Weddingbee boards

@mogget: I am from Knoxville originally, though I moved away after high school. I am now 26 and my FH and I have recently returned home. We are actually getting married here next summer.

Pros:

There is a GREAT music scene here. Really cool venues, great concert series and music festivals, lots of great tours come through here. 

Tons of good restaurants and bars.

Really close to the Great Smokey Mountains and tons of close-by hiking, biking, and camping for outdoorsy types.

Four full seasons: spring, summer, fall, winter. Never too cold here. 30's is usually the lowest at night in winter. But summer can get nasty hot and humid (though if you are coming from TX you will be ok!).

Really nice, friendly people.

Good school options for both children and UT is a pretty good university for undergrads and grads.

Really fun, "happening" downtown area.

Cons:

We may have over 200,000 people but this can feel like a very small town, and people can be gossipy and a bit small town minded about things.

A very Republican area (I see this as a con, but you may see it as a pro! : ); quite conservative.

Lots of chain restaurants and stereotypical mall-type shopping.

Big massive interstate runs straight through Knoxville. Some parts are very pretty and others are super ugly.

Lots of suburban sprawl. You can drive East to West for 45 minutes and still be in Knoxville. Just miles of strip malls and cookie cutter housing developments.

Hot, nasty summer. Terrible pollen for allergy sufferers and TONS of mosquitoes.

Not a lot of support for the visual or performing arts.

Totally land-locked: at least 8 hours to a beach/coast.

Hope this helps!! I like Knoxville a lot. It's a good place to live and raise a family. I am happy to be back for a couple years, but I couldn't see myself staying here forever.

@mogget: Sorry I just checked this post again tonight!! Please fell free to PM me about Knoxville anytime! I know the city really well and could definitely give you some suggestions about where to live based on what you like/need!!