I Drove Through Knoxville, Tennessee. This Is What I Saw.

Wow so Knoxville is sneaky cool and fun. Who would have thought?
Okay so on this road trip of Knoxville, we’re going to bounce around a little bit instead of doing our Knoxville city tour in one continuous drive like we normally do. Right now, we’re just outside of campus at the University of Tennessee, which begins just outside of the downtown area. We’re on Cumberland Avenue, heading east towards downtown.
It’s Sunday, November 10, 2019 at 10:30 am.
We’re on the very southern edge of downtown now, and this is the Tennessee River, where there are a handful of restaurants and housing developments. The Tennessee River begins here in Knoxville. It’s headwaters are formed due to the confluence of the French Broad and Holston Rivers.
We’re at Gay Street, which is the main drag here in Knoxville. Along Gay Street are hotels, arts venues, shopping, and a ton of restaurants and bars.
Knoxville’s population is 170,000. There’s a lot of history here. Arguably the nation’s first electric streetcar ran right up the middle of this street way back in 1890. Mountain Dew had its beginnings in Knoxville. The channel HGTV is based here too. Country singer Kenny Chesney grew up here and director Quentin Tarantino was born here.
Here on the left is Knoxville’s market square, which has a number of restaurants and some shopping. This is where Knoxville has its farmers markets, musical acts, and the city puts in a temporary skating rink in the winter time.
Now we’re heading east again back towards Gay Street.
On the north end of town is the more run down section of downtown called Old City. This is the sketchiest part of downtown Knoxville - home to the city’s main bus stop, train station and homeless shelter. There are a decent number of shops, restaurants and bars here, and this is where people go clubbing - typically starting at about 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Crime wise - it’s not pretty. Knoxville has been called one of the 50 least livable cities, because, while the downtown area might be charming and very safe, the outskirts are very poor and dangerous. Crime in Knoxville is 131% higher than other cities of its size. 1 in 4 people in Knoxville lives in poverty, almost double the national average.
For perspective, we’ll show you how quickly things change just a block or two east of downtown. The city of Knoxville has been working hard to gentrify and improve much of the greater Knoxville area by rebuilding older rundown homes in this part of town and building newer homes to appeal to younger, wealthier home owners. It’s a process that is ongoing here in Knoxville, and one we talked about a little more extensively in another video we did on the worst areas of Knoxville, where we drove through east Knoxville.
The link to that video is in the description.
For perspective on downtown, we’re going to jump to a clip on the south side of downtown, from where we will drive over the Tennessee River on the Gay Street Bridge and drive back into downtown from across the river.
Now, one more other particular area we covered was a section of the University of Tennessee, which is only two miles from downtown proper. This is what the locals call The Strip, and it’s a series of restaurants and bars where the college kids hang out. During football and basketball games, it can be quite busy here.
Leaving the strip, we head into campus proper. We’re going to show you two landmarks on campus - where the basketball team plays their games, and the campus’ football stadium. The University of Tennessee has about 28,000 students, which puts it just inside the top 50 in terms of largest attendance
Here on the left is the massive Thompson-Boling Arena where the mens and womens basketball teams play. This street is called Phillip Fulmer way. It was named after long-time football coach Phillip Fulmer. The stadium here in the middle of campus is called Neyland Stadium. It’s absolutely massive - and holds 102,000 people. It’s so large it’s hard to even get the entire thing in one frame.
That’s the end of our drive through the greater Knoxville downtown area. Hopefully this gave you some perspective on what Knoxville Tennessee is like.
Here's the link to the bad Knoxville neighborhood video: • I Drove Through The Wo...
Link to the Tennessee mountain town video in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg: • I Drove Through Tennes...
This channel talks about America, different states, education, travel, geography and what it's like to live in different places in America.
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Music by Chris Zabriskie and Kevin MacLeod.

[@NickJohnson]

Here's my entire Unboxing America Series: kzbin.info/aero/PLq-_cmf3H6yqgM1vGG305six5T7dqGURF

[@Marcel_Audubon]

Looks like a beautiful town. They have invested in a lot of trees which look great. Love the older buildings being refurbished for a new century.

[@daniel_sc1024]

Not too long ago those old buildings downtown were covered with plain metal facades, and only a handful of people lived there; after hours and on weekends, downtown was dead. The trees have always been there. From the air, with the exception of the main commercial strips, Knoxville looks like it is in a forest.

[@kayleighslaton]

they didn’t invest in the trees haha, they have always been there 🤣

[@__-bc4bs]

Yeah Tennessee overall seems great.

[@joelboone1751]

Amazing how on your tour of the whole town, rich neighborhoods and poor, I never saw a speck of trash or litter along the way It looks like a really clean town in spite of the high crime rate.

[@samvimes9510]

Crime really depends on where you are. North Knoxville can be sketchy, but east Knoxville is pretty bad. Most other areas are pretty nice though, especially west Knoxville.

