Contemplating a move from Long Island (Murfreesboro, Jackson: sales, real estate, rent)

[boomer0707]

All,

This is my first time posting something in this forum, so excuse me if I don't do this correctly.

My wife and I are contemplating moving to the Nashville area from Long Island...we're fed up with the cost of living on LI, as well as some other factors. We have 2 young children (not yet in school), but schools are definitely a top priority. Our price range is probably a rather wide range of $150k - $250k....can anyone provide some guidance on what school districts are the best? I did some research online, and came across Brentwood (which seems a little pricey) and Mount Juliet (which is more affordable). Can you provide any information on these areas?

Also, re: employment, what are some of the biggest employers down there? My wife and I are both college grads with Accounting/Finance degrees. (Although, I'd prefer she not have to work) Can anyone recommend any good companies to work for, and any salary projections you might have would be helpful? We both currently work for a large Telecommunications company on LI.

Thanks in advance for your help...let me know if you'd need any other information.

- A fed up Long Islander!

[DonCorleone]

First, welcome to the forum! You definitely won't be alone here as a New England ex-pat. We have become a bit of a melting pot here in Middle TN with folks from all over the country moving here because of jobs (well, at least before the economy tanked), cheap real estate (well, cheaper now that the economy tanked), and overall quality of life (that is mostly unaffected by the economy ).

First, I would point you towards www.realtracs.com. It is a website (unaffiliated with any single real estate broker) with all the listings in the area. You can search by county, price, even by a specific school.

Originally Posted by boomer0707

Our price range is probably a rather wide range of $150k - $250k....can anyone provide some guidance on what school districts are the best? I did some research online, and came across Brentwood (which seems a little pricey) and Mount Juliet (which is more affordable). Can you provide any information on these areas?

Brentwood is very popular because of the schools. It is in Williamson County which has the reputation of being the best county school system in the area...probably in the state. However, Brentwood itself generally has higher property values as a result. You can probably find something in your price range, but it will be more difficult. I would look further south in Nolensville or Franklin. Nolensville is a once-small town that has really grown quickly...mostly people seeking affordable housing in Williamson County. Franklin is very nice too, but a little more expensive that Nolensville (generally speaking). There are parts of Franklin that are very upscale and others where you can find the typical 1960s ranch style suburbian home. Just north of Franklin is the shopping/dining/employment area called Cool Springs. It is a huge commercial area with a mall and many dozen other outlets nearby. There are also lots of corporate office complexes there, including Nissan North America's US corporate HQ.

I lived in Mt. Juliet for awhile and it too is a once-small town that has grown very much (its larger than Nolensville though). It is east of Nashville in Wilson County. The schools aren't quite as good as Williamson, but still better than Metro-Nashville/Davidson County's. Lots of homes in your price range here. I would venture a guess that you will find more home for your money in MtJ than in Williamson County. THe pro's of that area are that it is near the airport (about 15 minutes), about 30 minutes to downtown Nashville, but has plenty of shopping, dining, and recreational things (2 lakes if you're water people) there as well.

I would also suggest Hendersonville, although I admit bias, in Sumner County to the northeast of Nashville. Great schools and community. In fact, I think most people would put Sumner County/Hendersonville schools second behind Williamson County in this area. You'll find plenty of upscale homes in the area, but also lots of homes in your price range as well. Likewise, there's plenty of activities...there's a lake, several large parks, shopping, and dining options. There's really not a need to go to Nashville for "things to do" however, Nashville is only about 30 minutes away. I can't say enough good things about Hendersonville when it comes to raising a family.

Also, re: employment, what are some of the biggest employers down there? My wife and I are both college grads with Accounting/Finance degrees. (Although, I'd prefer she not have to work) Can anyone recommend any good companies to work for, and any salary projections you might have would be helpful? We both currently work for a large Telecommunications company on LI.

Obviously, we've been hit like everyone else with the sour economy. Our unemployment rate in TN is slightly higher than the national average (around 10% vs. 9.6% nationally...the last time I heard). Still, it is not impossible to find a job here at all, especially if you have a degree and job experience.

Nashville is a health care mecca but also a financial hub. You'll find a lot of finance, accounting, banking type jobs here, many related to health care or banking in some way or another. HCA is a major employer, as is Vanderbilt (the University and Medical Center), Healthways, a number of hospitals like St. Thomas, and literally dozens of other medium to moderate sized healthcare companies are in this area. The State Capitol is here as well and there are a number of state employees that work here. Nissan North America is based in Franklin/Cool Springs. The major banks in the area are Regions, SunTrust, Pinnacle Financial, First Tennessee, and Fifth Third.

Obviously the music industry is what we're known for here and you certainly will see a lot of music business jobs. All of the major labels (and small labels) have offices around Music Row (just north of the Belmont University campus towards Demonbreun St). But as a total employer, the healthcare dominates the employment scene.

