Well, if Live Oaks do not grow naturally in your climate, you might think twice about getting a southern live oak. My experience with Q. turbinella and Q. suber, is that they are not fond of my normal method for wintering trees native to warmer climate zones than mine. I currently only have Quercus macrocarpa - the bur oak, which I can winter outdoors without special protection.
You are in Tennessee - Go for the native oaks. Live oaks are part of the white oak sub genus of the Oaks. (Quercus section Quercus) Bur oak has the most rugged, rough bark of the white & live oaks, you might want to give it a try. Leaf size can be huge on seedlings without ramification, but they do reduce dramatically with time.
If you really want an evergreen oak, try the Escarpment Live Oak from Texas, the Austin or San Antonio areas. Q. fusiformis. It would be marginally hardy in your area if your elevation is not too high.
Another oak to try is Quercus bicolor - the swamp white oak. Its bark is more coarse than white oak, and it has a somewhat better track record of surviving in a training pot or a bonsai pot. It can tolerate wet soils and dry soils, it is adaptable. Also very winter hardy. Likely native to your neck of the woods.
The diversity of oak species is bewildering. North America, including Mexico are the center of oak biodiversity, literally hundreds of species native to North America. I imagine within 50 miles of your home you have at least 10 species native, and a few introduced. You should explore. Creek banks, undercut by erosion and edges of quarries and rock outcrops are all good places to look for collectable oaks with more maturity than a seedling.
That is my 2 cents.