[@NickJohnson]

yeah it's a really super chill, clean place.

[@NickJohnson]

i did a video on that too kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGHNnJawbayCnKM

[@bradleeanderson356]

I know... im so happy

[@livemantis7831]

Take a ride on the roads, then, you'll understand why people in the POOR, DEPRESSED SOUTH, need opiates!

[@PAULY-P]

I like when you drive through towns and cities. It gives us the current view of what they really look like. Its good for people that are wanting to relocate and cant just get up and take a trip to find out. 👍

[@NickJohnson]

that's becoming more of what people say they want. and a little history and a little trivia and a little insight and stats. going on a big trip very soon. it's gonna be mostly travel videos for a month after the religious states video next friday where we have a BIG PLOT TWIST :)

[@PAULY-P]

@@NickJohnson Very cool man. Cant wait!

[@longobardilounge8238]

This is why I'm watching this lol. Cuz in moving this year to Tennessee

[@worseto1]

They drove through downtown on a Sunday to keep you from seeing how many homeless people are there.You could compare Knoxville to a miniature version of San Francisco plenty of human poop to step in.

[@waza987]

@@worseto1 how does Sunday hide the homeless? I thought it would make them more obvious as there are less other people (workers, shoppers, etc) around.

[@erinhodge74]

And also ....for anyone that hasn't been to KNOXVILLE.....Yes our trees really are that PRETTY!❤

[@Nick-gl9ol]

Yessir I live in Knoxville

[@Daniel-ug8fd]

I live near. You need to come to tellico tn

[@bovee95]

Downtown Knoxville is like number one or two in sex trafficking. Don’t let this fool, fool you!! Lived there half my life. Good place to get hooked on drugs

[@teresasmith2161]

Look just like Ohio trees

[@skylarcameron902]

I live in morristown tennessee and I drive to Knoxville for work

[@NoogahOogah]

Thanks for making this video! I’ve lived out here most of my life and attended UTK. Knoxville is a great place to be; it’s a quiet city full of proud and decent people. The rent is low, there’s plenty to do, and it’s close to the most popular national park in the U.S. Very few complaints.

[@TN_hpchen]

I lived in Knoxville over 30 years and it's beautiful! I have followed your channel visiting many other cities. Thank you so much ❤

[@batimusmaximus2743]

Fabulous job with this video-the BEST downtown drive through I've seen on KZbin. Loved the maps and narration!

[@NickJohnson]

There are many others I did too!

[@Chatsworth1979]

Enjoyable in every way, thank you for uploading this vid. Great points: 1) you show a map of where you are during the drive, so critical to do this for the viewer's understanding but so very few KZbin posters bother with this, 2) great soundtrack, mellow and not too loud, 3) nice slow drive, 4) verbal explanations and highlights. Love Knoxville, was nice to visit it again via your video. Liked and subscribed! Can't wait to check out your other vids.

[@NickJohnson]

Great! Hope you enjoy them. Stay safe!

[@tobiebutler4666]

I lived in Knoxville for almost 6 years and it’s absolutely beautiful 💕

[@Anony584]

That’s all it has going for it besides UTK

[@randyrrs7028]

Ive visited 12 states and knoxville is one of the most beautiful cities ive ever been

[@linwoodholloway7227]

Thank You! Coming from a Knoxville Native

[@TimLucasdesign]

Thank you!! :)

[@badguy1481]

Wow! Very impressive city. Very clean. Very well maintained, with a mix of old and new buildings. Even the "Old City" doesn't look that bad. EVERY city, of that size, has an industrial area that are built for practicality, not beauty. They provide the revenue needed to beautify the "more livable" areas. Many thanks for your tour!

[@TimLucasdesign]

The old city is great. There are some great breweries and bars there and lots of condo development. Old city gets a bad wrap but I've never had an issue there or know anyone who has.

[@sinman1935]

What a great video, love the way you did it, music so relaxing !!! I can see why the people of Knoxville love their city. Stopped there traveling through many years ago. Would love to visit again when this pandemic is over !!!

[@khamurudinmohdnoor1372]

Thank you for posting this drive. I went to UT from 1981 - 1985. Had opportunities to watch Willie Gault, Reggie White and Dale Ellis played football and basketball for UT

[@garethdodds]

I am from the UK and I visted Knoxville back in 2002 - staying with friends. I really enjoyed my stay and loved the city back then. I must say downtown is looking pretty good these days. 👍

[@jorgeortega346]

Even the rundown section of this city looks much better than my former neighborhood in Los Angeles.

[@joshuarattler5969]

I’ve lived in East Tennessee my entire life. I just moved to Knoxville in 2014. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@NickJohnson]

Ok Josh

[@jonathankrick7448]

hey joshua do u like the vols

[@loisaustin6200]

I worked in Knoxville 63 years ago, lived in Maryville where husband was attending college. Knoxville was a nice city with friendly people. Looks different but even better today, has really grown, a thriving city, and still looks like a nice place to live, very clean and pretty. We loved living so close to the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg, etc.

