Murfreesboro relocation- or anywhere in Tn with a VA hospital.. (Johnson City: new home, neighborhoods)

[nursemommypaige]

First off, we visited Johnson City and it was not our cup of tea. We want to live somewhere that is great to raise a family. We have a 3 year old son, and would like him to grow up safe..healthy and happy. My husband is a nurse for the VA hospital here in Florida. I am also a nurse and would be looking for a part time job somewhere. We would like a place that we could live reasonably (affordable) on a one family income of a nurse-he works nights so we do get the shift diff, as I only work PRN or part time.

I read about Murfreesboro being a good place to raise a family. Why is that? What does it offer for families?

How is the shopping? Are there any outlet stores?

We basically want to leave Florida for the weather. It is too hot here!! How is it there? What is the average high in the summer? Do you get much snow in the winter?

Are there mountains in Murfreesboro?

Okay, I know I asked a ton of questions. I am open to suggestions of somewhere else to live too (other than JC) that has a VA hospital close by.

Thanks!!

[Kim918]

Hi Nursemommypaige!

You should ask a mod to put this in the nashville forum and you would get more responses.

Anyway, I moved to Murfreesboro from FL and I think it would be a terrific choice for you. It is very family oriented here and very reasonable for housing. We have a new hospital here as well so I'm sure jobs for you and hubby will be pretty easy to get and you won't even have to commute.

We love it here and have been here for 3 years now. Where in FL are you from? We came from West Palm Beach.

[nursemommypaige]

We are in Gainesville, Fl Thanks for the feedback!

[Why_Am_I_Here]

The Murfreesboro/Smyrna area is a great place. And there are LOTS of nursing ops, in the whole of middle Tenn., (Nashville included..).

Good Luck!

[aaronmidnight]

There is a VA Hospital in Nashville (Tennessee Valley Healthcare System - Nashville Campus - Locations), practically right next to Vanderbilt Medical Center. There are several other hospitals in Nashville (St Thomas, Baptist, Centennial) that have a great reputation.

Have you thought about living in/near Nashville or does it seem like too big a city for you?

One word of warning - there's no point moving from FL to Middle TN to escape the heat. Most of this last summer, we were hotter than Florida. Most of the summer, the temperatures were about 90 with frequent highs in the high 90s and heat indexes of 105-110.

That said, this was our first summer here and everyone says this was an extreme summer, but I'm just saying what we experienced. Also, the highs in mid-September are still in the low-to-mid 90s ... although less humid now so much more comfortable.

As for this past winter, there was hardly any snow, but we did have a couple of bad ice storms which in my opinion are worse than snow, especially on the hilly roads around here. Remember that Florida is totally flat, but Middle TN is a land of rolling hills.

If you're main motivation is to escape the heat while still avoiding harsh winters, I'd keep looking - maybe for a VA hospital on Colorado's front range, southern California or the Pacific NW. Or maybe someplace coastal in the mid-Atlantic area.

[Kim918]

I would have to disagree with you on the weather. I know everyone is different, but the heat in FL used to kill me. I haven't felt that way here yet. It has been a hot summer, but the humidity in FL used to smack me in the face the moment I stepped outside. I used to feel like I needed another shower almost immediately. Here it is hot and sometimes humid, but it isn't constant. We do get breaks from the humidity. In FL, (lived there 30 years) I never felt like there was a break from the humidity all summer and winter was really the only break from the humidity we did get there.The temps were still hot. I don't miss it!

Originally Posted by aaronmidnight

There is a VA Hospital in Nashville (Tennessee Valley Healthcare System - Nashville Campus - Locations), practically right next to Vanderbilt Medical Center. There are several other hospitals in Nashville (St Thomas, Baptist, Centennial) that have a great reputation.

Have you thought about living in/near Nashville or does it seem like too big a city for you?

One word of warning - there's no point moving from FL to Middle TN to escape the heat. Most of this last summer, we were hotter than Florida. Most of the summer, the temperatures were about 90 with frequent highs in the high 90s and heat indexes of 105-110.

That said, this was our first summer here and everyone says this was an extreme summer, but I'm just saying what we experienced. Also, the highs in mid-September are still in the low-to-mid 90s ... although less humid now so much more comfortable.

As for this past winter, there was hardly any snow, but we did have a couple of bad ice storms which in my opinion are worse than snow, especially on the hilly roads around here. Remember that Florida is totally flat, but Middle TN is a land of rolling hills.

If you're main motivation is to escape the heat while still avoiding harsh winters, I'd keep looking - maybe for a VA hospital on Colorado's front range, southern California or the Pacific NW. Or maybe someplace coastal in the mid-Atlantic area.

