Potential relocation to Johnson City/Tri-cities area...opinions/info?

[tbh]

I'm considering pursuit of a job in Johnson City (at ETSU), and while I am very familiar with Knox and Blount counties, I have little to no familiarity with the Tri-cities area. For those of y'all who have (or currently live) there, what opinions do y'all have of the area (good or bad)?

Not to get to far ahead of myself, are there any neighborhoods or areas (particularly in Johnson City, but anywhere in the Tri-Cities) that you'd recommend to steer towards or away from in terms of crime and/or livability? If it makes a difference, I'm in my early 40s with no kids or wife, so schools aren't the highest priority at the moment. Thanks in advance, y'all!

 

[malinoisvol]

@volfanbill

 

[volfanbill]

I'm considering pursuit of a job in Johnson City (at ETSU), and while I am very familiar with Knox and Blount counties, I have little to no familiarity with the Tri-cities area. For those of y'all who have (or currently live) there, what opinions do y'all have of the area (good or bad)?

Not to get to far ahead of myself, are there any neighborhoods or areas (particularly in Johnson City, but anywhere in the Tri-Cities) that you'd recommend to steer towards or away from in terms of crime and/or livability? If it makes a difference, I'm in my early 40s with no kids or wife, so schools aren't the highest priority at the moment. Thanks in advance, y'all!

Do you want to be in the city or more rural areas with a relatively easy commute?

 

[Go aeiou]

No kids, but good schools help make the Tri Cities a nice place to live.
We lived in JC for a few years. Loved it. We were able to sit on our back porch in the summer time. Significanly cooler than Nashville, Averaged 18 inches of snow annually.
We lived off Cherokee Rd. Just over the hill from ETSU towards the mountains. 5 minutes+- to ETSU.

 

[volfanbill]

No kids, but good schools help make the Tri Cities a nice place to live.
We lived in JC for a few years. Loved it. We were able to sit on our back porch in the summer time. Significanly cooler than Nashville, Averaged 18 inches of snow annually.
We lived off Cherokee Rd. Just over the hill from ETSU towards the mountains. 5 minutes+- to ETSU.

Cherokee and Greenwood are both great options to be close to the university and notin the bustle of what little bustle JC has. Yet close enough to get close to said bustle

 

[tbh]

Do you want to be in the city or more rural areas with a relatively easy commute?

Honestly, I'd be open to either one. Having access to reliable internet is definitely a plus. It looks (from my research) like there's fiber in some areas, and I've been a happy Charter Spectrum customer for quite a while too so that shouldn't be a huge problem.

 

[tbh]

No kids, but good schools help make the Tri Cities a nice place to live.
We lived in JC for a few years. Loved it. We were able to sit on our back porch in the summer time. Significanly cooler than Nashville, Averaged 18 inches of snow annually.
We lived off Cherokee Rd. Just over the hill from ETSU towards the mountains. 5 minutes+- to ETSU.

That sounds fantastic, as far as the climate and proximity to what may end up being the workplace.

 

[Pennheel]

Gray is also a nice community that I'd recommend if you wanted to be close to JC. Only a 10-15 minute drive from JC.Very rural in most places.

 

[tbh]

As far as more rural/less rural, I'm pretty flexible as I see benefits to either route. Living closer in means I can ride a bike to work and/or the taproom, but living farther out means I can escape the relative hustle/bustle of the city limits and generally have more flexibility with what to do with my property (definitely not an HOA fan in any case).

As far as the feel of the area, a more Townsend-type vibe vs downtown Maryville would be a measuring stick if I had to choose.

 

[loggervol]

Elizabethton and Jonesboro are nice areas. And, there’s a nice lake community near Johnson city that’s really nice.

 

[volfanbill]

Gray is also a nice community that I'd recommend if you wanted to be close to JC. Only a 10-15 minute drive from JC.Very rural in most places.

Gray is growing rapidly and where I went to school (Boones Creek specifically), but it is on the other side of town. Not a true con, but the only one I got. There are sections of Gray to avoid, but a simple drive around will show you where.

