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Kingsport Spirit

Jeff Fleming's unique take on the Kingsport Spirit with stories of faith, family, people, places, & history of his hometown and surrounding region. Jeff retired in 2019 after serving the City of Kingsport for 35 years, rising from planning intern to city manager.

  • History
  • Move To Kingsport
  • People
  • Motivation
  • My Family
  • 1948: Appeal to the Great Spirit

    Do you ever see a photograph that triggers a memory? Recently, I discovered that Ancestry.com has digitized many of our nation’s yearbooks. In the process, I stumbled on the 1948 Maroon & Grey—my mother’s final yearbook at Dobyns-Bennett. It offers a remarkable window into student life in that era. Twenty school years later, in 1967–68,…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 9, 2025
    History, My Family, People
    art, books, cherokee, great spirit, History, sports mascots, tennessee, writing
  • Income vs. Wealth: Understanding Kingsport’s Retiree-Driven Metrics

    Public discussion about Kingsport’s economy often leans on a single familiar figure: median household income. It is simple, understandable, and widely used. Yet in Kingsport’s case, it can also be one of the most misleading indicators of our true economic condition. Many of Kingsport’s major job sectors—manufacturing, health care, finance, and professional services—offer median wages…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 5, 2025
    economy, Move To Kingsport
    economics, economy, finance, income, news, politics, real estate, wealth
  • Kingsport’s Quiet Surge in New Housing

    A recent comparison of new-construction listings across nine Tennessee peer cities reveals a striking trend: Kingsport is undergoing one of the most rapid shifts in new-home availability anywhere in the region. While places such as Cleveland, Cookeville, Johnson City, Maryville, and Morristown currently list more total new homes, the year’s most dramatic movement belongs unmistakably…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 4, 2025
    economy, Move To Kingsport
    city management, economic development, finance, housing, investment, planning, real estate, urban planning
  • A Market Finding Its Sustainable Rhythm

    MOVE TO KINGSPORT MONTHLY REPORT The November 2025 relocation data confirm that Kingsport has entered a new phase of steady, durable growth—one that is less explosive than the post-pandemic wave, but far more sustainable. In November 2025, Kingsport welcomed 39 new families from 18 states, averaging 2.29 new families per workday. The median home price…

    Jeff Fleming

    December 2, 2025
    economy, Move To Kingsport
    economic development, finance, housing, housing-market, investing, migration, planning, population, real estate, realtor, relocation, sustainable growth, urban planning
  • Of Time and Time Zones

    The change to or from daylight saving time always throws me off. It takes a good couple of weeks to feel normal again. I’ve long wished we could settle on one consistent time year-round, but I understand it’s not as simple as it sounds. When I lived briefly in Middle Tennessee, I remember the sun…

    Jeff Fleming

    November 5, 2025
    History
    daylight saving time, economic development, economy, genealogy, History, news, time zones, travel, writing
  • Holding Steady in a Changing Market

    Move To Kingsport Monthly Report – October 2025 Kingsport’s draw remains both steady and far-reaching. In October 2025, the city welcomed 41 new families from 17 states, averaging 1.95 families per workday—virtually identical to the same month last year. That consistency is impressive at a time when national relocation trends have cooled significantly. What’s changed…

    Jeff Fleming

    November 4, 2025
    Move To Kingsport
    housing, housing-market, kingsport, news, politics, real estate, tennessee
  • Tennessee: Where Your Retirement Income Stays Yours

    Low taxes, affordable living, and a culture of responsibility make East Tennessee one of the nation’s most retiree-friendly regions When you’ve worked hard, saved carefully, and dreamed of a well-earned retirement, the last thing you want is for state taxes to take a big bite out of it. A recent MSN Money analysis spotlighted the…

    Jeff Fleming

    November 3, 2025
    Move To Kingsport
    finance, housing, investing, migration, personal finance, real estate, retirement, retirement-planning, social security
  • Fairacres: The Lasting Value of a Well-Planned Neighborhood

    Recently, my ‘cousin-in-law’, Lucy Fleming (of Fun Fest fame), shared that her native neighborhood, Sequoyah Hills in Knoxville, was recently named one of the “170 Most Envied Places to Live in America” by RE/MAX (August 2025). She recalled fond memories of growing up there — and noted how her longtime Kingsport neighborhood, Fairacres, reminds her…

    Jeff Fleming

    October 30, 2025
    History, Move To Kingsport, People
    architecture, City Planning, georgia, good design, History, landscape architecture, north carolina, north-carolina, tennessee, travel, urban design
  • City & Community: Why the Kingsport Spirit Still Matters

    Kingsport’s founders built the framework—but it’s up to us to keep the spirit alive through service and generosity. Have you ever thought about the difference between a city and a community? A city is a legal structure—it enforces laws, levies taxes, and manages resources through elected officials entrusted with public funds. Paying taxes isn’t optional,…

    Jeff Fleming

    October 24, 2025
    Move To Kingsport
    charity, Community, community pride, generosity, kingsport spirit, service
  • Kingsport: Steady in a Shifting Market

    Every month, new housing reports arrive with a blizzard of numbers—sales up here, prices down there, percentages that can make your head spin. But when you sift through the data, one story consistently stands out: Kingsport remains the region’s steady hand. According to the latest September 2025 report from the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors…

    Jeff Fleming

    October 22, 2025
    Move To Kingsport
    economy, housing, housing-market, investing, kingsport, real estate, realtor, tennessee
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