Road construction info? (Knoxville, Bristol, Elizabethton: for sale, foreclosures, rental)

[MtnRetire]

Hey all,

Hubby and I are coming in late June to scout possible areas to buy and enjoy our retirement (18 mos. away). We've already reserved a house for an eight day stay while we investigate, but I'm looking for a little extra insight from locals. We'll be entering TN through Bristol. Is there now, or scheduled between now and early July, road construction on 40 or 321? We plan to look at Townsend (where the tv show Christie was filmed - I'm a big fan), Walland and Wears Valley in general. Other areas of interest are up around Elizabethton and Rogersville.

I'm not one to hang out at YouTube but when I did a site search for 'Townsend' about eleven videos came up that claimed to document extensive ongoing vandalism, all night barking and other disturbances to the 'peaceful side of the Smokies'. Does anyone know if there's any truth to these videos or is the best guess that it's someone with a gripe/grudge?

Thanks in advance for any response, help or insight.

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by MtnRetire

Hey all,

Hubby and I are coming in late June to scout possible areas to buy and enjoy our retirement (18 mos. away). We've already reserved a house for an eight day stay while we investigate, but I'm looking for a little extra insight from locals. We'll be entering TN through Bristol. Is there now, or scheduled between now and early July, road construction on 40 or 321? We plan to look at Townsend (where the tv show Christie was filmed - I'm a big fan), Walland and Wears Valley in general. Other areas of interest are up around Elizabethton and Rogersville.

I'm not one to hang out at YouTube but when I did a site search for 'Townsend' about eleven videos came up that claimed to document extensive ongoing vandalism, all night barking and other disturbances to the 'peaceful side of the Smokies'. Does anyone know if there's any truth to these videos or is the best guess that it's someone with a gripe/grudge?

Thanks in advance for any response, help or insight.

Hi MtnRetire,

Welcome to the forum!

There is major construction on I-40 in Knoxville. There are detours that are clearly marked and very easy to navigate. If you are coming down through Bristol you will be on I-81 until you get to the split that dumps you onto 40. If you are planning on trips to Rogersville you will want to check State Highway 11W and Elizabethton, I-26. The state of TN website has a lot of info on road construction. Here is the link: TDOT SmartWay Information System - Tennessee Department of Transportation or this one: http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/
I live near 321 and the road is great; I doubt that there will be any construction in June.

You picked a perfect time to visit if you are a Christy fan. There is a ChristyFest every year in late June. Here is the link to that event: ChristyFest

As far as crime, yes, there is some. The areas you mentioned are ripe with second homes or vacation homes and that makes for easy targets. There is a meth problem in Blount County (like everywhere else) and that is where the majority of the crime comes from; unfortunately. The area is certainly not awful but it pays to know your neighbors, be smart about your activities, etc. There are people that work around here checking on homes, etc. and that helps deter some crime.

There are a lot of foreclosures, and pre-foreclosures for sale in the areas you mentioned. The second home/rental home market has dropped significantly around here. You should be able to find something here for a very good price.

Hope this helps. There are some older threads on these areas if you care to take a look through Advanced Search on the Navigation bar above. Have a great and safe trip.

[MtnRetire]

Thank you so much, SmokyMtnGal! Thank you for the TDOT link and for the road info. Will definitely check out TDOT numerous times before we leave. Christyfest is the week before we arrive.

The Townsend problems I mentioned hearing on youtube seemed more nuisance than criminal but I hear you about the meth problem. Crime respects no boundaries and no line is uncrossable. Today's paper (here) told of a Sunday (yesterday) mid-morning knock on the door. Two young men asked to come in to call the police because their car had been broken into and robbed. Alert homeowner declined but offered to call the police for them. They took off instead. Homeowner called police and when the car was located, the police found ski masks and quite a few weapons. Where I live is definitely not considered high crime by a *long* shot, but it sounds like 'high crime' is exactly what those two jacka**es had in mind. Like I said...no boundaries, no line uncrossable.

We are hoping for a peaceful, relaxing retirement. You wouldn't happen to have a road map to Utopia, would you?

[Beretta]

If I had a map to Utopia I assure you I would not be here on this forum but instead....there!

As far as "nuisance" problems in Townsend, I don't hear much. However, I have a son in law enforcement and so I will ask him to check around. It really is a pretty nice area you are looking to visit so I wouldn't worry too much.

Sorry you will miss Christyfest but it does sound like you will be in town for my birthday! If you have any other questions please ask.

[NJDevil]

Whoever you reserved the house with, maybe you could find out from them how many foreclosed (abandoned) homes are around it. Is it in a development, or by itself? I'm sure you won't be happy or at ease if you arrive at the house and find out that the neighboring homes were broken into. Now, if this person tells you everything is fine, it's a nice neighborhood, blah blah, of course they may be lying. You could direct-message SmokyMtnGal with the address, and either she or her son could check out the street. Plenty of others on this forum (including myself) would not mind checking it out either, as we enjoy a ride to Townsend every now and then. Some good restaurants there!

