what 'don't' you like about the area? (live, shops)

[dreamofmonterey]

The food/sales tax is a bit high, and I don't really like it, but there's not much you can do unless you stop eating. NY has less sales tax on groceries.

[joee]

All the dad blasted hills/mountains, I’m thinking that if a good sized crew brought in a slew of cats got rid of all them trees then push off the tops o those hills/mountains and use it to fill in them gullies in between it would make for nice flat land then bring in the housing crews and you could get a lot of housing in there then, heck fill the whole area up with housing

[jabogitlu]

Er, sorry, joee, but the coal companies patented that idea before you posted.

[belsevier]

I've been here 10 months now. There are a lot of smokers here.

[gypsiechavi]

I am going to try this because this topic seemed interesting to me.

We moved here from Pennsylvania over 2 years ago. My husband is from the Berks/Lehigh area and I am from the Berks/Lancaster areas. We also lived in the Pocono Mountains for 7 years after being married.

One thing we both miss is that cultural diversity we had up north. By that I mean the Italian, PA Dutch, German, Polish, etc. type festivals, fairs, and foods. We miss fresh seafood, Lebanon bologna, potato chips other than a Lays brand (Goods, Utz's, Gibbles), Ring Bologna, and flea markets filled with fresh fruit, meat, and locally made pies (including Shoefly Pie!). Pizza is different down here as is Chinese food (not quite spicy enough and everything is covered in a toxic orange colored sweet and sour sauce), and Subs, Grinders and Cheesesteaks. However, there is hope. We requested and managed to aquire from Kroger in Kingsport Turkey Hill Iced Tea and just the other day at Walmart saw and purchased TASTYKAKE!

Another thing my husband noticed is cars down here seem to be sold as "economy" models as few if any have working turn signals. Everytime someone abruptly brakes and turns without any signaling we both remark "there goes one of those economy models again!". Aside from that, I would like to add I love the "laid back" and "I'm in no hurry" driving around here. I have become one of those myself since moving here. I certainly do not miss the stressed out, pedal to the metal, horn honking, you're in my way type of experiences north of the mason dixon line on Rt 81. I actually had an older fellow yell at me one time "Get out of my world!" while shaking his fist directly at my vehicle. Nice.

As far as the smell goes, everyone seems to be very upset over it and I think I found a solution. How about we court the Airwick company to open a manufacturing plant here. That way, when they blow off from the stacks, it would be as if Kingsport had it's very own air freshener. Now, we only need to agree on the scent! Mountain Spring or Crisp Linen?

In all seriousness, there are a lot of places that smell worse. Try Hanover Pa and the paper plant there. It will make you gag until you make it to York. Or take a drive through portions of Jersey. Yum! I agree there are times in the summer months when the breeze brings it in your face so to speak. However, to me, that is the smell of jobs. It lets me know, every time I get a whiff, that Kingsport is alive and well. The day I notice I am no longer smelling anything is the day I will be concerned.

And the thing I don't like about the area the most, is how people who move here, trying to escape all of those nasty things from the big cities they come from, try to change everything into exactly what they are fleeing from. Whew! By that I mean, newer bigger and better type projects that are not needed. More and more shopping malls to spend money we all know we don't have instead of purchasing locally from mom and pop shops. We all seem to "need" more Targets, Kohls, Best Buys, etc. I came here to escape that type of gotta have it greed and distraction. I liked that people seemed friendly and looked you in the eye when they said hello. I like that Kingsport has concerts downtown during the summer. I enjoy the way it brings people together that might have never met. I like that it caused my family to shut off the television and take a walk downtown. I enjoy exploring the stores and restaurants instead of visiting the same old places I can see in any part of the country by way of department stores and restaurant chains. I like the sense of community. The more chain stores and restaurants I see going up, the less people I see looking me in the eye.

[suecen]

What is the smell from?? Is it all the time?

[rccrain]

The "smell" is contained to certain industrial areas of Kingsport. The paper plant is the main culprit; although Eastman and other industrials also might contribute.

As a lifelong TriCities resident (living in JC and Bristol), I have never smelled anything bad outside of a small section of Kingsport where I played in a few baseball tournaments as a youth. I still bear contempt for the city of Kingsport to this day because their team was our main rivals.