I think that is pretty much the lay of the land as you requested. Please let us know if you have more questions. We have an awesome community of posters here in the Nashville forum who are more than willing to give advice and help.

Best of luck to you and your family.

[groovamos]

Loew's Hotels are moving their back office operations to downtown Nashville from NYC. If I were you I would jump on this ASAP. Also Dollar General is expanding like you wouldn't believe. They are in Goodlettesville and are listed on the big board.

[Kevin south of Nashville]

Come on in. My wife and I frequented the forum years ago when we made our move as well, so happy to return the favor.

To help fill in the data from The Don’s solid advice above:
GreatSchools.net can help you in comparing the Nashville area schools to your local schools, but some of our forum contributors have been the most knowledgeable sources for specific school information that I’ve been able to find anywhere: http://www.city-data.com/forum/searc...rchid=26365765

Brentwood may be a little more than you want to spend right now (3 older homes available), but just south of Brentwood in...

Franklin you’ll find over 100 homes that average around 1,700 square feet, up to 3,000 sq ft; average sales price in this community is $408,774 (*removing that $28m Alan Jackson sale from 2010’s numbers).

Nolensville has 24 homes at roughly 2,200 square feet (half of those are new), up to 2,800 sq ft; average sales price in this community is $309,204.

Mount Juliet offers you 180 homes (roughly a third of them new or newer) averaging about 2,100 square feet, up to 3,100; average sales price in this community is $227,385.

While Hendersonville offers you almost 200 homes averaging 2,200 square feet (again, roughly a third of these are new), up to just over 4,000; average sales price in this community is $234,446.

Are you looking for newer neighborhoods, more established communities, or perhaps even a little rural with more property?

[El Passeaux]

As long as you are not an Islanders fan you are welcome here ; )

[DonCorleone]

Originally Posted by groovamos

Loew's Hotels are moving their back office operations to downtown Nashville from NYC. If I were you I would jump on this ASAP. Also Dollar General is expanding like you wouldn't believe. They are in Goodlettesville and are listed on the big board.

Good call on both of those. Dollar General announced they were hiring 6,000 people nationwide. And since they're based out of Goodlettsville (just down the bypass from Hendersonville), I'm sure they're hiring folks out of their corporate office.

I also thought about Tractor Supply (based out of Brentwood), Cracker Barrel (based out of Lebanon), and Central Parking (based out of Nashville). In fact, here's a list of companies based in Middle TN.

[boomer0707]

Thanks for all the feedback...especially Don!! Great info!!

Originally Posted by Kevin south of Nashville

Are you looking for newer neighborhoods, more established communities, or perhaps even a little rural with more property?

We'd probably be looking into the newer neighborhoods....I'd just like to live in an area that's not surrounded by bad ones.....as is the case everywhere on LI it seems.

I definitely need to research the employment there as well....seems like a lot of companies there, so hopefully that wouldn't be an issue. Anyone know what the compensation is like there?? Compared to what it is in NY....

[Steve_TN]

Hey! I moved here from NJ in 1994. Consider Murfreesboro as well. Great schools and a great city/town! You could get a nice home in your price range!

[buddyjo143]

I would echo Steve. We just moved down from New Hampshire in July. We got a lot of bang for the buck in Murfreesboro.

I am not sure what you based your housing budget on but I can tell you that we left a $230k 3 bedroom, 1 bath, single car garage under ranch with a finished basement on 2.25 acres of land and got a 3 bed, 2 bath, single car with no basement on .3 acres for about $125k. $250k would buy you a LOT of house down here.

I am working in the Rutherford County schools and find them to be good as well.

You don't save whether you have ever visited here or have any family or friends.

I would recommend visiting and driving around these areas where you think you might want to live. We vacationed down here a few times in the summer and then came for a visit last February to see if the winter really was milder than up north (it was/is).

Good luck.

[MillionaireMom]

Originally Posted by boomer0707

All,

This is my first time posting something in this forum, so excuse me if I don't do this correctly.

My wife and I are contemplating moving to the Nashville area from Long Island...we're fed up with the cost of living on LI, as well as some other factors. We have 2 young children (not yet in school), but schools are definitely a top priority. Our price range is probably a rather wide range of $150k - $250k....can anyone provide some guidance on what school districts are the best? I did some research online, and came across Brentwood (which seems a little pricey) and Mount Juliet (which is more affordable). Can you provide any information on these areas?

Also, re: employment, what are some of the biggest employers down there? My wife and I are both college grads with Accounting/Finance degrees. (Although, I'd prefer she not have to work) Can anyone recommend any good companies to work for, and any salary projections you might have would be helpful? We both currently work for a large Telecommunications company on LI.

Thanks in advance for your help...let me know if you'd need any other information.

- A fed up Long Islander!

New Yorker here too. Cool Springs would be a nice transition for you. Rent first.