North Knoxville

North Knoxville sits a few miles north of the downtown area with Broadway Avenue serving as the main road running through the area.
The area is divided into several smaller segments, including Historic Old North Knoxville, Fourth and Gill, and Fountain City, sitting just south of the suburb of Powell.
North Knoxville has many older homes, as seen in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood. For the most part, the area doesn’t seem to have been kept up well, with the buildings and businesses off of Broadway serving as an eyesore.
Many of the old, Victorian houses of the area have been converted into apartments, popular among the 20-something crowd. In any area south of Powell and north of downtown, there are a lack of homeowners, as most people rent properties at a relatively cheap rate.
But depending on the area, the homes are occasionally medium-to-large, some with back yards or decks.
Broadway avenue dissects the area into two halves, with grocery stores, restaurants, and other necessary stops. Veering off of Broadway into any given neighborhood is bound to make you lose your sense of direction, as the surrounding areas are poorly laid out with confusing road set ups.
North Knoxville is generally seen as being worth the low expenses.

Well, North Knoxville does have some beautiful homes. Most of them are run down and anyone can tell they have bee neglected for quite some time. While some have started trying to fix up a few of the homes, not many others have followed. In North Knoxville is Northgate Mall, but among Knoxville residents, it is not known as being the best of malls. Close to a golf course and Sharps Ridge Park, there are things to do in close proximity, but not much going on in the actual neighborhood. In North Knoxville you are very close to all of the major Interstates, so you could easily get anywhere rather quickly. Of course it also means traffic can be very busy at certain times of the day and on weekends. I believe one of the main reasons the area hasn't attracted many investors or home buyers is the schools in the area. They are improving somewhat due to the governments, No Child Left Behind campaign, but they aren't improving enough or fast enough for people to be willing to bring their families. Another reason is the current residents. They are not really the friendliest group. I got lost on my way to show a house and the GPS wouldn't work and i asked at least 6 people on the road or in their yards, and none were willing to help;some wouldn't even acknowledge that I had even spoken to them. Not really the place I would want to live.

There are not too many neighborhoods in the Knoxville area where neighbors do not know one another. In the South, this is an area where porches are much larger than any other area of the country and people have the reputation for being simply friendlier than anywhere else. However, North Knoxville is a neighborhood where neighbors find they do not know the names of those living next door to them.

This is not a thing that people here complain about, it is just simply that this is an area that is constantly changing as are the neighbors. Its siblings, Old North Knoxville and Fourth & Gill are characterized by their historic homes, pedestrian-friendly nature, and their close-knit community.

North Knoxville began to be developed back in the 1880s and continued up through the 1940s as one of few streetcar suburbs of Knoxville. In the early days, many neighborhood residents rode streetcars to their favorite shop or walked instead of driving cars. Due to that fact, in this area the sidewalks here are much wider than in other neighborhoods, but there are fewer driveways and garages.

North Knoxville was hit by the Depression hard and as a result, many homeowners had to take on boarders in order to survive. Other homeowners divided their larger homes into apartments. Soon, the neighborhood began to see a decline and since then has continued to do so. The addition and the importance of the automobile in the lives of so many has not helped either, especially when suburban living became popular after World War II.

You will not find a lot going on here on the surface and there still is not much in the of big box stores or crowd-gathering attractions, unless you travel further north on Broadway towards Fountain City. However, there is parking space, and plenty of institutions such as Three Rivers Market Food Co-op and the century old Greenlee Bike Shop.

North Knoxville over the last several years has gained some negative reputations. When considering North Knoxville, some people think of it as poor, run down areas. Some of these claims have a bit of truth, but the community is working on fixing it. The people in this area mostly consist of retired people and couples who are beginning to own their own houses. This renewal of a new generation purchasing the homes has shown a lot of renovation and high spirits in the neighborhood. You will find the classic Tennessee Hospitality among neighbors here.

The traffic here during rush hour can be quite hectic. North Knoxville is nestled between all the major highways, I-40, I-640 and I-75. Needless to say, this is a major cross roads during rush hours. Another complaint has been the school systems. The school systems are not terrible, but are considered some of the lower ended schools in the area. Aside from the few poor parts of the area the homes are gorgeous old constructions that are always being renovated in creative ways. Being so close to the interstates means you are only a hop skip and a jump from anywhere in Knoxville. That close proximity and the friendly neighbors makes this a wonderful place to consider.