I've heard Greeneville is one of the best places to retire to? (Knoxville: to rent, crime)

[DADDYO49]

..........I have done a great deal of internet research re: retiring to Kentucky or Tennessee. I have been searching for a Mountain Retirement Friendly Town ( not too large ) with Hospitals , Colleges, nearby Shopping and so far the one town that best seems to suit my needs appears to be Greeneville, Tennesse. Virtually everything that I have read about Greeneville seems to extoll it as a ' Paradise '.......I would love to hear from someone who has retired to Greeneville re: the pros & cons of living there ??? What is the cost of living like ? Housing Costs ? Crime Problems ? Are there any small lakes nearby ?....Please tell me what its like to live in Greenevile and is it changing ? If so, for the better or worse ??

[heathersmom]

regarding your earlier post about Greenville...isn't that funny that we have to ask "and if its changing.." because TN and NC seem to be changing and growing before our eyes--and I don't even live there--but I wonder if the data sites on the web can keep up sometimes with the influx of people...I think I read somewhere that TN's population grew last year by 40 thousand...

[TornadoAlley]

Houses are cheaper in TN. I wonder if thats why?

[mbmouse]

Greeneville is a great town to retire in! It is very historical and lots of different groups to join if you are so inclined. It has a beautiful downtown that is being revitalized. Mr Scott Niswonger, who is one of the richest men in AMerica,lives in Greene Co and his business head quarters are located here. He is the largest supporter of the town, including a new performing arts center at the high school that is now a main attraction of down town with a lot of great performances there. Yes, TN is changing as a whole, but most people, I have found, move here to enjoy the area as it is, not change it or the people, that is the key to living and loving TN!
If you need info and links to and about Greene Co TN, please email me I will be happy to get them to you.

[DADDYO49]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Greeneville is a great town to retire in! It is very historical and lots of different groups to join if you are so inclined. It has a beautiful downtown that is being revitalized. Mr Scott Niswonger, who is one of the richest men in AMerica,lives in Greene Co and his business head quarters are located here. He is the largest supporter of the town, including a new performing arts center at the high school that is now a main attraction of down town with a lot of great performances there. Yes, TN is changing as a whole, but most people, I have found, move here to enjoy the area as it is, not change it or the people, that is the key to living and loving TN!
If you need info and links to and about Greene Co TN, please email me I will be happy to get them to you.

.........Greeneville sounds like an ideal town to retire to. From what I have heard ...Housing Costs & cost of Living seem to be more reasonable than larger Cities ( such as Knoxville ) although I still don't know what Housing Costs Average in Greeneville ? I think that I would enjoy living in a rural Mountain Town ( which I presume has a lake or park in the area ) & I understand that Greeneville is a Mountain Town ?....My wife & I used to enjoy vacationing in State Parks ( with Forests & Lakes ) in upstate New York and I would imagine that it is not too dissimilar from a Tennesse Mountain Town ??

[mbmouse]

Greeneville is not a recreation mountain town like they have in the Catskills, but it does have it's similarities. You might want to look at property down HWY (says hwy, but really just a 2 lane rd) 107, also know as the Erwin hwy (yes, all Rd's here have at least 2 names! ahhaha) It is as close to what you are explaining that I can think of. Houses range from $50k for a 2 bed 1 bath older house to 500K for a few mansions that are down that rd. Yep, it really is that big of a range. That rd is backed up to the Smokies and is park land all to the south of it, yet it is rather flat, good garden soil. Another area of Greeneville you may want to look into is South Greene Co. There is more water there and if you drive to the mountains on Hwy 70, there are lots of little park areas by the rivers. Prices are a bit higher is South Greene for the same sq ft house, but it is really nice and if you like golf there is a great course in South Greene also.
Would like me to send you the names of a few Realtors? I know a really good one in Greeneville.
Hope this helps!

[DADDYO49]

Thanks for all of the Great info. re: Greeneville.........Since I'm looking for a town in East Tn with Green Mountain views in the distance + a small lake/pond in the vicinity + affordable housing + good hospitals + retirement-friendly + situated within driving distance of Shopping Malls/Outlets ( more than Wal-Mart or Big Lots )---------It seems to me that Greeneville & Bristol both appear , to the best of my knowledge, to fit the above requirements ?? As such; I would like to hear from people who live in Greeneville or Bristol to confirm or correct my images ??

[heathersmom]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Greeneville is not a recreation mountain town like they have in the Catskills, but it does have it's similarities. You might want to look at property down HWY (says hwy, but really just a 2 lane rd) 107, also know as the Erwin hwy (yes, all Rd's here have at least 2 names! ahhaha) It is as close to what you are explaining that I can think of. Houses range from $50k for a 2 bed 1 bath older house to 500K for a few mansions that are down that rd. Yep, it really is that big of a range. That rd is backed up to the Smokies and is park land all to the south of it, yet it is rather flat, good garden soil. Another area of Greeneville you may want to look into is South Greene Co. There is more water there and if you drive to the mountains on Hwy 70, there are lots of little park areas by the rivers. Prices are a bit higher is South Greene for the same sq ft house, but it is really nice and if you like golf there is a great course in South Greene also.
Would like me to send you the names of a few Realtors? I know a really good one in Greeneville.
Hope this helps!

I am trying not to put all my eggs in one basket and say "This town or nothing..." so I have been looking into other areas too. I found an area called Jonesboro in Washington County- but theres hardly any info on it...can you help me out with this one? I like Rogersville but Hawkins County is one of the dirtiest in Eastern TN (according to Scoreboard EPA) I also looked at Ideal Valley --nothing at all on that! Thanks in advance!

