family oriented towns (Knoxville, Chattanooga, Johnson City: homes, schools, place to live)

[denisemonroe]

My husband and I are considering moving down south to tennesse from michigan. Way to cold up here!! We have 4 childern and would love to hear some feed back about some places that would be great to raise our kids. My husband is self employed. He owns a cell phone store and would open one around wherever we plant roots. A safe place, great schools,some shopping areas(a must!), yet affordable to live. I would really appreciate any input or ideas!!!! thanks a bunch!!

[alleycat]

My first thought is Franklin, and that area. The premier shopping areas in the greater Nashville area are in nearby Cool Springs and Green Hills.

Most of the towns around here are "family oriented".

[denisemonroe]

I have heard Franklin is a nice area. How are the housing costs there? Are there a lot of subdivions? Would anyone know of some price ranges or a good realty company?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by alleycat

My first thought is Franklin, and that area. The premier shopping areas in the greater Nashville area are in nearby Cool Springs and Green Hills.

Most of the towns around here are "family oriented".

Franklin is a nice area and has excellent schools. But I don't know how affordable it is, particularly for a family of 6.

denisemonroe, what exactly do you mean by "affordable"? And when you say you want shopping areas, do you mean Wal-Mart? Dollar General? Macy's?

Tennessee has lots of very family-friendly towns and many places with excellent schools, but some are more affordable than others. Since you posted this in the Nashville sub-forum, does that mean you want to stay in the Nashville area?

Go to city-data.com and look up the web sites for some of the cities that have reputations for excellent schools and compare the housing prices:
Brentwood, Cookeville, Franklin, Johnson City, Maryville, Oak Ridge, Tullahoma

[houselady]

Hendersonville is on the opposite side of Nashville from Franklin. Great family town. Highly rated schools. Lots of kid-friendly activities, and the is a whole new retail center being developed. Mt. Juliet is another growing attractive area. It's further east of Nashville. But for schools, you probably can't beat Franklin or Hendersonville. Homes in Franklin range from the high 200's to millions. Hendersonville has some in the middle 100's, but mostly in the low to mid 200's and up. A lot of the higher priced housing can be found in these communities.

[denisemonroe]

I will definetly check out the cities you listed..Thanks for your input. The research we have done has shown the franklin area to be a nice place to live. As far as shopping...I would absolutely need a superwalmart to be somewhat close by to keep up on supplies for our large family. I would like to be able to go to a mall or upscale shopping that wouldn't be more than 1 hour away.

[alleycat]

You shouldn't have a problem with any of the surrounding town then for shopping. Most of them have large Wal-Marts, and you could get to one of the malls in Nashville or elsewhere in an hour.

My "upscale" I'm assuming you mean something like a Macy's or a Kohl's or something like that. Nashville still doesn't quite have the stores such as you find in Atlanta or Dallas.

[chrispell]

I think that Athens TN is a nice place to raise a family. It is an hour Drive to Knoxville or Chattanooga. The town has a very friendly feel and look. The people are very nice.