I have moved three times in my adult life. Ohio to Montana. Montana to Florida. Florida to East Tennessee.
Each move taught me something different about starting over – about what it takes to build a life somewhere new, to find your people, to stop feeling like a visitor in your own zip code.
But nothing quite prepared me for how quickly East Tennessee felt like home.
If you are thinking about relocating to Knoxville or anywhere in East Tennessee, this is the post I wish I had found before we packed the truck. Not a list of tourist attractions. Not a cost-of-living comparison chart. The real stuff, the things you only learn after you’ve actually lived here.
We Came from Florida. Here’s What We Left Behind.
We spent 5 years in Florida. And there is a lot to love about Florida – the sunshine, the energy, the fact that you can be at the beach in twenty minutes.
But after a while, certain things start to wear on you.
The summers are relentless. Not warm… relentless. The kind of heat that keeps you indoors from June through September and makes you forget what it feels like to take a walk outside without feeling like you’re moving through wet concrete. There would days where I would walk outside and just start sweating and i wasn’t even moving! Don’t get me wrong, that summer sun all year round felt great- but I sure did miss those cooler seasons. I’m a girl who has always loved everything about the fall and I was most definitely missing it.
The land is completely flat. That might not matter to some people. It mattered to us, especially to my husband, who whose favorite thing to do is downhill mountain biking. Florida had nothing to offer him in that department. Nothing. (he tried)
And the sprawl. The traffic. The sense that everything is growing so fast that the place you loved five years ago barely resembles itself anymore.
I didn’t leave Florida unhappy. Not at all, in fact, I loved it there. But I left knowing I was ready for something different. Something with more texture – literally and figuratively.
The Moment I Knew East Tennessee Was Different
I grew up in Northeast Ohio. And one of the things I loved most about Ohio was the drives to Pennsylvania in the fall— the small towns tucked into rolling hills, the way the landscape had dimension, the feeling that people actually knew their neighbors.
When we drove into Knoxville for the first time, that’s exactly what I felt.
Knoxville is what I can only describe as a big small town. It has everything you need – incredible restaurants, culture, a university, great healthcare, a real downtown – but it doesn’t feel like a city that’s trying to impress you. It feels like a place that’s comfortable with itself.
I felt at home almost immediately. That had never happened to me before. Not in Montana, not in Florida. Three moves, and this was the first one where I didn’t spend months feeling like a guest.
What Nobody Tells You About Moving to East Tennessee
1. The people here are genuinely, disarmingly kind.
I don’t mean friendly in the way that people smile at you in a grocery store. I mean kind. Neighbors who introduce themselves within days. Strangers who hold doors and actually make eye contact. People who ask how you’re settling in and actually wait for the answer.
Coming from Florida, where the population turns over constantly and nobody has time for anything, this stopped me in my tracks.
I kept waiting for the catch. There isn’t one. This is just how people are here.
2. The mountains are not a backdrop. They are part of your daily life.
Before I moved here I thought the Smokies would be a nice view. Something scenic in the distance.
What I didn’t understand is that they are woven into everything. You see them on the way to the grocery store. You drive through them on a random Tuesday for no reason at all. Jason is on the trails multiple times a week — actual mountain biking trails, right here, twenty minutes from our front door.
The mountains change the pace of life in a way that is hard to explain until you’ve experienced it. They make ordinary days feel significant.
3. Fall here will ruin you for every other place.
If you are coming from Florida and worried about leaving the sunshine behind, let me tell you about fall in East Tennessee.
The Smoky Mountains in October are one of the most breathtaking things I have ever seen. The colors are not subtle. They are dramatic, layered, impossible-looking. The air turns crisp but not cold. The weekends fill up with drives through the mountains, apple orchards, the smell of wood smoke.
I am not exaggerating when I say that fall alone is worth the move.
4. You will feel safer than you expected.
This surprised me more than almost anything else.
I didn’t expect to feel so settled so quickly. But there is something about the pace here, the community, the sense that people look out for one another, that creates a feeling of safety that is hard to quantify but impossible to miss.
After years of living in places where everyone was moving fast and nobody really knew their neighbors, this was a revelation.
5. Your dollar goes further than you think.
Coming from Florida, especially South Florida or the Tampa Bay area, the housing costs here will feel almost unreal.
