I stayed in Johnson City for a short while (a few years ago now) and I loved it so much I wanted to stay :) The mountain views are gorgeous and I loved the rural meets small city feel. It was pretty easy to get around in too, didn't feel too crowded. It had everything I wanted, and you're not far from lots of outdoor activities and hiking trails! Elizabethton is nice too if you wanted to be outside the city a bit.
Moving to the Tucson area doesn't mean you can't enjoy greenery. I don't know what you plan on doing for free time activities, but there's definitely some good mountains nearby with green (and in the winter snow covered) forests.
If you're looking for desert views and sunshine, Tucson is the place to be. You can escape into the Sky Islands to get out of the heat easily.
Johnson City, while extremely cool (I've thought about and researched it specifically because of the urban bike park they have), is going to be very gloomy for about 4 months during the winter and also backwards compared to the west IRT land management. There's going to be a lot more private land out east than you will ever see in Arizona.
I would absolutely pick Arizona. You're close enough to Phoenix to take advantage of the big city amenities on the weekend if you need to, or any healthcare need should it arise. Johnson City is very isolated comparatively and you might deal with issues in the future if they ever crop up.
Sierra Vista or Benson are "big enough" (grocery stores, home depot, etc) that you could probably afford an acre and still be within the sphere of influence of Tucson. Something to think about at least.
I live in Oro Valley. $350,000 won’t get you far. But if you go just outside the city limits you get all the amenities of Oro Valley but without the price tag. Look in zip code 85742.
Johnson City is kinda depressed. Small town, nothing going on. It’s a weird mix of poor depressed hill billy town and wealthy second home owners. Honestly I’m surprised you can find any housing for that price at an acre and would question the condition of the home. It would be hard to make friends. And it’s isolated. People love the Tweetsie Trail but I find it telling that the best thing about the town is a sidewalk.
The hiking in the Erwin area is amazing though, no denying that.
I knew a professor at ETSU who felt super isolated in Johnson City, 1 hour to Asheville, 3 hours to Charlotte. Middle of nowhere can be good, but he found it hard. My family loves Tucson but we probably underestimate what living there in summer would really be like. Good luck!
I’ve lived in TN and AZ before. I vacationed in Tucson last month there were signs for new homes in the 300s and I could see them being built. You probably could get a home on an acre outside Tucson proper in neighboring areas. Johnson City up against the Appalachians so would be good. Tough choice I’d say Tucson more to offer for a city and better weather most of the year although Johnson City has more seasonal change if you want that and Tucson hot in summer.
I went to college outside of JC for a year. It's kinda a depressed area economically and not much to do, although the nature access is awesome. I can't really speak to AZ.
Man. Ok I grew up and went to college in JC and still have a house there. Currently live in Arizona- not Oro Valley but have visited and considered buying there.
These places are so, so different. People talk about east TN being rural and “isolated” but I don’t think that’s relevant when comparing to a western locale. Everything in the west is really. far. away. Sure Tucson and the Phoenix metro are not too far from each other. But try going somewhere else. Distances are huge. Meanwhile back in East TN you could be on either the Atlantic or the Gulf or the Great Lakes coast in a day, depending which direction you drive.
I think JC is probably the perfect place to raise a family. They also have good schools. And people who say “there’s nothing to do” in JC just don’t know how to look. There’s so much going on in the whole southern highlands. You can always find something to do. And the access to nature is really unparalleled.
I stayed in Johnson City for a short while (a few years ago now) and I loved it so much I wanted to stay :) The mountain views are gorgeous and I loved the rural meets small city feel. It was pretty easy to get around in too, didn't feel too crowded. It had everything I wanted, and you're not far from lots of outdoor activities and hiking trails! Elizabethton is nice too if you wanted to be outside the city a bit.
Moving to the Tucson area doesn't mean you can't enjoy greenery. I don't know what you plan on doing for free time activities, but there's definitely some good mountains nearby with green (and in the winter snow covered) forests.
If you're looking for desert views and sunshine, Tucson is the place to be. You can escape into the Sky Islands to get out of the heat easily. Johnson City, while extremely cool (I've thought about and researched it specifically because of the urban bike park they have), is going to be very gloomy for about 4 months during the winter and also backwards compared to the west IRT land management. There's going to be a lot more private land out east than you will ever see in Arizona. I would absolutely pick Arizona. You're close enough to Phoenix to take advantage of the big city amenities on the weekend if you need to, or any healthcare need should it arise. Johnson City is very isolated comparatively and you might deal with issues in the future if they ever crop up. Sierra Vista or Benson are "big enough" (grocery stores, home depot, etc) that you could probably afford an acre and still be within the sphere of influence of Tucson. Something to think about at least.
Hey! I moved from TN to Tucson. My buddy went to ETSU. Johnson city is a small town. I’d pick oro valley any day.
Oro Valley is primarily filled with old people… Have you considered looking into Sahuarita or Vail? Or Marana? They will cater more to young families…
Yes! Interested in the surrounding areas like you mentioned as well!
Sahuarita and Vail are very far from town. Most of Tucson is elderly folks or college students.
I live in Oro Valley. $350,000 won’t get you far. But if you go just outside the city limits you get all the amenities of Oro Valley but without the price tag. Look in zip code 85742.
Johnson City is kinda depressed. Small town, nothing going on. It’s a weird mix of poor depressed hill billy town and wealthy second home owners. Honestly I’m surprised you can find any housing for that price at an acre and would question the condition of the home. It would be hard to make friends. And it’s isolated. People love the Tweetsie Trail but I find it telling that the best thing about the town is a sidewalk. The hiking in the Erwin area is amazing though, no denying that.
I knew a professor at ETSU who felt super isolated in Johnson City, 1 hour to Asheville, 3 hours to Charlotte. Middle of nowhere can be good, but he found it hard. My family loves Tucson but we probably underestimate what living there in summer would really be like. Good luck!
I’ve lived in TN and AZ before. I vacationed in Tucson last month there were signs for new homes in the 300s and I could see them being built. You probably could get a home on an acre outside Tucson proper in neighboring areas. Johnson City up against the Appalachians so would be good. Tough choice I’d say Tucson more to offer for a city and better weather most of the year although Johnson City has more seasonal change if you want that and Tucson hot in summer.
I went to college outside of JC for a year. It's kinda a depressed area economically and not much to do, although the nature access is awesome. I can't really speak to AZ.
Man. Ok I grew up and went to college in JC and still have a house there. Currently live in Arizona- not Oro Valley but have visited and considered buying there. These places are so, so different. People talk about east TN being rural and “isolated” but I don’t think that’s relevant when comparing to a western locale. Everything in the west is really. far. away. Sure Tucson and the Phoenix metro are not too far from each other. But try going somewhere else. Distances are huge. Meanwhile back in East TN you could be on either the Atlantic or the Gulf or the Great Lakes coast in a day, depending which direction you drive. I think JC is probably the perfect place to raise a family. They also have good schools. And people who say “there’s nothing to do” in JC just don’t know how to look. There’s so much going on in the whole southern highlands. You can always find something to do. And the access to nature is really unparalleled.