Brentwood and Franklin (Hendersonville, Smyrna, Henderson: big house, neighborhoods, to buy)

[rosen]

I am moving to Nashville with my family this summer. We have two junior high students and we want to make sure we land in the right spot.

After reading many posts on this sight, internet research, and talking to friends in the area or who have lived there, we are looking in Franklin and Brentwood. I know Brentwood school are fantastic, but my concern is how do the kids act? Sometimes lots of money can create lots-o-problems (drugs, alcohol, etc) Is this a bigger issue in Brentwood HS over Franklin or Page HS?

No one seems to talk about Page HS either - their scores are about the same as Brentwood - what's the story there?

We would like to buy an older home in the 400's in Brentwood with about an acre of land - a little privacy after living on top of our neighbors! It seems there are a lot of mcmansions in Brentwood - is there a divide there relative to living in an older, more modest home vs. big-look-at-me homes? Especially with kids?

I grew up in Connecticut so I know how the town structure of wealth works - sometimes, it's not so pretty. Want to make sure my kids don't deal with that...I don't care personally - but it's all about the kids

Any advice on Franklin schools (Page specifically) vs. Brentwood and attitudes would be great!

[BirdieBelle]

I guess the assumption here is that Brentwood students have more of a "bad" attitude since the houses cost more. It's not true.

I have kids at Brentwood High. They have good friends at Page. The two areas are different, but similar in many ways.

Both schools are predominantly white. Both have very few discipline problems.

Not sure which scores you're referring to as being the same. I guess Great Schools. BHS is ahead slightly in standardized scores. For example, Page's average ACT score last year was 21.7 (above state avg) while BHS was 25.4. All kids take the test, so it's not as if they're taking the cream off the top.

I will cut to the chase and talk about my perceptions of the two schools based on 21 years here.

Page is much more remotely located. More students there live a rural lifestyle than in B'wood, but that by no means indicates that the school is "country." Many of the most expensive properties in the county are zoned for Page, and lots of music industry folks and business execs have kids there. So there is a decent mix of rural and "city" folk there.

BHS is just south of Nashville, so it does draw from people who want to be close to their HQ jobs in Nashville and Cool Springs. But there are also many people who live in less expensive homes and make less than $100K per year in B'wood. Including us! People who live in "look at me" homes don't act like that, for the most part. The hardest part about living here and not living in a big house is when your kid asks why we don't have 9 TVs or why we can't put in a pool. BUT I will say that my boys' favorite place to hang out is at a friend's 32-year-old ranch house that happens to have a cool basement.

The thing is, some of the people who live here are really well off. I mean, what can you do if your kid is in class with a country superstar's daughter, or an NFL player's son, or the president of a medical company that no one can spell but who is worth multiple millions? Those people aren't always going to choose the smaller home, and they won't always be cool about it. Most of the time they are. The values come from how you deal with that situation.

OK,so back to the questions. Both schools have lots of extracurricular offerings and strong sports programs. Brentwood offers more AP classes, but you can get your share at Page. Both have very active parent groups. The folks I have met from both schools have been great people. Since I interact more regularly with BHS kids, I will say that I find them to be good kids. It's like anywhere; you will find the occasional jerk. But in all these years at B'wood schools, my kids have NEVER had a major problem with another child.

Drinking is more of an issue here than drugs. I promise you will find both at all schools here. But it's not a pervasive part of the culture.

I guess I will sum up by saying that I am glad my kids are at BHS and would not change it. Our friends at Page would say the same thing.

[CountryGirl2b=]

I don't have kids so can't speak to the schools. I live in Franklin but when friends some to visit we drive around Brentwood to see the "Look at Me" houses. If I did have kids, I think I'd stay in Franklin. It just seems more 'normal' to me. I grew up in Connecticut, too! The weirdest thing about moving to Middle TN is the HOA's . . . way more prevalent than in CT. Best of luck with your move!

[brentwoodgirl]

I don't feel like Brentwood, or even Nashville in general, are flashy, in your face, kind of places. Yes, there are some really big houses in Brentwood. But there isn't a sense of people trying to out buy each other to prove their worth. People seem to be overall pretty reasonable and practical when it comes to money.

