Westhaven/Franklin/Brentwood/Belle Meade Area? (Hendersonville, Green Hill: renting, condos, townhomes)

[fumanchu41]

We are moving to the area and would like opinions on where we should look. We have visited Nashville once, and fell in love with the area and the people. The people there are so wonderfully kind and polite. So much different then the northeast.

Our main concern is safety and security for the family, as well as having great schools for our small children (will be starting kindergarten). This will be a permanent move for us. So we're looking for a long term permanent dream home to raise our family. We wouldn't mind living in a secured gated community. A real one. Not one that just has a gate, and is left open at all times of the day. We also want to have a basement home, to shelter from tornados.

I've heard a little about Westhaven, but it seems like they have a premium on every house just to live there. Might be worth it. We just don't know. From everything I've read, we would probably like to be somewhere near the cool springs area. Nothing farther south than Franklin.

We would love to receive feedback and opinions from the locals there on where we should start. Please share experiences and opinions on the areas that we are interested in. Thank you so much to all, in advance of your reply. We are looking forward to moving there and can't wait.

[Capo]

From my understanding, Brentwood and Franklin are about the "nicest" places around for the most part. As long as your budget can afford home prices there, it seems as though either would be an excellent choice.

[mad fiddler]

What's your price range for housing?

[fumanchu41]

To tell you the truth, we don't really have a price range. This will be our dream home and we have seen so much more value in the homes located there, in comparison to what we are used to up north. We are well aware of the price ranges in the areas that we are interested in, but if I would have to say a price range, I would probably say anything under or around a Mil.

The most important is that we find our dream home with the criterias listed in the original post. Beside what is listed, we we are looking for something with at least 5 bedrooms/4 Baths, with a basement and decent yard built within the last few years. Probably prefer an established neighborhood over a community that still has a lot of construction going on.

[DonCorleone]

Well, Westhaven is a neighborhood filled with dream homes. I know several folks there who've built their "dream homes" there. But you definitely pay a premium. I don't know anyone who doesn't love that area who lives there, though.

I live in Hendersonville, north of town in Sumner County. There are some great upscale neighborhoods up here too. Also a good number of country music stars up here, too. Plus we're right on Old Hickory Lake and have lots of parks, restaurants, and shopping.

So, Franklin/Brentwood isn't the only place to find upscale homes. But you will find a fair share down there.

[ariesjow]

Personally, I much prefer the older and more established Belle Meade to what I consider the fairly generic sprawl of Brentwood and Franklin (outside of the historic downtown which is charming). People on this board have a slight tendency to shun all things Davidson County for some reason unknown to me. Perhaps because of the public schools which have the typical difficulties of any large city. I wouldn't know as I don't have children.

But this is your dream home. I'd suggest maybe spending some time renting a nice home in one of these areas and extensively exploring the other ones you're considering. It sounds like this may be a good options for you. Good luck!

[gbone]

If price range is not an issue then I would suggest you look at the following gated communities in Williamson County: Governors Club, Laurelbrooke, Annandale, Windstone. Each of these have houses that will meet your criteria. Prices start at about 800k and go up. Westhaven is a very nice development but many people don't like the fact that most of the lots are fairly small. The websites for the gated communities above are:
www.thegovernorsclub.com
Welcome to LaurelBrooke a Southern Land Community
Welcome to Annandale
Windstone > Home

Each of these is in either Brentwood or Franklin and within about fifteen minutes from the Cool Springs area.

[fumanchu41]

Originally Posted by ariesjow

Personally, I much prefer the older and more established Belle Meade to what I consider the fairly generic sprawl of Brentwood and Franklin (outside of the historic downtown which is charming). People on this board have a slight tendency to shun all things Davidson County for some reason unknown to me. Perhaps because of the public schools which have the typical difficulties of any large city. I wouldn't know as I don't have children.

But this is your dream home. I'd suggest maybe spending some time renting a nice home in one of these areas and extensively exploring the other ones you're considering. It sounds like this may be a good options for you. Good luck!

We haven't ruled that out. Might be a good idea.

[fumanchu41]

Originally Posted by DonCorleone

Well, Westhaven is a neighborhood filled with dream homes. I know several folks there who've built their "dream homes" there. But you definitely pay a premium. I don't know anyone who doesn't love that area who lives there, though.

I live in Hendersonville, north of town in Sumner County. There are some great upscale neighborhoods up here too. Also a good number of country music stars up here, too. Plus we're right on Old Hickory Lake and have lots of parks, restaurants, and shopping.

So, Franklin/Brentwood isn't the only place to find upscale homes. But you will find a fair share down there.

Don,
I haven't heard much about the Hendersonville area. Can you suggest some subdivisions we should look at there? Hopefully I can find them online. Not too crazy about living near a water source though, more bugs and critters.

[septimus]

there is a premium on the lots in Westhaven because of the amentities. Very few subdivisions have the same level of amentites. The pools are amazing, there is a full-time activities director, a residents' club house with a gym, on-site childcare while you work out, teen room, movie theater, etc. Also finally the town center of Westhaven is starting to develop so you can walk/ride your bike to the new grocery store opening in October.

The elementary school is scheduled to open next August.

Westhaven is one of the few developments still fairly strong in Williamson despite the downturn. It isn't growing like 2005 but it is still growing.

The lots are small, but not all of the lots are small. The next area to be opened up by Southern Land is the extension of Championship Blvd. Those lots are big and I think are driveway entry, not alley homes. They will be more "traditional suburb" and rumor has it will start in the 700s.

One nice thing about Westhaven is there are a variety of price points. It is still pricey for the area, but the houses, condos, townhomes range from 200k-2M no other subdivision has that type of variety. A lot of subdivisions turned me off because all the houses were between 500-525k. Too much of the same for my liking.

We looked in Green Hills, West End, Belle Meade and Franklin when we relocated. We came from a city and sidewalks and being able to walk places was/is very important to me. GH scared me. Even on side streets cars were speeding and there were no side walks. I fell in love with a house off West End but it had foundation issues so we walked away. What we could afford in Belle Meade was too small or considered a teardown.