Eastern Tennessee

[parson48]

Need input on life in the Johnson city area. The wife & I are are planning on relocating from Indianapolis to find some milder winters.

Eastern TN is an area that we are looking at very seriously. Will likely move next spring.

Pros-cons appreciated.

[snowwolfe]

Might join this forum and ask the same question:
http://www.tndeer.com/forums/index.p...05c45ec2532dab

[Houndog]

I live about 20 miles away. Johnson City is a small college town. It is a MUCH safer place than Indy! I used to brag that there wasn't a street in the tri cities ( Johnson City is one of the 3 towns making up the tri cities) your Wife can't walk down after dark and be reasonably safe. Johnson City is probably the worst of the three, but no where as bad as Indy. Housing will be more expensive there than either Kingsport or Bristol.( Washington County) Schools and medical facilities are excellent in all three cities, taxes are lower in Kingsport or Bristol (Sullivan County) utilities will be about 1/2 of what you pay in Indy, (TVA power)and Tennessee IS VERY gun friendly! Anywhere you point the wheel on a scoot will put you on some of the absolute best Motorcycle riding roads anywhere in the country. The weather is generally better than Indiana averaging 85-90 in the Summer and rarely lower than 35-40 in Winter. If I were relocating to this area I'd look in the Boones Creek or Sulpher Springs areas in Washington County or the Colonial Heights or Piney Flats areas of Sullivan County. Homes and property will be cheaper, are generally outside the cities and commutes into town are less than 8 miles from any of them. If you need more information just give me a shout!

[Multigunner]

The Tennessee Valley has huge lakes, great fishing and boating.

[parson48]

Thanks to all for the info. I will look at that site, snowwolfe. We're going down the first week of June to spy out the land.

[rbertalotto]

Shhhhhhh!....Not so loud!.....The area is fantastic and the last thing we need is a bunch of folks moving in and wrecking it........Well, not until I relocate down there anyways.....

[parson48]

Shhhhhhh!....Not so loud!.....The area is fantastic and the last thing we need is a bunch of folks moving in and wrecking it........Well, not until I relocate down there anyways.....

I'm goin' down as an advance scout fer a couple hunert city folk who want to save the critters from all them gun crazy carnivores! But don't tell the locals. I hear that they're touchy about such things.

[AKtinman]

You might check out Elizabethton, not far from Johnson City. Lot of nice folks there.

Allergies can be pretty grim in the spring.

[Tackleberry41]

Im over in middle TN, e of Nashville, up on the plateau. Moved here for the climate, Nashville gets 2 in of snow we get 1/2 in, while east of here gets more, the mountains seem to deflect alot of it. Its pretty common in my small town to see a car with keys in the ignition sitting in front of a gas station. Cant remember the last time there was an 'armed' anything. Drunk drivers, and people with drugs is about it here.

[Doctor_Bill]

I was born and raised in the area around Knoxville. While my current residence is outside the state, I plan on returning there as soon as possible.

The Johnson City area is a good choice. You will have the economic benefits of Tennessee (low taxes and cost of living) but the summers will not be as oppressive as in areas such as Memphis. Electric and other utility rates are generally modest compared to other areas of the country. Outside of urban Memphis and some areas of Nashville, the crime rate is very low. Johnson City has some of the better public schools in the state. Though this may not affect you currently, it can affect eventual resale of a house. Tennessee has some of the more reasonable gun laws in the country. Most rural areas have no problems with firearm discharge on your own property (backyard practice range).

Yes, the spring pollen season can be a little tough if you are susceptible to such things.

[snowwolfe]

Thanks to all for the info. I will look at that site, snowwolfe. We're going down the first week of June to spy out the land.

Take your checkbook Our first visit to Tennessee was Jan 2014 and within 3 days we closed the deal on 42 acres of land on the Cumberland Plateau. Our 32x32 workshop is now in the process of being built and our house begins construction Sept.

