When jobs & schools are not an issue...what is the best town to retire to in TN ? (Johnson City: hotel, house)

[DADDYO49]

..........In my quest for the best retirement town in TN;....As a retiree who will be no longer seeking a job or schools for children.......What is the best Town ( County ) to retire to in TN ?.......Although I have not yet visited TN; I feel like I would be " partial " to East TN; but I would be welcome to any suggestions re: retirement " friendly " areas with low/affordable housing and cost of living + good quality hospitals/healthcare ??? I don't require large property & all of my children are grown-up & on their own........

[mbmouse]

You my opinion on this is either Greeneville or Rogersville areas. My folks retired near Rogersville and they LOVE it! But it really depends what you like to do in your retirement years. Fish? Golf? Travel? Flea Market junkies? Plays and shows? Shop till ya drop? Volunteer? Sit on the front porch in the rocker and watch the grass grow and sunsets?
Give us an idea of your hobbies, likes and dislikes and maybe you will get some more opinions based on those?
Just a thought.

[DADDYO49]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

You my opinion on this is either Greeneville or Rogersville areas. My folks retired near Rogersville and they LOVE it! But it really depends what you like to do in your retirement years. Fish? Golf? Travel? Flea Market junkies? Plays and shows? Shop till ya drop? Volunteer? Sit on the front porch in the rocker and watch the grass grow and sunsets?
Give us an idea of your hobbies, likes and dislikes and maybe you will get some more opinions based on those?
Just a thought.

.......Thanks......Neither my wife or I golf; however we both enjoy Fishing + shop till ya drop ( my wife would love to shop for art & crafts/antiques + malls; I'll settle for " Big Lots " ) + Our " Travel " Trips have consisted of Cruises or Casinos ( I guess that's pretty limited in TN ) + we both like the idea of sitting on a porch surrounded by Mountains & Trees.....I have been considering retiring to Greeneville; but was wondering what other Towns may be similar ( as good or better ) ????

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by MRDOOWOP

....... Our " Travel " Trips have consisted of Cruises or Casinos ( I guess that's pretty limited in TN )

Harrah's Cherokee isn't that far a drive from Greenville. I went there last year from Asheville, NC. It's right in the Smokies (in Cherokee, NC). I would be farther away in Oak Ridge and that's a 2hr 23 minute drive, If you were in Greeneville it would be about a 2 hour drive and I'm going to guess that's pretty close to how long it takes you to get to Atlantic City, now.

If you visit for a decent amount of time, you might really enjoy the drive to spend a day there because you would be in the mountains, There's a museum in the town, too. The casino has a hotel.

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Harrah's Cherokee isn't that far a drive from Greenville. I went there last year from Asheville, NC. It's right in the Smokies (in Cherokee, NC). I would be farther away in Oak Ridge and that's a 2hr 23 minute drive, If you were in Greeneville it would be about a 2 hour drive and I'm going to guess that's pretty close to how long it takes you to get to Atlantic City, now.

If you visit for a decent amount of time, you might really enjoy the drive to spend a day there because you would be in the mountains, There's a museum in the town, too. The casino has a hotel.

As a side note to LauraC's great information.........Cherokee casino is the only casino I have ever been in that is dry. but it is a pritty good cassino other wise.

[insanesmooch]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

As a side note to LauraC's great information.........Cherokee casino is the only casino I have ever been in that is dry. but it is a pritty good cassino other wise.

Do they give out free Pepsi like the one in the St. Louis area?

[mbmouse]

Casino in Cherokee,....Yes they push the soda and coffee, you can walk over and get it and they have girls walking around with it.

Originally Posted by MRDOOWOP

.......Thanks......Neither my wife or I golf; however we both enjoy Fishing + shop till ya drop ( my wife would love to shop for art & crafts/antiques + malls; I'll settle for " Big Lots " ) + Our " Travel " Trips have consisted of Cruises or Casinos ( I guess that's pretty limited in TN ) + we both like the idea of sitting on a porch surrounded by Mountains & Trees.....I have been considering retiring to Greeneville; but was wondering what other Towns may be similar ( as good or better ) ????

You might want to look more to Pinney Flats or Blountville, Jonesborough, Gray, Sulpher Springs. Reason I suggest those: Based on all that you say you want to do, you might want to be in a bit more centralized location to all the towns I will list below as they all have BUNCHES of main street type crafty shops, antique shops, galleries and/or malls. Greeneville has some of that AND a Big Lots but it is rather limited as far as those shops go and on the west end of these "shopping towns" but if you look to these other areas, it is only a short dive in each direction to get to the towns with what you are wanting to do in your retirement. Plus in these towns above, you can find the fishing, mountains, woods and a house with a front porch to view it from. AND closer to Interstate 26,which brings you NC coast line to pick up a cruise ship or Tri Cities airport to fly out to the port of call. There are also many more hospitals, Dr's and Specialists to choose from in the Tri-Cites area.

Towns with bunches of "shop till ya drop" (commercial) Mall and Big Lot's style:
Jonson City, Kingsport, Asheville NC
Towns with "Shop till ya drop",(Mom and Pop, locally owned) antique to boutique style:
Johnson City, Kingsport, Elizabethton, Greeneville, Jonesborough,
Rogersville, Bristol, Asheville NC and Abington VA.

