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I wanted to provide some current information on an outsider perspective of the Mount Juliet and Franklin areas of Nashville. Hopefully this helps some people considering the move. I also wanted to type out some of this before I forget. None of this is intended to be insulting, hopefully it isn't taken that way. I'll include the good and the bad.
General TN vibe
I was shocked at how friendly people are here. Coming from the Chicago area, we'll have polite smiles and nods, but any conversation with strangers is typically tolerated rather than encouraged. It's hard to explain. But I'd say in the Chicago area, maybe 1-3 out of 10 people would be willing to carry a conversation. In Nashville, it seems more like 6-7 out of 10 would. Also, neighbors actually talk to eachother? They'll crack open a cold one and stop by to chat for 10-15 minutes. What? I've had maybe 5 conversations total with my neighbors over the last 7 years here.
It's an adjustment for sure though. At the grocery store, the bagger didn't push the cart over when he was done. He insisted on pushing that out to the car, pleasantly chatting about the area on the way. I was thrown off by this too, since we have nothing like that up North.
Speaking of which, we have churches up North, or at least thought we did. It's nothing like the saturation of churches in Tennessee. It seemed like there was one on every street corner. It makes me wonder how filled they could all be if there are so many of them. The denominations weren't as varied either, I think I saw only one or two Catholic churches, and not a single Synagogue, Mosque, or other holy temple.
I didn't spot any "straw hat, overalls and no shirt" types out there, but did see a few homes I'd expect that type to live in. It seems like in the areas I visited, they're being bought out and built over with new construction. Seems like textbook gentrification.
Since we did drive in at night, we went through a 20-30 minute stretch of "haunted forest", where the tall skinny trees were barren and gray, fog was rolling in, and I was sure our car would break down and we'd find ourselves in a horror movie. Didn't happen though.
Mount Juliet
Overall, a very nice area. Very scenic parts, plenty of shopping and restaurants to choose. Truly out-of-this-world BBQ. The home prices are great compared to the Chicago area. Lots of sprawl, which is like every suburb here too. I didn't actually see a lot of parks and other non-shopping/non-restaurant options though, so that has me wondering a little. Oh, and did everyone know Charlie Daniels is from Mount Juliet? :P (little joke, there are banners up everywhere). Kinda cool though.
It's hard to relate this area to suburban Chicago, but if I had to choose, it "felt" like a Crystal Lake/Algonquin/Fox River Grove type area, but not run-down like a Waukegan, Aurora, or North Chicago would be. For everyone else, a healthy mix of blue-collar and white-collar.
For the layout, I felt like we were driving around from oasis to oasis to do anything. This is also hard to describe, but it was like there were planners that decided on shopping areas and how to best optimize those, but not how the entire city of Mount Juliet would work together. Plus, there were some bottlenecks in major roadways that I felt would only increase traffic as the population increases.
Franklin
The drive to Franklin felt like we were going through St Charles, and the difference in affluence was noticeable. The roads magically got nicer, there weren't any trash bags or other debris by the side of the road anymore, and the planning "made sense" to me -- which is probably just something to expect with a more established area, I suppose.
The downtown area was nice, very similar to what we're accustomed to here. My wife and I were amused that the first dealerships we saw there were for higher-end cars. There's also a Rolex shop there? Do people really pop into the Rolex store on the weekend to see what to add to their collections? For us, this translates into a less-practical shopping experience, but still a nice area to kick around.
It's hard to relate this area to suburban Chicago, but if I had to choose, it'd be parts of St Charles, Naperville, and some North Shore suburbs.
It seems like we'd be getting a lot more home for our money in Mount Juliet, but with the transition going on there, has us leaning more toward the more established Franklin.
Hopefully this all makes sense, and helps some people that are considering those two areas.
We are moving from Indianapolis to Nashville area soon so this was interesting input. I've been looking pretty hard at Mount Juliet. I am curious about the commuter train since my husband will be working downtown. I won't job hunt until we move.
We are moving from Indianapolis to Nashville area soon so this was interesting input. I've been looking pretty hard at Mount Juliet. I am curious about the commuter train since my husband will be working downtown. I won't job hunt until we move.
My wife takes the Metra into Chicago every day for her job -- the train system up here is pretty substantial. When we drove past the Music City Star station in Mount Juliet, all we saw were the unsheltered bus stop style station. It was tiny by Chicago standards, is that what it's like in Indianapolis too?
If you're used to lots of public transportation options, they were hard to find even with us actively looking for them. Not many bus stops, train options, etc. Not sure we even saw a single bus while we were there.
Your husband will probably end up being car-dependent after the move, but maybe locals can chime in with their tips and tricks.
I wanted to provide some current information on an outsider perspective of the Mount Juliet and Franklin areas of Nashville. Hopefully this helps some people considering the move. I also wanted to type out some of this before I forget. None of this is intended to be insulting, hopefully it isn't taken that way. I'll include the good and the bad.