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by NJDevil

Whoever you reserved the house with, maybe you could find out from them how many foreclosed (abandoned) homes are around it. Is it in a development, or by itself? I'm sure you won't be happy or at ease if you arrive at the house and find out that the neighboring homes were broken into. Now, if this person tells you everything is fine, it's a nice neighborhood, blah blah, of course they may be lying. You could direct-message SmokyMtnGal with the address, and either she or her son could check out the street. Plenty of others on this forum (including myself) would not mind checking it out either, as we enjoy a ride to Townsend every now and then. Some good restaurants there!

Yep, be happy to do a ride by and even snap pics if needed. I do this frequently via DM for folks. You (or I) can also call the police and ask them for history of problems at the residence and the neighborhood.

Of course, when looking to buy I looked at the sex offender registry and everything else I could get my hands on. LOL. False sense of security?!

I also like looking up property on google maps or maps.live.com.

[mbmouse]

My folks live in Rogersville and I am only about 40 minutes away, there quite a bit. It, as any town does, too has some crime/drug issues as well, but not many break-ins. Well, there have been some, but they always seem to be by someone known to the owner of the home. They knew what was in the house to steal and sell for drugs. Quite a bit of domestic stuff too, but still, depending on where you are coming from, some new folks laugh when "crime" is talked about. From what I see and live, if you aren't into meth or some other kind of drug, you just don't see or feel like there is much of any crime at all.

[MtnRetire]

Originally Posted by NJDevil

Whoever you reserved the house with, maybe you could find out from them how many foreclosed (abandoned) homes are around it. Is it in a development, or by itself? I'm sure you won't be happy or at ease if you arrive at the house and find out that the neighboring homes were broken into. Now, if this person tells you everything is fine, it's a nice neighborhood, blah blah, of course they may be lying. You could direct-message SmokyMtnGal with the address, and either she or her son could check out the street. Plenty of others on this forum (including myself) would not mind checking it out either, as we enjoy a ride to Townsend every now and then. Some good restaurants there!

Are you from NJ or just a Devils fan? I'm curious because we're coming to TN from NJ. The home we rented for June is the same one we rented for our 2001 vacation. From the pics I've seen on the web it's exactly the same as it looked then (the pics held true the first time so I'm hoping!), including only a few neighbors. It's in the Walden's Creek, Bluff Mtn. area (off Goose Gap Road). I don't know the exact address (rental companies don't give that to you until you sign in), only how the company refers to it (area and house 'name'). But I'm pretty sure there's been a lot of building in that general area. We were going to rent a place in Townsend but after reading a few posts about the drive up and down the mountain, because we plan to be on the road 'scouting' quite a bit in different parts of E.TN, well, we changed our minds. Maybe staying in PF will save a little time, maybe not. It just seemed more centrally located for our short stay.

And I'm always interested in good restaurants!

Originally Posted by SmokyMtnGal

Yep, be happy to do a ride by and even snap pics if needed. I do this frequently via DM for folks. You (or I) can also call the police and ask them for history of problems at the residence and the neighborhood.

Of course, when looking to buy I looked at the sex offender registry and everything else I could get my hands on. LOL. False sense of security?!

I also like looking up property on google maps or maps.live.com.

Thank you! This forum is such a great place! I'm hoping it's as quiet there as it was in 2001 but who knows? The rental company has our rental listed as 'Crestview' (with a #) but I don't know why - it's not on Crestview St, Rd. or anything like it. I can DM you the chalet name and the 'Crestview' # if you like. I'm guessing the 'Crestview' is a designated area. I'm stumped.

The sex offender registry is a great idea and I've added that to my list of things to check out. I, too, do the google earth if I see a home that interests me. Sometimes it's helpful, sometimes it's confusing.

Originally Posted by mbmouse

My folks live in Rogersville and I am only about 40 minutes away, there quite a bit. It, as any town does, too has some crime/drug issues as well, but not many break-ins. Well, there have been some, but they always seem to be by someone known to the owner of the home. They knew what was in the house to steal and sell for drugs. Quite a bit of domestic stuff too, but still, depending on where you are coming from, some new folks laugh when "crime" is talked about. From what I see and live, if you aren't into meth or some other kind of drug, you just don't see or feel like there is much of any crime at all.

Most towns now have some level of drug problems - even our small, quiet, 'NOT high crime' town. It's there, if you care to look - NOT ME! I do like the idea, feel and lifestyle of 'there isn't much crime at all'. Our kind of town. Quiet, peaceful, roll up the sidewalks type of sleepy town.