Murfreesboro or Atlanta Area? (Franklin, Brentwood: real estate, leasing, crime)

[movingfrommichigan]

Greetings! My husband and our two children ages 4 and 7 are planning on relocating south. We have narrowed our search to the Murfreesboro/Franklin area or the Atlanta suburbs and we need some advice. There are several key factors that we are basing our decision on. Excellent school district, great community activities, good housing market, diversity, and proximity to shopping, parks, hospitals,church etc. Additionally, my husband and I are both self-employed. I am in the spa industry and he owns several men/womens upscale retail clothing stores. Therefore an area that could allow for growth and sustenance would be preferrable. We recently visited Murfreesboro and although we felt the housing market was great and the city is in construction mode we were somewhat concerned if the area would be a good fit. Any advice that you could provide in helping us make our decision would be helpful. Thanks!

[wellkids]

Originally Posted by movingfrommichigan

Greetings! My husband and our two children ages 4 and 7 are planning on relocating south. We have narrowed our search to the Murfreesboro/Franklin area or the Atlanta suburbs and we need some advice. There are several key factors that we are basing our decision on. Excellent school district, great community activities, good housing market, diversity, and proximity to shopping, parks, hospitals,church etc. Additionally, my husband and I are both self-employed. I am in the spa industry and he owns several men/womens upscale retail clothing stores. Therefore an area that could allow for growth and sustenance would be preferrable. We recently visited Murfreesboro and although we felt the housing market was great and the city is in construction mode we were somewhat concerned if the area would be a good fit. Any advice that you could provide in helping us make our decision would be helpful. Thanks!

I currently live in Murfreesboro and used to live in Brentwood, which is in Williamson County next to Franklin. We really like Murfreesboro and the growth and potential on the commercial side is great. Out-of-state investors seem to think that Rutherford County is an excellent investment opportunity in commerical real estate. The opening of the new mall in the Fall is expected to change the retail and "upscale store" outlook in this area. I know we have several more restaurants and Starbucks tentatively planning to reopen and/or build in the near future so research must be pointing things this way.

That being said, Franklin is already a strong market and could certainly support the high-end retail store and spa. You would definitely have more competition in the Franklin market since so many of these types stores already exist. But, there is a market there for the luxury outlets. The income per household is going to be much higher in Franklin over Murfreesboro and it would be the higher income households that would support the type businesses you are interested in opening. Right now your price per square foot on a commercial lease is going to be quite a bit higher in the Franklin market vs. Murfreesboro so you would have to sell more to make your profit margin.

I wish I could help you with Atlanta but don't really know much about that market. I do know we were there a couple of weekends ago around the Gwinnett Marriot area and there was business after business that was closed and empty buildings. There was definitely available building space in that area for lease!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by movingfrommichigan

Greetings! My husband and our two children ages 4 and 7 are planning on relocating south. We have narrowed our search to the Murfreesboro/Franklin area or the Atlanta suburbs and we need some advice. There are several key factors that we are basing our decision on. Excellent school district, great community activities, good housing market, diversity, and proximity to shopping, parks, hospitals,church etc. Additionally, my husband and I are both self-employed. I am in the spa industry and he owns several men/womens upscale retail clothing stores. Therefore an area that could allow for growth and sustenance would be preferrable. We recently visited Murfreesboro and although we felt the housing market was great and the city is in construction mode we were somewhat concerned if the area would be a good fit. Any advice that you could provide in helping us make our decision would be helpful. Thanks!

While I love visiting Atlanta, there is no way that I would move back there.

Of the choices you mentioned, Williamson County (Franklin) would definitely be my choice. Not only is it one of the 20 wealthiest counties in the country, it's also one of the 20 fastest-growing and one of the most educated. The prospects for high-end retail there are seemingly endless. Schools in Williamson County are also outstanding.

I used to be impressed with Murfreesboro back when it was still a small town. But it seems they want growth at any cost, and indeed it is costing them with overcrowded schools and ridiculous traffic. Williamson County went after the higher-income suburbanites, Rutherford County went after anyone. Just look at the price of housing to see the stark differences.

At any rate, good luck with your upcoming move.

[Figment 07]

I wish I could help you with Atlanta but don't really know much about that market. I do know we were there a couple of weekends ago around the Gwinnett Marriot area and there was business after business that was closed and empty buildings. There was definitely available building space in that area for lease!

Right, that area has crime issues and I understand that it is slated for some kind of redevelopment, but I just don't like it.

If the Atlanta suburbs interest you, Gwinnett Place Mall area would not be the way to go.

You need a fairly upscale, growing area for retail, so instead, check out Peachtree City, GA to the south of Atlanta. A 1,600-home active adult community is being built there with first phase to open this spring and there's good airport access, too. Or look at Alpharetta/Johns Creek/Cumming to the north.

[movingfrommichigan]

Thank you very much for your helpful insight! We will be there in April and will have more time to compare the commercial leasing rates for both areas.

[movingfrommichigan]

Thank you for your feedback. Until now I hadn't heard anything about the Peachtree city area. We will also research further the Alpharetta area.