Pros & Cons and differences of retiring to Bristol, Kingsport or Johnson City ? (Knoxville: sales, renting)

[DADDYO49]

.........Still searching for the best Tennessee retirement Town ?.....I have read so much about retiring to Bristol or Kingsport or Johnson City ( I believe they are called the Tri City area ? ).....In as much as I will be retiring within a year ... I will not be concerned with Jobs or Schools; but will be concerned with Housing Costs ? Costs of Living ? Medical/ Health care ? Crime Rate ? Area Amenities ?( City or Rural...Any Mountains or Lakes ? )...Lastly; what ( if anything ) makes Bristol ; Johnson City and/or Kingsport different from each other ??? What are the pros & cons about retiring to Bristol or Johnson City or Kingsport ?? Are any of these good areas to retire to or are they more suited for younger families seeking good jobs & schools ?

[mbmouse]

Kingsport, Mount Carmel, Church Hill and Rogersville, seem to be the favorites for retiring folks I am seeing. I believe the reason is all of these areas are easy drive up 11W to the very large new and improved health care facilities in Kingsport. They have Welmont and Mountain State Health Alliance that are top notch! Kingsport has a lot of "old" money and people who care about the community,and give back to it. Lots of committees and organizations to join if you would like to. Sure, it has it's politics like any other town, but there is a lot going on and lots to do. There are lots of nice restaurants and just about any store type and range you can think of. If you don't like such a busy area, you can live "just down the road a piece" in Mount Carmel, Church Hill or Rogersville, the later being the largest and furthest away from Kingsport. Gray (in between Kingsport and J.C.) is more of the young family area. Kingsport and Johnson City have about the same price ranges as far as housing goes. Mount Carmel and Church Hill a bit cheaper, Rogersville runs the whole gamut of prices.
Hope this helps!

[DADDYO49]

..........Im still looking for a good retirement town in Tennessee.......Not too big......Not too small........Affordable Housing......Good Hospital(s)........Low Crime......Shopping ( more than just Wal-Mart or Big-Lots ) ??? From what I have read.....Bristol seems to fit all of the above requirements ??...What is it like to live in Bristol ?? Pros & Cons of retiring to Bristol ??......I don't need Mayberry but ( coming from NY ); I would like to retire to an area closer to mountains & lakes rather than a large Cosmopolitan area........Does Bristol have any mountains/ lakes in the vicinity ??

[mbmouse]

Bristol is nice town, a bit busier and a bit bigger seeming than Johnson City or Kingsport. People who live there seem to love it! You also have to like, or at least tolerate that this is THE Nasscar town! There is Nasscar stuff everywhere. There are only 3 big races a year and the traffic is crazy, but people make BIG bucks renting out there house 3 weekends a year too, so it does have benefits to locals for putting up with all that traffic.
My suggestion is to make a trip, check out all the areas, take a look around. Which ever area is right for you, you will know it as soon as you get there.

[DADDYO49]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Kingsport, Mount Carmel, Church Hill and Rogersville, seem to be the favorites for retiring folks I am seeing. I believe the reason is all of these areas are easy drive up 11W to the very large new and improved health care facilities in Kingsport. They have Welmont and Mountain State Health Alliance that are top notch! Kingsport has a lot of "old" money and people who care about the community,and give back to it. Lots of committees and organizations to join if you would like to. Sure, it has it's politics like any other town, but there is a lot going on and lots to do. There are lots of nice restaurants and just about any store type and range you can think of. If you don't like such a busy area, you can live "just down the road a piece" in Mount Carmel, Church Hill or Rogersville, the later being the largest and furthest away from Kingsport. Gray (in between Kingsport and J.C.) is more of the young family area. Kingsport and Johnson City have about the same price ranges as far as housing goes. Mount Carmel and Church Hill a bit cheaper, Rogersville runs the whole gamut of prices.
Hope this helps!

------ mbmouse has always come to the rescue in the past; so I am asking if she ( or anyone else ) can post any pictures of Mount Carmel or Church Hill or Rogersville or Kingsport ? Thanks

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by DADDYO49

------ mbmouse has always come to the rescue in the past; so I am asking if she ( or anyone else ) can post any pictures of Mount Carmel or Church Hill or Rogersville or Kingsport ? Thanks

Hi, Sure happy too! They are not all recent as in the past few weeks, more like this past year and except for Downtown Kingsport, which seems to have new changes every week, you will get the idea.
Here are some of Kingsport.
Hwy 26 coming over the Bays mountain area into North of Downtown Kingsport


View of Bays Mountain from 11W (Stone Dr) in Kingsport heading towards Rogersville.

Eastman Chemicals main offices

Downtown Kingsport







Eastman Road which is East of Downtown Kingsport where there is a lot of major retail

The Holston Hospital run by Welmont


11W/Stone Dr

Going over the North Fork of the Holston River

[mbmouse]

Here are some more.
These are in the Mount Carmel area.
11w






Church Hill, still views from 11W





Sorry, most of my picture taken happens from inside the car and usually don't have time to stop LOL!
Here are some of Goshin Valley which is part of CHurch Hill I believe, it is to the South of Church Hill a bit.

[mbmouse]

Sorry, thought for sure I had more pictures of Rogersville than this, but they must be on the other computer. I'll be sure to get some more next time I am there. Seeing as my parents live there, I should be able to get some soon.
I guess I was going for the flowers in this one, but it is part of the main square in Rogersville and shows the bottom side of the Hale Springs Inn.

Some Main Street Pics



These are on the West side of Rogersville on 11W

[dlk33]

I have to make a correction about the suggested idea that the median home prices are the same in either Johnson city or Kingsport. I found the actual avg. median home prices online & here they are...
Johnson city $213,000, Kingsport $133,400, Bristol $137,900. We're looking to find our best place to retire & are very interested in either Kingsport or JC, however due to the difference of the cost of a home we are leaning towards Kingsport now.
We're looking foward to a trip there this coming summer during Fun Fest.

[mbmouse]

Yes, you are correct, the MEDIAN home prices are lower in Kingsport than in JC, however it is important to figure in a few things when looking at those numbers. There are a lot more Million dollar and up homes, and 600k McMansions in JC than Kingsport. So as they use the average home sales price, it would defiantly show higher in JC. I am not trying to push one city over the other here, I would just hate for anyone to miss out on there little slice of heaven in a place to call home by discounting a place due to "Stats", some times they can be miss leading.
I personally live in between the two cities and if I was forced to choose I believe I would take Kingsport too, but one place isn't right for everyone.
As for housing, you can find just about the same thing for the same price in each city. Here is a good example of it being fairly close in home prices between the two cities. First one is in Kingsport and the second is in JC, both in what I would call "decent, average middle income neighborhoods."
I will say Kingsports electric costs are cheaper than JC's.!

$161.500 3/3 2004 Sq Ft, 2 car garage C/H/A
Single Family Home - Kingsport, TN, 37660 - Realtor.com

$165,000 4/3 2068 Sq. Ft. 2 car garage C/H/A
Single Family Home - JOHNSON CITY, TN, 37601 - Realtor.com