Just curious, which state do you think has more to offer? Ohio or Tennessee? (sales, real estate)

[kiwifruit2]

Specifically Akron, OH vs. Nashville, TN. I live in Ohio and want to move to Nashville, but before I make up my mind for good, I decided to start this thread to see what people think and if there is any reason I should reconsider? Tallmadge here in Ohio is a great city outside Akron, still in Summit County. Tallmadge is where we want to move if we decide to stay in Ohio. Around Nashville, we're looking at LaVergne and Hendersonville. What are the pros and cons for each location?

So far my own pro and con list is as follows:

For Ohio:

Pros:
-Great schools in Tallmadge/can find good schools in affordable areas
-Snow and snow sports/hobbies like sledding, skiing, snowman making with kids
-Great parks and recreational activities
-Amazone indoor playground for kids
-East of Chicago Pizza
-enjoy seasons
-Award-winning Library system in Summit County, best I've ever seen
-Kalahari resort in Sandusky
-Cedar point
-Wildwater Kingdom
-Cincinnatti Zoo
-Kent State University is a great college and there are more great colleges in the area as well
-affordability

Cons:
-biggest con for me is the lake effect, causing cloudy days majority of the time, this outweighs a lot of the pros for me
-kind of boring sometimes after you've already done everything
-too long and cold winters
-crime is bad in some parts of Akron, although that's expected everywhere you go

I don't know too much yet about Nashville, but from what I've researched and heard from family members is:

Pros:

-a lot more college options than in Akron
-sunnier than Ohio (no more lake effect, yay!)
-Music, music, music city! Music row, I love music need I say more.
-affordability and affordable real estate, I would say judging by what I've seen online, a little bit more affordable than here

Not sure about their libraries, zoos, fun places for kids, parks, colleges etc.

Cons:

-not much snow, if any to play in with the kids. Then again I can always go up north for the holidays to visit family in Illinois and we can get our snow fix then.
-?Schools? Not sure on that. There are bad and good schools no matter where you are.


So overall in your honest opinion what do you think about these locations and which one do you think would be a better place to reside? Thanks!

[JohnDBaumgardner]

It's a matter of personal taste. I live in metro Cleveland, I love it here! Metro Akron is an hour south of here ... Akron has had some rough times, but it is actually a nice, picturesque mid sized city. There's a huge valley running right through its downtown area, so the terrain is interesting. Don't overlook all of the amenities of CLEVELAND either ... top knotch cultural offerings, world renowned healthcare, the beaches of Lake Erie and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Nashville is many times larger than Akron. It's a pleasant city with an altogether different vibe. If you're embracing of country music and a more 'Appalachian way of life', then you may consider Nashville over Akron. Nashville is a growing city, expanding out in all directions, so you may want to remember that suburban sprawl will be a way of life in Nashville.

I personally prefer Ohio to Tennessee, but it's all in what you enjoy! Good luck

[portlanderinOC]

I've never been to either, but if I absolutely HAD to pick, it would be Nashville. I love southern food, and country music's okay too, not my top pick but I grew a liking for it when I lived in Texas. What does Ohio have? Hawthorne Heights? What a joke.

[Lamplight]

Nashville has a pretty darn impressive public library in my opinion.

[DubbleT]

Nashville- more than just country music!
(actually there is a pretty good variety of music to be found in Nashville, and three hours away Memphis offers it own music scene)

Zoos- Nashville Zoo and if you get bored with that one you can go 3 hours west to the Memphis Zoo or 3 hours east to the Knoxville Zoo or 2 hours south to the Chattanooga Zoo

Kid stuff- 50 Things to Do with Kids in Nashville Before They Grow Up | Alphamom

Schools- Several of the high schools usually rank in the top 100 in the Newsweek/Us News rankings
Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet
MLK Academic Magnet
America's Best High Schools
For colleges- Vanderbilt University

Parks- I don't know about the local parks but you would be within 4 hours of GSMNP

No state income tax

High sales tax- 9.75%

Muggy summers

[Lamplight]

^^The Chattanooga Aquarium's pretty nice, too. Actually I like Chattanooga, but it's still much too hot for me in the summer.

[kiwifruit2]

Originally Posted by Lamplight

Nashville has a pretty darn impressive public library in my opinion.

Good to know, thank you for sharing.

[kiwifruit2]

Originally Posted by DubbleT

Nashville- more than just country music!
(actually there is a pretty good variety of music to be found in Nashville, and three hours away Memphis offers it own music scene)

Zoos- Nashville Zoo and if you get bored with that one you can go 3 hours west to the Memphis Zoo or 3 hours east to the Knoxville Zoo or 2 hours south to the Chattanooga Zoo

Kid stuff- 50 Things to Do with Kids in Nashville Before They Grow Up | Alphamom

Schools- Several of the high schools usually rank in the top 100 in the Newsweek/Us News rankings
Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet
MLK Academic Magnet
America's Best High Schools
For colleges- Vanderbilt University

Parks- I don't know about the local parks but you would be within 4 hours of GSMNP

No state income tax

High sales tax- 9.75%

Muggy summers

Great links, thank you. No state income tax is a plus.

[kiwifruit2]

Originally Posted by Lamplight

^^The Chattanooga Aquarium's pretty nice, too. Actually I like Chattanooga, but it's still much too hot for me in the summer.

Didn't know TN had an aquarium. My kids have never been to an aquarium before so that would be a nice adventure. Does Ohio have and aquarium?

[ram2]

Originally Posted by kiwifruit2

Didn't know TN had an aquarium. My kids have never been to an aquarium before so that would be a nice adventure. Does Ohio have and aquarium?

There is one in northern Kentucky just across the river from Cincinnati.