Considering moving to Murfreesboro, need advice (Hendersonville, Gallatin: insurance, crime rate, house)

[brina904]

We are considering relocating our family from Louisville, Kentucky to somewhere close to Nashville...maybe Murfreesboro area? We would really like to know more about that area. First, we would like to know if the area is safe? We live in a rural area outside of Louisville and it is very safe here. When I mean safe, are home invasions, robberies, car theft, car jackings, gang violence etc. in that area? We moved to Louisville from a big city in Florida to get away from all of that and we definitely don't want to move back to an area w/ high crime. Also, we are very involved w/ our church. Are there any non denominational churches in the area? How about the school system? Our daughter currently attends a private Christian school, but we might consider a public one if it meets our requirements. How is the terrain? Is it flat? Lots of trees? Hills? How about shopping? Do you have to drive all the way to Nashville to get to a mall? Also, how about taxes? Also, we would prefer a subdivision that has newer homes w/ some land, but has community features like a clubhouse, pool, playground etc. Are there any? I know this is a lot of questions, but any help would be appreciated. Thank you so much!

[Bettie#2]

More answers to your questions,, Murfreesboro is flat, has a beautiful new high end mall that is going broke and also has a nice one on the main drag that is nice. I moved out of Nashville to get away from the crime and very rarely go back. There are several nice towns surrounding Murfreesboro that are quieter than Murf. Most of my shopping is done locally, ie NOT Murfreesboro or Nashville. You have to pay property taxes for the county and city. I hate to knock it, but honestly , I wouldn't move into the city limits of Murfreesboro with children.

[vivelafrance]

First, I would recommend posting this in the Nashville forum...you will get more responses.

Second, Murfreesboro is a fairly large city of about 100,000 people. It kind of toes the line between Nashville suburb and independent city. Is that what you are looking for or something more Suburban or small-town?

You would definitely not have to drive to Nashville for a mall. Murfreesboro has two: The Avenue and Stones River Mall.

[Mary_Moon]

I live in and love Murfreesboro but honestly, it sounds like Mt. Juliet and the Providence subdivision might be more to your liking. It has a more rural feel and less crowded than M'boro.

I second the recommend to post on the Nashville forum. Do a search for Murfreesboro and you'll find tons of helpful info.

[Lamplight]

I believe one of (if not THE) largest church in town is non-denominational: The World Outreach Church. Finding places to shop and eat is practically a non-issue in Murfreesboro. Shopping or eating describes a very large percentage of the businesses here. There are also many, many neighborhoods in the area, so I'm sure there's at least one that would fit your criteria. There are also at least two private Christian schools, possibly more that I'm not aware of. I actually attended one of those for middle and high school and liked it for the most part, but that was quite a few years ago so I have no clue what it's like now.

I'm not sure about property taxes in the surrounding areas. My property was listed as valued at just over $80,000, and my city and county taxes combined were just over $800 for the year (in fact I just paid them: $550 county, $280 city). I'm not very well versed on property taxes yet, so I'm not sure if $80,000 was just the lot or includes the house. My insurance company appraised the house at $12xxxx, so I don't know.

Rating the crime level here seems to be hit or miss. If you look at City Data's Murfreesboro page, it appears that our overall crime rate is moderate. Not terribly high, but certainly not low. I would think it's pretty normal for a town of 100,000. The number of assaults is rather surprising compared to other cities I've researched, but other crimes seem to be pretty average.

My biggest problems with Murfreesboro:

1. Summer weather. This doesn't really count, since our weather is similar to a pretty large portion of the country's. Plus it has little to do with choosing Murfreesboro over other towns in middle TN. But I listed it because I hate it.

