Greeneville...Please Help (Johnson City, Kingsport, Morristown: real estate, houses, rent)

[outtamaine]

I have an attractive job offer in Greeneville, and I wanted to learn a bit about the area before I go down to interview. I have searched the forum and gleaned some useful information, but I still had questions.

1. Weather-I know the winters will be shorter than they are in Maine, but can you tell me a bit more about what it's like?

2. Conveniences-How far do we have to travel to get to a grocery store, Wal-Mart/Target, Home Depot, and what else do you have for stores?

4. Air quality- Is it really a concern?

5. Real Estate- What's the market like? Where are some nice neighborhoods to consider?

6. My daughter loves swimming, how far are you from a lake, etc. she can swim in...and why don't any of the houses on realtor.com have pools?!

7. What are the people like?

8. Is the area really rural, are there things to do nearby?

9. For my husband- what is the job market like? Do people travel to the Tri-cities to work?

[kamoshika]

outtamaine, I'll try to tackle some of your questions but a couple of 'em are really too general.

Originally Posted by outtamaine

1. Weather-I know the winters will be shorter than they are in Maine, but can you tell me a bit more about what it's like?

Much milder and much less snow than you're accustomed to. There's a tremendous amount of weather/climate info on the Web -- including here on city-data.com -- that can answer any specific questions you may have.

2. Conveniences-How far do we have to travel to get to a grocery store, Wal-Mart/Target, Home Depot, and what else do you have for stores?

Not to sound like a smart aleck, but it depends on where you live. Greeneville has two Wal-Marts (including a supercenter), Lowe's, Belk (a dept. store), JC Penney and plenty of grocery stores. The nearest Home Depot stores are in Morristown and Johnson City.

4. Air quality- Is it really a concern?

No.

6. My daughter loves swimming, how far are you from a lake, etc. she can swim in...and why don't any of the houses on realtor.com have pools?!

Swimming is prohibited at nearby Davy Crockett Lake and there are no other lakes in the immediate area. I think Cherokee is the closest TVA lake but it's not a place I'd consider swimming. To my knowledge Greeneville has 3 public swimming pools: Hardin Park, Kinser Park (on the Nolichuckey River s. of Greeneville), and Eastview Rec Center, which is a new facility. In addition, the Greene County YMCA has recently renovated their indoor pool.

8. Is the area really rural, are there things to do nearby?

Well, Greeneville is a small but honest-to-goodness city, so obviously it's not rural. But you can drive in any direction from Greeneville and be in the countryside very quickly, since most of Greene Co. is rural (and quite beautiful). When you ask about "things to do," it depends completely on what those particular things are.

9. For my husband- what is the job market like? Do people travel to the Tri-cities to work?

Again, it depends. You don't say what kind of job(s) your husband is qualified for, but Greeneville's economy is pretty robust for such a small place and is manufacturing-oriented. Tech & executive jobs are in short supply, as is true in most communities the size of Greeneville. And, yes, some Greeneville residents do commute to the Tri-Cities (mostly Johnson City) for work.

Here's a resource you might find useful:
The Greeneville Sun - Guidebook

[phyll]

Originally Posted by kamoshika

outtamaine, I'll try to tackle some of your questions but a couple of 'em are really too general.



Here's a resource you might find useful:
The Greeneville Sun - Guidebook

I read your answers to the other poster, one queston I do have is the area in Greeneville where the Walmart super center have a area , like East Greeneville , west?I hope you know what I mean.My husband works in Whitesburg , that is cose to Greeneville isn't it? I was wondering how the homes are set up near the Walmarts.Thank you!

[mbmouse]

When, where did Greeneville put in a second Wal-Mart? I know they closed down the one by Ryans to put in the Super Wal-Mart a bit further east but didn't realize there was a second one? I know the Wal-Mart distribution center is in Greene Co out by 81. But where is the other store?
I used to live in Greene Co. West of the city. It is nice but not very convenient to anything. I would suggest that you might look to an area in between Greeneville and Johnson City so you could have the best of both.

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

When, where did Greeneville put in a second Wal-Mart? I know they closed down the one by Ryans to put in the Super Wal-Mart a bit further east but didn't realize there was a second one? I know the Wal-Mart distribution center is in Greene Co out by 81. But where is the other store?

My mistake, mbmouse, you're correct. I don't get to Greeneville often and didn't realize the other store had closed when the Supercenter opened in '05, I think.

phyll, Wal-Mart Supercenter is in the Tusculum area, a couple miles east of Greeneville. The address is 3755 E Andrew Johnson Hwy (Hwy. 321/11 E). Whitesburg is about 25 miles from that store. FWIW, the Supercenter in Rogersville is about 10 miles closer to your husband's workplace.

