Do not come to the Tri-Cities if you hate friendly people, beautiful vistas, good local live music, some of the premier trout streams east of the Rockies, a plethora of hiking trails, and some of the best rated school districts in the state. If you want a lot to do night life entertainment wise, I have to say Nashville.
Nashville. I can't wait to get the hell out of Knoxville once I get a few more financial things on the good side. Nashville is still within driving distance of UT sports, and the city itself is growing rapidly and has much more to do than Knoxville. You can also turn the other direction and have a weekend in Memphis whenever you feel like it, if you have the time. I tend to prefer Memphis over both places.
Eh, it was nice growing up there but it's too developed now. If I had the choice I'd move on the outskirts of Brentwood/Franklin over by Ravenwood High School.
Let's do a side by side comparison: Titans (Nashville) vs. Vols (Knoxville), Edge: Knoxville Ryman (Nashville) vs. Tennessee Theater (Knoxville), Edge: Nashville Demos (Nashville) vs. Calhoun's (Knoxville), Edge: Nashville Nicole Kidman (Nashville) vs. David Keith (Knoxville), Edge: Nashville Hermitage (Nashville) vs. Blount Mansion (Knoxville), Edge: Nashville 3 Hour Lunch (Nashville) vs. Jimmy Hyams (Knoxville), Edge: Knoxville Opry Mills (Nashville) vs. West Towne Mall (Knoxville), Edge: Reevalute life if you go to either place Farther from Pal's Sudden Service (Nashville) vs. Closer to Pal's Sudden Service (Knoxville), Edge: Knoxville Bill Haslam (Nashville) vs. Jimmy Haslam (Knoxville), Edge: Knoxville Closer to Unimane (Nashville) vs. Closer to NYYVol (Knoxville), Edge: Stay in Connecticut
Both those places suck. The Pharmacy (Nashville) vs. Stock & Barrel (Knoxville), Edge: If you're a beer drinker - The Pharmacy. Whiskey Drinker - Knoxville. Not a drinker - Toss up. Side note - Mas Tacos Por Favor, the building across the street from The Pharmacy that looks like its sole purpose is to film gang bang bukkake films unharrased, was just featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and it looks amazing.
I don't think it is possible to screw this up too bad. I'd rather be closer to the mountains personally, but if you or the lady are going to be travelling regularly then Nashville makes more sense.