Just moved to Mt Juliet from CT any questions I can help with? (Murfreesboro: sale, homeowners insurance)

[fritzichic]

We moved here a month ago and I have learned lots of things. Here is some basic info though.

We bought a 18 month old house, 2400 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, bonus room, lots of extras, large closets, 2 car garage for $250,000. Our house is on a .6 acre lot and is fully fenced. I love it here.

Bills:
taxes $1500 per year
water a minimum of $24 a month
sewer $43 a month (step system)
trash $18 a month
electricity 7.x cents per kwh
homeowners insurance $500 per year


School opinions:
So far I love the school. I do have to pay for a lot more in fees than I had to at other school. I love the reading program that they use here. I have seen my son's reading improve much quicker than in CT.

It is hard getting the kids up at 5:45 am but I really love the schedule.

The buses here run very much on time. In the morning the bus picks up in front of our house.

The academics here seem to be as good or better in language arts, social studies as I have been used. Science and math programs aren't as new as we had been used to in CT, but still good.

I am really impressed at the price of after school daycare here as well as the summer programs (only $70 a week in the summer).

Bugs

I am still not used to the bugs, lots of them and bigger.

Weather

Very hot and muggy as well as tons of rain lately. I am told this is warmer and wetter than usual. Rain stinks because it make the yard very muddy, the soil here is like clay.

Convenience

We live on the outside of the city limits for Mt Juliet so we are a bit farther away than usual from lots of things, but I can usually get to everything I need in 20 minutes of less.

Groceries

Groceries cost a good amount less than in CT. A gallon of milk here sells for about $2.50 at most stores, which is $1.50 savings for me. A 5 pound bag of grapefruit cost $1.89 vs. $4.99 in CT, a pound of apples $.59 versus .89, etc. I really find the produce and the dairy products to be much cheaper. Also a lot of regular prices on convenience foods here are the sale prices for foods in CT. I am expecting to see 25% decrease in my food costs. yeah!


Can I answer anyone else's questions?

I am glad that we chose Mt Juliet over the other towns.

[46Barb]

Are the bugs really that bad in TN? I live in Connecticut right now and don't like bugs/snakes, etc?


Also, is it that rainy/muddy. I have 4 dogs and hate when they bring all the dirt into the house. Do you think it's worse down there?

[dblack13xx]

Did you look at any other areas? If so, why did you settle on Mt Juliet?

[CG&D93]

My husband and I are seriously looking into Mt. Juliet. I would love to get your opinion on the areas/subdivisions to look for houses.

We have two children, 13 & 9, two dogs and cats. We would be looking in the under $200,000 range for a house. Doesn't have to be new and my husband needs a big workshop. We both work from home. Would love a very kid friendly possible walk to school type neighborhood. Safe and clean are probably obvious.

Do you have any experience with the commuter train? It sounds like something I would use fairly often. Do you have any experience with any of the dance studios in Mt. Juliet? I know there are plenty. Also a youth soccer program? Our son is really into soccer.

We have a contract on our house and are hoping to get to visit Mt. J is the next week or two. We currently live in East TN and can't wait to move somewhere that we can grow roots, settle in, call home and enjoy life.

I'd appreciate any input you have. Thanks in advance.

[wellkids]

Hi Corbin

Mt. Juliet is a great community with lots of subdivisions - way too many to list here. Feel free to PM me if you would like me to email a list of the developments with active listings in your price range. It is really easy for me to do and will at least give you some development names with the school zones.

However, when I saw your comments about dance and soccer and wanted to throw Murfreesboro out as an option. My 10 year old is into competition dance and there is an amazing performing arts schools here. They do everything from pointe, ballet, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, and tap to voice, drama, piano, percussion and even fencing. I don't think we will ever be able to move until my daughter graduates now because she would never leave this dance studio. We love living here so much that we actually have no desire to move anywhere else.

Soccer is also HUGE in Murfreesboro. Lots of competition and travel teams as well as rec teams. They opened Richard Siegel Soccer Complex last year and it is pretty impressive. It was a multi-million dollar facility that was highly anticipated here.

Just let me know if I can answer any questions. Good luck!

[CG&D93]

wellkids

Thank you for your reply. We aren't really interested in Murfreesboro. We are extremely familiar with the area, having lived in Bellevue and have family in Spring Hill, Columbia and Nashville.

I am interested in dance studios as I'm a dance teacher and our daughter is a dancer. But I don't do competition dance. Mainly I'm a ballet teacher (also jazz and tap). I've seen some of the studios around the area and there are many wonderful ones. The performing arts you mentioned looks wonderful, I've read up about it.

Since we lived in Central Florida for over 15 years we are looking for more of a laid back area.

I heard someone says that Mt. Juliet was a 'throw back town' and I really like the sound of that. Thank you for your input, I will let you know if I'm in need of further assistance as time gets closer.

[emmyp]

There is a good studio in Hermitage called The Dance Centre of Hermitage! It is about 10 mins from Mt. Juliet! I taught/took dance there for a while. I know there is a new director but it used to be really nice!

Nashville Ballet is about 30 minutes away as well!

[wellkids]

I have never heard the term throw back town, but Mt. Juliet is an area that is really growing fast. It has changed a LOT in the past few years. Nothing compared to the growth of M'boro but the growth is coming that direction too. I don't know if people living there will consider it a good thing or a bad thing, but no one can stop the growth of the Middle TN area.

If we weren't so far, I would love to take my daughter to the Nashville School of Ballet. I've heard so many great things about their program.

[CG&D93]

emmyp - I haven't heard of that studio but I will certainly look into it. Thank you.

I had already mapped Mt. Juliet to Nashville Ballet. What a wonderful school. I have had several students go there for their summer intensives. I wouldn't want to teach there I would want to go take class for myself.

We aren't afraid of a growing area, we just want really affordable housing, safe area, good schools and being close to a bigger city. I look forward to checking it out more and visiting soon.

[fritzichic]

{QUOTE=46Barb;700622]Are the bugs really that bad in TN? I live in Connecticut right now and don't like bugs/snakes, etc?

They aren't horrible just different than what we had in CT.

Also, is it that rainy/muddy. I have 4 dogs and hate when they bring all the dirt into the house. Do you think it's worse down there?[/quote]

It is very muddy in our yard because we don't have a lot of grass. The dirt here is like clay so it sticks to everything. My mom has a nice grass lawn and no problems with mud. So make sure the home you look as has a well established lawn.