OR Nurse relocating to Kingsport from Dallas

[adboudy]

I am an OR nurse who is relocating to Kingsport in a few weeks from Dallas, TX. We are looking for a more mild climate and slower pace. I have taken a job at Holston Valley. The extreme pay cut was hard to deal with, but we are hoping that the lower cost of living will make up for that somewhat. I was wondering if anyone else has moved to the area from a larger city, and if you could give me some advice about where to live and what elementary schools are the best. Actually, any advice about the area would be great since we only got to spend 48 hours there to look around.

[xdriggs]

I moved from Dallas to the Tri-Cities which includes Kingsport 3 years ago. Love it here. I will admit that it seems like more people are moving here and traffic is expanding. Wages are lower but so are rents. The sales tax will probably shock you. For non food items it is about 9.5% and for food items about 6.5%. I used to work at Holston Valley and commuted from first Piney Flats then Gray area. Not too bad a commute. Can't advise as to schools but any of the tri cities which includes also Johnson City and Bristol wouldn't be too bad. Hope this helps and welcome.

[CopperEmerald]

I don't mean this in a negative way, but Kingsport stinks. Literally. Home to Eastman and Domtar, there is quite frequently an acidic (to me at least) smell that permeates downtown and by the river. This is something you probably want to consider when chosing where you want to move to. The Colonial Heights area is very nice, and on the outskirts of town. As is the Gray area. In fact, lots of people live in Johnson City, Bristol or other areas of the "Tri City" region and commute. The other poster mentioned the sales tax, and they are correct. But, the close proximity of the Virginia state line in Gate City and Bristol means you can skip across the state line and pay much lower tax rates. Kingsport used to have a really nice farmer's market, but it seems to have declined this year. I can't advise you of any of the schools, as I don't have school age children. THere are three close cities. Johnson City (population approximately 65,000) is what some call a "college town" with East Tennessee State University, Kingsport's populaton is approximately 45,000, and Bristol population approximately 30,000 is home to a Nascar racetrack, which means heavy traffic during racetimes. Along with the outlying areas the Tri Cities region has a population of approximately 500,000 people. This is a nice area to live in, I'll admit. There are several lakes and rivers if you're into that. The mountains are about a 30 to 45 minute drive depending on where you live. We're about 6 hours from coast (Myrtle Beach, at least). Good luck with your new position, and welcome to the area. If I can be of help let me know!