# Lifestyles & Discussion > Miscellaneous Discussion > Marketplace > For Sale: Anybody looking to move to Tennessee?

## angelatc

One of my customers had planned to build a home in Johnson City, TN.  He built a HUGE garage, heated floors even.  Running water, a bathroom...everything you would need to live there while your home was being built.  Unfortunately, he passed away, and his wife is not interested in living in TN, much less in a garage.

I haven't seen the lot, but this man had good taste.  He drove Harley's and Hummers,  and I have no reason to think he didn't pick a decent lot.   I believe it is 2 acres, with a Tennessee view.

I don't know the price, but she has not listed it yet. If you might be interested, PM me with your contact information and I'll pass it along to her.  She needs cash, so .....

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## eduardo89

> I haven't seen the lot, but this man had good taste.  He drove Harley's and Hummers


Um. Ok...

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## Keith and stuff

Well, if you are gonna live in TN, East TN is the place to be, but Johnson City is the 3rd least desirable community in East TN (after Knoxville and Chattanooga). It is still better than most cities, especially if you don't like the income tax, but I cannot actually recommend it.

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## Carson

National Forest near by.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=johns...gl=us&t=m&z=11

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## anaconda

> Well, if you are gonna live in TN, East TN is the place to be, but Johnson City is the 3rd least desirable community in East TN (after Knoxville and Chattanooga). It is still better than most cities, especially if you don't like the income tax, but I cannot actually recommend it.


Third least desirable or third most desirable? I'm curious, could you also summarize why East TN is better than West TN? Thanks!

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## Natural Citizen

This is a nice area of the country. I grew up just north of JC a few miles and my family lived there for generations. Right on the TN/VA line since we owned on both sides.

I plan to retire back there. Would definitely recommend even without seeing the property.

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## angelatc

> National Forest near by.
> 
> https://maps.google.com/maps?q=johns...gl=us&t=m&z=11



I believe it might even border a national forest.  I'm not sure about that.

And Eduardo, he also had a Porsche, a Cadillac for the wife, and some huge Ford truck.  His Harley was a 3 wheeler.  Had a trailer for it, too.  He liked his toys.  She already sold those though.

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## Natural Citizen

> I believe it might even border a national forest.  I'm not sure about that.


Yep. It was my playground at one time. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_National_Forest 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_National_Forest

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## anaconda

> I believe it might even border a national forest.  I'm not sure about that.
> 
> And Eduardo, he also had a Porsche, a Cadillac for the wife, and some huge Ford truck.  His Harley was a 3 wheeler.  Had a trailer for it, too.  He liked his toys.  She already sold those though.


I just looked on Zillow and, at first glance, the price per acre seems all over the map in the Johnson City area. Must be a lot of variables.

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## Keith and stuff

> Third least desirable or third most desirable? I'm curious, could you also summarize why East TN is better than West TN? Thanks!


As for TN, the property taxes are highest in West TN, especially in the area just outside of Memphis and lowest in East TN, especially in the very rural areas (obviously not Johnson City).

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## anaconda

> As for TN, the property taxes are highest in West TN, especially in the area just outside of Memphis and lowest in East TN, especially in the very rural areas (obviously not Johnson City).


Thanks for the property tax insight. Was also hoping to understand a little more about its "third least desirable" status.

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## Keith and stuff

> Thanks for the property tax insight. Was also hoping to understand a little more about its "third least desirable" status.


Same thing. If someone moves to TN, I recommend very rural East TN. The idea is that you don't have neighbors. That's especially useful so that if you aren't a white, Southern Baptist, male that owns land, you might still be respected by 1 or 2 people in the community.

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## LibertyRevolution

I am loving it here in Northeast TN, just moved here in august. 
It is much nicer here in Greeneville, TN than it was in CT. 
The Cherokee National Forest is my backyard.

