Knoxville VS. Johnson City move from Calif. to retire your views (Loudon: for sale, insurance)

[Noaol111]

My wife and I are looking to make the move to Tennessee to retire. I have my Social Security and VA Disability income and was wondering which is the best suited for a retired couple? My wife is a retired Licensed Vocational Nurse, some states call them Licensed Practical Nurses. She does plan on transferring her License to Tennessee in case she does need to work part time in Hospice. Could you please give me some insight as to the tax rates, weather difference, shopping, Tornadoes and medical facilities.

I am also wondering about the property taxes. In California when a house is sold the sale price becomes the new assessed value. Such as I bought my house for $60,000 in 1985 (taxes are $1300 per year) and I will sell it now for $300,000 (taxes will be $3750 per year). In Tennessee, when I buy a house for, lets say $200,000 and the tax assessment is $50,000 how are the taxes adjusted?

I want to thank you ahead of time, I can used any help you can give me.

Noaol111

[TheShadow]

Property taxes in TN vary by county, and city if you are in an incorporated city, so your property tax rate depends on exactly where the home is, because some parts of some cities fall in adjacent counties. In general, property taxes are very low in comparison to other states. Unless you owned your CA home for many years, your taxes will probably be much lower in TN, in part because the rate of taxation and the method of assessment, and also because the same home in TN is much lower in price in both of these cities. I just look a home up on Zillow in the immediate area I want to live in and there is a calculation for the property tax on every home for sale on Zillow. They are pretty close to accurate.

I can't really say which county is "better for a retired couple", because every retired couple is different. I have no idea what you would consider "better". I live in Loudon, which is near Knoxville, but I can't speak to Johnson City as I've never been there. Knoxville has very good medical facilities, including University of Tennessee Medical Center. There are other medical groups and hospitals as well, in the Covenant group, as well as Summit Group. One of these should definitely be in-network for most insurance plans. They are spread throughout the area, including surrounding counties, so anywhere near Knoxville should be within a short drive to medical facilities. There is a VA outpatient clinic in Knoxville .

Knoxville's a college town that is pretty obsessed with their college football team. There are plenty of recreational activities, civic functions, festivals, concerts, etc. It's a town that is definitely into the arts of all kinds. We have a decent theater that performs all the usual Broadway plays, and touring companies for various shows typically make a Knoxville stop, as well as having a symphony. Knoxville is a medium size city, but it, and the surrounding suburbs, are really spread out. There is a downtown core area, Market Square and Gay Street, which has been gentrified and now boasts a growing restaurant, music, and craft brewing scene. There is plentiful shopping, but probably not much that is accessible on foot. I've never used any transit system here, so I can't speak to that.

I have no way to know if any of that is relevant to you. Tornados are not a big threat in east TN. That doesn't mean we NEVER have one, but they are about as common as tornados in CA. I lived in the Sacramento area most of my life, so I can honestly attest to that. If I had to pick which city had fewer tornados, I'd say Johnson City probably has fewer. But they are rare either way. The weather in both Johnson City and Knoxville is pretty similar in terms of temperatures. Temps peak in the low 90's in summer (with moderate humidity) and drop to the low 60's at night in the summer. In winter there are a few snow storms depositing 1-8" of snow a couple times a year. Lows can get down to near zero on a few nights in winter, but are more typically hovering just above or below freezing, with daytime highs in the winter typically varying between 45 and 65 degrees.

The job market in Knoxville is strong, with many manufacturers choosing east TN because of favorable tax deals offered. With the number of medical facilities here, I would think your wife would find more opportunities in the Knoxville area.

[Serious Conversation]

Johnson City is a much smaller area of about 63,000. It has a regional state university with about 12,000 or so students, which gives it more diversity and things to do than you may expect, but it is still small compared to Knoxville. Knoxville also has the state's flagship university.

Knoxville is going to have more of everything compared to Johnson City. Medically, JC has no burn center like Knoxville does, and probably fewer specialists, etc. Knoxville has significantly more shopping options.

Cost of living is about the same.