[leilani]

Austin's bigger and more economically diverse, but it's got a lot of the same amenities since it's also a university town (the REAL UT,lol) with a river running through it, lakes nearby etc. Knoxville's greener of course, it's hills are higher and IMO just a very pleasant, beautiful place to live. (But sssshhhh! We don't want word to get out how nice it is lest it really become like Austin- overrun with permanent transplants!)

I too enjoy Asheville's funky mountain town vibe. Only to visit, though. Just not sure I'd want to live next door to smug, sanctimonious lefty wackos who have wrecked their home states and are now trying to do to NC politically the very same things which led to the unliveable conditions which forced them to escape from whence they came! ;-)

[Yardstick]

Big agree on Knoxville being pleasant and beautiful. It’s my home town and every time I go back I realize how much I like it. And I’m always impressed with how it’s just exploding westward. I lived near West Town Mall when I was a kid (1980s), which used to be way out there. Now that area is west-central practically and Farragut is the new west.