trip planning HELP...please? (Franklin, Cookeville: rent, crime, mortgage)

[foxywench]

so as ive said many times, im moving to tn...
ive been pre-aproved for a mortgage and everything is falling into place...
except the part where i need to come down there and figure out where in the great state of tn i want to be...

at first i was thinking about the knoxville area, but after alot of thinking, (and looking at the properties available around knoxville) im not so sure...

so that leaves chattanooga and nashville (ive ruled out memphis and pretty much all of the western section of the state.)

now ive found some houses in central tn and some in what im not sure if it would be eastern or south central...that i realy like, and am potentially planning on checking out while on my trip...but im trying to plan this trip so it wont cost me my downpayment lol.

i KNOW i need to be within 2 hours max of a good airport...and due to the need of flexibility for family visiting im thinking nashville airport might be the best choice...whihc has narrowed my search down to central tn.

i was origionally planning on driving down, camping, making a 2 week visit out of it, but with the cost of gas, its going to cost at least $600 just to get there and back...

so im now thinking of flying into nashville, renting a car and making a week out of it.

theres a house in westmoreland that id realy like to see....but beyond that the other houses on my list are south of nashville...
2 in pulaski, 1 in hohenwald, and 1 in Dickson.
of course ill also be asking my agents to pull more listings that might work to look at too...but i only plan to spend 2-3 days of my trip looking at houses.

firslty does anyone know if any of these towns have land use restrictions, i know typically outside of the cities there tends to be few restrictions, but 1 of the pulaski houses is within the town/city limits...

so yeah, in trying to plan my trip im trying to figure out how many nights to spend in each area.
i also want to spend some time exploring nashville, and at least 1/2 the day (if not a full day) at the nashville zoo.

so what, if anything is there to see/do neer the pluaski areas...would it be worth spending a few nights in nashville and a few nights in the pulaski area or do i only realy need 1 night in pulaski (spending 1 day looking at houses and the next flitting around the area before heading back to nashville that evening.

also, are there anyplaces cheaper than about $40 a night to stay in the pulaski area...

im planning on staying at the howard johnson in nashville.

thoughts? input? what do i NEED to see while in the area.

if things work out ill be comming mid april, flying in on a weds evening, and leaving the following weds morning, giving me thursday - tuesday to explore.

what are gas prices like down there right now...
its 3.98 here today
(i will be renting in the "economy" class so should be getting something in the 27mpg range.

[2mares]

I take it you have decided against Deerlodge and the Jamestown area. I cant help you with the area you are looking at but gas in Cookeville is 3.29 to 3.39 average right now.

[foxywench]

the deerlodge property that drew me to that area needs full foundation repair lol. little more of a fixer than i realy want :P

[hiknapster]

I'm surprised to see you are pre-approved for a mortgage without a job in place down here, unless you are transferring. I'd strongly not move without a job and rent first, anyway. Can't help with the areas you are now interested in. Want to wish a safe, fun and productive trip though, homegirl!

[foxywench]

i work from home. has its bonuses. lol

[BirdieBelle]

I think a half-day at the zoo would be plenty. I would spend most of my time driving through your target areas and getting a feel for them.
Which Howard Johnson do you mean?
You probably don't need to STAY in Pulaski. It's about 90 mins from Nashville. I have friends who commute there from Franklin every day. So you could spend a good, full day there and have a good idea if it's a match for you.
I don''t know much about Westmoreland except that it is very small. But you might try getting a motel on the southern/western side of Nashville as a home base and driving to the other towns from there.
Hope this helps a little.

[foxywench]

that helps a lot, the Ho-jos i was planning on staying at is 2306 Brick Church Pike, Nashville...
at under $30 a night the price is right and they feed me breakfast in the mornings (one meal i dont have to pay additional for lol)
yes i know that particular hotel gets very low ratings, but price is a huge concern for me and i was origionally going to camp so lol...
im VERY not fussy...

i like the idea of having a home base, especially since it actually gives a higher discount for the hotel stay per night for a longer stay.

[BirdieBelle]

Well, it's in a pretty bad area - right next to a nightclub. This Red Roof Inn is in the middle of Cool Springs and right next to I-65 for interstate access.
http://travela.priceline.com/hotel/h...=PCLN&static=Y
It doesn't have free breakfast but it has microwaves and fridges in the rooms, so you could pack your own food. It says it starts at $44/night. I had frugal relatives stay there last summer and they liked it fine. I just thought I'd give you one more centrally located option in a much nicer area. It is hard to find but only because you have to turn into the shopping center parking lot and go around behind the furniture store.
Gas is cheaper here, so if you get a fuel-efficient car, you could stay at your home base and use your days getting to know the areas rather than packing all your stuff and moving every couple of days.
I would really focus on getting to know your target towns.

[foxywench]

in terms of towns im looking into (again im looking for VERY small town (not nessicarily even town) where i can have a few acres, no land use restrictions and still be no more than an hour from a walmart/grocery and no more than 2 hours from the airport.

no kids so schools not a big deal, and i dont need things close/within walking distance, and since i work from home im not wrried about jobs.

i would like an area the while doesnt nessicarily have to be crime free, i dont have to worry about having my windows smashed on a daily basis ect...
essentially a place where a locked door and a big barking dog is a good enough deterant (i used to live in a VERY rough area, shootings on our street, cars broken into daily, our landlord even had an OLD picknick table that was chained to 4 cinder blocks StOLEN from his fenced back yard...
i never want to live liek that again.

anywho...
the places that are currently "on the list"

westmoreland
hohenwald
dickson
pulaski
and minor hill

im doing all the looking online for as much information...but of course the point of this trip is to not only look at a couple of houses in my price range that have caught my eye, but also get a bit of a feel for the area each one is in...obviously.

[RSMTN]

What price range housing are you looking for?

Cookeville is an hour or hour and a half from the Nashville airport (located on the east side of Nashville a stones throw from I-40), depending on where exactly you live. We live out in the county but 15 - 20 minutes from a Walmart, 20 - 25 minutes to Lowes and about the same from great non chain restaurants that will not erode your pocketbook.

As for security, we only lock our doors at night and that is just out of years of habit. But our house is completely private and a lot of people, even in our community, don't know the house is here as you can't see it from the main road.

If you use air travel much at all I'd suggest you use the Nashville airport. Southwest airlines seems to keep prices down. We get better prices than any place we have ever lived.......and that's a lot of places, believe me.

Best of luck.