Moving from Germany to Smyrna and have questions... (Murfreesboro, Franklin: low income, sales)

[mackingermany]

Hope someone can add a little information for me on this town and surrounding areas....
We're moving from Pohlheim, Germany to Smyrna,Tenneessee. I'm originally from So Cal (Huntington Beach) and moved here 6 years ago for work. Found a small little town (pop. 1,700) and bought a house. Got the kids into German schools where they became bilingual much faster than me. The wife is German, so that helped!! Well, now we're headed back "across the pond" to Smyrna. This was chosen upon a recommendation from my boss who used to live there as well. We'll be moving in June, but I'll be there in Feb to find a house and get the kids logged in with the schools, etc. We have two school aged kids, 15 (boy) and 9 (girl).
How are the high schools (Smyna, Siegel)? Elementary schools? What about shopping? Keep in mind we haven't had a Target / K-Mart / Wal-Mart of any kind for awhile, so that will be a treat for them!! LOL What about sports activities? I'm a die-hard soccer player / trainer / ref, and so is my son. My daughter wants to do all the typical girly things (cheerleading, dancing, horses, unicorns, Prince Charming, etc..) Hehehehe. Is this a family friendly place? Local activities? What should we watch out for? How about cable / internet services? Any and all input is welcome and appreciated!!

[scottv]

Do you have a job here? In which part of town will you be working?

[mxj1614]

I would stay in Germany. =) Smyrna has sprawled in recent years so housing, shopping, traffic, schools, etc. should be ample. Cable/Internet shouldn't be a problem. As far as jobs in Smyrna, I don't think there is much there besides the Nissan plant so there is a good chance you might be commuting into Nashville which would be a 30-45 minutes commute with rush hour on a good day. I would recommend living closer into town.

[Mike in TN]

You mentioned Siegel and Smyrna [High School]. I'm not sure if you know, but the Siegel schools are in Rutherford County, and I can't think of any zoning where you would go to Siegel elementary and middle, then Smyrna High School.

[mackingermany]

Sorry...should have been more detailed. I already have a fantastic job. My work area will be the US. I'll be travelling throughout to all the military posts in the US, so I'm not looking for work in town or anywhere else. Just heard from someone else as well that Siegel is actually in Murfreesboro (my mistake). As for staying here in Germany, well, I did my time. The taxes are outrageous (19% sales tax), we pay the equivalent of $6.00/ gallon for gas, a fishing licence can cost up to $1,000, there's no such thing as customer service, the weather can be dreary quite alot, the "typical" German attitude is standoffish and rude, there's no concept of "first come, first served", most Germans would knock you out of the way to get in front of you, saying "excuse me" identifies you as an outsider, the neighbors tend snub their noses at anything perceived as "American" (like Halloween or Xmas parties with gift exchanges), and there are too many factors on the right side of the page (the old Ben Franklin rule) to not make this move. (If you're not sure what the Ben Franklin Rule is, I'll be glad to explain later).
We've been fortunate enough to travel extensively throughout Europe becasue of my job. Italy (Venice, Pisa, Sicily), England, Holland, Spain, France, Belgium, Ireland...been to them all. If anyone ever gets a chance to go to England (London)...do it! You'd be hard pressed to find a better vacation spot.

So now I think its time to find a place to give my kids and family a return to their roots (USA), and have them complete high school there, have fun at school (school here is not an enjoyable experience), and to learn that although the cultures and methods may be different, the people really do make the environment.

[Reactionary]

Murfreesboro is larger and more of a city than Smyrna, with pros and cons. They're adjacent to each other, both in Rutherford County, and one I-24 exit apart; so almost machs nichs for housing, shopping, services...

Murfreesboro - 'The Avenue' shopping center just opened with plenty of stores. Also Stones River Mall, Target, WalMart, Home Depot, Lowes. Nashville is close (Cool Springs Galleria, Green Hills Mall). Stones River National Battlefield; with a greenway running alongside the river.

The Tennessee Miller Coliseum is a 222,000 –square- foot facility. Situated on 154 acres, this air-conditioned arena has stadium-style seating for 4,600 and stall space to accommodate 492 horses.
This deluxe arena is used for local, state, regional, national and international horse show events.

I've heard that the "Triple Siegel" in Murfreesboro (elementary, middle, high school) is one of the better school sets in the state.

Also, check out Huntsville Alabama if you're still open to other places...

Check out these links, if you've got more questions, I'll try to answer...

http://www.rutherfordcountytn.gov/

http://www.rutherfordchamber.org/

http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

http://www.mtsu.edu/index.shtml

[JudyLH]

I taught in Rutherford County schools for 30 years. Hope I will not be prejudiced!
Although Smyrna is making advances, it is still not the "best" area of the county. More low income, fewer amenities, schools don't score as well, but lower cost of housing.
There are rural areas of the county which seem to have kept the small town atmosphere with a better reputation. Examples are Rockvale, Blackman, Lascassas.
There is a split school system with Murfreesboro K-6 in one system and 7-12 in another. The exceptions are the Smyrna, Lavergne, and Eagleville areas with K-12. Rockvale will soon join them with new schools.
Rutherford County is growing so fast that all the school systems are adding new schools almost yearly.
Don't know if that helps, but ---
I love this area, and plan to stay.

[socialhse]

Smyrna is a great town. It has grown from 25,000 people in 2000 to about 40,000 now. They have recently added a Target, Kohls, petsmart and lots and lots of restraunts. There are lots of parks, especially one of the bigger parks across from the airport that you can walk, play ball (lots of ball fields), play basketball, play tennis, etc. Smyrna High School is one of the newest high schools in this area. Its football team just won state for the 2nd time running this school year. There are lots of places to go boating/fishing (several docks in symna to Percy Priest lake). I believe a license is around $20 a year for fishing. There are local things like a christmas parade and others. There is a Publics, Krogers, Walmart Superstore and Target Superstore. I think you and your family will be happy living here. I know my family and I are. The only downside is that with growth comes crime but smyrna police seem to keep it pretty much under control.