2. Traffic. Maybe this is a universal problem, I don't know. If so then our country is in a sad state. As I type this, I can see cars going down my street at wide open throttle (in a neighborhood where lots of kids live, and play in the yards). Car after car after car, almost every single one is always absolutely FLYING. The speed limit is 30, and I'd be willing to bet 100 American dollars that most of the drivers I see on this street only dip below 30 when they're slamming on their brakes just before the stop sign. I honestly don't see how some of them even manage to stop in time. I've seen people drive through front yards to turn right because the person in front is having to wait to turn left. I've been honked at, screamed at, and thrown obscene gestures for having the audacity to turn onto a street, thereby slowing down the person who is so angry behind me. In fact, turning here usually involves nearly being rear-ended, almost every single time. Turn signals don't exist. Throttle and brakes are on/off switches, there is no in between. I've concluded that people here either never get tickets, or the tickets they do get do absolutely nothing to change their driving habits.

BTW, as I finished typing the above, a car turned onto my street and I could hear the engine racing and the tires breaking loose. This is a completely normal occurrence. I'm actually more shocked when I see someone driving 30mph or less. I don't know what is so important that so many people here have to drive so fast and carelessly through neighborhoods, risking it all to save mere seconds. I hope it will be worth it to them when they eventually run over a child or a person walking.

[DaveM123]

I'm not sure what part of Murfreesboro Lamplight lives in but I have not had any experiences like the ones described where I live.

[shinestx]

I recommend petitioning the city to patrol that street/nieghborhood for a few days over the course of a few weeks for speeders. Word will get around quickly that the "heat" is out and things change pretty fast. Failing that, cities in the area do honor petitions from neighborhoods to install speed humps. The neighbors may not love driving on them, but they work!

brina, I'd say that Mt. Juliet, Lebanon or Gallatin would be more in line with what you're looking for. Wilson County has the new Providence center and lots of shopping centers scattered around. Same goes for Sumner County and they have at least a couple of large shopping centers like Providence. Plus, the area north of Hendersonville, including White House and Portland (a little far out IMHO) are not far (15 min) from Rivergate Mall.

[Lamplight]

Originally Posted by DaveM123

I'm not sure what part of Murfreesboro Lamplight lives in but I have not had any experiences like the ones described where I live.

People use my street to cut through from a main road to the rest of the neighborhood. I wonder if that has something to do with it? I do see a surprising amount of traffic for such a minor side street.

Originally Posted by shinestx

I recommend petitioning the city to patrol that street/nieghborhood for a few days over the course of a few weeks for speeders. Word will get around quickly that the "heat" is out and things change pretty fast. Failing that, cities in the area do honor petitions from neighborhoods to install speed humps. The neighbors may not love driving on them, but they work!

A policeman actually lives across the street from me and parks his patrol car in the front yard during the day (he works at night), but it doesn't seem to slow anyone down. I thought about seeing if the police would be interested in using my driveway to catch speeders. In the afternoon and evening, throughout rush hour, there is no car parked in my driveway. I have a hedge that police motorcycles could easily hide behind, while still offering plenty of room to use the radar gun. But I'm sure there's some reason they couldn't legally do this. Plus they'd have to face the short end of the street, so they wouldn't catch the ones going really fast. But they would have caught the guy I saw a couple of months ago who turned onto the street, gassed it, and got completely sideways, burning up the tires all the way past my house.

[DaveM123]

I can see where a street that comes off a main road could create problems. Sorry you have to deal with it but it seems to be an isolated problem as opposed to a Murfreesboro problem. I hope you can get the police in there on a mroe regular basis and get that problem solved.

[Lamplight]

Originally Posted by DaveM123

I can see where a street that comes off a main road could create problems. Sorry you have to deal with it but it seems to be an isolated problem as opposed to a Murfreesboro problem. I hope you can get the police in there on a mroe regular basis and get that problem solved.

Honestly, I see this kind of driving everywhere I go in Murfreesboro. Next few times you turn off of a main road, take note of how close the car behind you gets just after you turn. Unless you're driving way over the speed limit (which is about the only you're not going to be tailgated) or unless you turn very fast, I'll bet they almost hit you. It's usually so close I don't know how they avoid hitting me.