Kingsport or JC (Johnson City, Bristol, Colonial Heights: home, to buy, school districts)

[leaving colorado]

Which is nicer? Which has more to do for kids? If you had to choose which one and why?

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by leaving colorado

Which is nicer? Which has more to do for kids? If you had to choose which one and why?

The answer depends on you and your personal preferences. Live in Gray and experience the best of both cities!

PS. If you care to tell us more about you we might have more specific answers.

[leaving colorado]

Originally Posted by Beretta

The answer depends on you and your personal preferences. Live in Gray and experience the best of both cities!

PS. If you care to tell us more about you we might have more specific answers.

My husband and I are in the 25-35 age.We have a 5yr old that gets bored very easily.I love a latte every now and then.Mostly interested in family things to do.We arent to big on the bar scene,but a nice bar to have a drink at is always a plus.We want to buy land.Not much an acre or two.I love to shop....mainstream.Stores such as Macy's,J C penney,T J maxx.We like to camp,fish,hunt.We are originlly from West TN.We didnt like it so much.Moved to Colorado,its lovely here,but not ideal.East TN seems nice.Just not sure which town.Good schools are a plus as well,we have a 7yr old with autism.Hope this helps.

[rccrain]

For me, Johnson City, but Kingsport is catching up in some ways. I think you'd be happy in either. Get into the Sullivan South (Colonial Heights/Fall Branch) or Daniel Boone (Gray/Boones Creek) school districts and I think you can have everything you want within a 20 minute drive ... except Macy's.

[jabogitlu]

No Macy's east of Nashville or west of Charlotte, or north of Atlanta.

Otherwise, Johnson City sounds like a nice place for you. It's the typical American burb town, without the larger city near it. Kingsport is catching up in leaps and bounds but to me lacks the "diverse" tone that Johnson City has (not saying that Johnson City is incredibly diverse, but it beats Kingsport.)

[JakilaTheHun]

Originally Posted by rccrain

For me, Johnson City, but Kingsport is catching up in some ways. I think you'd be happy in either. Get into the Sullivan South (Colonial Heights/Fall Branch) or Daniel Boone (Gray/Boones Creek) school districts and I think you can have everything you want within a 20 minute drive ... except Macy's.

I would vehemently disagree on Daniel Boone. It is a one of the most backwards schools I've ever encountered. I only wish I had had the opportunity to go to Science Hill, University, or even Dobyns-Bennett instead. The education one gets at Boone is a joke.

Essentially, if you're not white, Christian, and very conservative, there's a decent possibility you're going to be treated differently. I actually was given an "F" in a class I had 99 average in, for pretty much no reason. Supposedly, I had "too many absences", but 100% of them were excused and I had a tonsillectomy.

Teachers were supposed to waive absences if excused, but one of the teachers decided he didn't have to for me (but apparently he did for others who didn't even have excuses). When I complained, the Principal said it was up to "teacher discretion" in spite of the fact that (a) it was not and (b) why would you fail someone with a 99 average just b/c they had their tonsils removed?

The same teacher that "failed me" regularly engaged in sexual harassment of attractive female students. He's probably still there. He's a coach, so it seems like people don't really care that he engages in this stuff.

Had one "Biology" teacher (who actually had virtually no background in Biology and was supposed to be a History teacher) who refused to teach evolution.

School prayer is regularly held in spite of the fact that it's a public school, rather than a private Christian school.


There are some good teachers there, but it's the exception rather than the rule. More than anything, though, it's not the teachers that made it awful when I was there --- it was the administration. They were completely hands-off and didn't really seem to care if things were going correctly. It was almost like they were afraid of stepping on anyone's toes.

I'd say if you're kid wants to go to college, don't send them to Daniel Boone. Science Hill, Dobyns-Bennett, University, and maybe some of the Sullivan County high schools are much better. That's just my opinion, but I think my opinion is also fairly reflective of college academia in most of the nation.

Of course, maybe it's changed in the past 10 years --- I honestly don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if most of the same issues exist. The good news is that some of the Washington County lower-level secondary schools are actually pretty good. Boones Creek Elementary is excellent. I've heard that Gray is also quite a good school. Boones Creek Middle is alright. But Daniel Boone is a joke.

[jabogitlu]

I know that some others will disagree, but I agree with you 100%. I would never send my child to a school like Boone. Actually I wouldn't send my child to any high school in NETN except Science Hill or Dobyns-Bennett. (Or University, but it's a bit different.) I grew up in Chuckey-Doak so I know exactly what you're talking about.

[JakilaTheHun]

Originally Posted by leaving colorado

My husband and I are in the 25-35 age.We have a 5yr old that gets bored very easily.I love a latte every now and then.Mostly interested in family things to do.We arent to big on the bar scene,but a nice bar to have a drink at is always a plus.We want to buy land.Not much an acre or two.I love to shop....mainstream.Stores such as Macy's,J C penney,T J maxx.We like to camp,fish,hunt.We are originlly from West TN.We didnt like it so much.Moved to Colorado,its lovely here,but not ideal.East TN seems nice.Just not sure which town.Good schools are a plus as well,we have a 7yr old with autism.Hope this helps.

I'd say you'd be alright with either Johnson City or Kingsport simply based on that.

There are some minor differences between JC and K'port. Johnson City is a college town. ETSU doesn't "dominate" the city per se, but you can tell a slight difference in the culture in Johnson City; especially once you get to the south side of town. I'd also think of JC as more "white-collar" and "urbane". Kingsport is the home of Eastman Chemical and Eastman Kodak, so you might say it's more "blue collar"

Johnson City is closer to the North Carolina mountains and Asheville. Kingsport is closer to the Southwest Virginia mountains. Personally, I think the TN/NC border is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, so I liked being relatively close when I lived there. Southwest Va. is nice, too, though but I guess I always preferred the NC mountains and parks.

You said a "bar scene" wasn't too important, but JC is probably miles ahead of K'port on that front. Of course, this goes back to demographic differences since JC is the home to a large university.

Other than that, I don't think there are huge differences. You should have access to stores and have potential for good family activities in either city. The entire Tri-Cities area is surrounded by nature, so you're set on that front, as well.

[rccrain]

Sorry you had a bad experience Jak, but the only Sullivan HS that can even compare to Daniel Boone is South. I know Central and East very well and there's just no way I'd send my kid there. My concern with any of the city schools would be that they are just too big.

[mbmouse]

I totally disagree with the above statements about Daniel Boone being a bad school. You said it was 10 years ago when you went there Jakila? A lot has changed evidently. My (now) 23 year old step son graduated from there with a full academic scholarship, I have one son who is a senior and one who is a freshman there this year. Daniel Boone is a VERY good school. It has many programs such as the JROTC, TSA, BETA, TOSHA and others, Daniel Boone places high in some of those groups state competitions. There are just about every sport accounted for and several of those, such as track, cross country and baseball are always up there in the top as far as the team to beat. They have duel enrollment with North East State too.
The teachers and administration to me has always seem very active and involved with a students education. I am sorry you had a bad experience when you attended, but I can attest that it is now a VERY good school.
Personally I would not send my kids to Science Hill, but that is a personal choice due to it's size and inner city issues, not because it is a bad school.
Leaving Colorado, I agree with raccin, I think you would be happy with somewhere in the middle of JC and Kingsport, or towards Bristol like in the Piney Flats area. Tough to buy and acre or two in the city limits that is affordable, but just outside is doable. Your kids are still young too, the new Ridgeview school in gray is fabulous! The IEP teacher there, Mrs. Music will do wonders for your child with Autism too. She is fantastic.