Thinking of moving to Nashville area from West Texas...nervous! (home builders, transfer)

[Texas to Tennessee]

My husband's job has an opening in Nashville. We are seriously considering taking it. We've been racking our brains the last few days trying to decide if we want to or not. It's a very daunting decision for me. I have lived in West Texas (Lubbock) my WHOLE life. It's all I know.

I am a little scared of change. At the same time I think we really need some change. I feel like you only get one life might as well be a little adventurous and try out new things. It's just hard to convince myself that everything will be okay.

Plus it's going to be a lot of work moving cross country. We have to sell our house. My husband would go ahead and move there while I stayed here to sell the house.

My family is here in WT. However my husband's family (his Mom and Dad) are going to move to TN to be with us. My fil is in the aviation field. Right now they live in Colorado and don't really like it. They say the cold weather is miserable on their old bones. LOL. FIL says there are a lot more aviation jobs in TN.

It is going to be REALLY hard to leave my family. However I'm sure we would visit them a lot. My inlaws have lived in CO for 4 years and we see them at least 3X a year. However that's only a 10 hour drive vs. 14 or so hours that Nashville will be from Lubbock.

Another one of my fears of moving to TN is TICKS. Ticks scare the crap out of me. I have Lyme Disease. I terrified of being re-infected or worse my son or husband getting Lyme. We now keep our dogs treated with K-9 Avantix and I haven't seen a tick in 2 years. I'm hoping in TN it would be the same.

I'm also a little worried about traffic. Lubbock has around 200K residents and the traffic isn't bad at all.

Other than those few worries I am sooooooo excited about the possibility of moving to the Nashville area. I think the area would have so much to offer my family. Here in Lubbock we get bored a lot. I think TN would have a lot of fun things we could do plus I love how it's close to some other really cool cities in the U.S., like Atlanta. (Dh is a big Braves fan.)

Well I don't know if anyone will respond to this. I was hoping to get a little reassurance. This is something I really want to do, but my fears are holding me back.


Another thing is I have never been to TN. My dh has, but not me. I would love to try it out first but pretty soon my husband's company is going to start interviewing new employees for the Nashville position. We need to decide in the next few days if he wants to transfer. They offer positions first to exisiting employees and then look elsewhere. So it would really be something we would have to decide on without me seeing TN in person. That is very scary to me.

[Texas to Tennessee]

Oh another question I had was about property taxes. I think they are probably considerably less than what we are paying now. Right now on our 159K house we pay nearly 4K a year in taxes. However I guess maybe the higher taxes will even out with the higher home prices in TN. Our house is 4 br/ 2.5 bath 2,200 sq. ft. for 159K.

Also I noticed a lot of the homes don't have fences. Is there a reason for that? Here home builders always put up fences.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by Texas to Tennessee

Oh another question I had was about property taxes. I think they are probably considerably less than what we are paying now. Right now on our 159K house we pay nearly 4K a year in taxes. However I guess maybe the higher taxes will even out with the higher home prices in TN. Our house is 4 br/ 2.5 bath 2,200 sq. ft. for 159K.

Also I noticed a lot of the homes don't have fences. Is there a reason for that? Here home builders always put up fences.

Property tax rates vary from county to county (there are even two tax rates in Metro Nashville itself). In the General Service District in Metro, you would pay approximately $1600 in property taxes on a $159k house. In the Urban Service District you would pay a little over $1800. In some of the adjacent counties to Metro Nashville, the tax rates are lower. However, you would almost certainly pay more here in the nicer neighborhoods for an equivalent house than you would where you live now.

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by Texas to Tennessee

Also I noticed a lot of the homes don't have fences. Is there a reason for that? Here home builders always put up fences.

I grew up in Nashville, and moved there twice as an adult. I hadn't really thought about it too much, but I almost never would see a picket fence in Nashville. Occasionally a chain link fence, but never in a good neighborhood. I'm now in a really good inner loop Houston neighborhood, and all of Houston's neighborhoods have treated picket fences around almost every back yard, except in older districts like Montrose. BTW large sections of fences in every neighborhood got blown down a couple of weeks ago by Ike including mine and most of my neighbors.

Here's what I think is the difference. The Nashville terrain is much more hilly and interesting than Houston's. So I think people in Houston are much less averse to the aesthetic interruption of the flat terrain with picket fences, where in Nashville the aesthetic continuity of the land is more pleasing, and very park-like. In one of my previous postings I mention that the residential areas of Nashville are truly gorgeous.

I've also lived in Austin (twice) and can tell you that picket fences are less popular there than here but more so than in Nashville. Austin's terrain on the west side is like Nashville's, but not on the east or north, and south is maybe like the less hilly, but rolling parts of Nashville.

[Texas to Tennessee]

Originally Posted by groovamos

I grew up in Nashville, and moved there twice as an adult. I hadn't really thought about it too much, but I almost never would see a picket fence in Nashville. Occasionally a chain link fence, but never in a good neighborhood. I'm now in a really good inner loop Houston neighborhood, and all of Houston's neighborhoods have treated picket fences around almost every back yard, except in older districts like Montrose. BTW large sections of fences in every neighborhood got blown down a couple of weeks ago by Ike including mine and most of my neighbors.

Here's what I think is the difference. The Nashville terrain is much more hilly and interesting than Houston's. So I think people in Houston are much less averse to the aesthetic interruption of the flat terrain with picket fences, where in Nashville the aesthetic continuity of the land is more pleasing, and very park-like. In one of my previous postings I mention that the residential areas of Nashville are truly gorgeous.

