Mountain Living
Knoxville, Tennessee - Real Estate Guide

More people are calling East Tennessee mountains home

The Appalachian Mountain range that defines the eastern edge of Middle East Tennessee served to isolate and buffer the area for centuries, with only hardy pioneers breaching the crests to join Native Americans who used it as their hunting grounds.

With Knoxville serving as the main trade center, mountain towns tended to be small and inclusive, seeing few visitors and fewer newcomers. Those who settled in the mountains scratched subsistence living out of rocky soil and kept to themselves. “Flatland Furriners” weren’t always welcome.  

But the times, they have changed.

It began with the movement to create a national preserve of the Great Smoky Mountains in the 1930s, out of what was left of the beautiful highlands after logging had desecrated the land. By the time President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicated the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1936, the lofty mountains had begun recovering its vegetation and sparkling streams and people began discovering the richness of the once-isolated region.  

Today, the mountains bring people to the area not just to visit, but to stay. For those who love the outdoors, Middle East Tennessee is a mecca. Within a day’s drive, there’s not only the national park offering hiking, auto touring and camping, but Cherokee National Forest, which offers the same, plus opportunities for hunting, off-roading and mountain biking. Rivers and streams hold adventures such as white-water rafting on the Ocoee (site of the 1996 Whitewater Olympics), canoeing, swimming and tubing, and fly-fishing for trout.  

As the center of the Tennessee Valley Authority flood-control and economic development initiative, the area is dotted with lakes offering boating and fishing. The Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville tourism area serves not only as the gateway to the national park, but has become the area’s entertainment hub, with destination attractions, amusements, outlet shopping, music theaters, and numerous festivals and special events.  

Knoxville continues to serve as a center for cultural activities, and as the home for the University of Tennessee with its popular spectator sports. Nearby Oak Ridge retains its reputation as a center for technology and innovation. Along with Maryville/Alcoa  -  home of such manufacturers as Nippondenso and ALCOA  -  the metropolitan area continues to offer the majority of jobs. But improved infrastructure and opportunities for telecommuting have opened more remote areas for those still in the workforce, as well as retirees or those looking for second homes.

While prices of homes and land in the mountains of Sevier and Blount counties have become more expensive, they still are a bargain in comparison with other areas. Tracts in the mountains and foothills of Cocke, Monroe and McMinn counties are attracting those seeking more isolation or less expensive land.  

The evidence is in population figures. According to census figures, the counties of Cocke, Sevier, Blount and Monroe, all of which take in parts of the higher ranges of the Appalachians in middle East Tennessee and all with considerable public mountain recreation land, saw an estimated population growth of some 18,000 from 2000 to 2005. Included in the amount was significant numbers of residents moving into the area from elsewhere. In 2005 alone, the estimated number of newcomers in the four mountain counties was 3,100.