Sick of FL Need Info. On Johnson City (Kingsport, Bristol: for sale by owner, condo)

[kendog100]

Don't relocate before you have a job!

[custompersonnel]

Terry,
Johnson City is a larger town so be careful of the area they try and sell u a house in. The sw side has a few drugs other than that the town is great.. We have a lot of car shows in the Greeneville area which is 35 minutes out of Johnson City. All the people here are friendly and rent is usually under $500 for a condo. They're are lots of small resturants and family owned bars and such. The best way to find a job is through a staffing agency or the north east tennessee career center. I work with both. We have ski lodges in North Carolina and Gatlinburg both about an hour away. If you want a smaller area I suggest Telford or Limestone, both are in between Johnson City and Greeneville. Its a great place to live, you have to drive a little further to work but rent is really cheap and you get the benefit of peace and quit. Moderator cut: PM this info

[wesarla]

I am in Hattiesburg, MS, but I lived in Erwin for about 6 weeks. I loved it. It is like Mayberry. Johnson City is like Hattiesburg, a university town, so it is multicultural and growning very fast, but they were nice. The smaller surrounding towns take a little longer to warm up to new faces. Even though we were all southerners, they knew we were not from there. The only thing I did not like was the smoking everywhere. The grass was mowed until 9:00 p.m., but cigarette butts were all over the place. I would keep a place in FL if you could and have somewhere to get away to, because when you are not use to being land locked it is hard to say goodbye to the ocean forever.

[Lavaleer]

I would like for MBMouse to give me the best Apt complex or street name in Gray area to go. Do not like where I am. Retiree looking for safe place. Thanks

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by Lavaleer

I would like for MBMouse to give me the best Apt complex or street name in Gray area to go. Do not like where I am. Retiree looking for safe place. Thanks

Hi Lavaleer,
Happy to help if I can. There are some rentals is Gray. There are several new townhouse type right across from the development Crystal Springs on Old Gray Station Road. There are a few for rent signs out that way. If you go out 75 towards Sulpher Springs there are a few for rent signs out there to. All of these areas are safe.
Hope that helps.

[nurskim]

Hi-we're another soon to be Florida to Tennessee transplant family. Same complaints as everyone-my homeowners insurance is now $5000 a year, the crime is crazy and so is the traffic. I grew up in a small town (8000) in Wisconsin and came to Port St Lucie 12 years ago to watch the population here skyrocket from 70k to 180k! No thanks-I need a nice family oriented area where my 2 yr old can play in the yard without being abducted. I love everything I've read and heard about the Johnson City area-looking toward Grey-that's where the lake is,right? How's the drive from there to the VA hospital? How are the schools?

[EagleI]

I've only been here 2 months, but have made fast friends with a number of good people - far easier than it was up north where I lived all my life. Maybe it's just that I'm really, really happy here, but I've bumped into plenty of health conscious, nature loving, spiritual folks. People seem down to earth - there's less pretentiousness than what I've witnessed in NY or FL.

Since the no-smoking in public places law was enacted, it is enjoyable to go dancing or to a restaurant without breathing second hand smoke. In fact, at the Stir Fry Cafe the other night, the waitress let the people next to me know they couldn't smoke there, even though we were on the patio.

There are plenty of free or low-cost community events, like Music on the Square in Jonesborough, where I've heard fantastic singer songwriters; or free concerts at Winged Deer Park. Every weekend there are several events to choose from, and I could find something to do every night of the week if I wasn't careful!

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by nurskim

Hi-we're another soon to be Florida to Tennessee transplant family. Same complaints as everyone-my homeowners insurance is now $5000 a year, the crime is crazy and so is the traffic. I grew up in a small town (8000) in Wisconsin and came to Port St Lucie 12 years ago to watch the population here skyrocket from 70k to 180k! No thanks-I need a nice family oriented area where my 2 yr old can play in the yard without being abducted. I love everything I've read and heard about the Johnson City area-looking toward Grey-that's where the lake is,right? How's the drive from there to the VA hospital? How are the schools?

Hi nurskim,
Welcome to the forum and in advance, welcome to TN!.
Grey schools are great, I and my kids love them, both elementary and high school. The elementary is starting to get a bit full this year. They have to add a 4th 7th grade teacher this year and it looks like there will be about 19 kids per class. No worries though, they are building a brand new school that will be open for next year so the class sizes should be back to the 12 or so per class. The teachers are so good and upbeat, administration is great.
From the Grey exit on 26 it would take you about 15-20 minute drive to the VA and that depends on if you catch the lights or not, there are quite a few over by the VA.
Yes, Grey is by the lake, well Boone's Creek area of Grey has more lake access areas but that is in a different school area, Boone's' Creek elementary and from what I understand is not as good as Grey school. Grey is kind of an odd shaped town. It runs from East Johnson City and is kind of crescent shaped up and around North Johnson City. I personally prefer the northern part but that is mainly because it is easy access to both JC and Kingsport that way.
I SOOOO understand where you are coming from when talking about Port St. Lucie. I lived in Jupiter (moved out in 97) and my parents lived in P.S.L. they left in 2001. I have an ex sister in law there and my brother is in Fort Pierce. So yea, I know what you mean. I love them but sure don't like to visit LOL! I was there in Feb and I could not believe the growth!

[jd5607]

We are approaching retirement and are looking for a college town with good health care services, reasonable cost of living, safe living environment and access to community/college activities. We use to live in Huntington (late 80's) and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. As new arrivals, we woud like to rent for a few months before buying a condo/cluster/villa home. Are there areas around Johnson City (including suburbs within 10 miles, not just within the city limits) where one could find the above mentioned housing in a nice, safe neighborhood with access to shopping centers, health care, roads (so as to reach JC for activities - we really enjoyed participating in the college life that Marshall brought to Huntington) at a reasonable price? Are there areas that are safe from flooding? I've noticed in other postings that the Northern area of JC and suburbs seems to be experiencing growth. We will be visiting within the next 3 weeks for a day or two. Thanks for all who reply.

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by jd5607

We are approaching retirement and are looking for a college town with good health care services, reasonable cost of living, safe living environment and access to community/college activities. We use to live in Huntington (late 80's) and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. As new arrivals, we woud like to rent for a few months before buying a condo/cluster/villa home. Are there areas around Johnson City (including suburbs within 10 miles, not just within the city limits) where one could find the above mentioned housing in a nice, safe neighborhood with access to shopping centers, health care, roads (so as to reach JC for activities - we really enjoyed participating in the college life that Marshall brought to Huntington) at a reasonable price? Are there areas that are safe from flooding? I've noticed in other postings that the Northern area of JC and suburbs seems to be experiencing growth. We will be visiting within the next 3 weeks for a day or two. Thanks for all who reply.

Hello, welcome to the forum.
The short answer to your questions would be yes.
A little more details. In the Tri-Cities we have several colleges: ETSU, North East State, Milligan College and branches of UT and Walters state. However there are no college foot ball games to attend. there is quite a bit of baseball though.
There are many places within 10 miles or less of the city area that you can feel like you are out in the middle of the country. Yes there are townhouses/condo type housing within easy drive.
We have GREAT health care facilities, some very top notch doctors and specialists. JC medical center has been listed in the top 100 hospitals for many years.
Flooding...only a few few areas require flood insurance and even then usually don't ever use it.
There are way more "safe" neighborhoods than not. There are really only a very few areas that I would call "iffy" as far as safety.
Hope that helps.