[outtamaine]

Thank you for the responses. What are the nicer communities between Greeneville and Johnson City? We'd like to be a 15 minute drive into town. My husband is in computers/software. In terms of things to do, we like picnicking, going to the movies, taking walks/walking trails, playgrounds. We have a dog as well, it would be great to have a nice place to walk him. In terms of the weather, it's hard to tell with the city-data info. Is it really cloudy there 50% of the time? Does it feel humid there regularly? Also, forgot to ask about pests/bugs/snakes...anything out of the ordinary that a Mainer would need to know about? Thanks again for your help

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by outtamaine

Thank you for the responses. What are the nicer communities between Greeneville and Johnson City? We'd like to be a 15 minute drive into town. My husband is in computers/software. In terms of things to do, we like picnicking, going to the movies, taking walks/walking trails, playgrounds. We have a dog as well, it would be great to have a nice place to walk him. In terms of the weather, it's hard to tell with the city-data info. Is it really cloudy there 50% of the time? Does it feel humid there regularly? Also, forgot to ask about pests/bugs/snakes...anything out of the ordinary that a Mainer would need to know about? Thanks again for your help

There's only one true town between Greeneville & JC: Jonesborough, and it's a great little place. Smaller communities like Chuckey, Limestone & Telford also lie between G'ville & JC and they offer wonderful rolling farmland w/ mountain views, but they may be more rural than what you & your family would like.

Sounds like y'all enjoy the outdoors, and NE Tenn. in general is terrific for hiking, walking, biking, fishing, picnicking, camping, etc.

The Tri-Cities area averages 165 cloudy days a year, exactly the same number as Portland, ME. Our average morning humidity (86%) is higher than Portland's (79%) and Caribou's (80%), while our afternoons are a bit less humid (57% vs. Portland's 59% & Caribou's 61%)). Summer days & evenings here aren't nearly as "sticky" and uncomfortable as places farther south like Orlando or New Orleans. Tons of weather data here for Greeneville:
GREENEVILLE EXP STN, TENNESSEE - Climate Summary

I think biting insects are probably worse in much of Maine than here, but we do have two species of venomous snakes that you'll probably never even see. See this thread for more info:
Spiders and snakes and bears...oh my!

[phyll]

Originally Posted by kamoshika

My mistake, mbmouse, you're correct. I don't get to Greeneville often and didn't realize the other store had closed when the Supercenter opened in '05, I think.

phyll, Wal-Mart Supercenter is in the Tusculum area, a couple miles east of Greeneville. The address is 3755 E Andrew Johnson Hwy (Hwy. 321/11 E). Whitesburg is about 25 miles from that store. FWIW, the Supercenter in Rogersville is about 10 miles closer to your husband's workplace.

Thank you, we live close to Rogersville,I didn't realize that Walmart was closer.

[jabogitlu]

I grew up in Greene Co., so of course I think Greeneville is a great place, but it's pretty small. If you're coming from a small town yourself, you'll have little trouble adapting. I agree with other posters that say try to position yourself in the eastern portion of the county (anything east of Greeneville - Tusculum, Chuckey, Afton, Rheatown, Up Hwy 107, or towards Limestone in Washington County) as this will allow you to commute MUCH easier to the Tri-Cities if you or your partner finds a job there. Greene County is one of the largest counties in the state, and living in the western fringes (St. James, Baileyton, Midway, Mohawk) can easily mean an extra 20-45 minute commute, one way.

Tusculum View pool is the only public access pool that comes to mind, but there may be more. We had a pool at my house so I didn't do much traveling to swim. Horse Creek National Park has a good swimming hole (VERY COLD WATER!!! ) and some beautiful camping spots / cookout spots / trailheads, you should deffo check it out if you move down.

Greeneville has some major retail, Wal-Mart Super, KMart, Lowe's, Belk, Pennys, Goodys, a couple national chains (Applebees, Ryan's), lots of fast food, several very good locally-owned restaurants and the usual groceries (Food City, Food Lion, White's, Ingles[the best]). Target is in Johnson City about 30 minutes away, 45 minutes in traffic.

The area is super rural (though that is changing in East Greene) and super conservative. There are lots of things to do IF they appeal to you - hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, bluegrass/jams. However Greeneville is diversifying - there are a couple art galleries and high end fashion shops downtown, and the Niswonger Performing Arts Center brings different touring acts in throughout the year. The Capitol Theater hosts live music and locally-produced plays. The city is growing, with building both on the east end (AJ Hwy - Tusculum area) and the west end (Asheville Hwy - past downtown, Main St. area), and there are MAJOR plans in motion from "the" local philanthropist (Scott Niswonger) to rebuild and revitalize (the already active and pretty) downtown.

Don't let the 15,000 population count fool you, though. The boundries of Greeneville proper seem to be rather small - the county itself has a population of, what, around 65,000?

[williboy]

I live in Telford which is 12 miles to Johnson City and 15 miles to Greeneville. We are 4 miles from Jonesborough where there is Wetlands Water Park. We are 21 miles from Kingsport. It is a nice area rural and scenic and yet not far from all of the above mentioned areas. There are also some very nice homes in the area if you check listings in Telford.