Moving wth Horses to Nashville (Franklin, Hendersonville: house, to buy, school)

[tracyv]

My husband, daughter and myself are looking at moving to Nashville from Ann Arbor, Michigan with my 4 horses. We would like to buy a small farm within commuting distance to Nashville. What areas should we look at that would be accepting of outsiders. Also my husband is Jewish and I am Christian but non-practicing. Would that be a problem with us fitting in? We are also liberal democrats but respect all views. I have seen some posts saying how the areas outside Nashville are very narrow minded. I am not inclined to believe generalizations about an entire area but would be interested in hearing different peoples perspectives. Thank you.

[Sherf]

Sigh. I think a lot of the problem is that others come into the area with a close-minded view and therefore set themselves up to experience what they expect. If you come in here with your defenses up, of course people are going to treat you differently. With the phrase "accepting of outsiders," it already sounds like you have your lines of prejudice already drawn. I'm sorry, but questions like this annoy me.

For the most part, no one is going to give a damn whether you are Jewish, Christian, atheist, etc. I certainly don't.

[tracyv]

Well, I am sorry you got that impression solely from the phrase "accepting of outsiders." That is something I have seen in the forum and thus I was asking whether there was truth to it. Clearly you did not read to the bottom where I said that I was not inclined to believe generalizations about an area-hence that would mean I don't necessarily believe what I had seen but I was interested in hearing more about it. I will tell you that where I live in Michigan there are places that are not accepting of outsiders so maybe that is not an issue in Tennessee but it is in Michigan and I think anyone from here would tell you that so I think the question was a valid one and I apologize that it engendered so much anger.

[alleycat]

If I were you, I would probably look northwest and west of Nashville in Cheatham and Robertson County. There is still acreage available in those counties for a reasonable price, and they're within commuting distance to Nashville. Horses used to be big thing in Robertson County back when it was primarily farm land, but it's not as much so now.

[tracyv]

Thank you.

[denawilliams]

Hi Tracy,
Welcome to Nashvile...almost. I think you will find the area very welcoming for the most part. The Nashville area is a little interesting in that for some parts, it's a complete melting pot with tons of diversity of culture, religion, politics, race, etc. And then there are other parts where there are concentrated areas of people just alike. I think you'll find that most people here are welcoming, but as far as political views, you'll run into both ultra-conservatives and liberals.

As for land for your horses, I am not sure how far of a commute you are willing to make to Nashville, but a few that will have land or properties ready for horses would be: Pegram (saw a beautiful 17 acre pasture with 1550 sf home there for $259k) Lebanon, Mount Juliet ( a few stand alones, but also specifically Paddock Place community which has stables), Ashland City, a few in Hendersonville, Goodlettsville, or Gallatin, on the Williamson County side there will be lots: Franklin, Primm Springs, Arrington, College Grove, and Fairview and a couple of options in Nolensville (saw a 5 acre property with a great 3000 sf house for $369k). Much to my surprise I even saw one in Brentwood that was affordable (for Brentwood) at $449k with 5 acres and a 3800 sf home. You can certainly find affordable options in all of these areas, but it's not hard to find equestrian properties that easily go into the millions too. I guess you have options all over Middle Tennessee. It will just depend on what kind of house you are looking for, your price range, and distance from Nashville needed.

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by tracyv

We are also liberal democrats but respect all views. I have seen some posts saying how the areas outside Nashville are very narrow minded. I am not inclined to believe generalizations about an entire area but would be interested in hearing different peoples perspectives. Thank you.

Maybe its just me but it seems like "very narrow minded" could be code words for 'conservative' or 'church-going Christian' or 'advocate of traditional values'. A person not respecting all views of these people might not feel comfortable outside the core cities in the South.

It may or may not be that people moving to the fast growing areas of the South are broad-minded enough to get that the South is growing fast because of pro-business policies, as distinct from places like Ohio and Michigan.

[tracyv]

No, narrow minded means not tolerant of others views or religion etc... In my view. I have many friends both conservative and liberal and we can agree to disagree and have intelligent conversations. Yet there are places, South or otherwise, including in Michigan where if you are not a certain religion or of a certain ethnic origin you are not accepted. An extreme example if a friend of mine who is Jewish, when she moved to a rural area in the South when she was a child on her first day of school some children at the school asked her where her horns were because they heard Jews were the devil. The country club also had a since saying no blacks, no jews, no dogs. Now this was in the 1970's so I hope things have changed. By the way, her father, joined that country club years later. She couldn't understand how he could do that but he did because he said it showed progress. So narrow minded does not mean conservative or religious in my mind it means not accepting of others views.

[kar]

Hi Tracy,

If you going to move to Tennessee from what you have posted, the greater Nashville area is where you want to be. My wife and I are as liberal as they come...LOL. We have found the Nashville area very tolerant of all walks of life. Tennessee has a Democratic governor and Nashville has a Democratic mayor. My wife and I were brought up in Massachusetts, Nashville reminds us so much of Boston with all it's culture and history as well as it's colleges and universities. I think you and your husband will do just fine here. Good luck with the move.

[TNNative]

Alleycat is right. Sons girlfriend has 5 or 6 horses in Robertson County. Cross Plains would probably be a place to suit your needs. Especially since they were (are?) known for the Mustang adoption ranch.