I've also lived in Austin (twice) and can tell you that picket fences are less popular there than here but more so than in Nashville. Austin's terrain on the west side is like Nashville's, but not on the east or north, and south is maybe like the less hilly, but rolling parts of Nashville.

Interesting. That does make sense. I just wonder what people do with their dogs. I know they have those electric fences, but I just don't know about those- seems cruel to me. We would definitely have to find a house with a fence, or put one up ourself.

[Texas to Tennessee]

For those who have moved away from family.. is it hard?

I have a 3 year old son. While his relationship with my parents isn't as close as it should be seeing as we've lived 10 min. away from them for all of his life... I still would be a little sad to take him away from them.

I think that is the main thing that is keeping me from saying, "okay, that's do it."

Since my inlaws are planning to move to TN too, we would be close them, so I think that will help slightly. Except then I feel like I'm choosing my husband's family over mine.

I try to think of people that I know in real life that have moved far from their family. It makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one. And also to know that moving away doesn't mean you aren't "close" to your family anymore.

My cousin moved from New Hampshire to TX. He still sees his parents several times a year. There are many other people I know that have done the same.

Okay.. enough rambling. It's midnight here and I have a lot on my mind. I feel like I need to make a decision soon. What to do..what to do..

[denawilliams]

It is a big decision you are pondering. I have lots of friends who have made the move from Texas to Tennessee. The one thing I've noticed about Texans is that they are, perhaps, more loyal to their home state than other people I've encountered from other states. So there will be adjustments, but I think it's a great state to move to from Texas to minimize culture, climate, and other types of shock. Tennessee will probably be one of the smoothest transitions you could pick.

While property taxes will probably be less here, the actual price of homes might be more. We actually do have a couple of tex-mex restaurants in town, so you would still be able to eat mexican food here. Our winters are mild. While we do get colder than parts of Texas during the winter, it is not by an unreasonable amount. However, it might require you to buy a winter coat, if you don't have one. We do have four seasons, which may be a nice change for you. We still have lots of sunshine and warm days in every season sprinkled in with the normal seasonal weather. You might like the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee, which will probably be a change. Traffic is not bad here, but certain areas can get the normal rush hour stuff. Where you live and where you work will definitely determine whether you deal with traffic or not. Nashville is a larger city than you are in currently, but it is still small enough that you shouldn't be too much of a change for you.

I can understand your fear of ticks considering your experience. I could definitely see a greater risk if you lived in the country on a bit of property or if you just spent a bit of time in the woods. However, I don't think you'll have much of a problem as long as you treat your dogs and you live in a regular residential neighborhood.

As for moving away from family, that will be tough. If the change is the right thing for your family, then the rest your family will probably understand. I know it's not your family that is coming, but having his family with you will help you a ton. Although lots of people live here without family nearby and do just fine, it is definitely nice to have one set of parents nearby. My husband and I are here without family in town. Because we are from different states (not near each other) it would have been impossible for us to have moved to where one of our parents lived initially without the other feeling resentful, but if one of them moved to where we are, that would be the parents choice...not ours...which would be fine. So far neither have talked about moving here...
No it doesn't mean you're not close to your family if you move away. It's easier now today to move away and still feel close to them geographically. With cell phones, you can talk as long as you like without having to pay long distance fees. If your family emails, that is easy to do remotely. And many people I know use video chat (ichat, etc.) all the time with their friends and family in different states. It's like being in the same room with them!

In the end, I'm sure you'll do what's best for your family...so good luck in your decision. I think if you do decide to move here you'll find the people to be friendly and welcoming, which should make a transition easier.

[gbone]

Originally Posted by Texas to Tennessee

Interesting. That does make sense. I just wonder what people do with their dogs. I know they have those electric fences, but I just don't know about those- seems cruel to me. We would definitely have to find a house with a fence, or put one up ourself.

We have had dogs for the past eighteen years and don't have a regular fence but do have an invisible fence. The invisible fence works great. The initial training only lasts a couple of weeks. Our dogs were shocked only once or twice during the initial training. To the best of our knowledge none of the dogs was shocked after the initial training. The dogs learn to recognize a warning signal(high pitch sound) before they get close enough to the invisible fence to get a shock.
The biggest negative to an invisible fence is that, although it keeps your dogs in your yard, it doesn't keep other animals out. We have deer go through our yard every morning and evening about the same time so we just don't let our dogs out at those times.
By the way, I lived in West Texas for ten years(El Paso) and absolutely love the Nashville area. Many things to do, beautiful country, and nice people. Good luck.

[Beretta]

As someone that moved away from family only to move back I would say stay where you are with your family. Allow your son to grow up knowing your parents, baking cookies and having roots in the town in which your family is established.

[scootiepie]

I am a Texan also. I moved away at age 22 and settled in Virginia. (We are currently thinking of a move to the Nashville area as well). It took me a good 6-7 years to call anywhere else but TX "home". But I was single and loved being so close to everything on the East Coast, and it was a big adventure. But now that I have children, it saddens me to be so far from my parents, and it is hard for them as well. Especially since it is so costly to travel, both flying and driving. That is one reason I would like to move to TN ... it is halfway between my family and my husbands, and a days drive either way. A days drive sounds like a lot but to me it is very doable.

One thing I can say, moving away from TX, is I felt very claustrophobic at first because of all the tall trees.. at least in VA anyway. I spent my youth in Amarillo and Abilene where you can see for miles and miles and here it feels like you can't see anything at first - can't see the sky and the storms rolling in, the big starry sky at night, and the sunsets. That was huge to me, to not have those things, but you get used to it. I don't know if TN is as wooded as VA, but I think TN is beautiful and I hope we make it out there someday before my children grow up. I would definately suggest you visit, you may just fall in love with it.