Looking at Morristown! (Knoxville, Greeneville, Lake City: appointed, houses, buy)

[cherokeelake]

Originally Posted by JMT

We're not talking about Texas or California. We're talking about Morristown and East Tennessee. This was in today's news:

Morristown police bust fake ID manufacturing ring : Local News : Knoxville News Sentinel



Of course it does. Knoxville also has more museums than Morristown, more libraries, more schools, more parks, more symphonies, more hospitals, more charitable organizations. It's a big city.



Nice try. But I've been to Morristown. Many times. I've seen the boarded-up factories around downtown. They haven't been torn down and haven't been replaced with new shopping centers.

If Morristown were in Michigan, it would probably be the nicest factory town in the state. But in East Tennessee there are so many other towns that are more attractive, I don't see any point in sugarcoating it. With its beautiful location near lakes and mountains, the city leaders of Morristown could've made the town into a showplace years ago, but instead they lured factory after factory to town and settled on low-wage, low-skill jobs. While there's certainly a need for those kinds of jobs in our world, basing an entire city's economy on them creates what we now have in Morristown: a lot of migrant workers (legal and otherwise) working for low wages and living in squalor, mediocre schools that don't have the tax base to increase funding, and an inordinate amount of crime being committed by immigrants who flee the country rather than get caught.

I'm glad you like Morristown, and I'm sure many others do, too. But when someone new to this forum asks for an attractive city in East Tennessee, I can think of a dozen others that are more attractive than Morristown. Sorry.

It's obvious you are a hater and for some reason have a problem with Morristown. The days of low-wages and low-skill jobs are gone for the most part in this area. Very few furniture factories remain in the area, most have moved overseas. Again, you are talking about something that you don't have a clue about. I guess you pass thru Morristown at 60mph once a year and that makes you a local expert. Maybe you need to drive a few miles and check things out a little closer. The boarded up factories you speak of are on their way out. In the last year two have been tore down. One has a new shopping center in it's place and construction has started on the other one.

You are right, this is not Texas but all of east Tn has an illegal problem. If you think it's just Morristown then you need to travel outside your bubble every once in a while.

When someone speaks ill of my hometown, I will take up for it. I guess we will agree to disagree on this subject. Take care..........cherokee

[JMT]

Originally Posted by cherokeelake

you need to travel outside your bubble every once in a while.

I guess you haven't read my 2,700+ posts, but I most definitely travel outside my bubble every once in a while. I've even made posts here in the last year while in China, Belgium, and France. Since you brought it up, I sent you a DM with some details of my extensive travels and to respond to some of your more personal statements against me. But I will say this: I have travelled across Tennessee as part of school accreditation teams. I've seen the best and the worst that Tennessee schools and towns have to offer. While I applaud you for your strong civic pride, it doesn't do you or anyone else any good to be blind to the problems and shortcomings of your hometown, no matter what that hometown happens to be.

[mbmouse]

ok guys. You have both stated your opinions of Morristown. Both of them are perspectives which are neither right nor wrong. No sense in arguing. Let people who are interested in M-town ask, look and decide for themselves.
Both of your inputs and impressions are important but it is ok to disagree too. No need to resort to uncouth comments.

[cherokeelake]

JMT, please except my apology. In no way was it meant to be a personal attack on you, just your opinion.

[pgaff57]

As an outsider who has been looking in Morristown and the surrounding area I'd like to give you my impression of Morristown. We are a young retiree couple looking for a more relaxed life. Because of the lakes in the area Morristown ended up on our list. We have driven all over and find the town to have ups and downs. Yes, the downtown looks like it is very old and in need of some repairs. But you can also see where there is new buildings in the area too. As far as shopping, Andrew Johnson Highway is stores and restaurants in a very long strip. None of them are major stores like Dillards and such but you can get your basics. We've seen Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, etc.
For us this is all we want, I don't need a major mall with all the big stores. However, when looking in the area, you have to decide if you and your husband want to be in a major shopping meca or not. We have spoke to the locals because we did notice that this is a huge hispanic area. This does not bother us. We have spoke to several locals who claim this is not an issue. And that is good enough for us. Crime seems to be low and that's very important. As far as schools I could not tell you but the schools look well cared for. There are several web sites that rate schools thurout the U.S. and that will give you a good idea of how well the schools are. There are several nice smaller towns surrounding the area. For us this area fits the bill for what we were looking for as far as land, size, amenities. etc. Good Luck in your search. We will be leaving tomorrow to go back home but we've put a bid in on a home and look forward to moving here. Everyone thruout our tour of Tenn have been so welcoming that we are certain that this area will be our new home.

