Retirement Life in Kingsport? (cul-de-sac, home, incomes)

[chf5204]

Hi, I was born in Kingsport, moved to California at a young age and now 40 years later with retirement just a few years away I'm looking at coming back home. Although I have lots of questions, the main one is affordable housing. I currently live in a 2400 sq ft, 4 bdr home on an acre about 60 miles east of Los Angeles that I purchased for $215,000 in 1990 and after a few improvements almost 20 years later the value has doubled, plus some. It's fenced, landscaped, zoned for horses and has a large patio and pool. It also lies at the end of a cul-de-sac in a quiet area of a city of approximately 190,000.

Some of my questions are- what would a comparable home list for in the Kingsport area? How safe is the area? What is the climate like (I remember lots of rain in the winters but not much snow)? And how hard would living be in the area based on a retirement income of around $120K a year. Thanks to all who reply.

[jabogitlu]

I don't know many of the answers to your questions but a retirement income of $120k a year would provide an insanely comfortable life. Most families here bring in less than $60,000 total and many retired people live on fixed incomes of less than $20k a year.

[rccrain]

I guess $300-350k with some outliers.

[mbmouse]

Well a good way to answer your question is to check out a MLS listing site such as Realtor.com. You can plug in things like: Kingsport TN, 4 bedrooms, 2+ baths between 175k and 250k and see what pops up. I did it real quick for you and just on the first page got several.
$184,900
4 Bed, 3 Bath, 3,324 Sq Ft on 2.79 Acres
Property Type: Single Family Home

$199,000
4 Bed, 2.5 Bath, 3,702 Sq Ft on 1.18 Acres
Property Type: Single Family Home

$219,000
4 Bed, 3 Bath, 2,375 Sq Ft on 2.8 Acres
Property Type: Single Family Home
Above ground pool approx. 3 yrs old. Has storage shed being used as workshop. Detached carport currently used for lawn equip.... more

$250,000
4 Bed, 3 Bath, 2,988 Sq Ft on 2.5 Acres
Property Type: Single Family Home
Privacy as well as mountain and lake views make this acreage property a little slice of heaven. Easily accessible to both Jo... more


As for how "hard" it would be to live on 120k a year...the answer is "Easy!"
The weather, well it changes all the time. Last two years we have had very dry winters, this year it has rained more than snowed and rained quite a bit.

Read through these forums, keep an eye on the local news paper on line (Kingsport Times News) and check the weather channels web site once in a while.

Hope that helps.