[@debcampbell2524]

Thanks for capturing & conveying the beauty of our city so well....especially the pulse that comes from people being out enjoying the shops restaurants and more.

[@NickJohnson]

My pleasure 😊

[@albertguntinas1897]

Nobody can argue that this video is awesome by every standard.

[@NickJohnson]

nobody. nobody at all.

[@milesbowen9433]

He commuted a traffic violation at 0:55. Other than that, I’ve got nothing

[@j.d.1506]

Awesome video! I’m so glad to see that you got to see some of the nicer places in downtown. I happen to love going down to those areas. Its has so much charm and warmth, even though driving down there took me some getting used to. I hope you get to come back to Knoxville again soon. There is a lot to see on the outskirts of downtown, in addition to all the beauty here. Knoxville is bigger than it seems. Well done on the 2 Knoxville videos. You came out here at a really good time of the year. 😊

[@NickJohnson]

I know! I got lucky. It's such a great place. No winter or mid summer? maybe tougher :)

[@j.d.1506]

Nick Johnson oh definitely tougher during winter and summer. I’m looking out the window at snow right now as we speak. No joke Lol!! It’s very cold and no foliage anymore.

[@j.d.1506]

Nick Johnson and you can come here in midsummer if you love humidity and mosquitoes. How awesome does that sound?! Lol

[@nicholaszoeller5028]

they showed snow at Neyland Stadium on HLN.mosquitoes are everywhere lol.how long have you lived in Knoxville? what's you overall opinion about it?

[@livemantis7831]

WTF? Really? The roads tear your car to hell, not to mention jolting your body to the point of pain. I hit a pot hole there that made me bite my fing tongue and that was on a good part of the road. With a near ten percent state sales tax, people there complain about the USA / Fed??? Weird to say the least, weak people to put it gently.

[@EmiWoodScully]

Thank you for this!! I’m moving to Knoxville in 2 months so this was helpful!!

[@NickJohnson]

Good! Hope you like it there. I did. Moving to attend UT?

[@EmiWoodScully]

Nick Johnson yes! Starting a PhD program in the fall...

[@Noahsoak]

bmewbullies if you've gotten moved, what's your opinion?

[@ahmahtiyehudim7307]

Knoxville is a bad place for minorities and their families. One side of Knoxville is called "the east side" the police terrorize the blacks on that side of town capitalizing off their suffering.

[@paigecat9104]

@@ahmahtiyehudim7307 the East side is the nice way of saying it. Trust me it's been referred to by people more in the past and some today known as N town. Telling you the truth. Rough area. There are City signs in neighborhoods there that say warning driver by shootings. Saw it with my own eyes. 100 years ago Magnolia was a ritzy part of town. Still an original pizza parlor you can drive up to and they come out like Sonic to your car AWESOME pizza. Where my parents were on a date and told each other they loved each other and they are still together 52 years later!

[@DavidWilliams-gh8vj]

I’ve lived and worked in Knoxville for the past twenty years. Love it here.

[@cmlee58]

What’s the weather like?

[@TimLucasdesign]

@@cmlee58 Short cold winters, Short hot humid summers, but long mild fall and spring. Do be aware that the natural beauty comes at a cost. We have annual rainfall approaching that of Seattle.

[@heythere6983]

@@TimLucasdesign long allergy season? moldy ?

[@jaycerdeno3924]

Loving the city 😍 simple and chill city... fingers cross im gonna live there in next few years

[@Mild2WildOff-Roading]

That’s crazy this video just popped up. I just finished working on the embassy suites downtown Knoxville about 3 weeks ago

[@NickJohnson]

youtube KNOWS EVERYTHING

[@TimLucasdesign]

Nice work on the embassy suites! What'a beautiful hotel. And that rooftop!!!

[@Mild2WildOff-Roading]

@@TimLucasdesign thank you I was just reminiscing about that job today. I have a video on my KZbin channel of the scaffolding I built that overhung the bar roof check it out it’s pretty cool.

[@wwater443]

I live in strawberry plains right outside of knoxville and nothing bad happens out here! You video had some great shots of the city! Thanks for visiting and shedding light on my hometown

[@jonathankrick7448]

do u like strawberry plains

[@wwater443]

@@jonathankrick7448 Yes I do!!! There are houses selling every 72 hours out here. You have to drive around and get to know the area! There are alot of benefits about living on the outskirts of knoxville! ! I should edit my post saying nothing bad happens out here. I shoul just speak for my street... lol! Every place has history good/bad and old/new!

[@jonathankrick7448]

@@wwater443 hey do u like the vols

[@roger0929]

Umm... Straw Plains is the HQ for the Knox County KKK. Not recommended at all.

