Greeneville (Knoxville, Johnson City, Jonesborough: for sale, real estate, apartments)

[Serious Conversation]

Greeneville is not really close to Knoxville. It's roughly 1h15m from Knoxville, and 45m mins from Johnson City.

There are some fairly regular posters from Greeneville. The general consensus is that, while the city of Greeneville is mostly fine, the county has more significant problems with crime and drugs. In general, northeast TN cities are actually much more reasonable than truly rural areas, which tend to be awash in property crime, domestic violence, and drug-related issues.

Fishing, hiking, and all sorts of outdoor activities are available near Greeneville. It's an excellent outdoor area, beautiful, but not very welcoming to outsiders, and the economy there is atrocious. If you need a job, secure a written offer before moving.

Greeneville has a Walmart, Ingles (regional grocer based out of NC), Publix (out of FL, only one in area), and Food City (local regional grocer). There's a Lowe's, some clothing stores, and I think a theater. For a town of 15,000 or so, it really isn't bad, just isolated.

[rccrain]

Good high school football. That's all I can add to SC's post.

[Blue Ridge]

Greeneville resident here.

First, echoing what SC mentioned, Greeneville is a decent haul to Knoxville. You're looking at a touch over an hour with good traffic and driving 15 over the limit on 81/40 (not recommended, but when in Rome...) - and that is to East Knoxville, in which there is nothing worth visiting. Tack on an additional 20-30 mins for Downtown and West Town, which is where most amenities (shopping, restaurants, Costco) are located. I do, however, make the trip routinely, and I have at least three coworkers who commute from the Knoxville area daily. Not ideal, but doable.

Greeneville is a bit behind the times in many aspects. Downtown redevelopment is just hitting the radar, though there appears to be good momentum. Downtown has a lot of potential, and one could argue it never totally died in the first place. The General Morgan Inn and its restaurant, Brumley's, are a draw for the town's upper crust. There are a few shoppes and a coffee bar downtown.

The main artery through Greeneville is known as the Andrew Johnson Hwy. Initially built as a bypass during the dark time in our nation's history that urban sprawl was not only welcomed but encouraged, it has since outgrown its five-lane configuration. The State of TN has long promised a solution via either another bypass or upgrades to the current road, and we are due for an announcement soon.

I'm happy to provide more information upon request. Overall, I'm happy in Greeneville. Ample access to outdoor activities, low cost of living, and proximity to family (45 mins) and in-laws (2 mins) offset the relative lack of amenities.

One additional note: $250K will buy you a whole lotta house in the Greeneville real estate market.

[AppalachianAngler]

I was raised in Greeneville and visit at least once per year. Everyone has pretty much covered it, but I will try to expand a bit.

If you are looking for beautiful mountain views with lots of outdoor activities with basic amenities, Greeneville fits that bill. Basically all of the mountains are in federally protected land, which is nice. You will have to be okay with making your own fun, but sounds like you already know that.

Socially, it may be difficult as folks are skeptical of outsiders, but I would encourage you to join some local groups ASAP (hiking club, church, etc.). It is an extremely conservative and Evangelical place. The culture is mainly Southern Appalachian. Like most other small towns in Southern Appalachia, there are issues with prescription pills, theft, and domestic violence mostly.

You will have plenty of options for groceries. There are 3 Food City's, 2 Ingles', Publix, Walmart, and smaller, somewhat more low-end options. There are plenty of fast food options, but not much in the way of fine dining.

Other retail and entertainment is fairly limited, but pretty good for a town its size. There is a Big Lots, Lowe's, Staples/Office Depot, almost brand new movie theater, and there are some bigger chains coming such as Five Below and Michael's. The Capitol Theatre is an old theatre downtown that has been revitalized and now regularly shows old movies, has improv comedy shows, musical acts. The NPAC has national acts come and play music, mostly oldies or bluegrass/country.

Tusculum College is outside Greeneville so they will occasionally have a good play or other entertainment. Greeneville High School has great football and can be something to do if you are bored on a Friday night.

There are 2 hospitals for medical care: Laughlin and Takoma. Laughlin is not bad, but for anything semi-serious you will want to go to at least Johnson City and maybe even Knoxville. I used to be able to get from Johnson City to Greeneville sooner than 45 minutes but it depends on what part of town of each you are going to.

I don't know what all gyms are there now, but growing up we had the YMCA and Body By Me. I'm pretty sure at least those 2 are still going. Body by Me is on Tusculum Blvd close to downtown. It's been around for decades, had a good selection of equipment and was reasonable. YMCA is off Church St., also fairly close to downtown. It's going to be more expensive but give you more amenities like a pool, racket ball, basketball, etc.

You should be able to find what you are looking for with 250k. But the more rural areas towards the mountains are going to have more crime vs. towards town. If you want to live with some land, I would recommend the Chuckey or Afton areas. This will put you not too far from town, but still in a rural setting.

Another great thing about Greeneville is its proximity to other places. You can go into the mountains on the Asheville Highway to Hot Springs, North Carolina for a fun little daytrip to grab a beer on the French Broad River, browse/shop on the Appalachian Trail, or do some kayaking. Go about 30 miles further and you are in Asheville. Knoxille is a little over an hour; Johnson City is 30-45 minutes; bigger cities like Atlanta, Nashville & Charlotte are not too terribly far for extended weekend trips but not close, either.

