Moving to Tri-Cities this summer (Johnson City, Kingsport: assessor, houses, schools)

[drex75]

We are planning a move to the Tri-Cities area this summer. We are familiar with the area but do have a few questions I was hoping you all could help answer.

I will most likely be working in the Bristol area. However, it seems schools are better in Kingsport and Johnson City. Is this correct? Would a commute from Johnson City or Kingsport to Bristol be too far? We also really like the smaller towns in between the big cities such as Blountville and Gray but their schools seem lower as well.

The smell in Kingsport is sometimes unbearable. I'm not sure if it's the Kodak plant or the paper mill but does this become tolerable?

We had looked at the Abingdon area but Virginia has income taxes and Tennessee doesn't, correct? Does Tennessee have higher property taxes to where this offsets or is it recommended to live in Tennessee to save on taxes? Our income will be high enough to where we can save some money monthly by not paying income taxes assuming property taxes are roughly the same.

I guess this is all our questions at this point, thanks for your input!

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by drex75

We are planning a move to the Tri-Cities area this summer. We are familiar with the area but do have a few questions I was hoping you all could help answer.

I will most likely be working in the Bristol area. However, it seems schools are better in Kingsport and Johnson City. Is this correct? Would a commute from Johnson City or Kingsport to Bristol be too far? We also really like the smaller towns in between the big cities such as Blountville and Gray but their schools seem lower as well.

The smell in Kingsport is sometimes unbearable. I'm not sure if it's the Kodak plant or the paper mill but does this become tolerable?

We had looked at the Abingdon area but Virginia has income taxes and Tennessee doesn't, correct? Does Tennessee have higher property taxes to where this offsets or is it recommended to live in Tennessee to save on taxes? Our income will be high enough to where we can save some money monthly by not paying income taxes assuming property taxes are roughly the same.

I guess this is all our questions at this point, thanks for your input!

I'll try to answer what I can.
Commuting may depend on what you are used to and where exactly you choose to work and live. Reasonable commute to me would be something like from the southeast side of Bristol to north side of JC or west side of Bristol to east of Kingsport, maybe twenty minutes plus however long it takes you to actually get through the traffic around the school. OTOH if you're going from the far side of one city to the far side of the other you could easily double that time. Google maps is fairly accurate with their time estimates from what I see.
I don't have schoolage kids here, but gossip tends to lean towards Science Hill as best followed by Dobyns Bennett, and Tennessee High as last, for whatever that's worth.
It's been a while but when I looked at moving here it seemed like the houses in VA were a little cheaper, but the property taxes were a little higher and it came out a wash for the most part. I decided to stick to the TN side for the 'no income tax' benefit.
I don't spend a huge amount of time in Kingsport but when I am there I haven't noticed whatever smell people on the forum mention so I can't help you there. However I have lived downwind from a paper mill and the smell could knock your socks off on certain days. I don't think you ever get used to that unless you have the misfortune of having to smell it every day.

[Serious Conversation]

Agree with DubbleT mostly.

If you are working in Bristol, TN, I don't think anywhere in Johnson City would be an "extreme commute." You can be from most places in Johnson City to most places in Bristol in half an hour. If you're commuting from Milligan to exit 7, that might be a lot for many area residents, but it's not bad compared to major cities.

You need to clarify whether you're working in Bristol. TN or Bristol, VA. If you're working in VA and living in TN, you'll still pay VA income taxes, though those taxes are deductible against your federal. If you live in VA, you also have to put up with personal property tax and vehicle inspections. I'd just live in TN if I was on a border area.

I've not known property taxes in VA to be a problem, though IMO much of the VA side is just lower class and rundown. Property values may be down, and though the millage rate may be higher, you may pay the same taxes in VA. Your best bet is to contact each county's assessor and do your own assessments for property in both states. My guess is that the difference will be minimal.

I really like Abingdon but Virginia is quickly becoming a liberal Democratic state (even though southwest VA is not) and you'll have to put up with the attendant taxes and regulations.