[@wwater443]

@@roger0929 you must live in Maynardville... lol

[@boardgameman6298]

I've lived in Southern California in Orange County all 46 years of my life and my wife and I are hoping to move to somewhere around the Knoxville area on the East Side of the state.. This video is awesome. I appreciate you taking the time to film around the city. We are actually flying out there next month to go check it out for ourselves but this certainly helps. The sad part is the 1st thing I noticed wasn't the beautiful trees and buildings but there was no trash or tent cities. That's how bad it has become in CA!

[@NickJohnson]

I know exactly how you feel

[@boardgameman6298]

@@NickJohnson I never thought I would ever want to leave but when the wife becomes an RN, we are gone and off to TN we go!

[@troy6793]

Im also from SoCal and am curious if you made it to knoxville / what you think of it? Currently in Chattanooga and the city is not as fulfilling as i thought it would be.

[@boardgameman6298]

@@troy6793 Yes we made it to Knoxville right before Halloween around the 29th period and we love it so far.

[@segamon]

I'm a Southern Californian, born and raised. I'm a solid red conservative so it is getting hard not to fantasize about living somewhere like this cool city of Tennessee. The first thing I noticed was the ample amount of available parking in downtown! :D

[@roofieandraggy16]

A homeless guy offered me parking meter money in knoxville when he saw my wife and i fumbling for change. We found our change and i flipped the guy a 20.

[@NickJohnson]

aww that's a great story!

[@roofieandraggy16]

@Reverend Boaz empathy

[@roofieandraggy16]

@@NickJohnson its killing me...... What game show theme is that from at the beginning of your unboxing videos? One more thing.... I always thought pennsylvania had 3 territories....🤔 pittsburgh, philly, and arkansas...😬

[@markh6545]

That's because you were raised with manners like most Tennesseeans.

[@roofieandraggy16]

@@markh6545 i was raised in ohio

[@songarrhea]

Coming from a Los Angeles resident, the "bad" parts of Knoxville dont look so bad. Perspective i guess. Still, gotta say y'all have a beautiful city! Thanks for doing videos like this. Its nice to be able to check it out before checking it out :)

[@thisguyhere6641]

I've been to Knoxville a couple times in my lifetime. On May 26, 1999, when my classmates and I had to go through it, in order to go to Dollywood, and exactly one year later, when we went to the Knoxville Zoo. It's a fantastic city.

[@teresabarley8972]

Thanks for the tour. I grew up in Knoxville, but haven't been to downtown in 45 years. It sure has changed!

[@justinholt7738]

My home town. Just to correct something in this video the outskirts are not nearly as bad as you make it seem. Also for anyone who isn’t familiar with Knoxville it has a metro of nearly 1 million. It definitely has its cons but really is a nice place to live. Thanks for the video!

[@werecoolkids100]

Great editing of the video, I’ve only been to Knoxville once.The map and driving video really puts mental memories into perspective. Keep up the good work!

[@NickJohnson]

oh hey cool i liked it there. im doing many more of these soon so you should sub!

[@legacyandlegend]

Thank you for this video Nick. Knoxville is ultimately where I plan to move and retire. It looks pretty. Kind of reminds me of a mixture of Cincinnati Oh and Lexington Ky except not as ghetto and not as big.

[@NickJohnson]

yes definitely waaay less ghetto than cincinnati. lexington - yeah actually i can see that too. ive only been there once, but they DO seem similar.

[@hldye7442]

Tennessee is a great place to Live. Low cost of Living, Low Taxes, No unemployment tax, High Sales tax, great weather, all 4 seasons, Plenty of work available, Gas price Dec 2019 $2.37 a gal. , There are some bad areas of Knoxville, Rental cost is better away from college, home prices are reasonable, Enjoy :)

[@gamingwithdoge2511]

It is the second nicest state so go if you want

[@Anthony-hu3rj]

@@hldye7442 And low education, and high Christianity. Not for me.

[@ProfessorRinzler]

@@Anthony-hu3rj u sound so ignorant lmao

[@rileysmith9843]

Fun fact: Knoxville was the capital of Tennessee until 1817.

[@JosieVanDeKer]

So this is what a beautiful and clean city looks like. I’m watching from Newsom’s Los Angeles where it’s unbelievably crime ridden, trash lined and 86,000 homeless on the streets!

[@Nenie-Sissy]

I like how you make me feel like I am driving thru town, thank you.

[@robbyjarvis2317]

I'm from Johnson City Tennessee about 100 miles east of Knoxville and it's all beautiful!!

[@GuyFromTheSouth]

We've had so many people from out of state move to Nashville that its sucked the soul out of it. Im thinking of moving east towards knoxville so I can get away from it and be around southern people again. No one talks to eachother. The accent has almost been lost. Theyre started to have gender crisis in the schools now... i gotta get outta here.

[@alekson7917]

It’s funny because, this is the EXACT route I take when I go on night drives. From Maryville, take Alcoa highway by UT hospital and off that exit and right onto Kingston pike up the road and straight thru to Gay street!

[@Stat201atUTK]

Beautiful tour of downtown Knoxville and the campus area. I think I've walked each one of these streets catching Pokémon!

