pretty rural/suburban areas.  Right in the middle of Outdoor wilderness trail system. (http://www.outdoorknoxville.com/urban-wilderness)   all the major shopping areas are up along Kingston Pike - mostly west side of knox heading west.

from what I've seen the stared areas are mostly single family homes and some trailers (not a lot) and that was mostly from either driving or riding MTB through most of those streets.  If you want some eyeballs on more specific areas PM me and I'll help as much as I can.

https://www.onsightrockgym.com/ - something else to look fwd when you get down here.  Still one of the nicest gyms I'm been to, and not just saying that because I'm a member.

don't even get me started on the orange.....

Knoxville is great though, gf and I are constantly finding new things to do

Welcome to the area, the two stars on the map are both in nice areas and are very close to trails. That said the one on the left of the map is closer to town (about 5 minute drive/10 minute bike ride) to downtown proper. I live about 2 miles from there and love the area. The area is going through a huge amount of growth currently and is mostly youngish couples moving that direction. The people tend to enjoy being outside and participate in a variety of hobbies including climbing/running/biking etc. We do enjoy our beer and near the area is Trailhead and Alliance. SoKno Taco is a decent option as well as the new Landing House which just recently opened as well. 

For climbing, the obed is going to be your main spot. 1 hour drive, tons of climbing. Depending on your taste winter around here rocks, Lily Boulders will suffice for after work, but LRC and Rocktown are under 2 hours. Rumbling Bald is 3. Also there is T-Wall which has some awesome trad and sport routes, and the Red is 3 hours away. 

When are you headed this way? We can meet up and do a little cragging. Headed to Lily Bluff tomorrow.