Thinking about moving to Nashville area (Franklin, Hendersonville: fit in, for sale, real estate)

[VeniceSunrise]

Hi and greetings from Texas!
This is my first post here. My husband I have moved to TX 6 years ago (Dallas area) from Connecticut. He's a Yankee while I'm from Europe. We're conservative, Christian, and pro 2a. No kids and don't plan any, so schools don't matter for us. White collar professionals. We like Dallas area but the brutal summers are too much for us. We like many other things here: the town is nice, everything is new, low cost of living, conservative, etc. It's just the summers that drive us crazy... So, we want a bit milder summers, and a bit more trees too.

We've visited friends in Franklin and liked the town. Will visit again some time soon, just to look around some more. We won't be buying a house right away as we want to make sure we love the place after we live there for a while. So, for the first 6 months or so we'll rent and look around, get used to the area and will decide if this is a right place for us. We haven't been anywhere else but Franklin and Nashville downtown. We certainly are open for other places similar to Franklin. Things we're looking for are:

1. Not hugely congested.
2. Safe area, low crime.
3. Not near a large factory, especially a chemical one.
4. Well-kept, not run down or neglected town.
5. No subdivisions. We want a large lot, so 5-10 acres being a "norm" for houses in that area. But we don't really look for a pure farmland. Something in between a charming town with some restaurants and parks, and a rural peaceful town (not "sleepy").
6. Affordable housing in a range of 300-400K.
7. And within an hour drive of Nashville, preferably a bit less than that.

Hope I'm not asking for too much. Also, maybe there are certain areas and neighborhoods in some towns around Franklin or in Franklin itself that fit into our preferences?

Any advice and ideas would be appreciated and we'll drive to those places when we visit in a month or so. Thanks!

[CountryGirl2b=]

Realtracs.com will give you a good idea on what you can buy in your price range. I searched Williamson County, 5 to 10 acres, from $250,000 to $400,000 and here is what came up:

RealTracs Real Estate Mid-South Search Results

We have trees but also very warm sticky summers. This Spring was wonderful but last year we had 90's in February . . . . .

[BirdieBelle]

You won't get a break from the summers here. I'd venture to say the humidity makes it worse.

[ExIslander]

Wilson County has a pretty fair number of properties like that -- the population here isn't as large as in some other counties around Nashville, so you can get the semi-rural feel closer to civilization. I can think of numerous properties fitting the description (although I'm not sure if any of them are for sale) along and near Central Pike and Stewarts Ferry Pike south of I-40, or on Division Street running between Mt. Juliet and Highway 109. I live in a plain old neighborhood but I always liked some of those spreads.

[VeniceSunrise]

Thanks for the link, CountryGirl.

Wmsn4Life, we visited Franklin last summer and I didn't notice much difference between there and Connecticut, which also gets very humid in summer. Humidity is not a big thing for me, it's a scorching sun that is. And my DH being Scandinavian in his origins (and with a very light skin) suffers from the sun a lot here in Texas. While I can't tolerate bitter cold winters. So, we're looking for a bit warmer place than CT but a bit cooler than TX. Also, TN is only 1 day drive from his family in CT versus 2 days from TX, which is another reason we want to be a bit closer to the east coast. There is really not much we can do about the humidity anyway... It gets quite humid here in Dallas too.

[VeniceSunrise]

Thanks, ExIslander. We'll look into the Wilson County too. Yes, semi-rural is exactly what we're looking for. Not too far from civilization, but not in the middle of everything. If we do move to Nashville area and love it there after a few months, and if we don't find a right house, then we may just buy a piece of land and build our own house. But I'm sure there will be plenty of time to shop around for the house once we're there. :-)

[CountryGirl2b=]

I moved here from CT and it seems warmer here. Part of it is the latitude . . . and being on CST means the sun is up in the summer a bit after 5. TN has some runs of temps being in the 100's which is brutal when you go to get in your parked car.

It's a very LONG day's drive to CT but yes, it can be done in less than 24 hours - I figure around 14?

Yes, we have MUCH milder winters and the price of electricity is SO much better. We have a small 1550 sq foot house and seldom top $100 in the electric bill. Summers in CT the A/C could push us into the high $200's.

We made the move 3 years ago and are very happy so far!

[septimus]

Originally Posted by CountryGirl2b=

I moved here from CT and it seems warmer here. Part of it is the latitude . . . and being on CST means the sun is up in the summer a bit after 5. TN has some runs of temps being in the 100's which is brutal when you go to get in your parked car.

It's a very LONG day's drive to CT but yes, it can be done in less than 24 hours - I figure around 14?

Yes, we have MUCH milder winters and the price of electricity is SO much better. We have a small 1550 sq foot house and seldom top $100 in the electric bill. Summers in CT the A/C could push us into the high $200's.

We made the move 3 years ago and are very happy so far!

FYI going 15mph over the speed limit on 81 in virginia is a felony

I tend to go between 8-10mph over the speed limit and it takes me about 16 hours to get from Franklin to NYC.

[BirdieBelle]

Ok, knowing that you don't mind that the summers will be as bad or worse than Texas, I would suggest Fairview. There is a huge park and there are "restaurants" there, but it's not like a movie set with charming cafes on the old town square. There are fast food places and a couple of independent places. Wal-Mart is building there, so it will see some growth, but it doesn't quite have the cache and quaintness to be trendy yet.

But it is about the most affordable place within Williamson County where you can get large lots and have the fewest subdivisions. Have you owned that much acreage before? No offense, but 5-10 acres is a LOT for white-collar professionals. I'm just saying be sure you know what you're getting into.

Franklin is VERY congested. Nashville and the surrounding areas are on a high right now and expected to get 1 million more people over the next 25 years. Any of the counties in the immediate ring around Nashville are going to have traffic problems if getting to the city is part of your daily routine.

Other than that, I might suggest the Goodlettsville area north of Nashville or Watertown.

[artemis]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

Ok, knowing that you don't mind that the summers will be as bad or worse than Texas, I would suggest Fairview. There is a huge park and there are "restaurants" there, but it's not like a movie set with charming cafes on the old town square. There are fast food places and a couple of independent places. Wal-Mart is building there, so it will see some growth, but it doesn't quite have the cache and quaintness to be trendy yet.

But it is about the most affordable place within Williamson County where you can get large lots and have the fewest subdivisions. Have you owned that much acreage before? No offense, but 5-10 acres is a LOT for white-collar professionals. I'm just saying be sure you know what you're getting into.

Franklin is VERY congested. Nashville and the surrounding areas are on a high right now and expected to get 1 million more people over the next 25 years. Any of the counties in the immediate ring around Nashville are going to have traffic problems if getting to the city is part of your daily routine.

Other than that, I might suggest the Goodlettsville area north of Nashville or Watertown.

Hendersonville is a good choice too.