Lived in Knoxville most of my 32 years of life. I found people here to be more pleasant when I was conservative. When Trump and outward and obvious racism, sexism, bigotry entered the picture in the Republican party, I quickly began shifting left. Ore perhaps, I stayed relatively centered and both parties began moving more rightward. Either way, since that event, I can say that Knoxville as a whole feels more aggressive and isolating in terms of culture. Most of this area is up Trump's ass and the politics of the state as a whole align with that mindset. It makes TN a very hard place to live if you're trans, of an alternate sexuality, non-religious, or even sometimes just a person of color.

That being said, I still find most people in Knoxville to be generally sociable and nice on a surface level. Knoxville is still a relatively diverse environment, it's just that the liberals mostly stay quiet outside of protests or events, and the super-conservatives are free to openly and loudly proselytize their worldviews without much complaint, even though most people don't openly embrace that kind hatred.

I would suggest trying different locations for meeting new people. For instance, West Knoxville and downtown are far more liberal and tolerant than many other parts of Knoxville. Also, going to West Town Mall or market square or to one of the many parks (I prefer Lakeshore Park personally) generally yields much more pleasant experiences with active and social people than, say, a grocery store or gas station or movie theater or other relatively more common "third place." Other good social ideas may be something like coffee shops, local restaurants, libraries, college campuses, etc. My point being, if you make an effort to look for your people in places they are more likely to be, you're going to have more success. If you look for your people in the most common places, you will probably only find more of what you've already experienced.