The Cost of Living Diaries: Oak Ridge, TN
Get the inside scoop on what it's like to live in this historic East Tennessee city.
Welcome to The Cost of Living Diaries. How much does it cost to live in Oak Ridge, TN? What’s it like to live and work here? Keep reading because we asked a local resident to tell us all about the cost of living in Oak Ridge.
People from far and wide have discovered this flourishing East Tennessee community, and they’re quickly choosing to relocate and build a life they love.
A few things that help them seal the deal include the area’s unique local eateries, growing arts scene, friendly neighbors and low cost of living. Phil Voegtle moved to the area from Colorado with his wife in 2021. He serves as the Oak Ridge office leader for Burns & McDonnell, an engineering, architecture and construction firm.
Phil Voegtle
What brought you to Oak Ridge?
The work that my company was doing here – we won a large project with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. We committed to Oak Ridge that we would establish an office here if we won that project.
How would you describe Oak Ridge and its residents?
The people are amazing. It’s a melting pot of people from all over because Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory attract some of the brightest people from all over the country here. We find the people to be very open and accepting and warm everywhere we go. It’s just a nice place to be.
What do you like about living in Oak Ridge?
Coming here, you get that small-town feel. We really enjoy that. Everything is just a little slower paced, more relaxed, which is what we really like. But, outside of Oak Ridge, if you need to go to a bigger city to find things – more shops or other restaurants – it’s not that far away.
What was it like purchasing a home in the area?
We connected with a Realtor in town, and we did all our searching virtually. We found Rivers Run subdivision and just fell in love with it. Every house is custom built. We ended up getting a much bigger house. I would say it’s at least 25% bigger, but it was also on an acre of land. In Colorado, just because the price of housing was going up, the lots were getting much smaller. You were almost on top of each other. The house we got here in Oak Ridge would have been 50% more in Colorado.
What’s your favorite restaurant, and how much would dinner be for two people?
Dean’s Restaurant & Bakery. We like it just because it’s home cooking. Everything they have there is just delicious. They have specials every day, so it could be pork tenderloin, a chicken dish, pork roast – it’s stuff like your mom used to make. (Dinner for two) would be under $50. The prices are really reasonable.
Get to Know Oak Ridge
Want to learn more about living and working in Oak Ridge, TN? Check out the latest edition of Livability Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
