Knoxville, TN, is one of the South's undiscovered gems.A mid-sized city not far from the Smoky
Mountains, Knoxville is small enough to be friendly but large enough to be an
interesting place to live and work.Home
to the University of Tennessee and several large corporate headquarters,
Knoxville has long been one of the South's commercial hubs.As the city has grown in the past few
decades, the city's bedroom communities have gradually moved westward along
Interstate 40/75 and Kingston Pike.Here's a look at a few great communities in West Knoxville.
Sequoyah Hills
Closest to the city is Sequoyah Hills, an old neighborhood
known as one of the most exclusive in all of Knoxville.To its northeast is the University of
Tennessee Campus, to its west is Bearden, and to its south is a bend of the
Tennessee River.Along the river runs an
87-acre park, a popular place for residents of Sequoyah Hills and visitors to
walk their dog, jog, play Frisbee, or just sunbathe in the warm southern
sun.
Despite the fact that Sequoyah Hills is home to the
Knoxville elite, it is a surprisingly diverse area.Within the area are typical Southern Baptist
churches, but there is also a Greek Orthodox church, a Jewish synagogue, and a
Unitarian Universalist congregation.
Bearden
West of Sequoyah Hills is Bearden, which is pronounced
?BEER-den?, not ?BARE-den?.Although
Knoxville takes great pride in its Confederate heritage, Bearden is named for a
former Knoxville mayor, Marcus DeLafayette Bearden, who was a Union
veteran.Today, Bearden is known mostly
as a shopping district.Filled with
antique and unique collectible shops, Bearden is also home to several midrange
and upscale art galleries and restaurants.
The residential neighborhoods in Bearden are older ones,
dating back to the post World War II era.North of Kingston Pike are subdivisions with names like Forest Hills,
Forest Heights, and Highland Hills.These neighborhoods live up to their name; thick with trees and gently
rolling hills, they are comfortable, attractive neighborhoods.
West Hills
The western suburbs of Knoxville include the newer community
of West Hills.In the mid-1960s,
residents of the area opposed the construction of new apartments and trailer parks,
which would have transformed the quiet community into a less than desirable
area.An active neighborhood association
helped turn West Hills into the growing, bustling area it is today.
Little more than farmland with a few scattered homes in the
1960s, today West Hills is a typical American suburb, complete with plenty of
shopping centers and a shopping mall.Although it's not as popular as it once was due to the newer Turkey
Creek shopping district, West Town Mall is still packed with cars around the
holidays, and is a convenient place to shop for the many residents of the West
Hills area.
The people who live in West Hills consider their
neighborhood close enough to Knoxville for commutes to be bearable, but far
enough from the city to offer the peace, quiet, and space that any good bedroom
community should offer.
The communities west of Knoxville proper are good places to
live.Dotted with parks and green
spaces, west Knoxville is one more reason why Knoxville, TN, provides its
residents with a great place to call home.