[@mikefannon6994]

Sure has changed since I went to UT in 1969! Especially the"strip." Fort Sanders was a great neighborhood back then. Looks like Knoxville is still beautiful. Thanks

[@NickJohnson]

Ok Mike!

[@codyrileywilliams6342]

Born and raised in Knoxville Tennessee thank you for this video

[@trishhuerta4577]

Absolutely in love with my new hometown west knox!

[@carriekay5987]

Very nice, CLEAN city. I've watched this video before and love to re-visit it because you did a great job with this.

[@NickJohnson]

Hi Carrie ❤️

[@graceandglory1948]

You did an excellent job with this video. Loved the music, too. Great job of editing!

[@NickJohnson]

Ok Patricia ❤️

[@gmorfimgames]

Neatness is what defines this city

[@NickJohnson]

Yes

[@MehAlex]

@@NickJohnson you gotta be neat or the Mayor will chokeslam you

[@jonlouis2582]

A lot nicer than I would have thought, thanks for the tour.

[@NickJohnson]

its a really super clean city actually.

[@robertwaag753]

Go to north Knoxville and all of east Knoxville

[@Stacey721]

@@NickJohnson First thing I really noticed! Thank you for the tour :)

[@ryankrohn6469]

@@NickJohnson Did you visit Chattanooga as well? If so, what did you like better? Thanks.

[@kelleymanning1137]

Knoxville is beautiful....a great city to live.

[@evalee803]

I WAS BORNED HERE AND BROUGHT UP HERE AND STILL LIVE HERE

[@carriekay5987]

Wow, Nick. I've been watching your videos for a couple of years now and always find them highly informative. THIS PARTICULAR VIDEO WAS A VERY PLEASANT SURPRISE. I am AMAZED at how CLEAN Knoxville is! I love it! (I live in West Portland and have strongly considered finding another FOREVER city to call home. I love what Portland USED to be, but it has become a cesspool - primarily due to the arrogance of city administrators who don't know what "work" is and would rather function in a glass bubble at the expense of exorbitant state income taxes that are (oppressively) funded by the working class. Before this video, I watched your video on Asheville, NC (I got married in Asheville) but I think Knoxville is prettier in many ways because of the cleanliness. I loved Hendersonville, too - mainly for its charm. But I'd like to also check out Chattanooga and will do a SEARCH to see if you've covered it. Mainly, I wanted to say a big WOW to this video - nice work! 👍👌👍

[@fajar_lestari]

Good video Nick, this is a valuable quick overview. Our family became interested in knowing more about Knoxville because our two daughters really admire Binx Walton and the traditional values she brings from this city. Warm greetings from Bali - Indonesia

[@NickJohnson]

Hi there! Hope you're safe way out there!

[@Quarton]

A Sunday morning, at 10:30 a.m. a lot of people are in church. . .

[@TeoOfficial_1]

Dam I live in queens NYC and I see about 2000 people walking and driving 24 7

[@NickJohnson]

yes people are definitely church goers in these parts.

[@ProfessorRinzler]

@@NickJohnson there also isn't nearly as much residential in the parts of the town that you covered and a lot of the stuff downtown and on campus isn't very active in the morning. not everyone in the south is super christian and there is way less of that in Knox than you'd think.

[@indeed7135]

Drove through the state last year. Really liked all the cities I visited. Impressed.

[@JamesSmith-yq4kz]

Born and raised in Maryland Spent 2years in California been in in Knoxville for over 2 years now Not leaving good Lord willing

[@motherearth8717]

How do u feel about California?

[@verashular3116]

I was born and I currently live here. I resent your remark about your remark when entering the Old City. They are revitalizing this area. They have come a long way with this project. No town is perfect in the US. There are some beautiful areas in Knoxville. Knoxville is very rich in it's history.

[@NickJohnson]

vera i think i said very clearly that knoxville gets an A minus. relax!

[@emmethumenik9989]

Vera Shular I feel bad for you. You guys have to deal with Tennessee football 💀

[@X5Industries]

The homeless shelter isn't even in the old city. It's across the tracks on Broadway in North Knoxville. The old city is very upscale, just with very old buildings.

[@Anony584]

@@X5Industries the homeless ride the bus and hang out there trying to beg for money.

[@Melissa-mb3vr]

Tennessee is a beautiful and warm welcoming state.

[@lawanagrady3828]

@@cwbgaming8913 Every place is full of meth.

[@glitch8661]

Except Memphis

[@615bandup2]

@@glitch8661we not welcoming In nashville either go somewhere else

[@ChrisCaldwellO66]

The greatest city I ever lived in! May live there again one day.

[@anitahanchey7714]

Tennessee has more kind and friendly people than any place I've ever lived.

