Mountain City move (Knoxville, Johnson City, Kingsport: low crime, tenant, elementary school)

[Postal77]

We've been contemplating moving to Boone. But mountain City is also a possibility.

My biggest hesitation about some of the Tennessee cities is lack of acceptance to outsiders.

It's that the case here?

We're looking for an area in higher elevation with good schools and low crime.

[Serious Conversation]

Boone is a college town and considerably bigger with more amenities. Mountain City is a tiny town of about 2,000 that isn't that close to much else. It is really a beautiful area.

Crime is a little better than state averages and around national averages from what I just read. Being so small, any crime could cause a significant spike in the numbers. Like any rural area of Tennessee, drugs are a problem, and some police officers were recently charged with federal drug crimes. As long as you aren't involved in drugs, the odds of anything more than property crime happening to you are extremely low.

Mountain City police lieutenant faces federal drug charges - The Tomahawk - Mountain City, Tennessee

Mountain City Elementary School currently ranks a 9 on Great Schools. All other schools are 6 or below. This isn't doing well compared to Kingsport or Johnson City city schools, but about par for county schools in the region. In general, I would not want to send kids to county school in northeast TN these days.

Mountain City is a place people generally don't spend a lot of time in. It really isn't on the way to anything but Boone, and I can get to Boone from where I live by taking 19-E to Hampton and 321 to Boone, vs. taking 421 from coming toward Bristol then through Mountain City.

Small towns in northeast TN are generally not that welcoming to outsiders. Many small towns are populated with families that have been there for years, and social circles are already pretty full with coworkers, church members, people they went to school with, etc., and can be pretty closed.

TN is going to have much lower taxes across the board than NC, but Boone is going to be a more desirable town for most people. What's your budget? Need a job?

[Postal77]

Thanks. That's about what i thought.

I'm a consultant who works over the internet, so no job is needed.

We're looking at around $300k for a home.

[Serious Conversation]

Here's another several things I'd be watchful for.

1) Mountain City is serviced by Charter. Outlying rural areas often have spotty broadband coverage. This would be the first thing I'd look into as a WFH consultant. Also, cell service outside of Verizon can be spotty. I fairly regularly boat on South Holston Lake about twenty miles from Mountain City. Verizon has service - relative's AT&T does not. T-Mobile and Sprint coverage is likely to be nonexistent out there.

2) If you need access to an airport, Tri-Cities is going to be about an hour from MC. TRI is convenient, but is expensive to fly in and out of and you're mostly connecting in Charlotte/Atlanta for any flights other than select FL destinations.

3) Mountain City has no Walmart that I can tell. Virtually anything you need is going to be 45 minutes back to Bristol or Boone. There is a Food Lion and a Food Country, which is a low end grocer that I thought was going to be completely out of business. The main regional grocery is Food City, and I don't think they service MC either.

4) The road back to Bristol is almost comically windy and steep. You may go down the sides of a hill in a corkscrew fashion. It takes forever to get to MC.

If you're wanting mountain views, I'd move to somewhere in Carter or Unicoi counties, or even some parts of south Johnson City. Virtually anywhere in Carter or Unicoi counties will have closer access to grocery stores, doctor's offices, etc., than Mountain City.

I work at a major local employer in a fairly large office by the area's standards. I don't think I've ever seen a Johnson County TN license plate here. I rarely see them at all. My guess is that Mountain City has more ties to Boone than the Tri-Cities, and it's just too remote to get much of a recommendation.

[Rangerred]

Mountain City is definitely more tied to NC than TN. Boone is 30 minutes away, Winston-Salem 2 hours, and Charlotte 2.5 hours. Knoxville is 2.5 hours away so you're closer to major NC cities rather than TN.

[setnick]

I also suggest looking more at the Tri-Cities or Boone. Mountain City is an isolated town that is mostly disconnected from the world other than the prison that is there.

[PacersFan]

I would go to Elizabethton instead of Bristol from Mountain City for the better road in all likelihood -- they have a Walmart and most stores you would need. It IS gorgeous up there, but if I lived in the area I would not plan on going anywhere when it snows much at all. :-)

[SkepticalHermit]

We live in Unicoi and my fiancée commutes almost an hour to Mountain City each way (she is an elementary art teacher in Johnson County). The MC area is definitely beautiful and has a surprisingly nice downtown. If you aren't bothered by driving for major amenities, MC would be a pretty nice place to live. Drug use is rampant as in any small Appalachian town, and the levels of poverty may be shocking to folks who grew up outside of the area (we are Carter County natives). There are a few upscale housing developments in the mountains, but a good percentage of the folks living in the valleys below aren't as fortunate. The absence of a Walmart in MC is surprising, but it's refreshing to see a rural area that isn't dominated by the presence of a corporation. Johnson County reminds me of what Washington County was like before the population grew and the area was developed. Most of what you need can be found at the local grocery stores in MC, and there is a farmer's market during the summer. Boone is a short trip away if you need access to major retail.

As for the acceptance of outsiders, it depends on several factors. If you're white, politically conservative, and attend church you will be accepted much quicker. If you're a native of one of the surrounding counties or even the south things will go much smoother than if you are a native New Englander, for instance. People are generally friendly, but can be a bit clannish (my own family is this way).