Nashville ? (Murfreesboro, Franklin, Smyrna: insurance, houses, neighborhoods)

[BRMan]

My wife and I live in Louisiana and are thinking someday of moving to Tennessee. Aftrer Katrina, we briefly visited Nashville and looked at houses in Sumner, Wilson, Rutherford, Williamson, and Davidson Counties. We'd be interested in a 4BR, 2000-2500 sq ft home in the 175-225K price range. I had some questions about Nashville:

1. I'm an IT Project Manager and my wife works for the Legislature as a budget analyst. How plentiful are professional jobs in Nashville ? Seems like the town is growing.
2. The areas we liked were (1) SW Nashville south of I-440west of I-65, and (2) Nashville south of Old Hickory on the east side of I-65 - are there neighborhoods you recommend/don't recommend in those parts ?
3. Seems like there were few malls/not many grocery stores - where is the shopping in Metro Nashville ?
4. How restrictive are homeowners assiociations in Nashville ?
5. Are there things about Nashville we need to be aware of ?
6. We crossed Laverne/Smyrna off our list because it seemed (a) the houses were thrown together, (b) lack of shopping availability, and (c) seemed like the I-24 commute would be brutal. Are these correct observations ?
7. What're insurance/property taxes like in the Nashville area ?
8. What do you like about Nashville ?

[insanesmooch]

I'd say there are quite a few professional jobs in the Nashville area. I would also look toward Franklin.
There are 6 malls: Cool Springs Galleria in Franklin, Green Hills Mall, there is one toward the west side that was not doing well, Opry Mills, Rivergate, and Hickory Hollow. Hickory Hollow seems to be going down a little too.
There are also lots of grocery stores all over: Kroger, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, HG Hills, and Super Wal-mart. There is shopping off all the major roads in each part of town.
I've never lived in a place with a homeowner's association, but I worked at a place where we got mail for them. I've seen many complaints about them. I think restrictiveness can vary depending on what kind of neighborhood you are in. The lower cost the homes are the less restrictive they seem to be.
There isn't a whole lot in Laverne or Smyrna, but I traveled 24 to get to Murfreesboro. Once they opened it up to 4 lanes almost all the way through Murfreesboro, the interstate was the shortest part of the trip. It was smooth sailing unless there was an accident.

[john1963]

they just started a commuter train that runs from the east side to downtown, it will include other areas at a later date. It's called the "music city star", check out thier website.

[builderman]

You're smart to ask about homeowners' associations. I remodel homes, and many modifications are either dictated by historical societies, CC&Rs or HO associations. Certainly not everywhere, but find out just in case.

Hope you find the home and neighborhood you want!