Why I Call East Tennessee Home: "Having it All at a Price I can Afford"
When contemplating a move from the San Francisco Bay Area to Knoxville two years ago, my husband and I took a lot of factors into consideration. Topping the list were job opportunities, housing costs, and taxes. In each case, East Tennessee gave us much more bang for our buck and allowed us to afford the lifestyle we wanted.
Finding a job had to be our first priority. Since my husband’s company has a plant in Oak Ridge, the transition was fairly easy. We also considered my future career opportunities and were impressed that HGTV headquarters were in Knoxville. We’ve since discovered the job market here is promising for a variety of individuals, businesses, and industries.
According to a News Sentinel article, ERI Economic Research Institute last year rated Knoxville No. 1 in the US on its list of best places for recent college graduates. The ranking was based on salary and cost-of-living data. Knoxville-area salaries were 8 percent below the national average, but the cost of living made up for that by being 22 percent below the national average. The promising job market extends beyond young professionals. In April 2007, Forbes magazine ranked Knoxville the fifth best city for business and careers. Their criteria considered a city’s colleges, the cost of doing business, cost of living, crime rate, culture & leisure, and job growth.
Second on our list was the affordable housing market, a huge draw for us. The soaring costs in California were pricing us out of moving beyond a starter home. When we looked at houses here, we were thrilled with what we could afford. For those not familiar with the insane real estate market in the Bay Area, Coldwell Banker compared the cost of a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, 2,200 square foot house with a two-car garage in a nice, middle-class neighborhood across the country. That home in Knoxville would cost a mere $184,933, but in San Jose, CA it would cost a whopping $1,410,662!
But home prices don’t tell the whole story. Comparisons compiled by HomeInsight puts it all into perspective.
| Median Household Income | Median Home Price | State Income Tax | Sales Tax | Average Auto Insurance | |
| Knoxville TN | $43,076 | $133,865 | 0% | 9.26% | $676 |
| San Jose, CA | $76,281 | $519,989 | 9.3% | 8.25% | $821 |
Though the average household income in San Jose is higher than that in Knoxville, the median home price there is substantially more expensive--nearly four times the typical Knoxville home! A much greater percentage of our income went to paying the mortgage in California than in Tennessee. And I’d be willing to bet more homes in San Jose rely on dual incomes than those in Knoxville.
As for taxes, both states do have high sales tax, but California takes an additional 9.3% for income tax. We’ve also found that our property taxes are currently about half what they were on the west coast, and our home is four times the size. You may not start with as much money in Tennessee, but you probably end the day with more money in your pocket for other things.
With all factors considered, the move for us was primarily a change of lifestyle decision. We had started a family and wanted one of us to stay home for at least a few years. Dropping to one income in California was very challenging, and we felt the Bay Area was a bit of a “rat race.” No matter how many promotions or raises we got, it seemed we were never getting ahead economically. In Knoxville, we have the job, house, and lifestyle that were out of reach in the San Francisco area. It’s nice to have it all at a price we can afford.
