Knoxville - the 30th worst US city? (Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg: crime rate, unemployment)

[Igor Blevin]

The Top 30 Worst Places to Live in the United States



30. Knoxville, Tennessee

One in four residents in the city of Knoxville lives in poverty. This economically depressed city also suffers from a crime rate that is twice that of the national average.

Unemployment rate: 3.0% (National median 3.9%)
Median household income: $54,437 (National median $48,435)
High school graduation rate: 90% (National median 88.8%)


Igor's commentary:

Hey! don't shoot the messsenger. I have loved my 2 months in Knoxville so far. I think the author has been smoking too much Mary Jane.

[nashvols]

What's the source? There are a lot of publications with pretty useless and arbitrary rankings lists. I've seen cities listed on best AND worst lists *from the same website* based on the criteria chosen.

[Igor Blevin]

Ack! I forgot the link. That is basic posting 101 to show your source.

Sorry about that.

Here it is. Some no name, but I still thought it funny to make anybody's top 50 list. I was surprised to see it.


https://facty.com/network/life/the-t...ted-states/30/

[DubbleT]

Eh, living in 'poverty', according to the official poverty guidelines, in Knoxville is not the same as living in poverty in San Francisco, DC or any other high COL area.
And the crime ratings for TN, as per previous threads, are usually not based on the same procedures used by other states.
You can use rankings and statistics to 'prove' a lot of things that aren't necessarily the cold hard truth.

[ILTXwhatnext]

We've considered Knoxville and found it on the other end (among best places to live). Which source sounds more reliable, facty.com or US News and World Report?

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/...ng/3410198002/

[Igor Blevin]

Originally Posted by ILTXwhatnext

We've considered Knoxville and found it on the other end (among best places to live). Which source sounds more reliable, facty.com or US News and World Report?

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/...ng/3410198002/

Hey, you've sold me.

[jjbradleynyc]

That source is suspect, at best.

Looks like it's a "health and wellness" Canadian (Vancouver) startup that has been around for about a decade or so. The staff may consist of about 50 people or so and their "health writers" are definitely folks who have never visited where they write about.

Their article says it is "economically depressed." Who even wrote that? It's not even accurate for Knoxville.

The article is click bait as well, making the reader go page to page to view the next city. Allowing the ads to get more clicks and views.

I would take that source with a tiny grain of salt.

[Beretta]

Igor you have been suckered. But please do go on about how bad it is here. We will try to keep this place a secret.

[Igor Blevin]

I don't myself believe Knoxville is one of America's worst cities. I think it is among the best. I just thought it was funny that someone did think it was a top 30 worst city. Their metric is not mine. Almost nothing about quality of life.

Too late. The secret is out. I am always the last to know, so if I found Knoxville, I am sure it is on many people's radar.

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by Igor Blevin

I don't myself believe Knoxville is one of America's worst cities. I think it is among the best. I just thought it was funny that someone did think it was a top 30 worst city. Their metric is not mine. Almost nothing about quality of life.

Too late. The secret is out. I am always the last to know, so if I found Knoxville, I am sure it is on many people's radar.

Yeah, Knoxville has a great quality of life, overall. It's a pretty economically diverse city with a growing city and metro region.

Geographically very fortunate, Knoxville's setting amongst some of the most beautiful mountains in the eastern US makes it a magnet for those relocating. Add in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge just 30 minutes away and that is icing on the cake for many people.

I could understand this writer from the article's reasoning if he/she were writing about Charleston, WV, or Toledo, OH, or Rockford, IL--cities in rust belt regions where they struggle to attract much of any new development or population growth.

But that's not even remotely the case for Knoxville--in fact, it's the opposite. Knoxville is a growth engine for population and economic growth and stability.

I grew up visiting Knoxville and loved it then. It's one of my favorite cities in the southeast.