[@mariaestherrivas4988]

I'm from California and I gotta say Tennessee looks beautiful..i hope to go visit some day

[@jeffy7360]

Lots of California folks moving to Tennessee to escape the high taxes. You'll love it here

[@TimLucasdesign]

As a resident of Knoxville, I can assure you there is nothing dangerous about the old city! :)

[@ShannonTurner865]

Right, old city ain’t dangerous at all! Old city even got some of the best restaurants in the city

[@heightsofsagarmatha]

Seems a little sketchy even at daytime

[@debcampbell2524]

I’ll second that. I’m not from here but have lived here for a little over fifteen years. We bike and walk with our kids through the Old City all the time and have never felt unsafe. We’ve been out at night many times, too. Don’t get me wrong, like every city it has its patches but they are few and far between and the Old City certainly isn’t one of them.

[@erinhodge74]

Agree... My City is BEAUTIFUL!💞

[@JJ-zw7fg]

yeah dude nothing dangerous happens in this town. been here for 22 years.

[@X5Industries]

Wish you would've driven up around "The Hill". It's technically the main and oldest part of campus, even though it's tucked away in the east corner of campus (equivalent to "the quad" at most universities). Since it was so close to downtown, the university could only expand westward

[@davidzimmerman7711]

Looks like a clean and well kept city.

[@timothybedwards5440]

A diamond in the rough beautiful little city Thnx

[@melissarogers8626]

It's interesting seeing someone else's perspective and opinion of Knoxville. Knoxville has some "more poor neighborhoods" but also a lot of upper class neighborhoods, even in East Knoxville which has a neighborhood called Holston Hills. West Knoxville has the largest growth and where most people go. Actually the "outskirts " of Knoxville city are the safest and lowest crime. Kenney Chesney actually grew up in a little town called Luttrell but I have heard he says Knoxville. As someone said in another comment, there are plenty of Jobs in Knoxville. Knoxville is growing very crowded with a lot of people relocating here . It's funny seeing it so empty when you rode through! Most people were probably shopping in West Knoxville! lol 🙂 Come back and visit again sometime, I can reccomend places to see! ✌

[@NickJohnson]

hey melissa. it was a sunday morning. i thought the perfect amount of people were out. HARDLY ANYONE. it is a really super nice town :)

[@ubomninomen7765]

NJ, I enjoy you're travel videos, and am glad to see you're in Knoxville. It is a great place, and all of ETN is magical to me. Hoping to retire there in a few more years. Meantime, its becoming annual family winter vacation over Christmas - NY holiday to warm up for a little while before awful central PA winters. Lots of beautiful country and places to visit in East TN. Please make more.

[@NickJohnson]

well i was lucky this was a nice day. the places i am about to go to will not be. stay tuned.

[@mgwood6939]

From jersey...went there ladt summer we fell IN LOVE with east TN

[@KayFabe87]

NJ resident here as well. The wife and I love East TN and the Smoky Mountains. We greatly regret not buying a rental cabin in the East TN area back in 2018 when we were looking into it. We are closing in a house in TN in about a month and will be moving there in 2022. East TN is one of the most beautiful places in the entire country. Can't wait to become a full time Tennessee resident.

[@wardrobestylingbyvalariegq1971]

I use to live in historic North Knoxville. Beautiful historic homes are located in that area. You missed some really cool spots. Ijams has a nice quarry. At the time I worked in the resort industry and the scenery from Knoxville thru Townsend to Gatlinburg is amazing.

[@carolhodges9899]

That was fun. The football stadium looked huge and more like the size of an NFL stadium rather than college.

[@NickJohnson]

Its so big you cant even fit it in the frame.

[@groompywoofer4980]

Carol Hodges an NFL field and an NCAA field are both the same size

[@internetexplorer7303]

Groompy Woofer neyland stadium fits 102k people, most nfl stadiums fit 90k people at max

[@kash45]

There is nothing like Neyland Stadium!

[@chucktilley7155]

@@kash45 The 5th largest city on Saturdays Neyland stadium

[@jeffreyrigged]

i go there probably 5-10 times a year. i love knoxville prob my favorite city that isnt on a beach.

[@HaleyJonesRealtor]

I also love driving around Knoxville and letting people know how awesome Knoxville is.

[@redcastle12b31]

I work in downtown Knoxville. It's a great little city.

[@jonathankrick7448]

so samuel do u like the vols

[@redcastle12b31]

@@jonathankrick7448 Vol for life🍊

[@jonathankrick7448]

@@redcastle12b31 hey want to hang out and watch a vols game

[@aelneloop]

You really got Knoxville wrong. As someone who has lived here all their life, it's not as close as bad as you said

[@marlonfletcher2693]

Na you definitely haven't really been in the bad parts where I'm at. You liable to get attack anyday

[@livemantis7831]

The keywords are "lived here all my life" KNOXVILLE (Nothingsville) IS A SLUM Bad roads, horrible air quality and a state government that allows GIANT MODIFIED TRUCKS to perform CHEMICAL ATTACKS on citizens! The baby brains brag that it's "rolling coal". YOU have a lot to learn!

