Small Town Feel w/ in 45 mins. of Vanderbilt Children's Hospital? (Chattanooga: middle-class, insurance)

[marchesefam]

Hi all!

Hoping you can help... We currently live in the greater Phoenix,
Arizona area and we are looking to relocate.

A little about us:
We are in our early 30's, the parents of a special needs (heart
defect) daughter who is adopted. We are looking for the idyllic
"quaint" area. I grew up outside of San Francisco but went to high
school in Sheboygan, WI and my husband grew up in Jackson Hole,
Wyoming. We like the smaller communities and we're looking for a small
town feel with some amenities. I'd like a community where one can get
involved, one with good schools, a middle-class cost of living, and
very safe. My daughter will require numerous heart surgeries over the
course of her life, so we're looking at the top 25 pediatric
cardiology facilities and searching a 45 mile radius around the area.

In Arizona, kids can't do sports in the summer because of the heat. No
kids play outside, and after 5 years in my current home, I still don't
know most of my neighbors. I'd like a town where kids play outside,
the neighbors know one another, the town goes to the high school
football games.

My husband is a claims adjuster for a large insurance company and
works from home, so we're very flexible. I am a stay-at-home mother,
so being able to do things with my child is important.

I enjoy a milder climate, but I'm flexible.

I appreciate your help!

[vivelafrance]

I think you should check out Ridgetop, TN. It's located in Robertson County and would probably be a 30 minute trip to Vanderbilt. It's a small town and very beautiful. The neighboring town of Greenbrier has everyday shops like groceries and you are very convenient to Hendersonville and Goodlettsville for Mall and Big Box shopping.

[Shino306]

In addition to the above post, there's Williamson and Maury County too. Spring Hill is actually in both Williamson and Maury, it's a smaller town, that's convenient to everyday needs, nice neighborhoods, and the drive to Vandy is about 30 minutes just down I-65.
Good Luck in your search!

[shinestx]

Check out White House, TN. It is about twenty-five miles north of Nashville off I-65. With about 10k residents, it straddles the border of Sumner and Roberston Counties. I understand the schools to be good, and it sounds like the size community you're seeking within a 45-min. drive of Vanderbilt.

Good luck.

Wiki: White House, Tennessee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You may like Goodlettsville, which is on the Davidson-Sumner line, very close to Robertson County.

[alleycat]

The first one that comes to find is Franklin. Springfield might also be worth looking at. A smaller place than either one of those is Nolensville, but still might be worth checking out.

[FLYBOY2]

Originally Posted by alleycat

The first one that comes to find is Franklin. Springfield might also be worth looking at. A smaller place than either one of those is Nolensville, but still might be worth checking out.

I agree with Alleycat....but you might also want to consider the North side of Murfreesboro. We live 2 miles from 840 off Jefferson Pike area and go to Vanderbilt with our son twice a week. It takes us 40 minutes (Vandy has free valet parking).

The schools and property taxes in Rutherford Co even Murfreesboro City are cheaper than Williamson Co. Beware of Nolensville (Davidson Co.)...make SURE you ask and confirm the info. is true) as your taxes will be incredibly higher.

The search for our home included a similiar factor.

Something to think about:

Schools in North Rutherford Co. are excellent (stay in the Siegel School district)

Best of city and country life (you are 5-20 minutes max from anywhere you need to be on the North side of Murfreesboro).

Strong community involvement(Franklin is huge and very unpersonal unless you like to keep up with the Joneses), great test scores that compete and are as great as Williamson Co., cheaper taxes than Williamson and Davidson Co., growing area with activities for the kids(Greenway, museum, historical places to visit as well as the conviences of dwntown Nashville and Chattanooga(1.5 hrs from my house) for day trips.

Just my 2 cents worth....Happy Hunting.

[MiddleTNresident]

Do you need to be close to a trauma center? It's one thing to travel those 30-45 minutes to a top children's hospital for a scheduled surgery. It's another to be far away from a top children's hospital in the event of an emergency. You received a lot of nice recommendations for that hometown community feel, but some are lacking because of their distance from an emergency room.

[GrnMtnFire]

I agree with Flyboy. I checked all the other places prior to my move to middle Tennessee and found Murfreesboro/Smyrna area is really hard to beat.

[tabbva]

What do you want in a small town? Is it a neighborly sense of community? I live in Mt. Juliet in one of the larger subdivisions and it is more neighborly than any small town I've lived in before, especially outside of the south. I think that most neighborhoods around Nashville, with the exception of some of the run down ones or overly manicured/keeping up with the Jones's are going to give you that sense of community you are looking for-especially if you have kids.

As far as location, I would concentrate on the I-65 corridor just south of Nashville. This way you won't have to deal with as much city traffic getting to Vandy. (note: compared to other cities Nashville traffic is tame) Nolensville might be your best option, depending on your price range. It was a little too small town for my family but it sounds like it might be just what you want.

Franklin is not really small town, and Spring Hill seems more sprawl than anything else. Thompsan Station seems like a possibility, they've tried really hard to keep that small town feel. Columbia seems like an area you may be interested in too, but I don't know about the schools Maury Co and it would be pushing it to be 45 min to Vandy, probably.

On a side note we decided against Smyrna because we didn't experience the friendliness feel we were looking for (completely subjective-i know!) and our realtors, living and working out of Antioch, said that they had seen a downward trend in LaVergne because of overflow from Antioch and they were begining to see the same happen in Smyrna (partially subjective). This was almost 3 years ago so I don't know what the situation is now.

[racergirl2413]

Welcome to Tennessee. I live in a town called Portland (p-town) to the football fans. We may not always have a winning season, but Friday Night Lights is the place to be with soccer and baseball on Saturdays.

I consider my street to be just perfect even though we have a wide range of ages. This is a street where we are neighbors and you know the names of everyones pets or if there is a strange car in the area. Where we all support one another in sickness and health, and have a wonderful street party with live music every year just to get together. We share garden vegetables and fund raisers and attend weddings and babies being born.

I'm sure my street is not the only one, but it is also what you make of it. here you will find if you make an effort to be a friend, it will be rewarded twice over.

There are fantastic new houses here and some other less expensive ones. We're close enough to Nashville but even closer to Hendersonville where you will find a great hospital and even better shopping. just not the warm and cozy feeling you will get from Portland.

Check us out and maybe we will be lucky to see you at the next Strawberry Festival.
Here is a link to our website.

Official Web-Site City Of Portland, TN

Oh- we are also 35 to 45 minutes from Bowling Green KY which has a lot to offer.