Here are some pics:






























Johnson City is one of the least desirable because it is a city.
The property tax rate with city+county tax is .038 so $1900 on a 200k property. 
If you lived in washington county, outside johnson city limits, then your tax rate would be only .0193 so $965 on 200K.

My house here in greeneville, which is outside the city limits, my property tax rate is .0187, so I pay $650 a YEAR for property tax.  
My house in CT, the property taxes were $6,100 a year... so even johnson city would be a major tax break from CT, lol.

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## Natural Citizen

LibertyRevolution, can I ask exactly where? The Cherokee National Forest was literally my yard when I was little. I mean, literally. We got a bunch of land on grants after the Revolutionary War in Washington County VA and Tenn. So both states.

Oh, never mind. I didn't see the end of your post.

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## oyarde

I have some family in Southern Kentucky , North Tn, I find the TN sales tax too high for my taste.

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## LibertyRevolution

> LibertyRevolution, can I ask exactly where?


Greene county, Greeneville TN, Camp Creek area.





> I have some family in Southern Kentucky , North Tn, I find the TN sales tax too high for my taste.


Yes, the sales tax in TN is high.
The sales tax rate on food is 5%, all other tangible personal property, unless specifically exempted, is 7%.
Cities/counties can add up to 2.75% on top of the state sales tax, for a total of 9.75%.

I have been down here since august, and keeping check on all purchases and adding up receipts and comparing prices to CT.
In CT the sales tax rate is 6.35%, so here my sales tax rate is 3.4% higher.
The cost of goods is lower here than it was in CT.
So the lower prices + the increased tax rate, goods are still cheaper out the door here in TN than in CT. 

Then take into account there is no state income tax on wages or pensions.
Then take into account property taxes are assessed on 1/4 the property value, and at a mil rate of .0187. 
I save $5,500 a year on my property taxes, I save $2,000 a year on state income tax, so I save about ~$7,500 in taxes.

My house + car insurance here in TN is less than just insuring the car in CT. 
My houses operational costs are lower here in TN that in CT.
The house is completely electric, yet my electric bill is lower here in TN than in CT, where we had a natural gas bill for the heat, stove, and hot water. 

Overall the cost of living here in Northeast TN is saving me about $9,000 a year compared to CT.

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## Natural Citizen

> Greene county, Greeneville TN, Camp Creek area.


Yeah, I saw that after the fact. Didn't see the end of your post. I can't wait to get back down that way but have no choice, really. Sure is nice country.

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## oyarde

> Greene county, Greeneville TN, Camp Creek area.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yes, the sales tax in TN is high.
> The sales tax rate on food is 5%, all other tangible personal property, unless specifically exempted, is 7%.
> Cities/counties can add up to 2.75% on top of the state sales tax, for a total of 9.75%.
> 
> ...


I would have imagined it to be a great deal less cost of living than CT, for sure . Tn used to have very reasonable KWH rates on electric, probably still do .

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## Keith and stuff

> I would have imagined it to be a great deal less cost of living than CT, for sure . Tn used to have very reasonable KWH rates on electric, probably still do .


Yup. Why the cost of auto insurance is like twice what it is in NH, the cost of power is like 1/2 as much. TN power is subsidized because it comes from TVA, which is a part of the federal government. So people everywhere in the US have being helping people in TN get power for decades, and will continue to do so for decades. It's a sweet deal for the people of TN and isn't their fault.

There is even a popular country song where big government is praised about the Federal TVA bringing power to rural TN and parts of several near by states.

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## oyarde

The high end for me , where I am is around 13 cents per KWH , I am not going to complain , I used to think it was high.Then I looked at some rates in other places .  Ours is all coal fired.

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## anaconda

Catherine Austin Fitts moved to Tennessee.

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## Dianne

> I am loving it here in Northeast TN, just moved here in august. 
> It is much nicer here in Greeneville, TN than it was in CT. 
> The Cherokee National Forest is my backyard.
> 
> Here are some pics:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


beautiful place !!

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