looking to move to Tennessee, but where ? (Knoxville, Johnson City: insurance, homes)

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by suzytx

You might consider Elizabethton which is about 2.5 hours northeast of Gatlinburg. They have a car club and cruise-ins downtown on Saturday evenings from May through October. There's also a motorcycle club. Truly a car/truck/motorcycle town.

Medical care is available in town with a local hospital and multi-care clinic but there's also Johnson City which is about 25 minutes away. I would recommend looking just outside the city limits for better prices and lower taxes.

While I agree that Elizabethton might fit the bill, the healthcare situation deserves a further explanation for the OP.

FWIW, I'm a recent former employee of the regional hospital system in this area. I worked there for many years.

While technically true that there is a hospital in Elizabethton, that hospital (called Sycamore Shoals, as well as many of the smaller hospitals throughout the area) has seen a reduction in services up to and now including the ICU being closed as of June 4. See below for a press article.

https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/ball...re-shoals-icu/

The local hospital system, Ballad Health, is a merged entity that was formed from two previous regional hospital system. Since the merger, quality metrics have consistently declined at the tertiary hospitals in Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol, with some smaller hospitals (Greenville Community West, one in Norton, VA) being either closed outright or repurposed into non-acute care facilities. The system is having worsening issues with financials, clinical staffing, and even nonclinical staffing. My former team has half the staff now that it did at the first of this year. Areas of care that used to have dedicated response teams and on-call rotations at certain hospitals often do not now. Key people throughout the organization are leaving left and right. For now, the system is surviving largely on highly paid contract/travel staff, but having bled over $20 million in FY23, that's not sustainable indefinitely.

To the OP, my grandmother had a stroke in May, and was sent to one of the tertiary hospitals. I was on a project dealing with emergency medical response at that hospital. As of last year, that hospital had stroke coverage. She ended up sitting in that ED for over ten hours because staffing was so poor and that hospital had eliminated a stroke response team this spring.

The bottom line is that I shifted all my medical care out of this area. While I have no major health issues, as a person who had a high visibility into some areas of hospital operations through my job duties, there is absolutely no way I would trust this system with anything but the most basic of care.

There are other smaller physician practices that can handle some things, but they are limited in terms of facilities and expertise. If you need a competent family care doctor, you can find one. If you have a complicated medical condition, you will likely need to travel to Asheville or Knoxville, maybe even farther to find competent care.

You could live outside of Knoxville somewhere to get the same rural vibe, but have access to better medical care and other amenities should you need them.

[Marysmith0901]

Consider Hendersonville or Maryville for a small-town feel with access to water recreation, or Cookeville for a more rural option with scenic beauty and outdoor activities. Make sure to do thorough research and consider visiting before making a decision.

[clevergirl67]

Originally Posted by hate living in florida

me and my wife are looking for to move to Tenn, but i really have no idea where, as i've really only been to Gatlinburg and the surrounding areas. i asked almost the same question about five years ago, but now it's a real possibility of it happening.

i'm a hot rod / muscle car / truck guy, love the water, nightlife isn't a big priority, we are not religious at all (if it makes any difference). we are in our mid 50's and access to doctors is getting higher on the list. i don't like big(er) citys, rather be in a more rural setting where i could be on 1/2-1 acre of land so i can have a free standing garage / work shop, but we don't need a big house, 1200-1500 sf is plenty. we are conservatives. if anyone has any thoughts i'd appreciate it. if you guys need more info, just ask. thanks in advance.

We love the Crossville area. It's near Nashville if you decide you want that kind of thing, and close to the mountains. It's also very affordable. Lots of lakes and golf courses in the area. The first time we went to our timeshare there we fell in love with the place and even looked for a home there.

[hate living in florida]

ok, so let me try to make myself a little clearer, as my definition of rural may be a little different based on where i am now. the town i'm in has a population of about 120k, waaaaaay too many people for me. i'd much rather be in a place with half that or less. here's a picture of my house and road, what i'm trying to get away from. i don't want my neighbors on top of me( even though i have great neighbors). so a half to one acre in a small town is what i'm looking for, is i guess how i'd put it.

thanks again for the info so far

[DubbleT]

OP I think there are a lot of areas that might fit the bill, but you may need to consider some trade offs. Maybe a little more info could help narrow it down.
Are you with ok driving hills or prefer it more flat? How far is too far to drive for groceries, a trip to the doctor, to go to a movie or concert? How important is easy access to an airport or the interstate?
Do you hope to see some snow in the winter?
What do you expect in the way of healthcare, are you ok with just being near the basics or are you planning long term for more specialized care?
How close to the water do you hope to be with your budget? Are you willing to accept older housing, double wides, or handyman specials?
Lots of the tri-cities areas of northeast TN would meet your needs for budget, acreage, water, and car shows, the trade off might be health care and travel distances.
Here are a few listings to give you an idea of what you can get for your budget.
(NO I am NOT a realtor, or connected in any way, this is just an easy to use site )
https://apple.re/9955667
https://apple.re/9956671
https://apple.re/9956708

[grampaTom]

Originally Posted by hate living in florida

another question, will $200k-250k buy something with a little land out of the bigger citys? i own my home outright in florida, so when we decide on a place to settle, we'll get a mortgage on the new place and we can take our time moving and pay off the new note when our home here sells.

appreciate the info from you guys.