Hope that helps!

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by insanesmooch

Do they give out free Pepsi like the one in the St. Louis area?

I don't remember, to be honest. I don't drink, either, so I didn't notice it was dry. I do know I got a giveaway the first and only day I was there, the people were extremely friendly that worked there and there was some slot game called Lock and Roll, or something like that, that freezes some reels, that I never encountered anywhere else, and that I never really got the hang of when betting.

Plus, on my way there, they shut down I-40 for a motorcycle fatality (someone fell of the back of one and was killed). I got detoured off an exit without having a clue as to where I was once I was off the Interstate and it was foggy and still morning dark. I stopped at a roadside restaurant parking lot and was sitting in my car, looking at my map, when a nice southern gentleman, tapped on my window and asked if he could help. I told him what happened and he directed me how to get back on the highway, 2 exits beyond the roadblock. That would have never happened on LI or in the town I live in now in Maryland. It made a big impression on me.

One thing I don't think I've seen mentioned. For people who are coming from flat places, and have always been in flat places, one thing you see on the highways a lot in the mountains are signs that say "Runaway Truck Zone" or something like that. Apparently, if they lose control of their rigs on the mountain, and they can steer them towards these soft spots, it will help stop the trucks) Scared the bleep out of me. I also saw too many weaving tractor trailers (drivers falling asleep?) on the North Carolina side of the mountains.

[DADDYO49]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Casino in Cherokee,....Yes they push the soda and coffee, you can walk over and get it and they have girls walking around with it.



You might want to look more to Pinney Flats or Blountville, Jonesborough, Gray, Sulpher Springs. Reason I suggest those: Based on all that you say you want to do, you might want to be in a bit more centralized location to all the towns I will list below as they all have BUNCHES of main street type crafty shops, antique shops, galleries and/or malls. Greeneville has some of that AND a Big Lots but it is rather limited as far as those shops go and on the west end of these "shopping towns" but if you look to these other areas, it is only a short dive in each direction to get to the towns with what you are wanting to do in your retirement. Plus in these towns above, you can find the fishing, mountains, woods and a house with a front porch to view it from. AND closer to Interstate 26,which brings you NC coast line to pick up a cruise ship or Tri Cities airport to fly out to the port of call. There are also many more hospitals, Dr's and Specialists to choose from in the Tri-Cites area.

Towns with bunches of "shop till ya drop" (commercial) Mall and Big Lot's style:
Jonson City, Kingsport, Asheville NC
Towns with "Shop till ya drop",(Mom and Pop, locally owned) antique to boutique style:
Johnson City, Kingsport, Elizabethton, Greeneville, Jonesborough,
Rogersville, Bristol, Asheville NC and Abington VA.

Hope that helps!

.....After going to Atalntic City & Las Vegas; to be honest; the thought of a " dry " casino doesn't appeal to me at all. I went to one once in upstate New York ( Turning Stone ) and did not care for it at all....HOWEVER;......Good Hospitals are important to me ...Am I correct in presuming that there are Good Hospitals throughout Sullivan County ?? I think that Bristol & Kingsport are in Sullivan County ??...Are there good Hospitals in Bristol & Kingsport ?? Are there any other good retirement towns ( with good hospitals ) in Sullivan County ?? If so, what towns are recommended ?

[mbmouse]

Here is a list of the Hospitals in the Tri-Cities area.
Just a note, as your original question was about Greeneville, they have two hospitals in Greeneville, Laughlin (pronounced "Lawflin") and Takoma Adventist Hospital. Both are very good, however I have noticed if there is a car accident with a critical patient, they are always flown to Johnson City. Is that only because Johnson City has the "Wings" helicopter and Greeneville doesn't? Not sure. I have also heard of people that have heart issues are also transfered to Johnson City from Greeneville hospitals.
Back to the list.
Sullivan County, Kingsport:
Holston Valley Hospital which is run by Welmont
Indian Path Medical Center which is run by Mountain States Health Alliance

Bristol:
Bristol Regional run by Welmont

Johnson City:
Johnson City Medical Center (Hospital), run by Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA)
North side Hospital, run by MSHA

The above are very large hospitals you can look up there web sites at these two links by who they are run by:
http://www.msha.com/
http://www.wellmont.org/

There are also several smaller specialty hospitals and rehabilitation centers around this region as well.
From the list of towns I gave you in the last post, Piney Flats and Blountville are in Sullivan county. But to give you an idea, I could drive from Johnson City Medical in Johnson City to Holston Valley in Kingsport in about 30 minutes. So any of those towns would be within short driving distance to all of these medical facilities.

Just to give you a complete (I think I got them all) Tri-Cities area listing of hospitals, there are a few more.
Sycamore Shoals Hospital in Elizabethton
Hawkins County Memorial in Rogersville
Unicoi Memorial Hospital in Erwin

I believe the two largest, with the most on staff specialists of all these hospitals are Johnson City Medical center and Holston Valley.