Tell me about Morristown & surrounding areas (Knoxville, Johnson City: real estate, rental)

[foster3097]

My husband has a job interview in Morristown soon. We are currently in California and want out! My dh drives 70 miles each way to work, and we are looking for a great place for our kids.
Our family is use to rural living right now- we need to drive almost 20 miles to go and do anything, Walmart, doctors, movies ect... We want to live a little closer to a city, but still have a small town rural feel.
We have 6 kids (boys-16, 14, 14 and girls- 10, 10, 4) and grandma! The boys currently attend a junior college and the girls are homeschooled, so school districts aren't a concern.

What is Morristown like? And the surrounding areas?

We will be buying a home and rental property, which cities are good for this?

Is there a city that has community sports teams, a recreation center, swimming pool (indoor or out)?

Are there jobs for teens? What is the current pay?

What are the average cost of utilities in the area, for a large home?

I assume it is a great place to garden and just about anything grows?

I hear it is a very religious and conservative area?

Do people have a southern accent? Is NE Tenn. considered southern?

Any other information you may think would be helpful, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

[mbmouse]

Hello,
I will try and answer some of your questions tomorrow as I am beat tonight from swimming with the kids all evening. Hopefully some other great folks on here will come by and answer some for you too. In the mean time, have you done a search here on the forums for Morristown? Check in the main TN and all sub forums by using the advanced search feature. There are several threads on Morristown that could be very helpful to you.
Have a good night.

[knoxgarden]

Some people here are conservative, both politically and religiously. Some people are liberals, some are a little of both. What you'll find is that everyone is very respectful of others and what they believe.
Southerners in general believe in using good manners and common courtesy and that makes life a whole lot easier.
People do have a Southern accent. It is the South. But it's not deep South like Georgia or Alabama. People here are easy to understand, compared to those states. It's sort of Southern Lite.
I live in Knoxville but have spent a lot of time in Morristown. I've got friends there. There is a junior college there -- Walter State.
Walters State Community College
Morristown is sort of the anchor for a lot of small towns in the area. The Walmart is there, Lowes, car dealerships, etc.
The Rose Center is the arts and community center.
Rose Center & Council For The Arts - Home Page
There's plenty of recreation around East Tennessee. Not sure about public pools but there are plenty of lakes, rivers, creeks and ponds, most are swimmable and boatable. Lots of hiking. The usual kids sports are played.
Teenagers work in malls, McDonalds, just like they would in California. Dollywood and the tourist places out in Gatlinburg hire a lot of teenagers for the summer.
Morristown is nice. Some old houses in town. There's plenty of open country around there. Lots of rolling hills and farms.
You need to see it for yourself. The commute wouldn't be much from anywhere near there.
I was out that way tonight visiting friends. I was driving back, 30 miles down a 2-lane highway to Knoxville. (There is an Interstate; I wasn't in the mood.) I opened the sunroof and it was all new mown grass and honeysuckle and I had jazz on the CD player. I saw about 10 other cars the whole trip. I was thinking how really, really nice it is to live in East Tennessee.

[daniellefort]

We bought some land in Newport which is about 25 minutes from Morristown. My husband will be commuting to work in Morristown. It's a fairly good sized town. Lots of businesses, dealerships, some factories, restaurants. Don't know too much other than what we saw when we drove through. One side of town was older looking and the other side more modern. The road from Newport to Morristown 11E i believe goes through a few small towns (white pine)that were very rural. I imagine most people who live between here travel to Morristown or Newport for shopping, banking and so on. Also Jefferson City is 15 minutes away which is another smaller town. We worked with a wonderful realtor from there who helped us with our property search if you'd like her name and email. She worked with us by email alot by doing searches for us on what we were looking for and sending us the listings to look at. Also closed the deal for us even through email/faxes to sign the paperwork and so forth.

[sthepoet]

Originally Posted by daniellefort

We bought some land in Newport which is about 25 minutes from Morristown. My husband will be commuting to work in Morristown. It's a fairly good sized town. Lots of businesses, dealerships, some factories, restaurants. Don't know too much other than what we saw when we drove through. One side of town was older looking and the other side more modern. The road from Newport to Morristown 11E i believe goes through a few small towns (white pine)that were very rural. I imagine most people who live between here travel to Morristown or Newport for shopping, banking and so on. Also Jefferson City is 15 minutes away which is another smaller town. We worked with a wonderful realtor from there who helped us with our property search if you'd like her name and email. She worked with us by email alot by doing searches for us on what we were looking for and sending us the listings to look at. Also closed the deal for us even through email/faxes to sign the paperwork and so forth.

quick note to you daniellefort, Thanks for the info on the realtor you used, she is AWESOME, great recommendation, again thank you so much.

