Tri-cities area vs. Maryville/Knoxville area... (Johnson City, Kingsport: appointed, house prices, buy)

[RetiredAZTeacher]

Hello all. After looking at hundreds and hundreds of houses & places covering 3 states (Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina) online for the past 10 months, we have narrowed our "new home" area to either Johnson City (& surrounding areas) or Maryville (& surrounding areas).

As retirees, our "important factors" were temperature/climate, taxes, small town close to a large town/city (for cultural events), views, house prices. The tri-cities area and Maryville/Knoxville area seem to match up for us.

We are scheduled to be in Tennessee in a few weeks to go "house-hunting" in both areas. We have both kept up on reading opinions on individual places in this city-data forum and enjoyed the comments and the pics. It seems both of these "areas" have great aspects and maybe not-so-great aspects to them. We will be in TN for two weeks and will try to get a "feel" of both places, but I thought some of you might have great insight to offer that we may not notice in a mere two weeks....

My question, therefore, for those of you who are familiar with both areas...in your opinion, what are the pros and cons of both places and where would you prefer to live?

Thanks in advance for any of your thoughts and opinions...

[JMT]

Originally Posted by RetiredAZTeacher

Hello all. After looking at hundreds and hundreds of houses & places covering 3 states (Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina) online for the past 10 months, we have narrowed our "new home" area to either Johnson City (& surrounding areas) or Maryville (& surrounding areas).

As retirees, our "important factors" were temperature/climate, taxes, small town close to a large town/city (for cultural events), views, house prices. The tri-cities area and Maryville/Knoxville area seem to match up for us.

We are scheduled to be in Tennessee in a few weeks to go "house-hunting" in both areas. We have both kept up on reading opinions on individual places in this city-data forum and enjoyed the comments and the pics. It seems both of these "areas" have great aspects and maybe not-so-great aspects to them. We will be in TN for two weeks and will try to get a "feel" of both places, but I thought some of you might have great insight to offer that we may not notice in a mere two weeks....

My question, therefore, for those of you who are familiar with both areas...in your opinion, what are the pros and cons of both places and where would you prefer to live?

Thanks in advance for any of your thoughts and opinions...

I think you picked two very choice areas. I like both Johnson City and Maryville.

The main reason I like it here in Knoxville more than the Tri Cities is the airport. I do a lot of traveling, and the Knoxville airport has generally lower fares than the Tri Cities airport as well as more options. And the Nashville airport (which has even lower air fares) is that much closer.

Knoxville would have more shopping options if that's your thing and more restaurant choices.

Otherwise, I really don't think you'd be disappointed with either of your options. I congratulate you on narrowing your choices to Johnson City and Maryville!

[jabogitlu]

The Tri-Cities seems to be changing (for the better) at such a rapid pace that it can be difficult to peg exactly what one may like or dislike here. I have lived in both Knoxville (on the east side; but I am familiar with Oak Ridge, especially, and Maryville a little) and Johnson City, and a few places in-between.

The differences between the two regions are smaller than one might expect, given the relative populations (I think the TC metro is nearing 500,000, though). Both have great music scenes, art scenes, and restaurants, but the Tri-Cities is still growing into its "bigger city" role and as such there is less networking out there for these kinds of things - you have to fall into the right crowds to have knowledge of cultural events.

As far as crime, I'd imagine both areas are similar enough. As long as you're smart, you'll have no trouble, just don't buy a house in Tyler (JC) or some of the funkier stuff down around parts of Magnolia, etc. in Knox.

It's sort of difficult to talk about generalities between the two cities, without knowing what you guys like to do, or might be doing as retirees. If you're the kind of people who get into local sports teams, I'd say Maryville - Volmania is HUGE. If you like (and this is random, I know) traditional music or mountain heritage, I'd say Johnson City, to be near Asheville. If you're looking to get involved in politics and you're ultra liberal, I'd say again JC (actually, I'd say move to an Asheville 'burb).

Hmm, this post is pretty sprawling, but forgive me, I just woke up. But I guess my point was - could you tell us a bit about what you are looking for in your new home? Then maybe we can help you a little easier.

ETA- Also, are you looking to live more urban (or as close as it gets here in ETN) or more rural? For instance, there is a huge difference here between living in Johnson City proper, especially downtown, and living in Elizabethton, but the two are only 15-20 minutes apart.

[RetiredAZTeacher]

Thanks so far!

