Scouting out locations for retirement

[schil]

my daughter liked jonesboro TN. she was told that there was a pool at senior center, but all i saw was a pool table. Ewrin has a Y, but it looks very rural. Has anyone been there to tell me if it is an upscale place? I do go swimming often, and appears jonesboro has no indoor pool. My daughter said Johnson City was very rough, and she saw some drug deals. Is there a nice part of JC?

[rccrain]

She must have been in Johnson City, NY.

JC is VERY safe. JC senior center is upscale. It has several nice pools in a facility that is only a couple years old. Describing JC as "rough" is laughable. Almost all of JC is nice and safe. There are only a couple places that I would not walk alone at night and they are not areas anyone would be anyway.

Here is a look at it being built in 2012... https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en...px8wCnoECAoQDg

Also:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Memorial...=page_internal

Jonesborough Senior Center is good too but no dedicated pool, although there is access to a hotel pool. https://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Hea...-bigger-cities

[schil]

i see that unlike my state, they have city and county taxes in the city limits, and when outside city only county tax. I have one or the other, but not both.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by schil

i see that unlike my state, they have city and county taxes in the city limits, and when outside city only county tax. I have one or the other, but not both.

Those city taxes help pay for additional services. The city and county taxes are usually pretty similar. The city offers trash pick-up for something like $10/month. Outside the city, you're paying Waste Management or some private company much more than that for weekly collection.

I'm not sure that it fully offsets, but the difference is not as substantial as it looks at first glance.

[rccrain]

City taxes are usually less than county for whatever reason. Even combined, they are usually much less than newcomers are used to.

[AppalachianAngler]

Originally Posted by geniekri

My husband and I live in South Georgia but when he retires we plan to move to the mountains. Sick of the flatland swamps! We are using his vacations to tour areas we might be interested in moving to. Because of some health issues I have, we'll have to live within a reasonable distance of good medical care. We will be staying in Greeneville, TN, in September. Any suggestions as to what to see around there or cities to scout? We like to see historic sites but not much into mountain climbing, etc. We are looking for affordable housing in a safe and scenic area.

Any info about the area will be really appreciated. Thanks!

I'm a native of Greeneville if you want to PM me with any specific questions.

For historical sites, check out the Andrew Johnson home and his tailor shop; Davy Crockett Birthplace; Big Spring in downtown Greeneville; and just walk downtown G'ville in particular.

Like a lot of the towns in East TN, Greeneville is not really "in" the mountains, but at the foothills. There are beautiful mountain views throughout most of the town.

Most of Greeneville is pretty affordable with regards to housing. First thought for me if you are thinking scenic and safe would be the Tusculum area. You may also want to check out spots on the Erwin and Asheville Highways, just make sure you don't get too far from town. Oddly enough, the deeper you get from town, the more dangerous it is in my opinion. There is more crime the more rural it gets (mostly drugs, domestic, and property related, but still).

You may want to also check out housing off & around Mount Bethel Road. You get a very pretty view of the mountains, but it is convenient to everything in town. Most all the new commercial development, however, is moving east towards Johnson City on 11-E, which is also close to Tusculum and the Erwin Highway.

Good luck.

[schil]

Thank you for the great info about the new Senior Center in Johnson City TN. With the pool in all it is very impressive. I have never seen anything like it, as most towns cannot afford too much in senior centers. This is a big plus for meeting people and swimming. (with all those pool tables, i may play pool)

I have heard some good things about JC here, and I am sure that motel was in a bad area near a bar, and is the exception.
The real estate seems more plentiful in JC than in Jonesboro, Erwin, or Greenville TN.

What are the upsides, and downsides of these towns.

This part of the country seems much less overcrowded than her AVL, Hendersonville area. Even looking south to spartenburg, or out east to Gastonia.

[schil]

Yes, I moved from NJ, knowing with a college degree i could not afford a house, and moved to midwest, but now want to be close to daughter, but not in the rat race around her town of Asheville. It is crazy, and I heard that they call it the new San Francisco, but there are not any big employers like SF.

[rccrain]

Asheville is nice to visit, but I wouldn't live there voluntarily.

Jonesborough neighbors JC. Downtown to downtown is a 10 minute drive. Jonesborough is TN's oldest town and its main street is very historic and quaint.

I'm ok with Erwin but a lot of people are not. It is small and "country". It may be more difficult to make new friends in Erwin as the population is very generational. I still think it's fine as a low-cost place to live because it's so close to JC.

I'm not a big fan of Greeneville. It is farther from JC and does not have all the amenities that I'd want.

You may want to check out Gray, an area in Washington County which has basically become suburban north JC without the city taxes. This is the 37615 zip code.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by schil

Thank you for the great info about the new Senior Center in Johnson City TN. With the pool in all it is very impressive. I have never seen anything like it, as most towns cannot afford too much in senior centers. This is a big plus for meeting people and swimming. (with all those pool tables, i may play pool)

I have heard some good things about JC here, and I am sure that motel was in a bad area near a bar, and is the exception.
The real estate seems more plentiful in JC than in Jonesboro, Erwin, or Greenville TN.

What are the upsides, and downsides of these towns.

This part of the country seems much less overcrowded than her AVL, Hendersonville area. Even looking south to spartenburg, or out east to Gastonia.

Metro Asheville is bigger, but there are plenty of places outside of Asheville and Hendersonville that will have a more small town atmosphere. Neither are really congested/populated areas. The bulk of the traffic is going to be along I-26.

The biggest disadvantage of NC are higher taxes and real estate prices. Gas is more expensive. The advantage is generally much better mountain views, outdoor access, cooler summers, and a better location that is closer to other major cities and the coast.

Keep in mind that if you need to work, neither Asheville nor the Tri-Cities has much in the way of high paying, corporate employment. You really need to line a job up before you move unless you're fine with jobs paying $12-$15/hr. Low paying jobs are readily available in either town.

I live in south Johnson City and go to Asheville a couple of weekends a month, at least, and once or twice a month through the week. I'd much rather live in Asheville than Johnson City, and would move there if the job situation was right. Since it's only about an hour, it's not a big deal to get over there.

The senior center has a pool. The Wellness Center, a health club owned by Ballad Health, also has an outdoor pool, indoor therapy pool, and an indoor lap pool.