Internet isn’t really a problem anywhere that I know of unless you get 30ish minutes from JC. Jonesborough, Gray, the JC side of Elizabethton, etc would all work. Working at ETSU, I’d choose either the Jonesborough side of JC or Jonesborough specifically. Just not off 11E. And it’s mostly nice off 11E, just growing so much the roads are starting to struggle to keep up. Like mentioned, I’d look off Cherokee, Greenwood or off Walnut. Antioch Rd gets nice as you get closer to Jboro, but near Walnut, not as much if you choose the Jonesborough side.

They’re also building a huge subdivision off Indian Ridge near Hopper Rd. There a couple being built in Gray too. Learning I’m old knowing I’m sad the Keebler farm is becoming a subdivision.

 

[volfanbill]

Elizabethton and Jonesboro are nice areas. And, there’s a nice lake community near Johnson city that’s really nice.

As long as the dam fixes hold . And there’s a little of everything around Boone Lake honestly. Million dollar houses all the way to meth houses. Just depends where you are

 

[butchna]

 

[volfanbill]

Don’t move to Leesburg/Bowmantown. There’s a redneck out there that goes by @Toujours Pret and he’ll shoot you for adding to the area population.

 

[volfanbill]

Last thing I’ll add without you asking questions: if you move there, think of me and John Fulkerson each time you eat Pal’s

 

[tbh]

Last thing I’ll add without you asking questions: if you move there, think of me and John Fulkerson each time you eat Pal’s

From what I could see from studying Pal's looks like a true institution in the area! If I head up to check things out (or for an interview), I will definitely keep y'all in mind!

Here are a few questions that come to mind:

Is the Unaka Rod and Gun Club a good range/organization?

In terms of the proliferation of subdivisions and developments (particularly ones with HOAs), are folks seeing those tending to fill the spaces between the the main cities primarily, or are they just popping up all over? I'm looking to definitely avoid those sorts of entanglements if at all possible.

I really appreciate the input and insight everyone has shared on this thread for sure.

 

[Pennheel]

Last thing I’ll add without you asking questions: if you move there, think of me and John Fulkerson each time you eat Pal’s

Yeah,I think Fulky had an NIL deal with Pals if memory serves correctly. Yes,I definitely recommend Pals @tbh Great milkshakes,fries and burgers. Hope all goes well with your move,and you find what's best for you.

 

[volfanbill]

From what I could see from studying Pal's looks like a true institution in the area! If I head up to check things out (or for an interview), I will definitely keep y'all in mind!

Here are a few questions that come to mind:

Is the Unaka Rod and Gun Club a good range/organization?

In terms of the proliferation of subdivisions and developments (particularly ones with HOAs), are folks seeing those tending to fill the spaces between the the main cities primarily, or are they just popping up all over? I'm looking to definitely avoid those sorts of entanglements if at all possible.

I really appreciate the input and insight everyone has shared on this thread for sure.

Yeah,I think Fulky had an NIL deal with Pals if memory serves correctly. Yes,I definitely recommend Pals @tbh Great milkshakes,fries and burgers. Hope all goes well with your move,and you find what's best for you.

Both those questions are out of my wheelhouse. Unaka Rod and Gun had good marks 15 years ago for sure. But myself and everyone I knew that wanted to go shooting just went out to someone’s farm tbh @tbh (pun intended).

HOAs are hit or miss all over the place in the Tri Cities from my understanding

Fulky was from Kingsport. Had a great game right after Christmas break and credited it to Pal’s. Then when NIL deals started becoming a thing, they worked out a deal.

 

[Toujours Pret]

I think there's a new law that you can't move to Jonesborough unless you're a retiree from the northeast or Chicagoland.

There's lots of options depending on what vibe you're going for neighborhood/area wise, there's certainly no bargains to be had anywhere though.

Unaka has a nice range facility, although we usually go down to the county range in Greeneville

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Honestly, I'd be open to either one. Having access to reliable internet is definitely a plus. It looks (from my research) like there's fiber in some areas, and I've been a happy Charter Spectrum customer for quite a while too so that shouldn't be a huge problem.