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by MRDOOWOP

Thanks for all of the Great info. re: Greeneville.........Since I'm looking for a town in East Tn with Green Mountain views in the distance + a small lake/pond in the vicinity + affordable housing + good hospitals + retirement-friendly + situated within driving distance of Shopping Malls/Outlets ( more than Wal-Mart or Big Lots )---------It seems to me that Greeneville & Bristol both appear , to the best of my knowledge, to fit the above requirements ?? As such; I would like to hear from people who live in Greeneville or Bristol to confirm or correct my images ??

The biggest difference between the two is NASCAR! hahahahha In Bristol, you really have to like Nascar and not mind the HUGE traffic congestion issue 3 times a year when the big races happen. Now you can look at it form this stand point, there are many people who make good money renting out there houses for race weeks and welcome the crowds, you would be AMAZED at what people will pay to have a house or townhouse to rent during race week. Bristol is also a large city compared to Greeneville, which does mean more diversity, shopping, amenities and open mindedness than Greeneville, but you also don't get that small town feel you are looking for either, so it is a toss up and your choice. I lived in Greene County for 5 years, still own a house there, and have been in Tri-Cities (Gray) for almost 2 years now. I loved Greeneville for what it is and it has some beautiful land, houses and views,very historic and nice people. I will be honest, as a mid 30's single mom (at the time) with a long, funny last name, and not Baptist, I ran into the "good ol boy" network and had a hard time finding a good job in my career (financial). I was told I was "over qualified" (I do have more education and experiance than most I was interviewing with and 1 even out right told me "I won't let you be hired here because you would have my job in a month") But that is not typical from what I hear from others. Also you going there to retire, I honestly don't think you will have any issues with it. If looking only at Greeneville and Bristol, Greeneville I think, would fit your wants more as it is much smaller than Bristol, has more areas that have that "park like" feel, retiree friendly, some water and creeks, and still close driving distance to large shopping areas. The other option you may want to look into is the Jonesborugh area (I will address that in my next post to answer Heathersmom) and Piney Flats, which is in between Johnson City and Bristol. But again, you can be the only one to decide which place you will be happier in. Take a trip, come visit, look around, meet some people have a Realtor show you around, I can recommend a few and get you contact info if you would like? I know 2 in particular who know both areas you are looking at very well. As far as housing costs, Greeneville is cheaper than Bristol. Statistically, House values are about 10k to 15k less in Greene County than in Sullivan County (where Bristol is). However I know if I could pick up my 1920 farm house that is in an outskirt town of Greene County and move it to a city limits of Sullivan County I would get 80k more for it on the market! hahahahaha so it does vary on exactly where in each county the house you are looking at is.
I hope that helped.

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by heathersmom

I am trying not to put all my eggs in one basket and say "This town or nothing..." so I have been looking into other areas too. I found an area called Jonesboro in Washington County- but theres hardly any info on it...can you help me out with this one? I like Rogersville but Hawkins County is one of the dirtiest in Eastern TN (according to Scoreboard EPA) I also looked at Ideal Valley --nothing at all on that! Thanks in advance!

Jonesborough, is a beautiful, very historic town. It is listed, as is Rogersville, on the National Historic District registry. It hosts the National Story Telling event every year and has several parades and festivals through out the year, a big one on the 4th of July. It is the oldest town in Tennessee and the Washington County seat. However, it is small. there is basically one main street and that is it as far as a "downtown" but still a beautiful little downtown with a town square and LOTS of historic buildings, gorgeous architecture, same as Rogersville. But there are great little named areas around Jonesborough such as Telford, Chucky and Sulpher Springs. Those areas (I believe) go to the Jonesborough schools which are part of the Washington County school system. Sad news on that front today. Evidently, yesterday a 17 year old boy brought a loaded gun to school, the Davy Crockett High School. Luckily, the resource officer (All Washington County high schools have a "resource" officer from the sheriffs dept. and a few of the middle schools too. It keeps a lot of things from happening and if that officer wasn't there yesterday, this could have been really bad!) found out by 9:00 am, questioned the boy, found the gun, took it from the boy and the boy arrested. They say the boy had some other issues as well. Here is the link to the news article http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=HOMEPAGE&ID=57590 (broken link)
It is so scary as this thing does NOT happen in this area. It is all over the news and will be for several weeks. Thank God, that gun was not pulled out and aimed, let alone used. My oldest son is in a Washington County High school, Daniel Boone, sure makes me think, but I am not going to let it scare me away as I know as a whole, this school system is safe and good and I know any issues are not ignored by the administration, even bullying and name calling is cause for detention in this system. I know guns and drugs are more of a daily issue in big cities and one would not ever hear about it except as a blip on the news, but I am a mom no matter what!
I will quit my motherly worry wort rambling and get back to your question.
All in all Jonesborough is a small quiet town with good people. It is close enough to Johnson City for all your shopping and big restaurants, the houses are very nice, with good prices. If you are looking for statistics and such, you find those for Jonesborough under Washington County. As for views and mountain areas, Jonesborough has a lot of that to the south of town as there is not other town South of there before you get to the Smokie Mountains. House prices vary...A LOT in that area, as downtown homes go for 500k and over, yet 2 miles south, you go back to your 100k average with some land. A lot of that has to do with the Historic status of a home in Downtown.
Let me know if you need help answering any specific questions you may have about the area, I will do my best.