Johnson City vs. Bristol (Kingsport, Blountville: crime rate, houses, transfer)

[karenr33]

I am having trouble deciding what city I like the most, Bristol or Johnson City. Me and my family are wanting to move to TN, but we are still undecided on what city. We want to live in East TN for sure. I have been to Bristol about 11 years ago and loved it. A lot changes in that amount of time. Could anyone give me a comparison of the two? We have five children so that is an important factor in deciding where to live!!

[Tennesseestorm]

Hi, well since most of the posters on this forum are from Johnson City, you will probably get more positive comments on Johnson City.

However, since I live in Bristol, I will comment on that city. If you have not been here in 11 years, you are in for a pleasant re-visit. Northeast Bristol has flourished at the exit 7 area and has about every store/restaurant you will find in JC, but more confined. Johnson City has a higher population (by about what, 12K people), but Bristol dont feel small... not to me. Downtown Bristol is also more confined and while I have not been to old downtown Johnson City for awhile, its my understanding its in need for repairs. Also, an added bonus of Bristol is that if you shop on the Virginia side of the city, you save alot in taxes. Most full-service restaurants are located on the Virginia side, but there are some one the Tennessee side, they are just spread out more. Macados in downtown Bristol TN will soon open.

I like Johnson City too, dont get me wrong. I love shopping and dining there and visiting my aunt there. Johnson City folk seem more "big city" type than Bristol in some cases, despite Bristols population being not much less than JC.

Visit both cities, take a look around, that will help you decide.

[JoshB]

Bristol felt more rural to me, Not a bad thing though. Why did you rule out Kingsport?

[jabogitlu]

Bristol's inadequate infrastructure and strange tax laws (due to being split into two states) have really held it back, IMO. The cheaper taxes in Virginia caused the boom of exit 7 off I-81 before the city was ready to handle it, and it also left Bristol TN in the dump. Bristol's main strength is its downtown, which may be the best of the Tri-Cities (Kingsport is challenging that title fiercely). Once you move beyond exit 7 and downtown, I think you might find Bristol to be rundown, dirty and a bit "dumpy" feeling.

You'll have to do your own research on schools using any number of the online sites. I'm not sure of TN or VN high rank better or worse than Science Hill, Johnson City's city high school.

Johnson City is more spread out and has more of a traditional small city feel. It utilizes its interstate and other infrastructure systems better.

Retail options have equalized in the TRI in the past 3-5 years, so choosing one city over the other is more or less a purely personal decision. Johnson City is undoubtedly more liberal as a result of the University here. I would suggest visiting both and seeing how you "feel."

[mbmouse]

I agree, it really comes down to personal preference as to which of the Tri-Cities is right for a person/family.
Karen, I believe you said you were in the health care industry in another post? If so, than if you want a variety of options for work, I would suggest JC based just on that.

[rccrain]

I lived in Bristol the first two decades of my life, living with parents (west side), then going to King College (northeast side). The last few years I've being living in JC (north side) and attending ETSU (south side).

Bristol as a whole is OK. It has a great, cute, interesting downtown that is compact enough to park anywhere and walk to anything you want to see. Bristol also has three city parks that knock the socks off anything JC can offer. However, exit 7 is vastly overrated and in some areas of Bristol, TN it is really not any farther to get to Kpt or JC than exit 7. Exit 7 was poorly planned; it would have been much better if the development had occurred at Exit 1. Then, the Mall and West State St. wouldn't have "croaked". In addition to the West State and Mall area, Bristol has some other dead spots - like the areas around Virginia Intermont and Broad St.


JC as a whole is Very Good. It is superior to Bristol in most ways and just seems to have good feel. It has a nice layout, and I wouldn't characterize any particular area as "dead". My main gripes are that the parks are more activity based than leisure based and downtown is underachieving. However the Mall, retail outlets, and convenience of such is remarkable. JC is also the most "cultural" of the TriCities; there is a strong conservative base, but also a decent contingent of moderates and liberals.

[PaliBoy20]

I lived in Johnson City for 12 years before moving to Virginia but if I visit back any chance I get. It has grown tremendously over the recent years and I love it. Great lively area for a small city. Bristol, to me, is more rural from the times I went there. But with the growth of JC lately, you can't go wrong there.

[charliedog]

We moved to the area three years ago from Wisconsin after we retired. From what we had read, Kingsport had a higher crime rate and poorer air quality-odor-than Bristol or JC. When we visited the Chambers of Commerce, the person I dealt with at Bristol was friendly, helpful, and welcomed us gratiously. The person at the JC Chamber wasn't terribly friendly, helpful, or gracious. I didn't feel welcome there, so we bought a house just outside Bristol. We did look at a few houses in JC, but they were higher priced and I didn't warm up to the city after that negative initial impression.

If we had it to do over again, we would have picked a house in Gray, Piney Flats, or even Blountville, because we are always driving somewhere to do something. No one city has everything for us. We shop for groceries on the VA side, but don't eat out in VA because of the 12 plus percent restaurant tax. We avoid the traffic at Exit 7-we're actually closer to JC.

JC is actually much bigger than Bristol, 60,000 to mid-40,000 people, and to me feels much bigger than Bristol.

JC-and Kingsport-have dog parks, Bristol doesn't have one. I wonder if they ever will.

Just my opinions and observations.

Larry
Bristol, TN

[karenr33]

Not ruling it out just from what I've seen on google map and what I've read, we are narrowing it down to those two cities. Do you choose Kingsport over Bristol and Johnson City?

[DubbleT]

I worked and stayed in Johnson City for 9 weeks when I transferred to this area. Then I found a house in Bristol that I really liked so I moved there.
The two cities felt very different to me. I think if you get a chance to visit and compare you'll definitely get a feel for one over the other.
JC does have a "bigger, more bustling" feel to it. Bristol feels a lot slower paced, excepting the exit 7 area.
I found some very depressing n'hoods in both, but they seem to be more visible in Bristol, maybe because they are right along some of the main streets.
I haven't seen a lot of 'cookie cutter' housing in Bristol, no gated communities either, but maybe I just haven't explored enough yet. So that gives an older feel to Bristol as well, imo. I'm a sucker for big, older, established n'hoods.

Now that I'm here I'm finding I really enjoy the parks, the downtown, the convenience to shopping without having to fight a ton of traffic, and I could afford a nicer n'hood in Bristol than I could in JC.