leaving florida for job in erwin (Johnson City, Kingsport: crime rate, home, neighborhoods)

[emeraldsprings]

We're a middle aged couple with two teen-age children. I've searched other threads, and the only one that was similar to our question was from a retired couple who clearly stated that they weren't interested in schools. That is a polar opposite from our position. So I would like to ask the forum for suggestions. We live in SW Florida and we are considering relocating due to a job opportunity in Erwin. We don't necessarily have to live in that city, just have a reasonable commute there. We are looking for a somewhat scenic environment (hopefully mountainous after our 20 years in the flatlands of FL), not too crowded, reasonable cost of living, relatively safe of crime, commutable to good medicine (breast cancer survivor), commutable to good college/university, and among the most important points of our search-good high and middle schools (with possible job opportunities later for our children). We would really appreciate any help as we will be flying up there soon for interviews. Thank you!

[mbmouse]

Well, so far, you will find everything you have listed in Washington County or even the Southern part of Sullivan County (Pinney Flats). I am assuming your interview is with NFS which is right off I-26 so commute is pretty easy. I say this area due to the schools in Erwin or Elizbethton, not bad, but not as good as Washington or Sullivan schools.
You can see mountains and hills from just about anywhere in this general area which you will see when you get here.
Schools are very good.
Jobs...well, a bit hard to come by but if a teenager is willing to work retail/grocery/restaurant, they should be able to find something.
As for medical, you would want to be close enough to JC medical center, but that is an easy commute to from anywhere in the two county areas.
What we may need to know to give you better info is what about hobbies? Are your kids already involved in a school extra curricular that they want to continue? A sport? How about groups, organizations that you or your kids want to be in or continue with? What do you like to do when you are not working?
Answering more questions like this might help us give you better answers.
Hope that has helped some.

[emeraldsprings]

Thank you very much for your help. Generally, we stay pretty close to home. Our children are involved pretty heavily with their academics and that, for better or worse, takes up alot of their time. My daughter loves politics and wishes to pursue that as her eventual career along with law (she is looking at ETSU's poitical science department as a future objective). My son loves to ride his bike and generally enjoys the outdoors and his video games. I, personally, have a dream to someday open a small-scale kennel, so we are hoping to eventually find some acreage on which to build our future home (hopfully a log home, as that has been a long time dream of ours). We're hoping not to find alot of 'over-the-top' zoning policies in TN with all of that, as we so often find down here in Collier County, FL. In general, we are a pretty low-keyed family who enjoys going out to eat and watching NHL hockey on TV (or local minor league hockey at our local arena). We hope to find an area which has potential friends for our children, as we currently live in a primarily retired area and that has been difficult for our children. Any thoughts about Elizabethton? The crime rate appeared a little high there, though. Thank you, again, for your help and I will certainly check out the suggestions you so kindly provided.

[TNGal78]

Piney Flats - Close to Johnson City and Erwin, not as crowded as JC.

Johnson City - Lots of shopping , restaurants, good medical care, schools, etc.


Erwin has a pretty small town feel to it.

My husband works in JC and a lot of his coworkers are from Erwin/Unicoi.

[mbmouse]

hhhmmmmm. As far as your daughter with wanting to go into law, I would say she needs to be in one of (what I consider) the top three high schools in the area that would offer a debate team or similar. They would be Dobbins Bennet in Kingsport (within city limits), but then you are dealing with some zoning laws (but not NEAR as much as you would find in S.W.FL) and any kind of land you would be hard pressed to find without a very thick wallet and it would be almost an hour commute to Erwin.
Daniel Boone in Gray which would prep her well for college (oh and your kids get two free years at North East State if they graduate from either Washington or Sullivan County schools) but I believe they have only a smaller debate team/politics club.Good news is that you would be in county only property tax area and less zoning issues, about a 30 minute commute to Erwin.
The third is Science Hill which is one of the largest and does have some issues with crowding, clicks and such, but still a good school. Again, you would be in a city limits for that one. 15 to 20 minute commute to Eriwn.
Lots more "kid friendly" neighborhoods than retired only neighborhoods, so don't think that will be much of an issue at all.

[rccrain]

Echoing mouse, check out the Daniel Boone, Science Hill, and possibly Elizabethton HS school districts.

FYI, Steve Spurrier graduated from Science Hill. Depending on your NCAA allegiances that could be at least of trivial interest to you.

[gsp4ever]

If academics (and college placement/future prospects) is a top priority and the job is in Erwin and you want a reasonable commute then I think Science Hill in Johnson City is probably the only school you'll seriously consider. University School is another good choice, though their limited admissions policies (they are a lab school) make it a bit questionable as to whether or not a student can gain admission. Elizabethton HS would also be a good choice but Elizabethton may not be a town that you'd like as much as Johnson City. If you are up for a longer commute then you should consider Sullivan South HS which serves areas closer to Kingsport but is a Sullivan County School. If diversity issues are important to you then you're going to find a more diverse racial makeup at Science Hill. The other schools I list above are extremely "white". All have significant numbers of economically disadvantaged students except University School.

You'll find the strongest schools to be the city schools. Sullivan South would be an exception as would University, which is technically a Washington County School. So a quick listing of the region's city schools (in no particular order) would be as follows:

1. Dobyns-Bennett HS (Kingsport--not a short commute from Erwin)
2. Science Hill HS (Johnson City)
3. Elizabethton HS (Elizabethton)
4. Tennessee HS (Bristol--not a short commute from Erwin)
5. Virginia HS (Bristol, VA--not a short commute from Erwin)

[emeraldsprings]

Thank you all so much for the very helpful advice. We are excited by the opportunity to investigate all of the great information!

[williboy]

You should also check out Greeneville High School in Greeneville which is about a 30 minute drive from Erwin right up beautiful Highway 107.

[emeraldsprings]

Thank you, williboy, we will certainly check out Greeneville!