Life in Morristown (or surrounding areas) (Knoxville, Sevierville: violent crime, high schools, salary)

[siamesecat]

I recently went through a series of interviews with an agency in Morristown, and they were very positive. I've looked at photos of the city, and read the posts on here. The photos look lovely, and I am impressed by the number of parks in the city, as well as the "second story" sidewalks that you have. I'm also impressed by the number of community festivals and street fairs; it seems the city has a great deal of community spirit.

Reports on the school systems have been varied. I've read some good, some bad. I am particularly interested in the middle and high schools. Can anyone comment on the schools? What about Advanced Placement Courses?

Older posts have indicated that there were a number of concerns about crime in the area, and Mexican illegals. Is this still an issue? Are the Mexican illegals primarily migrant farm workers, who would move on when the growing season is over?

I also wonder about activities for teenagers in the area, and the availability of summer jobs for teens. What about other family oriented activities, health care, and community acceptance of northerners? I have passed through the area when we have been in TN, but am much more familiar with Gatlinburg and Sevierville. How are the mountain views?

My other concern is most likely silly, but.....when I looked for pics of the city, one of them showed a man in a housing development holding a dead 6 foot long rattlesnake. Being phobic of snakes, I worried about this. With it being a city, I would not imagine rattlesnakes sunning themselves on the sidewalk (kind of like visiting the Okefenokee Swamp & seeing gators on the sidewalk , but are they pretty common in Morristown and the surrounding smaller towns?

Any/all info is greatly appreciated. I expect phone calls from a few places next week, and will need to make a major decision as far as where to relocate to.

[Barking Spider]

Do a search on past threads about Morristown.

[siamesecat]

Thank you Barking Spider, I have read all of the past posts about Morristown. I did want to know about schools, because I saw very little posted about them. I am from a very rural area, and I am sure there are more amenities in Morristown than there are her.

[RichRollin]

Morristown West is a pretty good high school. Snakes will be the least of your problems. Yes they do have a lot of Hispanics, many of which are illegal. But they always seem to mind there business. As for crime...they have a pretty bad drug problem for the size of the town. There seems to be a lot of thieves there, but that's just a Tennessee thing really. I don't think you would really have to worry very much about violent crimes, unless you're up to no good and mingling with the wrong crowd. It's a good southern town IMO. And for anything they don't have, you are pretty close to Knoxville. It's also close to two big lakes...Cherokee and Douglas. The West End of the county is by far the most desirable area. They also have some huge churches for a town that size... Not sure if that is important to you. As for healthcare...while their hospitals serve a large area/several counties, I think they are both pathetic. In fact I know for a fact they are. I did clinicals in both Lakeway and Morristown Hamblen. I've also known of numerous situations where they were grossly neglagent to patients. This isn't opinion, it's fact. You can drive 20 minutes west to Tenova in Jefferson City and get better care IMO. Or drive 50 minutes to Knoxville which is loaded with hospitals.

[JetAgeHobo]

Used to live in West End of Morristown, toward Panther Creek Park. We've since had to move out of Morristown, and we miss it terribly. As far as being accepted, one one hand I was told I was an "outsider" and would never be "one of them" on the other hand found some folks rather welcoming. My wife's Chinese and manage to make some good friends.... So there goes the outsider theory.

Yes, a good sized Hispanic population, a god percentage illegal, but seemed to be not much of a problem to us. There is a bit of a meth problem, again, never seemed affected by it.

Otherwise, loved being by the lakes, outdoors, semi-rural setting. Can get most of what you need locally, but if you want good sized malls Knoxville is very close. Plus, you can do a day at Smokies/Pigeon Forge if you want.

Thinking about eventually returning to the area and retiring there, see how it goes.

[siamesecat]

Thank you everyone. The two interviews that seemed the most promising were in Morristown, and in Brevard NC. Even though the TN agency is talking about a lower salary, I am still leaning toward TN. Not that Brevard doesn't look pretty (all those waterfalls!), but my heart belongs to TN. I like the idea of having mountain views, and being close to a lake, you get the best of both worlds!

[Flora Bunda]

It's always helpful to check out the local government and get a feel for whether or not this is important to you. You can look for a town's website, various blogs about the area, etc. Also, take a look at the local newspaper and see if they publish letters to the editor. If you want to have a voice in your local community, find out if there is an outlet for this, wherever you want to move.

[oldmanbob]

Morristown was home, born in rural Russellville area, moved to big city and loved it. Moved away to K-town years ago, but still have family there. Schools can be evaluated and housing is far less there than any of the surrounding areas. West and around the Country Club area is choice places to live and the illegal are not really that much a threat. Still visit my sister often, and would not mind moving back, but now all our gkids and family are close.