I think we are making the move from Florida, need info on Greenville Tn ,Please (Knoxville: real estate)

[kbuild]

Hello, Very informative forum. My family and I are looking at moving from Florida to Tn. I have been looking at a town called Greenville. Looks like a nice town. We would like to be in a country setting but not to far from conveniences (Wal-Mart, Movies, Home Depots etc.) I am also a contractor in Florida and I specialize in remodeling, is there a market in Greeenville for this service? Or Companies around the area willing to hire? Also rental homes and school system info would be great.

Thanks for any info...

[mbmouse]

Hi,
Welcome to the forum.
Greeneville is a nice little town at the base of the foothills and has some great green areas and several things going for it such as a nice historic downtown square and a good city High school with a nice public theater, Tusculum College and some others. However, the words Greeneville and Conveniences aren't really synonymous. Sure there are some there such as Wal-Mart, Lowe's, a new movie theater and several stores, but they are limited, not much for choice. That is not necessarily a bad thing, just don't want you to be surprised.
As for work, well.....I personally had a hard time finding a job in Greene County because I had "a long funny last name". I ended up selling my house there and moving to Tri-Cities for work and better schools for my kids, but that was a small county school. Not to say it won't work out just fine for you but I would be sure to secure a job before you move if you can.

[jabogitlu]

Greeneville is my hometown, and it's a great place to live in many ways. But it's also not so desirable in a few ways, and can even be a very bad place to live, depending on your personal views. I would strongly urge you to also check out the Tri-Cities or the Knoxville markets as far as building goes. Both metro areas have remote areas within commuting distance to the city(s).

Tri-Cities (Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol TN and Bristol VA):
- Piney Flats
- Bluff City
- Gray
- Jonesborough
- Erwin & Unicoi

Knoxville East:
- Dandridge
- Newport (though personally I would avoid it)
- Kodak
- Seymour
- Mascot
- Strawberry Plains

Knoxville West:
- Lenoir City
- Friendsville (if you really want country...)
- Kingston
- Harriman
- Rockwood

Knoxville North:
- Heiskell
- Powell

Of course, all these communities have varying commute times so you'll have to check that out for yourself. But maybe this list will get you headed in the right direction.

As far as schools go, in Greene County the best are Greeneville (city) and South Greene (county), followed then by Chuckey-Doak (county). These are the only three high schools I'd send my children to. For elementary I would definitely choose a city school (Eastview, Highland) or perhaps the county schools Doak, Mosheim or Chuckey.

Doak/Chuckey have a middle school (Chuckey-Doak) which proceeds to Chuckey-Doak High. All other county elementaries are K-8, or PreK-8. All city elementaries funnel into Greeneville Middle, then to Greeneville High.

As far as the Tri-Cities go, I would *definitely* stick to the city school systems. In Johnson City, Science Hill is an excellent (comparatively) high school, and in Kingsport so is Dobyns-Bennett. Not sure about Bristol's schools, sorry. Also, I'm unsure about the majority of Knoxville's schools; I lived there, but never had children there or went to school there. However, I do know that Farragut and Bearden Highs are very strong, as are the schools in the Oak Ridge system ('burb city NW of Knoxville)

[StinkyViolet]

Greeneville is also my hometown, and I agree that it has some definite advantages and a few disadvantages. A few good things:

1. It's still small town America
2. Real Estate...well, it's a buyer's market. Great older homes that be purchased at a low price and renovated to build value
3. The retiree demographic is fairly high in Greeneville/Greene County
4. Utilities and property taxes are still low
5. Greene County is spectacular and it's close to the Smokies and Cherokee National Forrest, which means lots of outdoor activities

A few not so good things:

1. It's still small town America
2. It lacks a vibrant social scene
3. It's Wal-Mart centric


It's a town that's improving, it just isn't there yet. There are plans to renovate a lot of the vacant downtown buildings and recruit independent businesses.

As far as entertainment...it usually involves a short road trip to TriCities or Knoxville. But anyone who has lived in a larger city knows that a 20 or 30 minute ride is not a big deal. It's not like hopping next door, but they're both nice drives with little traffic.

[williboy]

Greeneville is a beautiful little town of about 14 or 15 thousand. The rural setting around Greeneville is breathtaking. I'm sure you would love the area, but I'm not too sure about the job market there. You should line up work before making the move though.

[SarahSal]

Or, if you have some money to invest (assuming, of course that the RE market improves) you could buy and renovate some homes and put them back on the market! Home prices seem quite reasonable (cheap) there.

We love Greeneville, especially its charming downtown (reminds us of New England) and the General Morgan Inn..
And that's another question for someone in the know: why *hasn't* their downtown flourished? They have great old buildings, a walkable downtown, new courthouse, historic sites - just like Jonesborough?? Is it a political thing?