So one more thing that I do not like about the area are the Kingsport Indians, their fans, their umpires, and that dang road that dead ends in the middle of Eastman - no matter the effort that I try to avoid it, that is where I end up every time I go to Kingsport.

[beckycat]

Originally Posted by gypsiechavi

I am going to try this because this topic seemed interesting to me.

We moved here from Pennsylvania over 2 years ago. My husband is from the Berks/Lehigh area and I am from the Berks/Lancaster areas. We also lived in the Pocono Mountains for 7 years after being married.

One thing we both miss is that cultural diversity we had up north. By that I mean the Italian, PA Dutch, German, Polish, etc. type festivals, fairs, and foods. We miss fresh seafood, Lebanon bologna, potato chips other than a Lays brand (Goods, Utz's, Gibbles), Ring Bologna, and flea markets filled with fresh fruit, meat, and locally made pies (including Shoefly Pie!). Pizza is different down here as is Chinese food (not quite spicy enough and everything is covered in a toxic orange colored sweet and sour sauce), and Subs, Grinders and Cheesesteaks. However, there is hope. We requested and managed to aquire from Kroger in Kingsport Turkey Hill Iced Tea and just the other day at Walmart saw and purchased TASTYKAKE!

Another thing my husband noticed is cars down here seem to be sold as "economy" models as few if any have working turn signals. Everytime someone abruptly brakes and turns without any signaling we both remark "there goes one of those economy models again!". Aside from that, I would like to add I love the "laid back" and "I'm in no hurry" driving around here. I have become one of those myself since moving here. I certainly do not miss the stressed out, pedal to the metal, horn honking, you're in my way type of experiences north of the mason dixon line on Rt 81. I actually had an older fellow yell at me one time "Get out of my world!" while shaking his fist directly at my vehicle. Nice.

As far as the smell goes, everyone seems to be very upset over it and I think I found a solution. How about we court the Airwick company to open a manufacturing plant here. That way, when they blow off from the stacks, it would be as if Kingsport had it's very own air freshener. Now, we only need to agree on the scent! Mountain Spring or Crisp Linen?

In all seriousness, there are a lot of places that smell worse. Try Hanover Pa and the paper plant there. It will make you gag until you make it to York. Or take a drive through portions of Jersey. Yum! I agree there are times in the summer months when the breeze brings it in your face so to speak. However, to me, that is the smell of jobs. It lets me know, every time I get a whiff, that Kingsport is alive and well. The day I notice I am no longer smelling anything is the day I will be concerned.

And the thing I don't like about the area the most, is how people who move here, trying to escape all of those nasty things from the big cities they come from, try to change everything into exactly what they are fleeing from. Whew! By that I mean, newer bigger and better type projects that are not needed. More and more shopping malls to spend money we all know we don't have instead of purchasing locally from mom and pop shops. We all seem to "need" more Targets, Kohls, Best Buys, etc. I came here to escape that type of gotta have it greed and distraction. I liked that people seemed friendly and looked you in the eye when they said hello. I like that Kingsport has concerts downtown during the summer. I enjoy the way it brings people together that might have never met. I like that it caused my family to shut off the television and take a walk downtown. I enjoy exploring the stores and restaurants instead of visiting the same old places I can see in any part of the country by way of department stores and restaurant chains. I like the sense of community. The more chain stores and restaurants I see going up, the less people I see looking me in the eye.

How's the weather compared to the poconos? We lived in Greentown. Are the winters just as cold and cloudy?

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by beckycat

How's the weather compared to the poconos? We lived in Greentown. Are the winters just as cold and cloudy?

Just as cloudy but much warmer. For example, the average high/low on Jan. 7 at Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport is 31/13. At Tri-Cities Regional Airport, the Jan. 7 averages are 44/24. Over the past four weeks, we've had high temps of 55+ on 19 days. But this has also been the cloudiest and rainiest stretch of winter here I can recall.

FWIW, we average 51 cloudy days Dec.-Feb. during a typical year vs. Allentown's 46.

[jabogitlu]

It is one of the cloudiest and rainiest winters I can remember here, too. At least one school system was closed today due to local flooding.