Am I crazy to uproot my family from Chicago & move to Nashville? (Franklin: apartments, home)

[storey13]

Originally Posted by SPTLSS1

Longtime lurker and 1st time poster.

I was born in Chicago along with my wife and we reside in the NW suburbs. We have 1 yr old & 4 yr old. All of our family & friends are here in Chicago.

I travel quite a bit for work & was in Nashville a few years back and the town just seemed like the right place for myself & family. The people were friendly, scenic, and just a nice place to raise a family. My wife has never been to Nashville.

To move would require leaving our jobs, friends, preschool, ...plus the wifey is not keen on moving since she doesn't do well with change.

My reasons for wanting to leave Chicagoland are the severe winters, traffic, & cost of living. Our house is worth around $800K with $10K in annual taxes. I know we can find more affordable housing.

I guess my question is what do those from Nashville have to say about the city...both good and bad. I hear quite a bit and have read a lot on Franklin...again both good & bad.

My most motivating factor for moving is the weather. I am to the point that I can't deal w/ the cold & snow any longer.

Look forward to any input.

I would stay in Chicago personally. I lived in Oak Park and if the right opportunity presented itself, I would move back in a heart beat. The cold weather is pretty rough and cost of living is insane, but you give up so many things culturally moving to Nashville.

Now I'm not trying to sling mud at Nashville. I do enjoy the lower amount of traffic and cost of living. If I could change a couple of things about Nashville it would be the hot muggy weather during the summer and the lack of light rail mass transit.

[SPTLSS1]

My focus for housing has been Franklin, Fairview, and Brentwood. I have read enough to know to avoid Davidson County due to poor schools. The wife & I are heading down in the spring to have a look around.

As for missing the cultural things like the saying goes "you don't miss it until it's gone". I'm sure I take things for granted living in such a metro area so we will tread carefully & make sure that we are not setting ourselves up for a major culture shock.

Many people talk about the lack of a rail system. I've always been a car person having been a suburanite in Chicago and never working in the city although using the train for jury duty... and to head downtown & avoid the traffic is nice and again taken for granted.

Looking for forward to visiting with the wife & seeing what Nashville is like since it's been many years since my last visit.

[yadiggg]

There are a lot of pros and cons of living in Nashville, it really depends on what type of person you are. I was born and raised in Chicago, went to college in Atlanta, and transferred to a college in Nashville to finish up. My circumstances might be a little different because I never wanted to come to Nashville. But....there is no place like Chicago.

There is so much going on in the city (Chicago) that we take for granted when we live there. Chicago has one of the greatest downtowns in the US! There are always shows, concerts, and events coming to Chicago all of the time. You are going to miss things like that in Nashville. Even the things like the museums, aquariums, zoo's etc.. are much better in Chicago.

I have been living in Nashville since 2003 now. I met my wife down here..which is the greatest thing that has happened to me, but I have done everything here. I am soooo bored with the city and lack of excitment here. She is from here, and does not want to move to Chicago. Even though the cost of living is higher, and the winters are bad, I think it is well worth it to stay in Chicago. Overall, the Chicago will offer you a lot more than Nashville. After living here a few years, you will want to move back.

[supernerdgirl]

Originally Posted by SPTLSS1

Many people talk about the lack of a rail system. I've always been a car person having been a suburanite in Chicago and never working in the city although using the train for jury duty... and to head downtown & avoid the traffic is nice and again taken for granted.

Yeah, and a lot of people take for granted how many cars Metra and CTA take OFF the roads. In the Nashville area, EVERYONE that is coming from Franklin, Brentwood, Spring Hill and even Columbia (sadly get south of Franklin and the job market is horrible- thus 40 mile+ one way commutes) is in a car. They have NO other option than I-65.

In fact, when my boss, her husband and I drove down there she even commented on how horrible the afternoon rush was through Cool Springs. And she has lived in Chicago for most of her life.

[RS-1080]

Good folks are always welcome but like the newspaper has said before, '' if folks don't like it here because they can't change things,then they don't have to live here''. After all, it gives us locals more space anyways IMO.

[SPTLSS1]

Wow, my post from months ago has resurfaced. The family & I took a weeklong trip to Nashville two wks back. Had a a great time and also looked at homes in Franklin and Hendersonville. Had a job interview while we were in town and they want me back this Thursday. Still trying to convince the wife to move...

She is concerned about the school system, park districts and overall lack of things available to us and our two young kids since NW burbs of Chicago have everything one could want.

[TNRyan23]

Originally Posted by SPTLSS1

My focus for housing has been Franklin, Fairview, and Brentwood. I have read enough to know to avoid Davidson County due to poor schools. The wife & I are heading down in the spring to have a look around.

I notice most people target those areas...

I've heard stories from a few people that moved to Brentwood from other areas of Nashville, specif. one family that ended up moving into the Woodway subdivision. They put there kids in school and neither fit in, they said that there kids were outcasts with the other kids because they didn't grow up with them. One of the kids they said ended up going through serious depression in high school.

Franklin has seen a rash of racism from a noose at a highschool to kkk graffiti in neighborhoods with black residents.

I'm not trying to put these areas down but it's amazing the diffrence you'll notice from Franklin, Brentwood, Nashville, East Nashville, Madison, and beyond to Hendersonville and Gallatin..

Originally Posted by SPTLSS1

She is concerned about the school system, park districts and overall lack of things available to us and our two young kids since NW burbs of Chicago have everything one could want.

Hendersonville is a great town. I would honestly suggest you stay in Chicago though. You don't have to take my advice but I'm really hating Nashville latley. It's not what it once was.

[mtjulietmama]

I would be careful about moving away from your whole support system in Chicago. You may not realize how important it is for your wife to have family and friends nearby. Especially if she doesn't work outside the home.

The south is very different, and while I think there is a sense of Southern hospitality, it is still difficult to make a whole new set of friends and will take years to develop the kind of friendships you will be leaving behind.

There are few areas (more likely none) that will have the same level of parks and neighborhood feel like Chicago. With the exception of a few places downtown and a few neighborhoods with a pool, you must drive to everything here. If you want a traditional suburb, you can find those here a lot cheaper than Chicago.

From a fellow northerner transplanted to the South

[countrybabe]

There are NOT alot of basements in TN to answer someone else's comment (several realtors told us that and they were born/raised there). You either Love TN or you Hate TN...there is NO in between (there are ALOT of people born/raised there that have never been anywhere else). Hope this helps.

[Steve_TN]

Originally Posted by countrybabe

There are NOT alot of basements in TN to answer someone else's comment (several realtors told us that and they were born/raised there). You either Love TN or you Hate TN...there is NO in between (there are ALOT of people born/raised there that have never been anywhere else). Hope this helps.

No in between? Have you conducted a scientific study on this? Geez!
We'll just do what you say in your other posts and all move to the booming metropolis of Lewisburg and have a nice little commute to Nashville.