General TN vibe
I was shocked at how friendly people are here. Coming from the Chicago area, we'll have polite smiles and nods, but any conversation with strangers is typically tolerated rather than encouraged. It's hard to explain. But I'd say in the Chicago area, maybe 1-3 out of 10 people would be willing to carry a conversation. In Nashville, it seems more like 6-7 out of 10 would. Also, neighbors actually talk to eachother? They'll crack open a cold one and stop by to chat for 10-15 minutes. What? I've had maybe 5 conversations total with my neighbors over the last 7 years here.
It's an adjustment for sure though. At the grocery store, the bagger didn't push the cart over when he was done. He insisted on pushing that out to the car, pleasantly chatting about the area on the way. I was thrown off by this too, since we have nothing like that up North.
Speaking of which, we have churches up North, or at least thought we did. It's nothing like the saturation of churches in Tennessee. It seemed like there was one on every street corner. It makes me wonder how filled they could all be if there are so many of them. The denominations weren't as varied either, I think I saw only one or two Catholic churches, and not a single Synagogue, Mosque, or other holy temple.
I didn't spot any "straw hat, overalls and no shirt" types out there, but did see a few homes I'd expect that type to live in. It seems like in the areas I visited, they're being bought out and built over with new construction. Seems like textbook gentrification.
Since we did drive in at night, we went through a 20-30 minute stretch of "haunted forest", where the tall skinny trees were barren and gray, fog was rolling in, and I was sure our car would break down and we'd find ourselves in a horror movie. Didn't happen though.
Mount Juliet
Overall, a very nice area. Very scenic parts, plenty of shopping and restaurants to choose. Truly out-of-this-world BBQ. The home prices are great compared to the Chicago area. Lots of sprawl, which is like every suburb here too. I didn't actually see a lot of parks and other non-shopping/non-restaurant options though, so that has me wondering a little. Oh, and did everyone know Charlie Daniels is from Mount Juliet? :P (little joke, there are banners up everywhere). Kinda cool though.
It's hard to relate this area to suburban Chicago, but if I had to choose, it "felt" like a Crystal Lake/Algonquin/Fox River Grove type area, but not run-down like a Waukegan, Aurora, or North Chicago would be. For everyone else, a healthy mix of blue-collar and white-collar.
For the layout, I felt like we were driving around from oasis to oasis to do anything. This is also hard to describe, but it was like there were planners that decided on shopping areas and how to best optimize those, but not how the entire city of Mount Juliet would work together. Plus, there were some bottlenecks in major roadways that I felt would only increase traffic as the population increases.
Franklin
The drive to Franklin felt like we were going through St Charles, and the difference in affluence was noticeable. The roads magically got nicer, there weren't any trash bags or other debris by the side of the road anymore, and the planning "made sense" to me -- which is probably just something to expect with a more established area, I suppose.
The downtown area was nice, very similar to what we're accustomed to here. My wife and I were amused that the first dealerships we saw there were for higher-end cars. There's also a Rolex shop there? Do people really pop into the Rolex store on the weekend to see what to add to their collections? For us, this translates into a less-practical shopping experience, but still a nice area to kick around.
It's hard to relate this area to suburban Chicago, but if I had to choose, it'd be parts of St Charles, Naperville, and some North Shore suburbs.
It seems like we'd be getting a lot more home for our money in Mount Juliet, but with the transition going on there, has us leaning more toward the more established Franklin.
Hopefully this all makes sense, and helps some people that are considering those two areas.
Having lived in both NW Indiana & Northern Illinois, I've always had baggers offer to push the groceries to the car. It was great for Moms with small children, especially in the Winter.
Since moving here, Publix is the only grocery that has offered help. Their customer service is great, and I hope this is something that catches on here.
Hendersonville has a Northern flavor as well. It's one of my favorite towns here.
There are Catholic churches here, but not like the Chicago Diocese. There are a few mosques in Nashville.
Having lived in both NW Indiana & Northern Illinois, I've always had baggers offer to push the groceries to the car. It was great for Moms with small children, especially in the Winter.
Since moving here, Publix is the only grocery that has offered help. Their customer service is great, and I hope this is something that catches on here.
Hendersonville has a Northern flavor as well. It's one of my favorite towns here.
There are Catholic churches here, but not like the Chicago Diocese. There are a few mosques in Nashville.
When I was in high school I had friends who worked at Publix and they said it was basically company policy to help a customer to their car unless they turn it down. When I lived in Florida there was a Publix right down the street (shocker I know) and their baggers did the same thing down there.
But yes people in Nashville tend to be very friendly as a general rule either way.