Good luck with your visit, we fell in love with the land and the friendliest people we ever had the pleasure of meeting. It was quite the cultural shock compared to Colorado where most people just give you the cold shoulder if you try saying hello to them.

[aspangler]

+1 on the Piney Flats, Bluff City area. Not far from Wideners in JC and close to Bristol Motor Speedway if you like racing. Lots of good hunting around here too. There is a nice indoor range in Piney Flats also. Prices on property is down right now so be sure to bring your check book.
BTW I live in the county (Sullivan) and not far from anywhere in the Tri Cities. Also have an airport here so travel is no trouble.

[Silfield]

I am envious of you folks! I spent a while working in Tazewell TN and loved every minute of it, the people, the scenery, the food etc. etc. the only slight down side was the drive to the hotel every night after work-through the Cumberland tunnel and into Middlesboro KY.
If I was a good few years younger I would have seriously considered moving out there with my family (if you would have had us!)

[osteodoc08]

The areas in Northern GA, Eastern TN and West Carolinas are an awesome place to live. I live in NW GA and housing is affordable, taxes as fair as they can be and close enough to major metro areas for travel and day trips.

[parson48]

We're heading out Thursday morning to spend a few days in the area. Feedback that I've gotten from several sites has been overwhelming positive.

Any recommendations of decent hotels in the area? Or, of ones to avoid?

A moving date depends upon the sale of our home here, but the wife & I are both ready to go! We're working on a long check list of things to get done.

[Houndog]

I am envious of you folks! I spent a while working in Tazewell TN and loved every minute of it, the people, the scenery, the food etc. etc. the only slight down side was the drive to the hotel every night after work-through the Cumberland tunnel and into Middlesboro KY.
If I was a good few years younger I would have seriously considered moving out there with my family (if you would have had us!)

I believe you would find you and the family quite welcome! I've got two "across the pond" neighbors that we converted into Appalachan Americans, one from South Africa and one from Australia. After they learned to slow down to our speed in life and that we don't care how folks run there lives elsewere we ain't going to change they became "just one of us."

[Houndog]

We're heading out Thursday morning to spend a few days in the area. Feedback that I've gotten from several sites has been overwhelming positive.

Any recommendations of decent hotels in the area? Or, of ones to avoid?

A moving date depends upon the sale of our home here, but the wife & I are both ready to go! We're working on a long check list of things to get done.

You didn't say what kind of hotel/motel you would like! We have anything from the Meadowview Conference Center in Kingsport and the Carnage Hotel in Johnson City (High end and high dollar) to Motel 6 or Microtel on the bottom end. You won't have any trouble finding accomodations and if you stay with a brand name chain they are all decent. As for things to do, there's the story telling center in Jonesboro, TN, Bays Mountain Park in Kingsport, Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, (drag racing on weekends) Barter Theater in Abingdon VA., Carter Family Fold in Maceys Springs VA. (country music barn ran by decendents of June Carter Cash), water parks in Kingsport and Jonesboro. All this is within 30 miles of all the towns in the tri cities. If you want more, Great Smokey Mountains National Park and Harras Casino at Cherokee North Carolina are less than 100 miles away.

[N4AUD]

It's a great location, beautiful scenery and close to lots of things. I'm a little north of there in southwestern Virginia.

[snowwolfe]

If you need any gun powder run over to Outdoor Junction on I40, exit 290. Every time I have visited the store starting Jan 2014 they always had a good assortment of handgun and rifle powders.

[Rustyleee]

My wife and I looked into moving to Tn a few years back. She's from WV and misses the mountains. We looked really hard at Cleveland, TN. Small enough to be nice but close enough to bigger places it you need something.
Also if you would like to grow a garden look at the USDA grow zone maps. The is a little finger that sticks up one zone higher in the area around Sevierville making it a little warmer, if that's an issue. I've been told it has to do with the area between mountain ranges.