JC doesn't have Spectrum, Kingsport does. JC you'll be using Xfinity. The local power company (Brightridge, located in Boone's Creek) offers fiber but I'm not sure if they offer it near ETSU, it's mostly the Boone's Creek/Gray/Colonial heights area.

I live in Colonial Heights and while it's not for everyone I love it. I'm less than 5 minutes from the grocery store, a bunch of fast food places (yes, Pals) a state park (Warriors), easy access to I26/81. But if you're working at ETSU it's about a 20-25 minute drive on what has to be the most dangerous stretch of interstate in the country, which imo is something to consider. I would not want to make a daily commute from Gray to ETSU. There are wrecks constantly. Almost 800 in 2 years.

Johnson City Commission hears data study on Interstate 26 crashes

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – At Johnson City’s work session on Thursday, commissioners learned about data collected from 2022-2023 regarding crashes on Interstate 26 in the Johnson City…

www.wjhl.com

 

[Toujours Pret]

JC doesn't have Spectrum, Kingsport does. JC you'll be using Xfinity. The local power company (Brightridge, located in Boone's Creek) offers fiber but I'm not sure if they offer it near ETSU, it's mostly the Boone's Creek/Gray/Colonial heights area.

I live in Colonial Heights and while it's not for everyone I love it. I'm less than 5 minutes from the grocery store, a bunch of fast food places (yes, Pals) a state park (Warriors), easy access to I26/81. But if you're working at ETSU it's about a 20-25 minute drive on what has to be the most dangerous stretch of interstate in the country, which imo is something to consider. I would not want to make a daily commute from Gray to ETSU. There are wrecks constantly. Almost 800 in 2 years.

Johnson City Commission hears data study on Interstate 26 crashes

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – At Johnson City’s work session on Thursday, commissioners learned about data collected from 2022-2023 regarding crashes on Interstate 26 in the Johnson City…

www.wjhl.com

All of the road infrastructure is becoming overwhelmed with the pace of development. Heck my ride home has changed from 23 minutes on average to 32 in 3 years.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

All of the road infrastructure is becoming overwhelmed with the pace of development. Heck my ride home has changed from 23 minutes on average to 32 in 3 years.

Indeed. Traffic in JC is absolutely nuts.

 

[Pennheel]

I think there's a new law that you can't move to Jonesborough unless you're a retiree from the northeast or Chicagoland.

There's lots of options depending on what vibe you're going for neighborhood/area wise, there's certainly no bargains to be had anywhere though.

Unaka has a nice range facility, although we usually go down to the county range in Greeneville

The first part you also pertains to Asheville and the surrounding area. People from all over the country(especially the northeast and retirees from Florida) move there. I'm planning on moving there in a few months,and it's a lot to pay for a home than it is here in Kingsport.

Also,yes,26 is no fun to drive on,and I have to do it at least twice a month from here to Gray. I'd avoid it if you could and find some backroads if possible.

 

[Toujours Pret]

The first part you also pertains to Asheville and the surrounding area. People from all over the country(especially the northeast and retirees from Florida) move there. I'm planning on moving there in a few months,and it's a lot to pay for a home than it is here in Kingsport.

Also,yes,26 is no fun to drive on,and I have to do it at least twice a month from here to Gray. I'd avoid it if you could and find some backroads if possible.

Certainly does, it's absurd. I had kicked around moving over there, in Black Mountain you're not getting anything other than a mobile home for under $400.

 

[ohhbother]

We live in South Carolina now, but I grew up in Jonesborough (and moved to Erwin when I got married). Went to school at ETSU and then worked in Kingsport for 12 years. The Tri-Cities is a great place - big enough to have the restaurants, stores, etc. that you want but not big enough to have horrible traffic. The road system in the area is also superior. My family still lives there, and we go back a couple of times a year. Pal's and Firehouse Restaurant (bbq) are must-dos each trip.