Move to Franklin? (home, wedding, buying)

[Kevin south of Nashville]

So this has been curious to me since we moved here years ago… The lighting storms are less ‘thunderous’ here somehow? In southern California we used to count how close lightning strikes were and all of that, often with HUGE cracks following the strikes, but here the strikes seem to be more of a white light (not sure how that could be either), brighter, and they seem to light up the sky for slightly longer each time. Now the rain and wind storms, those are pretty fierce and were completely new to us compared to a mild so-cal desert climate.

[Wingz]

Originally Posted by CAgirlinTN

I'm wondering what you think of the high school?

My children went to Centennial and had a great experience both academically and socially. They have done very well in college because of the academic preparation they received at Centennial. Both of them have thanked us for moving to Frankin (we moved here for the schools).

All Williamson County high schools are excellent. I wouldn't let the school zone drive my decision in buying a home.

[Heidi60]

When my neighbor's condo was struck last January I was upstairs, there was a huge red flash and it sounded as if a bomb had gone off on our roof. The color of lightning indicates the content of the surrounding air. Red is rain in the cloud, blue indicates hail, yellow means a lot of dust and white means low humidity which start more ground fires. Cloud to cloud lightning and cloud to air lightning are visible from more than 20 miles away which means thunder is not audiible beyond that distance. No, I'm not smart, I had to look it up... again. After seeing the Nashville floods last year I want to avoid areas that might flood again. There is little doubt in my mind that weather patterns are changing and nothing is absolute but I want to be careful. I spent a summer in Mobile with my brother and that year there were so many hurricane warnings that I began to ignor them. Oh, to be that carefree again! So, my cousin pays $300/mo for heat in Akron during the winter. What are the heating/cooling/trash bills like in Franklin for an average size house?

[CAgirlinTN]

Originally Posted by Wingz

My children went to Centennial and had a great experience both academically and socially. They have done very well in college because of the academic preparation they received at Centennial. Both of them have thanked us for moving to Frankin (we moved here for the schools).

All Williamson County high schools are excellent. I wouldn't let the school zone drive my decision in buying a home.

Our oldest (8th grade this year) has figured out that we are thinking of moving to Williamson County. She is very upset with us and we have not even officially told the kids yet. She will be starting high school there. I hope she adjusts. How old were your kids when you moved them? Did they make friends easy? She is so set on not leaving her friends, I just hope she can make new friends quickly. The other two (5 & 8) will adjust just fine I think, as soon as they see the community pools

[BirdieBelle]

I think that is a very typical reaction for her age. Of course, you have to do what is best for the family, though she will probably pitch quite a fit. But 9th grade is a natural transition time for a lot of kids. She won't be the only new kid there. Most high schools here have good transition programs for 9th-graders.

One thing that may help is to move as early in the summer as possible and try to involve her in neighborhood activities, short-term sports camps, art classes, whatever she is interested in. We met our closest friends on my son's rec league football team. They moved here from another city, and the mom looked online before they moved and signed the boys up for football from out of town to give them something to do and a way to be connected.

Anyway, it will be hard for her, certainly. Sometimes being the "new girl" can be an advantage because it's like starting over.

[brentwoodgirl]

Next year would be an especially good time to be starting new at several of the schools, Centennial being one. The rezoning goes into effect and there were be new children coming in looking for friends.

[Anony-Momma]

Originally Posted by CAgirlinTN

Our oldest (8th grade this year) has figured out that we are thinking of moving to Williamson County. She is very upset with us and we have not even officially told the kids yet. She will be starting high school there. I hope she adjusts. How old were your kids when you moved them? Did they make friends easy? She is so set on not leaving her friends, I just hope she can make new friends quickly. The other two (5 & 8) will adjust just fine I think, as soon as they see the community pools

We're moving, probably in June. One of our children is an 8th grader who will be in the same situation as yours. Maybe we can get them together. Is she on facebook? (let's take this to private message)

[Vandy-bound]

We moved this past summer (late July) and our oldest just started high school this year. The transition was not as tough for him as for our younger son, but I think it's due more to personality than actual age/grade challenges. We were fortunate enough to be able to come several weeks early. The high school actually had a two or three day morning program to acclimate the kids to the school, help them learn the building, and meet some friends. We could not be here early enough for our younger son to attend one of the summer things for the elementary age set, and the place we are renting does not have a swim/tennis (another reason we are not staying in this house), so it was more challenging for him to meet kids his age.

We knew that the move could be upsetting, so we tried to do things to make it easier on the kids: letting them pick their rooms in the house, if you are buying something, perhaps letting them choose a paint color for their room (cheap and easy to do), take advantage of any of the newcomer programs in the schools--our high schooler got free lunch once or twice because of this, ask the schools for a tour prior to school starting, get involved in swim/tennis stuff once you move, take advantage of the library stuff (book clubs/art classes/etc).

We also had family and friends come for a visit within the first month we were here. Instead of being a burden, it was a great opportunity for the kids to play tour guide and for us to see places we hadn't been to yet. It gave them a sense of ownership of the area and a good time was had by all.

Good luck--kids are much more resilient than they lead us to believe! Your positive attitude will go a long way!

Vandy-bound

[Wingz]

Originally Posted by CAgirlinTN

Our oldest (8th grade this year) has figured out that we are thinking of moving to Williamson County. She is very upset with us and we have not even officially told the kids yet. She will be starting high school there. I hope she adjusts. How old were your kids when you moved them? Did they make friends easy? She is so set on not leaving her friends, I just hope she can make new friends quickly. The other two (5 & 8) will adjust just fine I think, as soon as they see the community pools

We were living in Nashville in our first house and had the luxury of being able to time our move to coincide with our first child starting school. We moved just before she started kindergarten, so we don't have any experiences to share regarding the children adjusting to a new school. My sister-in-law moved from out of state to this area when her oldest was entering the 9th grade. That child was very angry about having to leave her friends and rebelled by skipping school, drinking and being a real problem child all through high school. Her two younger brothers adjusted with no problem. Personality is probably the largest factor, but I do think that is a vulnerable age so it will be important to get your daughter involved in sports or some other kind of activity that will enable her to make friends without waiting for the school year to start.

[MillionaireMom]

Originally Posted by septimus

Centennial is a good school. I wished we were zoned there vs our new zoning.

We just bought a home in the Centennial school district....
And no, I'm not afraid of the imagined "gang" activity, nor the fact that there are (heaven forbid) - black and hispanic students attending the school!
Hopefully the influx of new blood will bring with it a renewed vigor to increase test scores (since that seems to be the only thing people care about nowadays!) and also some 'whiteness' so people won't be afraid to associate with us lowly Centennial parents.
Jeeeeeeeeez....