Coming to Tri-cities, need advice (temp. housing, entertainment, etc.) (Knoxville: extended stay, sublet)

[chacho]

I'll be going to Tri-cities starting Monday and will be working at the airport for 2 months. I'll be staying in a hotel/motel until I find some housing, so..

-Anyone know of short-term furnished apartments or condos within 30 min or so of the airport?

-Good spots to meet people (I'm 23)?

-Best sites to see?

Thanks in advance!

chacho

[jabogitlu]

Two months? That might be a little tough here. However it is summer and some people are looking to sublet through most of August. Definitely check out Craigslist. The medical community here makes transient housing somewhat in demand, but it can be difficult.

If you can't find anything off Craigslist, try timesnews.net, Kingsport's daily. It has good JC listings. There's also a rent-by-the-week hotel off the Boones Creek exit of I-26 in JC. The rates are similar, a bit higher, to what you'd pay for a 1 br monthly here.

[NorthernLights]

Seems like they built a long stay hotel over along Rte. 26 next to cracker barrel. I think that's the one Jabg is referring to. Right off the highway, Exit 17. That would put you about 15-20 minutes from Tri-Cities airport right up 26 one exit to Bobby Hicks Hwy/75 which runs right over to the airport.
Value Place Johnson City

135 Pinnacle Dr, Johnson City, TN 37615
Phone: 1 423-283-0365
Web: http://www.valueplace.com
Email: tri37615@valueplace.com

As for being 23 y.o. and looking for some things to do I think Jabogitlu may be better qualified for that part of your question. I'm an old fart.

[Beretta]

I agree with Jabogitlu and NorthernLights on Value Place. They are 199/week. They have a brand new Value Place near the Knoxville airport and they are 169/week so you may be able to haggle? From Value Place you can go the backway (Kingsport Hwy to 36) to the airport and be there in 15-20 minutes. Then you are only 10 minutes from JC.

Good luck with your new, temporary job and welcome to East TN!

[chacho]

Thanks for the responses so far. I'd rather get a furnished apartment or condo just because it'd be more of a 'home' feel rather than constant travel. I do, however, understand it's hard to find something that will be furnished AND for such a short time. Thanks for the advice on Value Place, it will be a good back-up, if nothing else.

Thanks again, and feel free to keep more suggestions coming. I'll be checking the classifieds from Jabogitlue tomorrow at work (already checked Craigslist).

It's going to be quite an adjustment since I've been living in Atlanta for nearly 5 years for school.

[jabogitlu]

Have you ever been to the Tri-Cities before?

As for places to meet people, being 23 I would check out a few places (all in Johnson City here... I don't know much about Kingsport). Most of these are around in downtown, you can Google. Halo's is a small but super fun bar with a mostly college crowd, 21-25. The back (enclosed) alley also has a stage so there's some live music sometimes.

The Hideaway can be okay but is a little rough for me, more of a punk/emorock/ska scene whereas Halo's is laid-back.

There's Numan's which is sorta billiardsy-bar. Can be an older thirtysomething crowd or not, depends on the night. Numan's

The Acoustic Coffeehouse is fun too but is mostly just drunken college students. Still on nights with real shows (as opposed to some no-name guy with a guitar on stage) it's fun. The Acoustic Coffeehouse

The Down Home (downhome.com) is a great place to be UBER chill. There's a little bar in the corner but it's mostly a place where you buy a pitcher, sit and listen to whoever's on stage. It's Americana-folk and some bluegrass. When big names (relatively) come through the place is packed - not fun - but on an average night there's not many people there. July 31 should be a good show.

Chrome is a nightclub on Walnut St. Thursdays (I think?) is 18+ night so avoid that. It might be your scene, personally I'll never go back in there... haha.

Poor Richard's is a restaurant/gathering place for college students... good sweet tea.

Outside of downtown, there's also the obligatory Electric Cowboy (dance/night club) and Bailey's Sports Bar on North Roan and Newbie's (gay bar).

You certainly won't find what you had in Atlanta, but it might do for a bit. Most people here out at night are either redneck or emo-college. I would recommend Halo's first. Oh! and Tipton Street Pub, which is actually pretty cool. Tipton Street is a tiny street in downtown so once you find it, you'll have no trouble locating the pub, haha.


By the way, if you have a free weekend, head over to downtown Asheville (just an hour or so on I-26) on Fri or Sat evening. If you've never been there, you might be surprised. Lots to do and see.

[DubbleT]

Chilhowie Executive Apartments
This place is cozy, however the lady that runs it usually has these booked weeks in advance. Couldn't hurt to call and ask though, you might luck into a vacancy. I found the location to be very convenient, easy access to I-26, but in a nice little residential area.
Extended Stay Suites in Kingsport, Tennessee - Temporary corporate lodging, housing, furnished apartments - The Suites at Bradford Place in Kingsport Tennesse - Home Page
This was my back up choice. I talked to the people there, they were very nice, helpful. Never actually saw it though, since a vacancy came up for me at the other place first.

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by DubbleT

Chilhowie Executive Apartments
This place is cozy, however the lady that runs it usually has these booked weeks in advance. Couldn't hurt to call and ask though, you might luck into a vacancy. I found the location to be very convenient, easy access to I-26, but in a nice little residential area.
Extended Stay Suites in Kingsport, Tennessee - Temporary corporate lodging, housing, furnished apartments - The Suites at Bradford Place in Kingsport Tennesse - Home Page
This was my back up choice. I talked to the people there, they were very nice, helpful. Never actually saw it though, since a vacancy came up for me at the other place first.

It wouldn't hurt to call Chilhowie; however, I phoned them in March and they wanted a minimum 6 month lease. I thought that was ridiculous for a temp place. They have a small backyard with lawn chairs which I found charming but the owners son (acting as her agent) said that renters are not allowed to use the backyard at all. Please I promptly rented a condo, sucked it up and furnished it. This will be quite a bit further to the airport also.

[jabogitlu]

$900/mo? Jesus. For here, that's a rip.

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

$900/mo? Jesus. For here, that's a rip.

I agree! All utilities are included but still, it is overpriced. I think that they can get it because their clientele probably have an employer/company footing the bill in many cases.