[Lamplight]

For what it's worth, we hit 100F today in Murfreesboro. Luckily the humidity was fairly low, but this summer has been insanely miserable here. I recall a few days back in August when our heat index was almost 120, and the heat index was over 100 pretty much ever day. But from what I've read, it does tend to get cooler here at night than in FL, though in my opinion it's still miserable outside at night all Summer. Lately it's actually been really nice at night, even though it's been hot during the day. We were 63 last night and 100 today.

[Vickie10essee]

Hi Nursemommypaige,


Here are some answers to your questions. Hope it helps paint a picture for you!


How is the shopping? Are there any outlet stores?
Pretty good shopping. We have the following in Murfreesboro: The Avenue | Stones River Mall as well as other small shopping centers/plazas. We have several Publix grocery stores, Kroger, Food Lion, Walmart, Aldi. We have good fitness centers and the YMCA, also.
The outlet stores are in Lebanon and are about 30 min. away from Murfreesboro, depending on which part of town you live in (b/c of traffic, etc.): Prime Outlets

We basically want to leave Florida for the weather. It is too hot here!! How is it there? What is the average high in the summer? I hate to quote you an average, b/c it is kind of unpredictable.
This summer was almost record high heat though, like most of the US. From July until end of August (give or take), it is humid and in the high 80's, 90's, or up to 100 sometimes. It may not be quite as humid as Florida, but more humid than where I am originally from in Ohio.

Do you get much snow in the winter?
Some winters we hardly get snow, but it is also kind of unpredictable. Once I remember us getting about 5-6 inches at once (the most in 10 years at one time), but it doesn't stick to the roads most of the time and may be a half inch or couple of inches two to four times per year at the most (just throwing out an estimate). Most of the time if it does snow, it is a dusting.

Are there mountains in Murfreesboro?
Off in the distance you can see some low mountains/rolling hills in certain areas. We live by a park where you can hike some of them by a river.

Okay, I know I asked a ton of questions. I am open to suggestions of somewhere else to live too (other than JC) that has a VA hospital close by.
There are SO many great neighborhoods within a few miles of the VA hospital. Just depends on your needs/wants/preferences, approved price range, year built, how big of a yard needed, if you want an HOA, or if you want rural/land. The Seigel schools would be closeby and you can check at least the elementary out at www.greatschools.org/.../murfreesboro/1030-Erma-Siegel-Elementary-School/ (broken link) - Greatschools.org is a nice resource for area school information. Lots of people like the Siegel schools out here. The homes are averaging in the 80's per square foot and there are lots in the $200-$250k range in that area by the VA hospital. There are some in the 70's per s.f. and even some at 100 per s.f., it just depends on what type of home/condition it is in, amount of land, year built, etc. There are not a lot of basements here, just to let you know. I work with a lot of out of state buyer clients that sometimes do not realize this. The homes are selling at an average of 94% asking price to sold price ratio right now in that area for homes in this $200's range. Lots are still selling for full price also (if they are clean, staged, no issues, and are the nicest ones, etc.).

Oh, and I cannot forget to mention The Greenway! Check it out at Parks and Rec - Murfreesboro Greenway System LOVELY walking and biking alongside the Stones River! Beautiful! It trails through many different parts of the town and is currently expanding.

You may want to check out the chamber of commerce website at Rutherford County, Tennessee | Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce

There are over 250 restaurants here also. We like Maple Street Grill, Demos', Lemongrass, Outback, and soooo many others.

I bet you will love living in the 'Boro! It is very affordable, clean for the most part, and I feel we have some of the friendliest people! Happy moving!

[Kim918]

Couldn't rep you again Vickie, I have to spread it around first, but loved your post. Very informative!

[aaronmidnight]

That Stones River Greenway sounds great! Have to check it out sometime. I'm a big fan of greenways

I've never lived in Florida, so I can't comment on whether the summers are worse there. I did visit Miami once in the summer for work and swore I would never go back in the summer months.

So...Kim918 is probably right, Florida is probably more miserable in the summer. My point was just that if the OP is moving out of Florida primarily because she didn't like hot summers (which she mentioned in her original post) that Middle TN or anywhere in the South might not be her ideal destination since there are other parts of the country that are typically much cooler and less humid in the summer and some of those places probably have VA hospitals too (i.e. VA Puget Sound Health Care System Home, VA San Diego Home, VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System Home)

I'm certainly not trying to discourage the OP from moving to Middle TN. She and her family sound great. I'd just like for her to be happy in her new home wherever that might be. We love it in Middle TN, but it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea, especially people who don't like it hot.