Originally Posted By: SWS
... Interested in your findings from your trip.
Originally Posted By: linkbelt
Originally Posted By: Starman2112
I live about 15 miles from Johnson City. I love it here. Beautiful mountains, low crime, good schools, good roads. Everything I need is here but if you like the bigger cities it’s about 2 hours to Knoxville and 3 hours to Charlotte. About 5 hours to Nashville, Atlanta, or Cincinnati.
Also live close to JC, all of the above statements are very true! We lived just outside the Atlanta area for many years and I feel sorry for the people that still live there! (I would go for the JC area, just my $0.02.)
A few things. I don’t actually live right in Atlanta I live about 40 miles outside the perimeter (285). While it wasn’t the controlling consideration, the time/distance to Knoxville was a consideration.
My department received some preliminary information the the opportunity was in Greeneville which is about an hour to Knoxville according to google. When the opportunity was actually released the zip codes where you would be allowed to live did not include Greeneville but were Kingsport (partially), Johnson City (partially), Elizabethton, Jonesborough, Blountsville. This area is more like 2 hours to Knoxville. It took us about 1 hour 45 minutes from the Fairfield Inn Johnson City which is right on the interstate.
Several of the houses we liked were in the zip code in Kingsport you would not be allowed to live. (I understand this doesn’t make good sense that you could not live in an adjacent zip code , but that is just the way it is). Most everything we liked in the allowed zip codes was well over $300,000 or would have been once remodeled. We did like Blountsville as well. We could afford a 300-400,000 house, but it is a matter of not really wanting to afford a 300-400,000 house. Most of these zip codes actually had higher crime according to online sources than the zip code we now live. (apparently there is an Opioid/Heroin/Prescription Drug crisis in the area.)
The houses in this area appear to be older and this would have an impact on the work I would do there, making it less enjoyable.
In the end I just had one of those feelings about the move/job and did not apply for the opportunity.
This isn’t to say we did not like the area. It was actually a beautiful area with more to do and better shopping and services that some of the online information would lead you to believe. Johnson City in particular is quite similar to the area we now live save for the flatness... If I could have stayed in my current department or moved to a more desirable department and/or had a bit more leeway as to zip codes I probably would have applied. I hope that there will be a better opportunity in the future perhaps a little closer to Knoxville.