Greeneville (Knoxville, Johnson City, Bristol: low income, transplants, real estate market)

[mbmouse]

Like Jab said, land and neighborhoods are laid out VERY different here than in FL. Very few "stuffy" deed restricted neighborhoods. You should come up and visit, I think you will be pleasantly surprised and feel you have more options than you thought.
Sorry, I am not personally familiar with where you are now so I can't do a comparison for you like I was hoping to.
Maybe if you told us what kind/type of stores you like to shop at? Or activities besides the 4 wheelers?
I am really thinking Limestone, North of Jonesborough, Chucky and so forth may really fit what you are looking for.

[rccrain]

Seconding Mouse, Limestone and Chuckey sound ideal. Basically, all the area between Greeneville and Johnson City.

"small town, picturesque place" - this is Jonesborough, TN.

[grecord]

Thanks you guys rock! I appreciate all the info!

[ducky_mamfer]

My family and I are moving to Greeneville and would like to know which areas of town to stay away from, as we will be renting

[jabogitlu]

I grew up in Greeneville and lived there for almost 20 years. Greeneville is very spread out and doesn't have many of the traditional in-town neighborhoods of other cities. The streets to the immediate west of downtown (Davis, Loretta, Maple, Highland) have generally been considered "seedy," but in reality it's just where the black folks traditionally lived.

Otherwise, I'd avoid super cheap rentals in rural areas - in places like Greeneville, it's the extremely rural areas that are of more concern than the in-town areas. You don't want to saddle yourself living in an area where folks have lived there for 200+ years and already know which families are bad news, and which ones are trustworthy. Trust me when I say that these are insular, closed-off communities where you'd want some insider information before living there.

[Bratfarrar]

I would be interested to know somebody's thoughts about living in Greeneville as a whole. I am looking to get out of Florida and am evaluating my options. Thanks in advance.

[AppalachianAngler]

Originally Posted by Bratfarrar

I would be interested to know somebody's thoughts about living in Greeneville as a whole. I am looking to get out of Florida and am evaluating my options. Thanks in advance.

Not sure everything you want to know, but I think the following is fairly accurate:

1. Job market is terrible in Greeneville. If you can get a job, it will be at or near minimum wage. Job market is especially more difficult for non-natives.

2. It has beautiful surrounding mountains that offer a lot to do if you are into hiking, camping, fly-fishing, mountain biking, etc. Beyond that, it is generally just another small town with not a lot to do.

3. Nice restaurants are basically non-existent. Tons of fast food. You will need to go to Johnson City (~30 minutes away), Knoxville, or Asheville (each about an hour away) if you want nice restaurants, nightlife, cultural activities.

4. Good selection of groceries and grocery stores, but slightly more expensive than other smaller towns IMO.

5. Housing is fairly cheap. I would caution against going into a lot of the rural areas such as South Greene as non-natives. They can be pretty guarded against welcoming outsiders.

6. Get involved in church if you want to make some friends along with any of the local clubs for hiking, biking, fishing, etc. Most have lived here forever and have their own friends already, and not looking to expand.

Greeneville is a good little town if you are okay with the simple life and creating your own fun.

[Digger1000]

How busy is the railroad through Greeneville? Do trains go through at night?

[Jim37680]

Originally Posted by Digger1000

How busy is the railroad through Greeneville? Do trains go through at night?

That is the Norfolk-Southern main line coming down from Roanoke, Virginia to points southwest and beyond such as Knoxville via the junction at Bulls Gap (Archie Campbell's hometown). I would expect that on that division it would be mostly mixed freight, not so much coal, but you could expect trains frequently both day and night. It is the same route that passes through Abingdon, Virginia and when we go through Abingdon to Mountain City we frequently hear freights passing through town.

Mountain City was once served by two railroads Laurel Railway (owned by the Hasinger Lumber Company and sometimes called by the generic nickname "Peavine Railroad") and the Southern (on a branch out of Bristol). The Laurel quit running trains about 1919 and was dismantled by 1923. The Southern Branch (negative revenue for years) was abandoned and dismantled after a 1940 flood destroyed much of the branch near the Watauga River in the valley now under Watauga Lake and downstream of the dam. The TVA dam was constructed before 1950.

[Riley.]

When hubs and I visited the area two years ago, we really liked Greeneville and the surrounding area. It was close enough to Knoxville ('big city') and a bit of a gateway to upper east TN, unless it's actually considered upper east. There were nice open spaces outside the city limits, but for one reason on another we didn't spend all that much time exploring. We did spend a few days in Johnson City and wandered around that area. We live in rural VT but are close enough to many 'amenities,' such as grocery shopping, medical care, gym, restaurants, etc, but we (me!!!) really want to move away from the NE for a variety of reasons. We will be retired and would likely try to purchase a home. $250 max/firm if we could find something in that range and we did see some homes in that price range. We'd want very quiet, rural area, close to outdoor activities like fishing, hiking, kayaking/small boat.....with a couple acres of property.
Anyone actually in the area who can make a recommendation for where to explore further? Thank you in advance, and Happy First Friday in February!