Category: Move To Kingsport
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Lynn Garden Reimagined
Lynn Garden sprung up as an unincorporated neighborhood of worker cottages in the 1930s for Kingsport’s legacy industries. The community grew rapidly, necessitating the creation of a county elementary school (Lynn Garden) and later a county high school (Lynn View). Fast forward to 2024 and the community is now in the city limits with full…
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A Realtor’s Guide to Regional Schools
The Tennessee Department of Education’s recent report card offers insights that go beyond surface appearances—much like the values we cherish in people, it’s what’s inside that truly counts. Pro Tip: If you want to cut to the chase, look at the link/chart at the bottom of this article. Education isn’t just about modern buildings or…
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Northeast Tennessee offers an attractive alternative
Housing is a cornerstone of economic development, serving as a powerful driver of economic growth. Reporting statistics per capita is important because it standardizes data by accounting for population size, allowing for fair comparisons. By normalizing data, per capita metrics avoid misleading interpretations arising from raw totals, especially when populations differ significantly. With that in…
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Is Northeast Tennessee growing too fast?
When people worry about Northeast Tennessee growing too fast, looking at other mid-size cities across Tennessee is helpful. Middle Tennessee’s market is undeniably white-hot, so it’s no surprise that the top four cities are from that region. But the disparity may surprise you. Those four cities account for 60% of all the homes sold. Northeast…
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The Hidden Costs of Coastal Living
As you likely know, I’ve been involved with Move To Kingsport for 25 years. Upon retirement 5 years ago, I began managing the program on a part-time basis for Visit Kingsport. Marketing my hometown has become part of my psyche, so I thought I’d share some insights we are asked by new citizens and those…
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Welcome to Northeast Tennessee, America’s First Frontier
I was asked to provide a welcome and introduction of “Carrollyn, The Recovering Californian” at the Tennessee Planning Convention held at MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort. The conference was hosted by the State of Franklin Chapter. Nearly 200 attendees came from Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and all points in between. I saw many of you at…
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Beyond ‘We’re Full’: Understanding the Complexities of Population Growth
“We’re full”. It’s a quick comeback from Tennesseans frustrated with the rapid rate of newcomers gobbling up housing inventory. But are we? It depends on what part of the state you’re in. Let’s look at the most recent population trends released in 2023 (for 2020-2022). Natural increase is defined as births exceeding deaths. The places…
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Catalyzing Kingsport: Strategic Responses to Demographic Shifts
Reflecting on the past year prompts us to delve into the underlying rationale behind the inception of the Move To Kingsport program, which began 24 years ago, predating the seismic shifts caused by the pandemic-driven “Great Relocation”. It was a proactive response by community leaders who foresaw our region grappling with a recurring issue seen…
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Kingsport’s Newcomers: Younger, More Diverse, Mostly from Tennessee
KINGSPORT, TN – Newly released census data confirms the success of a vision more than 26 years in the making. The Model City Coalition was formed in 1997 to set a vision for Downtown. Shortly thereafter, a major Economic Summit was held in 1999. These initiatives occurred after Eastman Chemical Company spun off from Eastman…
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First time visitors’ visceral response
Recently, I was giving a tour of Kingsport to a group of ladies from Richmond, Virginia. It was their first visit to East Tennessee. They were very much “Old Virginia” in the sense that their roots went back to ancestors who had discovered the new world and never saw a reason to venture any further.…
Kingsport Spirit 