Tell us about Eastern Tennessee (Knoxville, Johnson City: condo, crime, how much)

[Wes59]

modcuthe is a bit of background on our situation:

What region or city, if known, are you considering? Mountainous Eastern Tennessee- From Greeneville east, along the NC, Va borders for mountain views.
Have you been here yet? Driven through several times with a little more of a drive during week of Christmas
When are you moving? Summer of 2022
Where are you coming from? Western Arkansas
Why are you moving? Looking for smaller town, mountain views, snowfall, quiet
Where will you be working (location, not specific company)? None- We are both retired (I may sub teach)
Are you looking for a suburban, rural, city, or urban area? Rural
Will you buy or rent? Buy preferred
If buying, are you looking for a house, a condo, or a farm? House with about 1/3 acre
How much can you spend? $200K to $225K
Are you looking for acreage? 1/3rd acre or so. No more than 1/2

Are you married or single? Married
Do you have children? No
Do you prefer public or private schools? N/A
Do you have pets? Yes
Do you want or need a yard? Yes
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Calm/quiet
What do you want to be closest to? N/A
Work N/A Good internet is an important factor though
Shopping Sams club within a 2 hours would be good
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.) Store fairly close- say 30 mins or less
Nightlife- Dark and stars in the sky

We are trying to decide between East Tenn or East Kentucky and both are so beautiful in the mountain areas. Neither will affect our working or living expenses as far as taxes go, but cost of housing and availability definitely does.

[Serious Conversation]

Snow is going to be hard to come by. The only areas that will get appreciable snowfall will be some of the higher elevations in Johnson, Unicoi, and Carter counties.

Johnson County has a Food Lion, but no Walmart, and anything meaningful is going to be a drive. Mountain City has more ties to Boone, NC, than to the Tri-Cities, IMO.

I would look into Unicoi County around Erwin and maybe Flag Pond. The budget will get you a ranch or split foyer on that amount of land. Mountain views throughout the county are usually pretty good. Erwin has a Walmart, grocery stores, small hospital, etc. Johnson City has the Sam's Club, mall, etc.

[Wes59]

Thanks. I kinda figured on Johnson, Cater and Unicoi as a starter. Possibly the counties west of Kingsport also.

[Serious Conversation]

Overall, I would avoid Hawkins, Hancock, Grainger, and Claiborne counties.

Mt. Carmel and Church Hill are in Hawkins County, and are basically suburbs of Kingsport. They're fine. The town of Rogersville itself is fine. Rural areas of Hawkins County tend to have more drugs, crime related to drugs, and that type of thing. Families in those rural areas have often lived there for generations, social circles tend to be much more closed off, and it's tougher to integrate into the community. Anything beyond Hawkins County is really rural and isolated.

You also start to lose the higher elevations in those counties. Unicoi County has the prettiest mountains in the state east of the Smokies, IMO. Carter County is probably a close second. Those more western counties don't have the elevation or easier access to larger towns for amenities.

Another good thing about Unicoi County is that you have proximity to both Johnson City and Asheville without the NC state income taxes or the property taxes of either.

[Beretta]

I saw that you have been posted this same post/question in multiple forums. My advice is to do searches and read up in each states forum(s). That will help you narrow down states and locations.

[Country Roads]

It's growing way too fast. That and the lack of snow has made me wanna move to Ohio.

[Hesychast]

Originally Posted by Country Roads

It's growing way too fast. That and the lack of snow has made me wanna move to Ohio.

It certainly is. As the cost of housing in Asheville reaches astronomical levels (relative to the rest of WNC/ETN), Northeast TN will become the next hot spot as the COL is still low, and the area still retains some of its former charm. Finding a Johnson City native in Johnson City, for instance, is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack. Granted JC has always been a regional hub and the university/medical industry attracts more folks from elsewhere. However, even here in the Unicoi County/Erwin area it seems fairly common to encounter retirees from Florida or New England and young couples from out of state. There are still pockets of generational natives here, but it's certainly not as common as it was even a couple of decades ago.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by Hesychast

It certainly is. As the cost of housing in Asheville reaches astronomical levels (relative to the rest of WNC/ETN), Northeast TN will become the next hot spot as the COL is still low, and the area still retains some of its former charm. Finding a Johnson City native in Johnson City, for instance, is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack. Granted JC has always been a regional hub and the university/medical industry attracts more folks from elsewhere. However, even here in the Unicoi County/Erwin area it seems fairly common to encounter retirees from Florida or New England and young couples from out of state. There are still pockets of generational natives here, but it's certainly not as common as it was even a couple of decades ago.

If an area is not growing, it is stagnant, and with stagnation comes decline.

This area has, for far too long, been stuck in neutral, or going in reverse. That is finally starting to change over the last few years, especially in Johnson City. There is some clear momentum toward getting more amenities, higher end retail/grocers/restaurants, etc., instead of having to go to Asheville or Knoxville for any of these things.

I, for one, am glad to see the growth.

[Wes59]

Thanks a bunch for this. What you said has been in my bones for awhile but it's good to have that verified. The same goes for Arkansas, and my home state of Texas. There are areas that have been settled for over 150 years, and they don't really look at you as part of the community for at least a hundred more.

[Wes59]

I have mentally killed off a short "thinking about" Kentucky. I don't believe I have posted anywhere else, because we have pretty-much focused on E Tenn