[JLD78]

I've searched the threads on here for info and many of them are very old. So I wanted to get an updated 2019 response for living in Greeneville or surrounding areas. I'm looking for a house on 3 or more acres $250,000 or below so I'll need to live somewhere rural to get that. I currently live in a rental in Corryton which is a rural area of Knox county but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for in my price range in the current market anywhere around Knox. I moved here from FL years ago. I work from home so I don't need to worry about finding work.
I'm just wondering how it is in Greene county for someone not from there. Are a lot of people starting to move there? What is life like for transplants? I heard from someone who grew up in TN that they are racist. Are they anymore racist than any other area of east TN? I'm white Italian but I look Hispanic and my daughter is half black. She's grown and doesn't live with me but when she comes to visit I don't want her to have problems. I know people say rural areas have drug problems too. I think drugs are everywhere though. I lived in the city of Maryville and had a meth house right next to me.

Are there any other rural areas I should look into? I at least like to have a Walmart, a few other grocery options, a fast food place, and maybe something like a Lowes incase I need to fix up my home.

[Serious Conversation]

I think there is only one regular poster from Greeneville.

I've been down there probably a dozen times this past year either to go to Publix or for business meetings. For the size of town it is, it's fine. You'll have your Walmart, quite a few grocers, Lowe's, and fast food/chain restaurants. If you need more options, it's about 45 minutes back to Johnson City.

Keep in mind Greeneville is not tiny - it has about 15,000 residents. There aren't going to be a lot of transplants there because of a lack of jobs and no specific draw for retirees. I wouldn't think someone from Knox County is going to be a transplant.

There will be some level of bigots anywhere, but I doubt it will be worse than any other area. Greene County has a lot of agricultural and probably more Hispanic residents than you might realize.

The worst of the drugs are going to be in the truly rural areas, not Greeneville city. For acreage, I'd go back toward Washington County rather than toward Cocke.

[Blue Ridge]

Greeneville resident here.

Serious is correct - you will be considered an outsider, unfortunately. I hail from Upper East TN - a county bordering Greene County, at that. Yet, despite my wonderful spouse being a Greeneville native, I am treated as somewhat of an outsider to this day.

Land is readily available in the county, but be warned that it’s a bit of a lawless land. I wouldn’t quite put rural Greene County in the same category as rural Cocke or Hamblen Counties, but drugs - and resultant property crimes - are rampant.

[TampaKaren]

I'd say be patient and keep looking. Turnover is slow here (as is everything else - LOL). I moved to Greeneville 6 months ago after living in Tampa for 35 years. Everyone I've met has been bend-over-backward polite and helpful. That's not to say there are not malcontents trying to cause problems for everybody else. Trust is an issue but I haven't seen any racism. I bought Scott's Strawberries today from a well-spoken Hispanic who made change without a calculator. There are occasional WTH moments, but not what some would lead you to believe. I also volunteered recently in a Soup Kitchen Garden in a low income community and driving in/out was met with hand waves and smiles from the locals.

On the acreage with home subject... my home is in the City of Greeneville. A good friend I met 2 months ago lives a mile from me on 3 acres. Said it took several years to get what they wanted. Your desire for acreage will need to be coupled with internet access if that's part of your job. There's one decent provider...Comcast and there are pockets in the county that have no access yet. The local Light & Power are working to bring FIOS to the City which will definitely increase desirability. Same thing with cell service. DH had T-Mobile and it never worked in our house (we have a metal roof). He's with Comcast Mobile now and so far, very happy. My cell service with Verizon remains very reliable.

Just a couple of my personal thoughts worthy of public viewing. If you'd like additional details or have questions, send me a PM.

Edit to add: Last month, DH and I went on a slow hike in David Crockett Birthplace State Park. The guide said it was a record turnout. The majority of us had moved recently from elsewhere; 2 other couples were from Florida with 1 of them from Tampa. Small world.

[Poor Chemist]

I’ve been living in Johnson City coming up on two years. I work in Bristol. I’m originally from the Atlanta area.
It was a culture shock moving here. I knew Northeast TN is a very religious and conservative area before moving here. I am pro 2nd amendment and pro less government regulation. I’m pretty moderate when it comes to political issues. The extreme religion is kind of a problem for me but not unbearable.

I am half black fair skinned but have coarse hair and beard so I am defiantly considered black in most peoples eyes. I haven’t run into anymore racism in this area than I did in the Atlanta area. In fact there tends to be more race baiting from both whites and blacks in Atlanta. I’ve ran into a couple bigots since been living here but those kind of people are everywhere even the most liberal cities and states.

Employment is the only problem in Northeast TN. There aren’t many high paying jobs in this area and the few places that pay decent money have a terrible workplace culture because they know people don’t have many options in this area. I will be relocating shortly to start a new job not because I didn’t like the area, but because I am burned out at my current workplace.

[Serious Conversation]

Keep in mind the guy works from home and is living right outside of Knoxville in a small community himself. Greenville isn't going to be a culture shock for someone living in rural Knox County.