Greene County, TN versus Roanoke, VA area (Johnson City, Kingsport: sales, car insurance)

[bobbyandamanda03]

My husband and I are looking into moving to one of two places: North East TN, Or Mid-Western VA. I did some research on the Roanoke area of VA and now I'm just starting to look into Greene County, TN. Here is what we are looking for: a 3 bed/2 bath (w/basement) house with some land (between 2-10 acres), but not too far from shopping (supermarket, ect) with mountain views. Looking for friendly community to raise a family. (By the way, we're coming from Jersey, so anything will probably be better than here!) I'm also interested in certain facts like sales and property taxes for both states and if possible some other info like car ins (2002 Jetta, maybe some one has one?) and just whatever else would be useful. Thank you!

[Ridgerunner]

Hello, Amanda. I was a longtime Virginia resident but have lived in East Tennessee the last 12 years. In my opinion, Greene County is preferable to Roanoke by far. Land and home prices are lower here and the winter climate is somewhat milder. I don't know about car insurance rates. Virginia does have much lower sales taxes (none at all on food and drugs), but they have a state income tax whereas Tennessee does not. Virginia also has an annual personal property tax and annual inspection fee on vehicles which we don't have here. Roanoke is considerably larger than Greeneville and would offer more local amenities. A happy medium for you might be the Tri-Cities (Bristol-Kingsport-Johnson City) region. It has a larger population than Roanoke but is spread over a larger area. Best wishes.

[bobbyandamanda03]

I'm just starting to look into TN so any info on any counties (that are north east, by the virginia/north carolina borders) would be great. What about Church Hill? I'd like to live about 20-30 minutes from a small city area, but not completely out in the country... we are looking for a house like the one I described but for around 100 to 175,000.

[AppalachianAngler]

Church Hill is a pretty good area. Very close to Kingsport (10 miles from CH to Kingsport) and Bristol, TN/VA. Greene County is a great area with a lot of options. It is huge, so it all depends on where you want to be. In the southern part of the county, it is very rural and you will be very far from Greeneville & Johnson City. But this part also contains some great mountain views as well (although basically the whole county has great mountain views). However, if you look in the North & Northeastern part of the county, there should be plenty of land and it is not far at all from Johnson City, which should cover all your shopping and other needs. You may even want to look at Washington County.

Honestly I would not even compare Roanoke to Greene County. They are totally different. Roanoke is a fairly large city (much bigger than any city in Northeast TN) while Greene County & Greeneville are not. So, it sounds like to me, if you want to be 20-30 minutes from a small city Greene County would be perfect & a lot cheaper than Roanoke.

Good luck

[bobbyandamanda03]

Is Roanoke one of the more expensive places to live? and I wasn't only looking into Roanoke, but all the surrounding areas (like Floyd and Franklin counties...) Thank you all for responding! I appreciate your time and info!

[mbmouse]

I don't know about the VA counties you are asking about but I can tell you that you will be hard pressed to find over 5 acre property with a 3/2, basement anywhere around Tri-Cities for 100k and still be a short drive to a city. Maybe 1-2 acres for 130's. You may have to decide that either less acres or longer drive to major shopping to find what you are looking for. However, I think you were on the right track with Church hill area, but you might have to go a bit further to Surgoinsville, Fall Branch or Bailington to find the over 5 acre and a house like you described for under 175k.
Hope that helps!

[AppalachianAngler]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

I don't know about the VA counties you are asking about but I can tell you that you will be hard pressed to find over 5 acre property with a 3/2, basement anywhere around Tri-Cities for 100k and still be a short drive to a city. Maybe 1-2 acres for 130's. You may have to decide that either less acres or longer drive to major shopping to find what you are looking for. However, I think you were on the right track with Church hill area, but you might have to go a bit further to Surgoinsville, Fall Branch or Bailington to find the over 5 acre and a house like you described for under 175k.
Hope that helps!

I agree, you may have to live at least 45+ minutes from decent shopping if you want that much land for that cheap (even then I think it'd be hard to find). Also, although I cannot comment on the specifics about Roanoke and its surrounding area & costs, I'd just imagine it would be even higher than Northeast TN because it is a lot bigger. But, you may want to check on the Virginia board if you haven't already - I'm sure someone would know there.

Just for clarification, it is Baileyton, TN and it is in Greene County.

[mbmouse]

Thanks Angler! Spelling has never been my strong suit! And when I get to typing fast, forget it! LOL!!!
And for some odd reason, my computer spell checker doesn't recognize that name either hehehehehhee