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How is the housing situation both on and off-campus? Is it easy or difficult to find housing?

It is pretty easy to find housing. There are several off-campus houses and apartments, especially in the Fort Sanders area. There is also dorms for all interested students

The student newspaper carries classifieds every day with ads in them with houses, rooms, or apartments for rent. That's how I found the house I live in now. 

 But, I doubt many people actually ever need to use that because as mercedes said, "the Fort", or Fort Sanders, has an overwhelming number of houses and apartment complexes continually renting. 

 In fact, UT is building at least one dorm and two student housing projects right next to campus- and there are always new apartments being built at walking distance.

Also, all of the student housing based off campus offers transportation to and from campus via the "t", our bus sytem here in knoxville. You can live downtown, in "west" town, "east" town, or on Chapman Highway and still have transportation to campus. Some good places to look for student housing are as follows :

http://www.knoxapts.com/

http://www.uloop.com/

www.haashaus.com

http://www.campusrent.com/tennessee_apartments.cfm

Also, I would like to mention that most apartments in the Fort Sanders area are rented out to groups of people so it is important that you are open to not living alone. A HUGE apartment community in the Fort is "Jefferson Commons". They have many apartments located throughout the fort. Another one is "Highland Terrace". I think it is wise to view the apartment before you agree to rent it, as some of them can be quite small. Also, if you have pets it is important to note that as most apartments charge an extra charge for pets or don't allow them at all.

If you need storage there are many places on kingston pike and chapman highway that you can store your belongings at. The service is relatively inexpensive and it is a good way to have your belongings within reach without having to clutter up your apartment.  

When you look here: http://uthousing.utk.edu/reshall_massey.shtml you can browse through the different housing options on campus.

I live in Massey, an all-girl traditional-style residence hall located next to Grieve, the male counterpart.

This is an 8 floor building (I'm pretty sure no one lives on the first floor) with community bathrooms and non-suite style rooms. Honestly, the community bathrooms are not that bad. In fact, I would go so far as to say I prefer them to an awkward middle-of-the-room bathroom. Yes, that would be more convenient, but in an ironic sense it's also not as private. Having a door on either side of a no-window bathroom with thin walls just isn't the best thing to have. So far there has only been one day (yesterday) when 4/5 of the shower stalls were in use at once. Normally, I can choose from all 5 and also from the corresponding bathroom stalls. There's a radio that one girl brought and its always playing on the hip hop station--needless to say I'm always dancing in the shower!

Besides that, Massey is very nicely laid out. Each room has a 3 panel window, compared to Morrill's prison-cell sliver version. The windows let in ample light and can be opened for fresh air. I live on the side nearest the courtyard and on the 2nd floor, so I never have to use the elevator and can look out onto who is entering the dormitory (if I'm waiting on someone, for instance). There is a North and South wing, and each wing has its own laundry room with plenty of machines.

Furthermore, the 4th, 6th, and 7th floors have kitchens, so on Saturday nights when no cafeterias are open it's nice to cook a home-made meal!

Perhaps most importantly, Massey is very conveniently located to classes (and food). Sophies is my favorite eating location (see my other post on food) and it's located just two minutes away by foot. Also, 4/5 of my classes are located within 5-7 minutes of walking.

If you like the night-life, you'll love being in Massey because it's the closest to the Strip, the weekend-bustling road filled with restaurants, clubs, and bars. This main road also leads downtown, so hopping on a bus to get there wouldn't take long.

Hope this helps.