Highly-Ranked Quality of Life Helps Explain Success of Tri-Cities of Northeast Tennessee - Southwest Virginia

JOHNSON CITY and KINGSPORT and BRISTOL, Tenn., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Quality of life is more than an empty sales pitch in the Tri-Cities area of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.  High rankings in four important quality of life categories – affordability, health care, education and cultural amenities – make this region highly attractive for business investors and the retirement-minded alike.

Kiplinger's now ranks Johnson City's cost of living the fifth best in the nation for cities with a population of 75,000 or more. The magazines sites Johnson City's  "affordable homes and below-average utility, transportation and health-care costs that keep the cost of living low in this city on the western edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains."  Johnson City's sister cities Kingsport and Bristol, meanwhile, were ranked in last year's Kiplinger's poll as top ten cities nationwide for their strong housing market.

Affordability, cost of living and return on investment, however, don't tell the whole story.  Quality of life is also about having an environment that is safe, healthy and interesting.

Kingsport is consistently ranked by Money Magazine as one of the South's best places to live, and RelocateAmerica.com ranked the city among the nation's top 100 places to live.  Business Week  ranked Johnson City as "a great place to raise kids."

The Tri-Cities' strong healthcare system also promotes growth.

Both Mountain States Health Alliance, with 15 hospitals, and the eight-hospital Wellmont healthcare system have level-I trauma centers, making the Tri-Cities arguably the best-served region in Tennessee for emergency care.  

It's also a fun place to live. Bristol Motor Speedway , the "World's Fastest Half Mile," is a major draw throughout the South, while those more interested in natural beauty can enjoy the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (the nation's most oft-visited national park) and have the entire Appalachian Highlands as their playground.  

Outdoor recreation, in fact, is a way of life in the Tri-Cities.

It's a short drive to Boone, Watauga and South Holston Lakes and the state's best fly fishing in the Watauga and South Holston Rivers.  Golf Digest has named Northeast Tennessee the second best place to live and play golf in America, and Walking Magazine named Kingsport a Top Ten City in which to walk.

Quality of life also attracts business investment.  Staffers at the Regional Alliance for Economic Development, which represents 10 counties in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, say Tennessee is on a roll. The state has had $1 billion-plus investments by Volkswagen, Wacker and Hemlock Semiconductor, and is experiencing statewide growth in its solar industry sector and in energy research and development jobs. Chief Executive magazine last year ranked Tennessee a Top Five state for job growth and business, and Site Selection Magazine, which is closely read by business leaders considering an expansion, recently ranked the state in the top five for Best Business Climate.

Keeping pace with these high tech developments is the job of East Tennessee State University (13,000 students), Northeast State Technical Community College, and a strong network of vocational and medical support programs centered around the award-winning Kingsport Center for Higher Education.

Culture amenities also play an important life here.

In addition to numerous folk life festivals celebrating Appalachia, Kingsport's professional Symphony of the Mountains under the baton of Swiss-born conductor Cornelia Laemmli, the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in nearby Greeneville, Tenn., Bristol's Paramount Center for the Arts, and the highly-regarded Barter Theatre just over the state line in Abingdon, Virginia,  add tremendous variety to the region's cultural life.

For more information, visit the Regional Alliance website, call 423-323-8102 or e-mail [email protected].

Media representation: Clark Miller Communications, 865-414-1908.

SOURCE Regional Alliance for Economic Development