Will an interracial family(black dad, white mom, asian daughter) fit in in Nashville? (Brentwood: transplants, school)

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by carolinajack

how is williamson county? i heard it was a conservative county which is great for us, but not sure if it is too far out or too rural.

183,000 people live there...so not there are definitely developed parts. Rural land still dominates most of the SW and SE portions of the county...but Franklin (pop 62,000) and Brentwood (pop 37,000) aren't rural.

Brentwood is 10-12 miles from Downtown Nashville...so it's definitely not too far out...but it is definitely more expensive than any other *larger* suburb (Belle Meade and Forest Hills more expensive, but are quite small). Brentwood offers no apartments, and is mainly large lot residential.

Franklin has a bit more diversity as far as housing than Brentwood...but is still mainly middle to upper middle class. Franklin is just south of Brentwood, and 15-20 miles from downtown. Probably one of the better commutes from an out-of-county suburb (of size).

Williamson County is a major residential, employment, and retail center in the metro. If you chose to locate there, I don't think you would find it's location as any sort of disadvantage. And if conservative politics is a sticking point, it's easily the most attractive location in the region.

[BirdieBelle]

Nashville (and Williamson County) is the political and cultural opposite of where you are coming from, Portland. Strongly Republican, anti-tax, heavily Tea Party (not that that's a good thing), car-centered.
I would expect some culture shock, even if you are religious conservatives.

[carolinajack]

thanks both of you. good info. I think Williamson Co. is what i am looking for and Franklin seems very nice. I will have to def check it out on my visit. WMson4Life, thanks I am coming from Portland Or, due to the fact that its not its culturally and political opposite of who I am. we were in Oregon for the job and out of doors, the culture is very toxic to raising our daughter so we want out fast. Im a southerner and a Tea Party Member, strongly Republican, Conservative, anti tax so those issues would not bother me in the lease but be a strong pull.

what culture shock would i have as a conservative christian and political conservative?

[BirdieBelle]

I wasn't sure if you enjoyed the lifestyle there or not, so I meant culture shock in that the two cities are quite different, um, philosophically.

Portland is known for its leadership being open to sustainability, which is not as prevalent here. Recycling is not as common. Nashville's mayor is forward-thinking in this way, as are some of the local leaders to the south, but our state leadership has not caught up. Portland has something like 75 or 80 LEED-certified buildings, while Middle Tennessee is more known for sprawl. Nashvillians spend an average of 35 hours a year delayed in traffic. Public transit is good IN town, but connectivity to outlying areas is lacking.

etc etc etc

Cost of living is lower here, people may be more defensive and less "live and let live," stemming, I think, from the influx of transplanted residents since the mid-90s.

It's that kind of culture shock.

[carolinajack]

yes they are different, but the sprawl and traffic here in portland is palpable. The talk is sustainability but the actions are more of a inner city vs the rest of the city. they dont do much in the poor neighborhoods or working classes; the upscale, upper classes force their will on the rest of society and there is great resentment. lots of crime, crazy amounts of violent crime, drugs crime, homelessness, racism. sadly, the city could be great.

for having public transit, the envy of other cities, doesnt go everywhere and increasingly becoming more expensive. traffic again is abysmal. here the folks are very passive agressive and not very warm and welcoming, or freindly. Yes, i dont care for the live and let live ideal-which means look the other way with issues of child abuse, racial divisions, etc etc.

im southern my wife is northern, so there wouldnt be much culture shock. the culture shock was in portland with expectation not meeting reality.

[Reactionary]

carolinajack - do you know where you'll be working?

Rush hour traffic can be very heavy - for example, just a few hours ago using I65 it took me an hour to go ~10 miles from downtown to Cool Springs Galleria (north Franklin in north Williamson County) and another 30 minutes to go ~5 more miles to 840 (central Williamson County). To be fair I65 is under construction, but it always seems to be under construction. It takes my brother-in-law ~90 minutes to commute east to Murfreesboro on I24 from downtown.

Consider Murfreesboro in your search; family-friendly conservative area and home to MTSU.

IMO a tea party conservative will fit in nicely in middle Tennessee.

Also please take a look 100 miles south to Huntsville, Alabama. We'd love to have you here...

[carolinajack]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

carolinajack - do you know where you'll be working?

Rush hour traffic can be very heavy - for example, just a few hours ago using I65 it took me an hour to go ~10 miles from downtown to Cool Springs Galleria (north Franklin in north Williamson County) and another 30 minutes to go ~5 more miles to 840 (central Williamson County). To be fair I65 is under construction, but it always seems to be under construction. It takes my brother-in-law ~90 minutes to commute east to Murfreesboro on I24 from downtown.

Consider Murfreesboro in your search; family-friendly conservative area and home to MTSU.

IMO a tea party conservative will fit in nicely in middle Tennessee.

Also please take a look 100 miles south to Huntsville, Alabama. We'd love to have you here...

Thank you, we dont know where we will be working yet. i have until May 012 to find work, my wife is looking too, we hope it will be sooner than later--traveling in winter across country isnt fun but we would do it to move.
Ive heard Murfreesboro is nice, and i love Huntsville. thank you for such a nice note thanks so much.

[carolinajack]

what is it like in antioch and greenbier ?

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by carolinajack

what is it like in antioch and greenbier ?

Those are two incredibly different areas. Antioch is a diverse neighborhood in the city of Nashville.

Greenbrier is a small rural community with a few suburban areas in Robertson county.

[aaronmidnight]

I live in Brentwood. My area (street) is very diverse - Chinese, Korean, South Asian, Middle Eastern, African American, Caucasian and inter-ethnic.

From what I can tell, you would be welcomed here and judged like everyone else on the basis of your friendliness, personality and willingness to adhere to the typical suburban lawncare standards ;-)