[phyll]

Originally Posted by pgaff57

As an outsider who has been looking in Morristown and the surrounding area I'd like to give you my impression of Morristown. We are a young retiree couple looking for a more relaxed life. Because of the lakes in the area Morristown ended up on our list. We have driven all over and find the town to have ups and downs. Yes, the downtown looks like it is very old and in need of some repairs. But you can also see where there is new buildings in the area too. As far as shopping, Andrew Johnson Highway is stores and restaurants in a very long strip. None of them are major stores like Dillards and such but you can get your basics. We've seen Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, etc.
For us this is all we want, I don't need a major mall with all the big stores. However, when looking in the area, you have to decide if you and your husband want to be in a major shopping meca or not. We have spoke to the locals because we did notice that this is a huge hispanic area. This does not bother us. We have spoke to several locals who claim this is not an issue. And that is good enough for us. Crime seems to be low and that's very important. As far as schools I could not tell you but the schools look well cared for. There are several web sites that rate schools thurout the U.S. and that will give you a good idea of how well the schools are. There are several nice smaller towns surrounding the area. For us this area fits the bill for what we were looking for as far as land, size, amenities. etc. Good Luck in your search. We will be leaving tomorrow to go back home but we've put a bid in on a home and look forward to moving here. Everyone thruout our tour of Tenn have been so welcoming that we are certain that this area will be our new home.

I tried looking for the article , I thought it was in yesterdays (thurs)citizen Tribune, Morristown EAST and West H.S.got awards and good marks for their school.I "thought" it said they were the 8th best in the nation.I am in Morristown very much at least 3 times a week, yes there are some things that needed to be done, but I dont see it as ALL dirty, we shop there alot, would I move there myself, yes if I wanted alittle bit more city feeling and it does have alot of choices for shopping and schools.

[ETNValleyMan]

I'm not sure where some of the people are getting their information from. My wife and I moved to Morristown from Michigan two years ago. We looked at several towns, including Greeneville, and for us it was no contest. The people here are about the nicest we've ever met. One person mentioned that downtown was surrounded by boarded up industrial buildings. Where are these? Maybe they haven't been back since we moved here, but we're seeing old buildings being torn down to make way for new developments. One industrial building near downtown has been turned into an upscale shopping center (with a great candy store unfortunately). As for Greeneville, yes downtown has a more historic feel, but the rest of the town is butt ugly, especially the commercial strips along the highway. Downtown Morristown has these odd overhead sidewalks that don't really make sense, but all our friends love them when they visit. They're very unique and allow you to stroll around downtown even when its raining. We didn't find a lot of places to shop in downtown Greenville, but Morristown has a variety of stores. As for crime and illegals, I read recently where the city was one of the safest around! The fact that you are reading about such arrests proves the police are doing there job. Illegal immigration is a federal problem. The fact that people are flocking here to live, regardless of their background, says a lot. The city throws a lot of money into their police department and I think that's great. Someone mentioned east Knoxville and the mall. You mean the one that's emptying out? We walked through Knoxville Center recently and saw an awful lot of empty storefronts and the stores haven't remodeled in a long time. Target had built nearby and there is a Kohls, Wal-mart, Lowe's, etc. But most of that is in Morristown too and their mall is packed and expanding. East Knoxville is the "low-end" side of town, so don't even try to compare it to the west side. All the industry in morristown has attracted people from all over the world and it makes for an interesting mix. We've found it to be very accepting of different cultures and lifestyles. We even have a female mayor. So much for the good-ol-boy system here. I could say a lot more, but it sounds like some folks have a personal agenda going. I'm thinking they work for the Greene County Chamber of Commerce or something. We could have moved anywhere and we chose Morristown and don't regret it one bit.

[marmac]

---the facts that you are reading about such arrests proves the police are doing their jobs---

????????----so,in other words,-----if one considered any city to re-locate to,read the local paper, and the arrest reports took up 2 pages------that would be a "safe" city because it "proves the police are doing their jobs"---???????

I guess I fail to see the logic. Sounds more like "spin" to me.

[dixibell3]

Am looking to relocate to east tenn.Anyone know of a good real estate agent?Also what about any industry.Have been to Morristown and like the area.Any help would be Greatly appreciated!

[pgaff57]

I just want to mention one other thing. We did notice the high hispanic population in Morristown. It seems to be a concern to a lot of people but we didn't really encounter any reason to be concerned. Talk to the police dept and they will confirm that the crime rates have little to do with this. They have other issues, such as illegals to deal with, but that has not affected the violent crimes. Just like many areas in our country crime is becoming a huge issue. If you are concerned about it when moving in to an area talk to the police dept they will give you better information than any media will. Mostly you will find the problems are in a concentrated area then stay away from that area. Hope this helps with those concerned about crime rates and hispanics. As far as Morristown goes I think its a nice town and we never felt worried about crime. We bought property on Cherokee Lake and I look forward to being in Morristown often.