Info for Johnson City (Kingsport, Bristol: appointed, for sale by owner, real estate)

[Michgoner]

New person to this forum . My Wife and I want to visit the area , sometime this Summer . We will be looking at possibly re-locating to this area from Florida . A couple of quick questions . We want to know , if the area around the Best Western in Johnson City is a safe , or good area of town . Interested in looking for rental place , apartments or home . Will we find a good place , for between $400 to $600 a month .Want to rent first. We will be looking for a place to live permantly , someplace , with at least an acre of land and sort of rural setting . Like fishing and gardening , that is what caught My interest in this area of Tenessee .

[mbmouse]

Hello, Welcome it City-Data Forum!
Yes, the area around the Best Western is safe however, it is a tough place to get out of road wise. We only have a few places that bother me traffic wise, but I honestly do not like that ramp system on and off 26 right there at Roan St and that is right about where the entrance to the Best Western is. I will suggest that you always go right out of the parking lot and turn around down the road at the car dealership, do not make a left turn out of there. Other than that, it does seem like a nice place to stay.
Not sure if you will find much to rent in the $400 range, but as you get closer to the $600 range you should be ok. Keep an eye on the newspapers. No NOT use the rental agency in JC that charges you a $50 fee for them to look for you, that is a scam. unfortunately, I don't know of any other agencies in JC but I do know of one in Kingsport that has several rentals that are good honest people. They might have a few in JC. PM me if you want their contact info.
When are you planning your trip for?

[Michgoner]

Thank You mbmouse . We will be there towards the end of July or early August . Have our house for sale in Florida now . Waiting for it to sell. Market is slow here , as everywhere . I have been looking on this site for a couple of weeks and decided to start using it . Been reading your posts and have gotten lot's of valuable info from them . I have seen some apartments around KingsPort that looked nice , at least from the websites. Looking forward to visiting the area .

[pdwalker]

Best Western is in an excellent part of town. Very central location & convenient access to I-26.

Let me know if I can help in anyway.

I'm a lifelong resident of Johnson City.

[GrannyLois]

I agree with Pdwalker, I think Best Western is a good choice, too, as a base for your explorations of the area.

As far as cost of housing, people seem to assume that things are dirt-cheap here, but they're not. I hope you won't be disappointed. I noticed that there were several 'for sale by owner' homes for sale on 91N, out past Elizabethton. And that's more rural than Johnson City, too, yet, very close by.

[Michgoner]

Thanks GrannyLois . I know that the homes and rent are not dirt-cheap in Tri-City area . Have to laugh , because looking in the ads in the newspapers , the prices and taxes and insurance is way cheaper, then what they are in Florida . What I have seen here and on the webpages , Elizabethton looks like an ideal place . I know , We have to come and see for ourselves . Pictures always look great .

[jm17]

I stayed at the best western in february. It was fine. Getting in and out of the parking lot was a little hairy but could be done with some caution. As to taxes. I looked at house in Washington county with taxes that were $1200 a year. The real estate agent asked me if they we too high as they had just gone up a bit. I took the listing from her and added a zero to the end and told her that what I pay now. She was quite taken aback.

[Michgoner]

Sounds good jm17 . The wife and I will be there around the first of September. We were going to come to the Tri-city area in August , but figured it would be busy with the races in Bristol . mbmouse want to thank you on all of your posts and pictures of the area . We have subscribed to the newspaper , and seen some places to rent , that looks good . Wow just need to get this place in Florida sold . Will update after we get to Tennessee .

[mbmouse]

Glad I could help.
A note on the Taxes, that $1200 tax bill was City and County taxes combined. Drive 10 minutes in any direction and you will be in the county and cut that tax bill almost in half!
Yea, compared to FL taxes, it is peanuts here. But it is what you are used to, lots of folks here don't want taxes going up, to them they are high as they are higher than they were 10-15 years ago. Good news is it seems to me they have put that tax money to good use in the past. IE: making main roads multi lained even though they aren't realy busy at the time and set up for more stop lights if needed. Building more schools before the current ones get over crowded. I have no problems paying taxes but when I paid them in FL, seemed like I received no services in return, I feel like I get my moneys worth here.

[dreamofmonterey]

Originally Posted by jm17

I stayed at the best western in february. It was fine. Getting in and out of the parking lot was a little hairy but could be done with some caution. As to taxes. I looked at house in Washington county with taxes that were $1200 a year. The real estate agent asked me if they we too high as they had just gone up a bit. I took the listing from her and added a zero to the end and told her that what I pay now. She was quite taken aback.

The property taxes here are great. Coming from Florida you will see the difference. We saved $1,000.00 on car insurance also. I am in Johnson City; good luck with your move.