[@tracef.2865]

Jim Jim why you so salty about Knoxville I’ve lived here all my life and while it’s not perfect but there are lots of great parts of Knoxville

[@Chrisjames925]

@@livemantis7831 I’ll say this. After “modifications” my fuel economy went from 14 on the highway to 19 on the highway. Also my truck runs a lot better than it did beforehand

[@juggmangrove2506]

Different sides of the tracks then, knox gets hectic n heartless 💔

[@chess7716]

Mark, if you can help...this girl is crying out inside...wow...love her ❤

[@stevenmatthews2278]

There are plenty of good swimming holes in that area! Knoxville is so pretty!

[@NickJohnson]

i heard that! I need to explore the mountains more next time.

[@HallowedKhaos91]

@@NickJohnson You should try Roanoke, Virginia. It has everything and it surrounded by mountains.

[@great3rtvideos642]

You def picked a beautiful fall day to film this!

[@NickJohnson]

i got LUCKY!!!

[@michaelwoo4123]

How Knoxville has changed for the last 40 years. It has become a beautiful city. I am still here after 40 years!

[@Bluesky1ification]

Damn! I got to get out of Texas! ASAP and check out Tennessee ASAP and maybe move their!?

[@kylebussell2997]

Lived here my whole life. Wouldn't change it for world. Im 10 mins from Knoxville.

[@charleneallison3975]

Nice video! Maybe drive thru West Knoxville as well. There’s more retail shopping and restaurants as well as more upscale homes. Knoxville has a lot of nice areas.

[@sdarnell8631]

Enjoyed the video. Great job. I love visiting Knoxville.

[@NickJohnson]

Glad you enjoyed it Sherry!

[@culebralor7493]

Nick! you got Old City wrong! We have 3 AirBnb plus units on Central and on that block alone there are at least 10 great eating and drinking establishments and it rocks! Not to mention the dozens of old buildings that they redo instead of tearing down and resulted in hundreds of stunning loft apartments. You need to revisit and get a different perspective, but good video!

[@NickJohnson]

Lorraine you're right I think I kinda tried to say that?

[@WeepingWillow422]

Thank you for doing this! I'm looking to relocate to east Tennessee. I would be going alone, so I think the best place for me to start would be Knoxville and surrounding cities where I'd be meeting a lot of people... making friends and building my social network. I like to know what the place looks like. Watching this video is saving me time navigating through Google earth, which makes my computer really heat up when I use it. Gonna try and make a trip out there to see for myself, but this is second best right now!

[@NickJohnson]

Cool.

[@creekwoodjoe1607]

Nice interesting relaxing tour. Perfect music. Felt like I was riding with you. Coffee?

[@bhdctn]

The University of Tennessee is so beautiful. I forgot how beautiful it is.

[@dougarnold7955]

Thanks. I used to drive by Knoxville on my way to Louisiana and wondered what it was like.

[@Anthony-hu3rj]

and now you know what it's like to drive through. in other words, you still don't know anything about knoxville.

[@stevenmatthews2278]

Check out Cookeville, Tennessee if you get the chance. This small town is growing quite a bit and has lots of nature, waterfalls, and Jake Hoot on the Voice is from that area. There are small town coffee shops, lots of food, and it has a west side part of town with murals, little boutiques, and there are even a few bars around the area. Tennessee is a nice place to call home, and it is growing at a steady rate.

[@NickJohnson]

i heard cookeville was ghetto? is that not true?

[@stevenmatthews2278]

@@NickJohnson ​ Nick Johnson I wouldn't consider Cookeville ghetto by any means. It is a safe, small town with a lot of growth going on: outlets, restaurants, boutiques, coffee shops. It has a university that I would say is much more visually appealing than other Tennessee campuses. It is a two hour or so drive from Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. Housing and overall cost of living are small compared to larger cities, but you aren't missing out, considering you get the cost of living that is cheaper, quick access to I-40, and the beauty of nature all around which most people in the other cities I mention have to drive this way to see or to the Smokies if you are in Knox. I moved to Murfreesboro (the fastest growing area in the state according to a recent report) two years ago and miss the parks, waterfalls, and cost of rent in Cookeville. Rent there is rising somewhat, but doesn't compare to the Nashville metropolitan area.

[@stevenmatthews2278]

You should at least see it. Drive up Jefferson Avenue and go to the downtown square and the west side to visit the local shops, get some coffee, try some Ralph's Donuts, and take a stroll around TTU's campus. Go to Cummins Falls State Park , Burgess Falls, Cane Creek & Dogwood parks located in the city, and maybe Window Cliff State Park if you really want a strenuous experiences and a nice view hundreds of feet above the ground. Maybe you want a nice over look: go to Sunset Rock in White County above Sparta, TN. Or you may want to visit Rock Island State Park or Fall Creek Falls; both within an hour drive south down HWY111/ US70S.