[daniellefort]

Originally Posted by sthepoet

quick note to you daniellefort, Thanks for the info on the realtor you used, she is AWESOME, great recommendation, again thank you so much.

oh i'm glad you touched base with her. I know she is great isn't she? Let me know if you find what your looking for and good luck.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by foster3097

My husband has a job interview in Morristown soon. We are currently in California and want out! My dh drives 70 miles each way to work, and we are looking for a great place for our kids.
Our family is use to rural living right now- we need to drive almost 20 miles to go and do anything, Walmart, doctors, movies ect... We want to live a little closer to a city, but still have a small town rural feel.
We have 6 kids (boys-16, 14, 14 and girls- 10, 10, 4) and grandma! The boys currently attend a junior college and the girls are homeschooled, so school districts aren't a concern.

What is Morristown like? And the surrounding areas?

We will be buying a home and rental property, which cities are good for this?

Is there a city that has community sports teams, a recreation center, swimming pool (indoor or out)?

Are there jobs for teens? What is the current pay?

What are the average cost of utilities in the area, for a large home?

I assume it is a great place to garden and just about anything grows?

I hear it is a very religious and conservative area?

Do people have a southern accent? Is NE Tenn. considered southern?

Any other information you may think would be helpful, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

Officially, Morristown is 10 percent Hispanic, although locals will tell you that it's actually much higher than that. It's interesting that nowhere else in East Tennessee has such a high concentration of Hispanics as Morristown, for some reason.

I'm not making a judgment call on that. A lot of people are surprised when they go to Morristown for the first time and see the number of Spanish-speaking businesses in town. Of course, compared to many other parts of the country it's nothing unusual. But compared to the rest of East Tennessee, Morristown has an unusually large concentration of Hispanics.

According to Census statistics, Morristown/Hamblen County would actually be losing population if it weren't for the growth in its Hispanic population.

Again, I'm not saying that this is good or bad, I just want to point this out since it's so unusual compared to the rest of East Tennessee.

[Masny]

Morristown is the commercial/cultural hub for most of the area not immediately adjacent to Knoxville and Tri-Cities (Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol). Check out this website...

GoMorristown.com - Your online guide to Morristown, TN - Home


Mild four season climate, typical jobs for teens. Low cost of living (esp. taxes and housing).

Top 5 Things I like about M'town...

Low real estate taxes

Low housing costs

Mild four season weather

Beautiful lakes, nearby Smoky Mtns

Generally friendly people


Top 5 Dislikes about M'town...

Local Gov't dysfunction

Slow to change

Narrow thinking

No Starbucks, Target, major bookstore, good bakery

Non-diversified economy (it is getting better though)

Best of luck on relocation!

[knoxgarden]

Originally Posted by JMT

Officially, Morristown is 10 percent Hispanic, although locals will tell you that it's actually much higher than that. It's interesting that nowhere else in East Tennessee has such a high concentration of Hispanics as Morristown, for some reason.

I'm not making a judgment call on that. A lot of people are surprised when they go to Morristown for the first time and see the number of Spanish-speaking businesses in town. Of course, compared to many other parts of the country it's nothing unusual. But compared to the rest of East Tennessee, Morristown has an unusually large concentration of Hispanics.

According to Census statistics, Morristown/Hamblen County would actually be losing population if it weren't for the growth in its Hispanic population.

Again, I'm not saying that this is good or bad, I just want to point this out since it's so unusual compared to the rest of East Tennessee.

I don't know why anyone would be surprised. Who do you think is picking all those Grainger County tomatoes?
Migrant workers have been coming in for years. They like it and stay. There are a lot of service jobs. It's also possible to make a go of a small farm/market garden.
Unfortunately, there are some people who see this is a problem.

[daniellefort]

In support of the Hispanics though, i've seen many come in the doctors office i worked at with their 4 or 5 kids. They always have cash and they always pay their bills in full no matter how much the bills are and i've seen some pretty big bills. They are hard workers and you'd be suprised how many are NOT living on the Government because giving their address or SSN is like pulling teeth probably because they are illegally here but it's not my place to report them. Heck, i had to turn my own co-workers into collections (my boss' orders) because they wouldn't pay their bills.