A Question For Those Who Love Clarksville... (Franklin: houses, high school) - Nashville - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

Rapunzll · 03-20-2007, 07:48 PM

I'm planning to move from MI to somewhere between Nashville and Clarksville hopefully by the end of the year. I'm going there because my daughter, son in law and grandbaby are now there. They told me before they arrived that they had talked to a lot of people who said they had loved it there, and that it wasn't unusual for people to be stationed there and end up staying.

I visited once so far (I hope to go back over Memorial Day) and I don't see what the big deal is. Maybe I am a hard sell because I live in a very popular resort town that is beautiful and Clarksville didn't strike me as at all attractive.

So I want to know, what am I missing? My daughter is not happy that I'm thinking about moving to another town within easy driving distance, so tell me, is there something, some area maybe that I just totally didn't notice? We did spend most of the time house hunting for them when I was there.

This post probably sounds snarky, but honestly, that's not my intention. I just don't know that there is a nice downtown shopping district, or much chance to continue to work in my field which is travel and tourism in an area like Clarksville.

So tell me, where am I going wrong in my thinking? Why do you love Clarksville?

LauraC · 03-20-2007, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rapunzll

I'm planning to move from MI to somewhere between Nashville and Clarksville hopefully by the end of the year. I'm going there because my daughter, son in law and grandbaby are now there. They told me before they arrived that they had talked to a lot of people who said they had loved it there, and that it wasn't unusual for people to be stationed there and end up staying.

I visited once so far (I hope to go back over Memorial Day) and I don't see what the big deal is. Maybe I am a hard sell because I live in a very popular resort town that is beautiful and Clarksville didn't strike me as at all attractive.

So I want to know, what am I missing? My daughter is not happy that I'm thinking about moving to another town within easy driving distance, so tell me, is there something, some area maybe that I just totally didn't notice? We did spend most of the time house hunting for them when I was there.

This post probably sounds snarky, but honestly, that's not my intention. I just don't know that there is a nice downtown shopping district, or much chance to continue to work in my field which is travel and tourism in an area like Clarksville.

So tell me, where am I going wrong in my thinking? Why do you love Clarksville?

Try the online yellow pages for Clarksville to see if there are things in the town you might like or where the closest travel agencies are located. You don't sound snarky. A lot of people would refuse to live in a "very popular resort town." You wouldn't take offense at that, would you? Better you discover where you don't want to live before you move, than after.

Rapunzll · 03-21-2007, 10:55 AM

Thanks, but the yellow pages won't tell me what I want to know, which is peoples personal experience. I know I'm missing something, because a lot of people seem to love the place!

Sadly, way too many people want to move here, which keeps the wages too low compared to the cost of living. Hopefully, that will help me though when it comes time to put my house on the market! :-)

alleycat · 03-21-2007, 11:18 AM

A couple of general comments . . .

You might have gotten a better response if your original post had been rephrased slightly. I don't think it sounded snarky, but it does read a little like "convince me it's a nice place." I'm always happy to answer any questions that anyone has about Tennessee honestly, but I'm not trying to convince anyone to come to Tennessee. And, not every place is right for everyone . . . it would kind of be a boring world if it was.

You mentioned the people stationed in Clarksville in your original post. I assume you meant Ft. Campbell. If you only been around that part of the county, then you really haven't seen Clarksville and the surrounding areas.

Rapunzll · 03-21-2007, 11:39 AM

We drove around town as the kids looked at houses, and we steered clear of subdivisions that were too close to the base, but I know I'm missing something.

I'm hoping to spend a week checking out the area around memorial day, so maybe I'll 'get it' then.

There just seemed to be strip mall after strip mall, and I know that if a lot of people go and stay, there has to be a very good reason.

The kids are in move to Clarksville mode and weren't too happy when I said I was thinking of someplace between Nashville and Clarksville.

alleycat · 03-21-2007, 12:14 PM

Well, you wouldn't really be that far away. It's only about an hour or so from Clarksville to Nashville.

If you could stand to be even further away, I might suggest looking at Franklin. That sounds more like what you're looking for.

Rapunzll · 03-21-2007, 12:59 PM

I do want to check out Franklin, I just finished listening to the audiobook of 'Widow of the South', which was set there. I want to stay no more than 45 minutes away from Clarksville though if I can help it, and I'm hoping that I will find there is a lot more there than I realized and decide to stay there.

alleycat · 03-21-2007, 01:10 PM

Check out the east side of Clarksville and Montgomery County, say along Madison Street on out. Also maybe the areas near Rossview Road (near the hospital) and near Dunbar Cave.

A few trivia facts since you mentioned The Widow of the South: Writer Robert Penn Warren went to Clarksville High School. Sgt. Carter on the old Gomer Pyle TV show was from Clarksville. Jimi Hendrix was stationed at Ft. Campbell. As was Charles Schulz of Peanuts fame. And the hit song Last Train to Clarksville by the Monkeys in the sixties was written about Clarksville, TN. Useless information, I know . . . but kind of fun. I know a whole bunch of this stuff (more than you want to hear! ;-)

JMT · 03-21-2007, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alleycat

Check out the east side of Clarksville and Montgomery County, say along Madison Street on out. Also maybe the areas near Rossview Road (near the hospital) and near Dunbar Cave.

A few trivia facts since you mentioned The Widow of the South: Writer Robert Penn Warren went to Clarksville High School. Sgt. Carter on the old Gomer Pyle TV show was from Clarksville. Jimi Hendrix was stationed at Ft. Campbell. As was Charles Schulz of Peanuts fame. And the hit song Last Train to Clarksville by the Monkeys in the sixties was written about Clarksville, TN. Useless information, I know . . . but kind of fun. I know a whole bunch of this stuff (more than you want to hear! ;-)

I think Clarksville is a nice place. Granted, I haven't been to very many NICE military towns, but Clarksville is definitely one of the nicer ones I've ever seen. And with a population of well over 100,000, I think Clarksville is big enough that you don't ever need to venture over to the part of town near the Army base if you don't need to.

pandora1971 · 03-23-2007, 07:54 PM

I agree with alleycat, the area around Madison Street is really nice. I spend a lot of time out at Dunbar Cave and Dunlop Park. The people who are from Clarksville are so nice. Unfortunately, we're moving to Ft. Riley, KS in a few weeks and i'm really gonna miss it here. I would love to move back after my husband gets out of the army.