[@vaccumsealed]

You drove past the parking garage at 1:25 where I worked as an attendant during the 1998 season of the tn volunteers national championship season. I'm no vols fan by NO MEANS, but I saw that garage and noticed it immediately

[@NickJohnson]

Boom! Memories.

[@manfredmann2766]

Knoxville proper is much nicer than Tucson, AZ, which is about 30 minutes away from where I live. Take a drive through there if you ever drive in the western cities, but you probably have when you lived in the southwest and know what I mean. Great video, looked like a nice autumn day.

[@NickJohnson]

i made knoxville look really pretty. however it was mostly due to just time of year and no clouds. had i shot on a crummy day this city wouldn't have looked so appealing.

[@josephduke362]

Thank you so much...definitely gave me a true sense of Knoxville!

[@livemantis7831]

Hey man, newsflash, Knoxville and TN in general, sucks!

[@jley235]

@@livemantis7831 Why? Have you lived in Knoxville

[@tessjones5987]

Thank you great fall seasonal leaves - beautiful city

[@fxt363]

Lived there for 2 years back in early 2000. Best people of earth can be found there plus its absolutely stunning in fall.

[@johnnaiman]

I can't believe its still falling, the trees looks way green come on down to midwest and feel the snow on the ground... Single digit temperatures

[@waltglow6396]

JUST MOVED TO TENNESSEE FROM TAXAVANIA 2 YRS AGO FEBRUARY OF 2020 WE STAYED AT THE HOTEL OLIVER DOWN TOWN YOU PASSED IT,WE HAD THE BEST TIME GREAT RESTAURANTS, GREAT PEOPLE,VERY SAFE. ALSO WE GO TO THE OLD SECTION GREAT SUSHI!

[@mgwood6939]

Haha...were trying to leave commie NJ..wanting to head to east tennesee im right behind you!! Im sure your not looking back!!

[@waltglow6396]

I hope you make it to Eastern Tennessee no Commies here and next to no snow shoveling and crazy low property taxes!

[@JosephScarbrough]

One of my biggest issues with downtown is there's so many one-way streets, it can get really frustrating, even if you're a native. Another known figure (albeit more obscure) who grew up here is artist Darby Conley, creator of the comic strip GET FUZZY. Market Square is also kind of like our Times Square . . . just a whole lot smaller, and a whole lot cuter. I also beg to differ about Old City being, "the sketchiest part of town," if anything, it's gradually become more and more of the hipster part of town in recent years . . . but then again, I think some people feel hipsters are a sketchy bunch anyway, go figure. If anything, I'd say the only "undesirable" part of Knoxville (aside from parts of East Knoxville, I'll agree) is South Knoxville . . . it's like once you cross the river, you enter a whole other world that feels as though it's neglected by the rest of the city.

[@NickJohnson]

true.

[@chimoneko115]

Such courteous people. Am fortunate to have family there

[@terryqb1016]

The atmosphere here on football game days is electric!!! If your a sports fan then it needs to be on your bucket list especially in October when the leaves are changing

[@claramalfoy3448]

I don’t live in Knoxville but I live nearby in Morristown.I loveee going to Knoxville and will attend UT when I get to college and I plan on moving to knoxville and living there as well!

[@jillmorton3096]

Is Knoxville safe? It is prettier than what I thought it would be. Thanks for the driving tour😁

[@NickJohnson]

it is. it's really a nice place! at least the downtown area. the rest is sorta basic ;)

[@MaryWilliams-dl6ow]

We just moved from the Knoxville area where we had lived our whole lives. My husband took a job in GA, and we were required to live within an hour and a half from ATL. Knoxville as a whole is a safe place to live and work. But just like an city, there are some places that you don't want to venture into. But that's normal. I love my E TN roots. It will always be home!

[@aelneloop]

It's safer than most places. West Knoxville is the best area but you have to make 6 digits a year to live comfortably there

[@TimLucasdesign]

Yes, Knoxville is safe and is growing fast! I would move here while it's affordable :)

[@charleneallison3975]

Just stay out of East Knox and parts of South. West Knox is great. North has nice areas too.

[@user-qp2gv1on6z]

Great video. Knoxville is beautiful

[@illeatyourbird4149]

Did you run a red light toward the end of the video after the strip lol

[@NickJohnson]

i do. i run a lot when i film. Shhhh.

[@illeatyourbird4149]

Haha 😂

[@Squidsuds]

Nothing amazing happens here, everything is ordinary. When we drive by the big paper factory I see smoke that signifies some kind of omen, smoke that spreads out and covers everything, Knoxville is my home and I'll never leave.

[@russspaur9937]

I am impressed enough for a visit. Looking to relocate . I bet there are nice suburbs. If memory serves me there is 10% tax on groceries . Was wondering what the people from the state think about that.

[@bansheezs]

Its less than 9.1% on everything except groceries, they are taxes at a lower rate, I think around 5%

[@KayFabe87]

No state income tax. Maryville is a nice suburb of Knoxville in Blount county, and closer to the Smoky Mountains.