I really doubt that you'll find anything you and your wife would want to live in for that amount around here.
As, far as what you are looking for (otherwise), there are numerous small towns that would fit your bill.
Take a look at Seymour NE of Maryville or any of the small towns on Highway 11 or Highway 411 between Lenoir City and south to the state line. Also the area between Knoxville and Dandridge or Morristown.

Just be prepared to write a bigger check. East Tennessee has definitely been discovered and the real estate prices around here reflect that.

[hate living in florida]

Originally Posted by DubbleT

OP I think there are a lot of areas that might fit the bill, but you may need to consider some trade offs. Maybe a little more info could help narrow it down.
Are you with ok driving hills or prefer it more flat? How far is too far to drive for groceries, a trip to the doctor, to go to a movie or concert? How important is easy access to an airport or the interstate?
Do you hope to see some snow in the winter?
What do you expect in the way of healthcare, are you ok with just being near the basics or are you planning long term for more specialized care?
How close to the water do you hope to be with your budget? Are you willing to accept older housing, double wides, or handyman specials?
Lots of the tri-cities areas of northeast TN would meet your needs for budget, acreage, water, and car shows, the trade off might be health care and travel distances.
Here are a few listings to give you an idea of what you can get for your budget.
(NO I am NOT a realtor, or connected in any way, this is just an easy to use site )
https://apple.re/9955667
https://apple.re/9956671
https://apple.re/9956708

hills are ok, just prefer a flat yard. i don't mind a drive, say 20-25 minutes for shopping or a movie. i have to drive an hour or better for a concert now, no big deal. just basic healthcare, ie, primary doctor, neither one of us have any health issues. i'd love to be close(er) to a lake or river, don't really care if it snows (i'm a new england native). has to be a house,older is fine, but no trailers, and small projects are ok. the closest airport is an hour drive now, and i try not to ever fly, interstate is 20-25 minutes from here, so doesn't have to be real close.

appreciate the info

[JOinGA]

Originally Posted by Marysmith0901

Consider Hendersonville or Maryville for a small-town feel with access to water recreation, or Cookeville for a more rural option with scenic beauty and outdoor activities. Make sure to do thorough research and consider visiting before making a decision.

I did a Zillow search for the Maryville area and their price range probably won’t cut it. Quite a change from just a few years ago.

[hate living in florida]

i've been looking at Sparta and the surrounding areas, and i think that was in the Cookeville area, and on realtor there were quite a few homes that would fit. we'll be in that area in about a month, so we're going to drive around a bit and look around.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by hate living in florida

i've been looking at Sparta and the surrounding areas, and i think that was in the Cookeville area, and on realtor there were quite a few homes that would fit. we'll be in that area in about a month, so we're going to drive around a bit and look around.

I was going to recommend that area. I don't think you can find something in your budget in Putnam County (Cookeville) that isn't a mobile home or fixer-upper, but some of the surrounding areas like Sparta might work. If I were you, I'd also look at Overton and Jackson counties. While this might not apply to you, many people need strong internet connections, and a peculiarity of this area is that the rural counties in the Cookeville area (other than Sparta) have 10 gig fiber internet even in the most remote corners and hollers of the region. Very few rural areas have that. I know of several people who work from home but live way out in the sticks in Jackson County--where real estate is much cheaper than in Putnam County--and have the fastest internet in the world at their homes.

Being in the Nashville sphere of influence might come in handy, too. While you don't need specialized medical care right now, it's good to know that one of the top medical centers in the country (Vanderbilt) is just an hour'ish away in Nashville if needed. The medical community in Cookeville is also robust, and the hospital in Cookeville is undergoing a major multi-million dollar expansion to add 40 more beds to what is already the largest and busiest non-metropolitan hospital in the state.

And, being an ex-Floridian myself, it's nice to have Publix in Cookeville and scads of nonstop flights from Nashville to just about every airport in Florida (Jacksonville, Melbourne, Orlando, Sanford, Punta Gorda, Ft Myers, Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Tampa, St Petersburg, Destin, Key West, Panama City, Pensacola).