When I was in high school I had friends who worked at Publix and they said it was basically company policy to help a customer to their car unless they turn it down. When I lived in Florida there was a Publix right down the street (shocker I know) and their baggers did the same thing down there.
But yes people in Nashville tend to be very friendly as a general rule either way.
Yes, I used to live in SW Florida, Publix has always been a good store.
I wanted to provide some current information on an outsider perspective of the Mount Juliet and Franklin areas of Nashville. Hopefully this helps some people considering the move. I also wanted to type out some of this before I forget. None of this is intended to be insulting, hopefully it isn't taken that way. I'll include the good and the bad.
General TN vibe
I was shocked at how friendly people are here. Coming from the Chicago area, we'll have polite smiles and nods, but any conversation with strangers is typically tolerated rather than encouraged. It's hard to explain. But I'd say in the Chicago area, maybe 1-3 out of 10 people would be willing to carry a conversation. In Nashville, it seems more like 6-7 out of 10 would. Also, neighbors actually talk to eachother? They'll crack open a cold one and stop by to chat for 10-15 minutes. What? I've had maybe 5 conversations total with my neighbors over the last 7 years here.
It's an adjustment for sure though. At the grocery store, the bagger didn't push the cart over when he was done. He insisted on pushing that out to the car, pleasantly chatting about the area on the way. I was thrown off by this too, since we have nothing like that up North.
Speaking of which, we have churches up North, or at least thought we did. It's nothing like the saturation of churches in Tennessee. It seemed like there was one on every street corner. It makes me wonder how filled they could all be if there are so many of them. The denominations weren't as varied either, I think I saw only one or two Catholic churches, and not a single Synagogue, Mosque, or other holy temple.
I didn't spot any "straw hat, overalls and no shirt" types out there, but did see a few homes I'd expect that type to live in. It seems like in the areas I visited, they're being bought out and built over with new construction. Seems like textbook gentrification.
Since we did drive in at night, we went through a 20-30 minute stretch of "haunted forest", where the tall skinny trees were barren and gray, fog was rolling in, and I was sure our car would break down and we'd find ourselves in a horror movie. Didn't happen though.
Mount Juliet
Overall, a very nice area. Very scenic parts, plenty of shopping and restaurants to choose. Truly out-of-this-world BBQ. The home prices are great compared to the Chicago area. Lots of sprawl, which is like every suburb here too. I didn't actually see a lot of parks and other non-shopping/non-restaurant options though, so that has me wondering a little. Oh, and did everyone know Charlie Daniels is from Mount Juliet? :P (little joke, there are banners up everywhere). Kinda cool though.
It's hard to relate this area to suburban Chicago, but if I had to choose, it "felt" like a Crystal Lake/Algonquin/Fox River Grove type area, but not run-down like a Waukegan, Aurora, or North Chicago would be. For everyone else, a healthy mix of blue-collar and white-collar.
For the layout, I felt like we were driving around from oasis to oasis to do anything. This is also hard to describe, but it was like there were planners that decided on shopping areas and how to best optimize those, but not how the entire city of Mount Juliet would work together. Plus, there were some bottlenecks in major roadways that I felt would only increase traffic as the population increases.
Franklin
The drive to Franklin felt like we were going through St Charles, and the difference in affluence was noticeable. The roads magically got nicer, there weren't any trash bags or other debris by the side of the road anymore, and the planning "made sense" to me -- which is probably just something to expect with a more established area, I suppose.
The downtown area was nice, very similar to what we're accustomed to here. My wife and I were amused that the first dealerships we saw there were for higher-end cars. There's also a Rolex shop there? Do people really pop into the Rolex store on the weekend to see what to add to their collections? For us, this translates into a less-practical shopping experience, but still a nice area to kick around.
It's hard to relate this area to suburban Chicago, but if I had to choose, it'd be parts of St Charles, Naperville, and some North Shore suburbs.
It seems like we'd be getting a lot more home for our money in Mount Juliet, but with the transition going on there, has us leaning more toward the more established Franklin.
Hopefully this all makes sense, and helps some people that are considering those two areas.
Any outsider information on Brentwood? We are most likely moving there in June!
Downtown Franklin seemed more touristy vs. practical to me.
I noticed that too. We ended up picking Mt. Juliet because it seemed like a quieter more wholesome area. The $500,000 market for a home is so much better in Mt. Juliet. We couldnt fully process why we were paying 100k more for a home in Franklin when the schools are basically on par with each other and Mt. Juliet has a much better commuting option. You also just can't beat all the outdoor and water activities at Priest Lake and Old Hickory.
Mt. Juliet does have its growing pains! It seems like a new store gets built in Providence every week or some other development is taking off, which has made traffic worse. Golden Bear Gateway should make it easier through.
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None of this is intended to be insulting, hopefully it isn't taken that way. I'll include the good and the bad.