More space. More land. More home. For significantly less. And no state income tax, which Tennessee has in common with Florida, so you don’t lose that advantage when you move.
The cost of living difference was one of the practical reasons we chose East Tennessee. But it ended up being one of the smaller reasons we stayed.
6. You are never far from anything.
One of my biggest hesitations about leaving Florida was access. Florida has direct flights everywhere. Major airports. Big city energy within reach.
Here is what I have learned: Knoxville is two and a half hours from Nashville. An hour and a half from Asheville. Two and a half hours from Atlanta. McGhee Tyson Airport is easy, low-stress, and has expanded its routes significantly.
You get the peace of East Tennessee without feeling cut off from the rest of the world. That balance is rarer than people realize.
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me
I wish someone had told me that I would feel safe and settled so quickly. I spent so much energy preparing myself for a long adjustment period — for the loneliness that comes with starting over somewhere new — that I almost missed how naturally it happened.
And honestly? I wish I had moved here sooner.
That is not something I say lightly. I loved Florida. But looking back, I think I stayed longer than I needed to.
If East Tennessee is on your radar, don’t wait as long as I did.
Is East Tennessee Right for You?
It is not for everyone. I want to be honest about that.
If you need urban energy – the kind of relentless pace and density that only a major city can offer – you might find Knoxville too quiet.
If you are not willing to drive anywhere – if walkability is non-negotiable – the suburbs will feel limiting.
And if you are deeply attached to year-round warmth, the winters here, while mild by most standards, will be an adjustment after Florida.
But if you are craving a slower pace without sacrificing quality of life, if you want four real seasons, a genuine community, outdoor access that most people only dream about, and a place where you can actually afford to put down real roots, East Tennessee has a way of meeting you exactly where you are.
A Few Practical Things Worth Knowing
- Knoxville is the hub. Most of what you need is here (Farragut, Bearden, West Knoxville, downtown.) Get to know these areas before you decide where to land.
- The traffic is not bad. Coming from Florida, you will be pleasantly surprised (despite the locals complaining. Honestly, I don’t blame them, but it’s not that bad)
- The food scene is real. Knoxville has incredible restaurants, a farmers market worth visiting every week, and a craft brewery scene that keeps growing.
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park is free to enter and less than an hour away. You will go more than you expect.
- Summers are warm but nothing like Florida. You will be outside again. It will feel like a gift.
Ready to Learn More?
I write about all of this, the neighborhoods, the lifestyle, what it actually feels like to build an intentional life in East Tennessee, right here on Simple + Styled.
And if you are seriously thinking about making the move and want to talk it through with someone who has lived it?
I would love to connect.
Get my free Insider’s Guide to East Tennessee → Everything I wish I had known – the neighborhoods, the hidden gems, and the honest truth about life here. Free, personal, and written from experience.
Deanna Hinsz is the founder of Simple + Styled, a lifestyle blog about intentional living, home design, wellness, and life in East Tennessee. She has relocated three times and currently lives in Knoxville with her husband Jason.
Is East Tennessee Right for You?
It is not for everyone. I want to be honest about that.
If you need urban energy – the kind of relentless pace and density that only a major city can offer – you might find Knoxville too quiet.
If you are not willing to drive anywhere – if walkability is non-negotiable – the suburbs will feel limiting.
And if you are deeply attached to year-round warmth, the winters here, while mild by most standards, will be an adjustment after Florida.
But if you are craving a slower pace without sacrificing quality of life, if you want four real seasons, a genuine community, outdoor access that most people only dream about, and a place where you can actually afford to put down real roots, East Tennessee has a way of meeting you exactly where you are.
A Few Practical Things Worth Knowing
- Knoxville is the hub. Most of what you need is here (Farragut, Bearden, West Knoxville, downtown.) Get to know these areas before you decide where to land.
- The traffic is not bad. Coming from Florida, you will be pleasantly surprised (despite the locals complaining. Honestly, I don’t blame them, but it’s not that bad)
- The food scene is real. Knoxville has incredible restaurants, a farmers market worth visiting every week, and a craft brewery scene that keeps growing.
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park is free to enter and less than an hour away. You will go more than you expect.
- Summers are warm but nothing like Florida. You will be outside again. It will feel like a gift.