Top 3 towns in Eastern Tenn (Knoxville, Cookeville: school, place to live, restaurants)

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by cdimauro

Hi...I would like to hear from people who have lived in Eastern Tennessee and could comment on their pick of the top 3 towns.

Thanks.

1. (tie) Maryville
1. (tie) Kingsport
2. Greeneville

[SPLIT]

...The OP mentioned Towns. Chatt , Knoxville , etc seem to be large Cities .
.. We could guess scenry & friendly neighbors would make for a good town . Maybe some History thrown in .?
Soddy-Daisy , ..... Tusculum ........ Jonesborough.

[Hishiad]

Why do people keep mentioning Kingsport and Maryville?


Everyone I've known that lives there has relocated because of how slim the pickings are for the job market.


Out of the places I've been I'd say my top 3 are:

1. Farragut
2. Oak Ridge (tie)
2. Chattanooga (tie)

Reasons why they top the list each place has a solid job market so there's no real need to travel outside the area.

Each place has quality schools.

Each place has a solid shopping environment (Oak Ridge is soon to get an even better setup once the mall gets revamped).

Each place is located close to other large cities, but also close to rural areas too.

Knoxville I simply hate hate hate their downtown area and all the bad streets and rundown areas. It's got a lot of variety in food sure, but I just don't see myself living dowtown and enjoying it much.


Never been to Maryville but it might be a good place I guess.

[Marcie Lanz]

Originally Posted by cdimauro

Hi...I would like to hear from people who have lived in Eastern Tennessee and could comment on their pick of the top 3 towns.

Thanks.

I live in Dandridge, 30 minutes to Knoxville, Pigeon forge and close to I-40. It's a small town with little traffic yet close to action, shopping work etc....I love it here because anything I need is at my fingertips yet I do not have to fight tourist traffic if I don't want to. We also have Douglas Lake which has 30 thousand square miles of water and 550 miles of shoreline and beautiful mountain views around almost every corner. To me it's country living at its best. I think Kodak is great too because it is even closer to action yet still very contry. I guess my third pick would be greeneville. It's also very country with the tri cities close by. Asheville NC is a town I love to visit and I'm only about an hour away.

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by Marcie Lanz

I live in Dandridge, 30 minutes to Knoxville, Pigeon forge and close to I-40. It's a small town with little traffic yet close to action, shopping work etc....I love it here because anything I need is at my fingertips yet I do not have to fight tourist traffic if I don't want to. We also have Douglas Lake which has 30 thousand square miles of water and 550 miles of shoreline and beautiful mountain views around almost every corner. To me it's country living at its best. I think Kodak is great too because it is even closer to action yet still very contry. I guess my third pick would be greeneville. It's also very country with the tri cities close by. Asheville NC is a town I love to visit and I'm only about an hour away.

I like your TN picks too Marcie. Welcome to the forum!

[yank283]

Actually it would be "East Tennessee". I know this is not correct grammer but you it's one of those things that have stuck. If you were in KY it would be "Eastern Kentucky" though. Kingsport has a lot of potential but I think the thing that really hurts it is the lack of a large university. There are only small branches of major universities (ETSU Center). Correct me if I'm wrong, but that was the way it was when I lived there. I do like how the old downtown is seeing some revitalization, better late than never. I'm also not sure how the town would stand up if Eastman Chemical company ever went under. It is by far the largest employer in the city and I think it would sorely hurt the town's economy if that ever happened. Like I said, nothing personal to anyone living there just my personal assement. I would but the best three in this order -

1. Chattanooga
2. Johnson City
3. Knoxville

[jabogitlu]

Top 3 cities in east TN is too vague. It really depends on how you break down the different parameters.

Generally I'd say Knoxville, Chattanooga and Johnson City.

[Marcie Lanz]

Originally Posted by SmokyMtnGal

I like your TN picks too Marcie. Welcome to the forum!

Thank you. I'm new at this stuff.

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by yank283

Actually it would be "East Tennessee". I know this is not correct grammer but you it's one of those things that have stuck. If you were in KY it would be "Eastern Kentucky" though. Kingsport has a lot of potential but I think the thing that really hurts it is the lack of a large university. There are only small branches of major universities (ETSU Center). Correct me if I'm wrong, but that was the way it was when I lived there. I do like how the old downtown is seeing some revitalization, better late than never. I'm also not sure how the town would stand up if Eastman Chemical company ever went under. It is by far the largest employer in the city and I think it would sorely hurt the town's economy if that ever happened. Like I said, nothing personal to anyone living there just my personal assement. I would but the best three in this order -

1. Chattanooga
2. Johnson City
3. Knoxville

The new higher education center in downtown Kingsport should be open for classes this summer. It is a 800 student facility that will include UT, ETSU, North East State, and either King or Milligan (sorry, can't remember which at the moment). I also like Washington and Sullivan counties because they offer 14 years of public education. Students who graduate from these two counties, with minimal requirements that qualify them for the lottery scholarship, can attend North East State for two years at no additional cost.
I do agree, at this point, if Eastman went under, it would about cripple Kingsport and really hurt JC and Bristol as well, but Kingsport seems to really be pushing for more of a safety net in that event, such as getting a huge FEDEX facility built and working on getting others in too. If you haven't been back to Kingsport recently, you really should visit, LOTS of changes in the past two years. I didn't care for it several years ago either, now big change. There is a lot more downtown living going on as well.
Not pushing it here, just letting you know that it has changed a bunch.

[yank283]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

The new higher education center in downtown Kingsport should be open for classes this summer. It is a 800 student facility that will include UT, ETSU, North East State, and either King or Milligan (sorry, can't remember which at the moment). I also like Washington and Sullivan counties because they offer 14 years of public education. Students who graduate from these two counties, with minimal requirements that qualify them for the lottery scholarship, can attend North East State for two years at no additional cost.
I do agree, at this point, if Eastman went under, it would about cripple Kingsport and really hurt JC and Bristol as well, but Kingsport seems to really be pushing for more of a safety net in that event, such as getting a huge FEDEX facility built and working on getting others in too. If you haven't been back to Kingsport recently, you really should visit, LOTS of changes in the past two years. I didn't care for it several years ago either, now big change. There is a lot more downtown living going on as well.
Not pushing it here, just letting you know that it has changed a bunch.

Nice to hear about the new Fed Ex facility. There has been a lot of change, in the good way, to Kingsport in the last two years. It's really coming into it's own. Also, the Sullivan County public schools do have an excellent reputation and the teachers are some of the highest paid in the state.