My husband is looking at jobs, and one opportunity was in Plano. When we looked there, it seemed like consumption and flash was a huge deal. We decided that wasn't right for our family. I have 3 children, and they all asked for less than $40 of stuff for their birthdays last year. My oldest has a modest cell phone in middle school, they all have the original DS, plain iPods. I offered to get the older two iPod touches this year for their birthdays, and they said they would just borrow mine. Clearly there isn't a huge peer pressure to get stuff at school.

All that to say, we really like living here and don't feel a huge "keeping up with the Jones" kind of pressure. My in-laws live in a small town and what you have seems much more important there.

[septimus]

I much prefer living in Franklin to Brentwood. I feel Brentwood is just a suburban blob whereas Franklin is truly a town which a unique character. That said, I'm tempted to move to BMS/BHS zones when my kids are old enough if we go the public school route. I think the peer pressure there is a pressure of excellents striving towards top colleges where as my babysitter goes to Page and has friends who have kids already so I suspect Page probably has 2 distinct student populations.

[Tucsonmom]

Hello.,
Could anyone tell me what sort of things are there for teens to do in the area?
Are the kids (teens) there into trends of wearing a lot of black clothing, piercings and the like?
Just want to get a feel for what kids are doing there.
Thanks.

[akm4]

I have 2 teenagers and haven't seen the black-clothing-mage-piercings thing for awhile now. I'm sure there are a few still around, but it's far from pervasive. You'll see much more Ralph Lauren, A&F, Aerie, Nike, etc.

Among the things keeping my kids and their friends busy-

Work (Most kids I know have jobs.)
Swimming (Most Franklin neighborhoods have pools.)
Summer workouts (Athletics are huge here.)
Golf
Church-related activities (Mission trips, volunteer work, just-for-fun outings)
Hanging out at each other's houses, the mall, or things like mini golf, laser chase, bowling, etc.
Hiking, biking & canoeing. (Lots of parks and trails.)

Hope that helps. Have you been here for a visit? You can tour the high schools and see for yourself. I think you'll be reassured once you have a look. Good luck with your move!

[El Passeaux]

I have lived in many parts of the country, including Phoenix, and feel on observation only (I have no data to back this up), Nashville has the best raised kids in any area I have lived. Coming from the North, I have to pin it on the religious aspect of life here as the key. Not saying anything negative about the less religious or that all religious kids are good kids but it seems they are more polite and have better values on average.

Originally Posted by akm4

I have 2 teenagers and haven't seen the black-clothing-mage-piercings thing for awhile now. I'm sure there are a few still around, but it's far from pervasive. You'll see much more Ralph Lauren, A&F, Aerie, Nike, etc.

Among the things keeping my kids and their friends busy-

Work (Most kids I know have jobs.)
Swimming (Most Franklin neighborhoods have pools.)
Summer workouts (Athletics are huge here.)
Golf
Church-related activities (Mission trips, volunteer work, just-for-fun outings)
Hanging out at each other's houses, the mall, or things like mini golf, laser chase, bowling, etc.
Hiking, biking & canoeing. (Lots of parks and trails.)

Hope that helps. Have you been here for a visit? You can tour the high schools and see for yourself. I think you'll be reassured once you have a look. Good luck with your move!

[Anony-Momma]

Originally Posted by akm4

I have 2 teenagers and haven't seen the black-clothing-mage-piercings thing for awhile now. I'm sure there are a few still around, but it's far from pervasive. You'll see much more Ralph Lauren, A&F, Aerie, Nike, etc.

Among the things keeping my kids and their friends busy-

Work (Most kids I know have jobs.)
Swimming (Most Franklin neighborhoods have pools.)
Summer workouts (Athletics are huge here.)
Golf
Church-related activities (Mission trips, volunteer work, just-for-fun outings)
Hanging out at each other's houses, the mall, or things like mini golf, laser chase, bowling, etc.
Hiking, biking & canoeing. (Lots of parks and trails.)

Hope that helps. Have you been here for a visit? You can tour the high schools and see for yourself. I think you'll be reassured once you have a look. Good luck with your move!

Marching band.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by septimus

I much prefer living in Franklin to Brentwood. I feel Brentwood is just a suburban blob whereas Franklin is truly a town which a unique character.

Franklin's unique character extends for about a mile in each direction from the square. Outside of that, it's like a mash-up of Brentwood, Hendersonville, and Smyrna.

In short, outside of the historic development, Franklin is basically the very definition of a suburban blob.