We're retired. We go to NFL games (but doesn't mean we want to be close to the Titans), and if we aren't AT a game, we enjoy watching them at a sports bar. We travel (can't hardly WAIT to start venturing out on trips in the Tennessee area!). We play miniature golf. We go to Broadway (traveling) musicals. We enjoy eating out at local "favorite" restaurants. We like going to a casino once-in-a-while. Other than that, we are inside homebodies.... on the computer, reading a book, or volunteering somewhere a few hours a week. We are not "athletic" other than an easy hike once in a while. We are not "shoppers" and only go into a store if we HAVE to get something! lol.

We want to be in or within 5 miles of a town of about 30-60000 people and within an hour or two of a city--which is why we chose Maryville and Johnson City as our candidates. So we aren't really looking for a true rural area as we don't want to travel 15-20 miles to get a carton of milk! We already have approximately 15 houses in each area that we want to look at that fit our requirements.

I guess we're a bit eclectic and a bit boring (lol), but that's our lifestyle and we love it! Retirement is GREAT!

I guess I'm just trying to get people's general "feeling" about how it is to live in those areas...

[jabogitlu]

Awesome! Thanks - and I don't think you're boring, your life sounds quite a bit like mine, actually.

Both cities have good sports bars. As for mini golf, Johnson City has one inside Fun Expedition, but I think Knox (actually, Sevierville) has the corner on that market and on travelling Broadway. As for casinos, the big daddy is in Cherokee, NC, just across the border.

As far as my general feeling, I love it here. Easygoing, friendly people, great weather, no traffic (especially if you're coming from Phoenix), good retail and restaurants. Of course, the same goes for Maryville (I'd imagine - I know it goes for most of West Knox). I guess you really will just have to visit. I'm glad you've scheduled a good long visit because there is a LOT to see in both areas!!!

Keep us updated!

[Momof2Blessings]

The tri cities is better because the traffic doesn't seem to be as bad and it isn't as crowded as Knoxville. You have the BIG interstates in Knoxville,too. Makes me nervous but that's just me. According to my sister-in-law who lived in California for a few years.......Knoxville is a piece of cake ! It's all a matter of perspective, I guess. LOL.

I don't know much about the towns near Knoxville , though. I do know that my cousin went to Carson Newman in Jefferson City and that isn't far from Knoxville but it's a lot smaller.

Knoxville is closer to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Dollywood/Outlet shopping so that would be one thing to take into consideration if you like to visit that area.


I like the malls in Knoxville better than the ones in the tri cities because of the variety, we go there to shop on occasion. BUT the Tri cities malls are nice.

Knoxville has a big children's hospital that (unfortunately) I have had to take one of my children to several times to see a specialist but they are now building a children's hospital in Johnson City.

[Kitties of Domination]

If you are placing an emphasis on proximity to cultural events, Knoxville would be the obvious choice (in my opinion). Not to offend our Tri-city posters, but you will notice a marked difference in the feel of the two metro areas. The Tri-cities area can be defined more as multiple large towns strung together as opposed to a mid size city (with sprawl). It should be stated, however, that Knoxville is only about a 1 1/2 hr drive from the Tri-cities area. In the end, it comes down to personal preference.

[williboy]

I agree totally. I moved to the Tri-Cities area because I love the small town atmosphere of this area. Both areas are scenic, but Johnson City just seems less congested and it's still only 1 1/2 hours to the Gatlinburg area or Knoxville and 1 hour to Asheville, NC. I feel more at home here than where I grew up.

[Beretta]

I both areas. I have lived in both of them and I believe it comes down to personal preference. When you come and visit I think you will "know" which one is right for you.

Along with JMT, I congratulate you on narrowing your choices to these two, fine East Tennessee areas.

[RetiredAZTeacher]

A little over a month until we visit and go house-hunting....

After looking online so much, we are both leaning towards the tri-cities (Johnson City or Kingsport) area. Although both areas are beautifully green, it seems like Maryville is a lot flatter while the tri-cities area seems to be a lot more hilly/almost mountainy.

The photos we see here and on MLS house pages are great, but we are a bit concerned by all the wires--power wires and telephone wires that seem to be EVERYWHERE. Living in Arizona we're not used to that. Most wires are buried that are near residential areas.

I'm also wondering about a comment a couple of people have made in these city-blogs (for Maryville and tri-cities) about being harrassed by people about 'being saved'. I'm a "quiet" Christian and prefer to keep it that way. Is this truly a problem or just an individual complaint of those people?

Other than that, our hearts are really leaning towards Johnson City/Kingsport. There seem to be so many benefits of living there. Really looking forward to checking Eastern Tennessee out in a month or so!