Retirement in TN (Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Franklin: middle-class, real estate, apartments)

[Joycecelia]

My husband and I are in our mid fifties and could retire tomorrow if we wanted to. We have three grown married kids, two live in TN: Clarksville and McMinnville. We are not crazy about either city and would like to live 'somewhere in between'. We live in CT now (Ledyard/casino town) and are originally from NYC. We like quiet settings but not to far from civilization, at least an acre of land, not on a busy thoroughfare. Thanks in advance for your input.

[wellkids]

Hi Joycecelia -

I am a realtor in Murfreesboro (not too far from McMinnville) and born and raised in Joelton, TN (very close to Clarksville.)

Murfreesboro just got selected as one of CNN Money Magazine top 100 cities in which to live. I have to agree that we have found Murfreesboro a wonderful place to call home! It is a great place to retire and there are a multitude of things that you and your husband could do ~ especially eating out! I have the full Money Mag report on my website if you are interested in reading more.

Prior to living in Murfreesboro we lived in Brentwood/Franklin in Williamson County and it too is a very nice place to live. More high-end, executive type community than Murfreesboro which is more middle-class family oriented. I thought I would never live anywhere but Brentwood and now we are very content here in Murfreesboro.

If you purchased a home in Rutherford County around Murfreesboro you would be fairly central to both McMinnville and Clarksville with Clarksville being about an 1:30 drive and McMinnville being a little over 30 minutes. Brentwood and Franklin would put you slightly closer to Clarksville and a little farther from McMinnville. Murfreesboro is located off I24 and Brentwood is off I65. Two extremely nice areas with two very different "feels" to them when you drive through and when you live there. Just depends on what lifestyle and activities you like to do best.

Housing prices are much more affordable in Murfreesboro than Brentwood bur we are rapidly growing and home prices have been increasing steadily over the past few years.

There is also Hendersonville which is North of Nashville but would not be as convenient to Clarksville and McMinnville as Murfreesboro or Brentwood would. If you want to go more small town there is Woodbury, Joelton, Rockvale, Springfield (not too small anymore), Greenbrier, Ridgetop,Pleasantview. I'm sure there are more than I've missed but those come to mind.

I have quite a bit of community info on Brentwood and Murfreesboro on my website. If you would like a relo packet mailed to you, just send me a private message or email me through my website and I'll be happy to send you some information.

[Joycecelia]

Thanks for the info packed reply. Interestingly we did visit Murfreesboro on our trip to TN last Sept. We were not favorably impressed. We went right thru the heart of Murfreesboro and looked at real estate on both the east and west side of main drag. We were overwhelmed with the traffic and saw many homes with bars on the windows. A real 'red flag' for us. The problem is that Clarksville is becoming as congested. Not our idea of retirement. If you could steer us to areas surrounding Murfreesboro that do not include developments and are safe to live we would certainly take your advice. thanks again for the quick reply.

[firepower]

Try Cookeville or Crossville. Both are very popular with retirees and are both very nice,with little congestion,low crime & low property taxes.



firepower

[wellkids]

Originally Posted by Joycecelia

Thanks for the info packed reply. Interestingly we did visit Murfreesboro on our trip to TN last Sept. We were not favorably impressed. We went right thru the heart of Murfreesboro and looked at real estate on both the east and west side of main drag. We were overwhelmed with the traffic and saw many homes with bars on the windows. A real 'red flag' for us. The problem is that Clarksville is becoming as congested. Not our idea of retirement. If you could steer us to areas surrounding Murfreesboro that do not include developments and are safe to live we would certainly take your advice. thanks again for the quick reply.

I am really surprized about your first impression! I am guessing that you must have ended up in the downtown area which does have a "seedy" section to it ~ like all cities do somewhere. To the best of my knowledge, bars on the windows are not common in this area. I can assure you with three daughters we would not live here if it was! Murfreesboro is a very safe place to live with great communities. We have a wonderful greenway walking/biking/running trail that runs 9 miles through town. I have no problem running this path alone and have never felt unsafe.

The north side of Murfreesboro has historically been the "high end" side with the largest homes and closest to Nashville. However, with the growth we have been experirencing there are now "high end" homes through Murfreesboro and you have many communities to choose from all across the city. Some parts are newer and have that appeal to them over older. Main Street toward MTSU is the historical division but those homes are extremely pricey when they do go on the market. We are picking up more and more families moving here from Brentwood and Franklin that can just no longer afford the housing in Williamson County.

Next time you come through this area, give me a call and I will take you on a tour of the town and show you all the high spots. I take a lot of professors interviewing with the university out on relocation tours and they always have favorable impressions of our town. Everyone always seems to love Murfreesboro and are excited about the move here. I am sorry your first impression was not so positive, but I assure you we can change that quickly!

[mrradio]

three years ago. We were fed up with ever-escalating taxes and traffic, high utility rates, etc. on Long Island. We wanted some peace and quiet that weren't too far from good shopping and services. We found what we were looking for and far more. We have friendly neighbors who invite us to dinner (and we invite them), we watch each others houses and pets while on vacation, etc. yet no one is intrusive and all respect each others' privacy. Our property taxes are less than one-tenth of NY's and utilities are one third.

Crossville, mentioned in a previous post, is also a great town and we looked there. If the type of property and house we were looking for had shown up there, we would have moved to Crossville without hesitation. Crossville is slightly smaller than Cookeville but offers essentially the same mix of features. Both Cookeville and Crossville are attracting retirees from all over the country who are looking for something less hectic and cooler than Florida and cheaper than North Carolina (we also looked there). Low taxes, beautiful scenery and a great housing stock convinced us TN was the place to go.

New York is unfixable. If I didn't have to occasionally go back on business or to see relatives, I'd never return. I wish I could have left it years ago.

It was a great decision. Our expectations have been more than fulfilled. These last few years have been wonderful.

[mhogan10010]

I grew up in Detroit, went to college in Nashville, lived in NC for 12 years and now live in NYC (7 years).
Knowing where you are come from, I am not surprised by your reaction to Mcminnville - Clarksville and Murfreesboro . My sister lives in McMinnville and I spent a week there last summer that felt like a month.
The areas nearer Nashville like Franklin or Brentwood would probably be a better fit and less of a culture shock for you. My gosh, there is active Klan in McMinnville.
Anyway, that is my two cents. Good luck and hope you find a good fit.

[mbmouse]

I live in Tri Cites, my folks moved (retired also) to Hawkins county to be closer to the grandkids, they LOVE IT! I prefer the east to middle TN myself.

[mbmouse]

oh, forgot to mention, we are also from CT, moved to FL in 85, I moved to TN in 97 and folks followd close behind, we LOVE it here compaired to CT and FL, lots more options on property and such, cheeper too!, Lots of nice people, almost no crime, I haven't seen a bar on one window yet here.

[macklen]

If you can retire in your fifties, sounds like you can afford Williamson County. Brentwood is only 20 minutes from downtown Nashville, Franklin about 30. Brentwood has a 1 acre minimum per house, no apartments or cluster neighborhoods. Every house at Brentwood Country Club is on the golf course, if that appeals to you. There are plenty of ridges with outstanding long views, if that is more "you". If you indicate a price range I can make a hundred recommendations (I am not a realtor, just really like Nashville and Williamson County). Williamson County is the wealthiest county in the state.

Staying close to Nashville gives you easy access to all it offers. We have sports teams, theater (Broadway series is always a don't miss, just buy season tix to everything). The Frist is a 1st rate museum with constantly changing exhibits (join). We take advantage of all these and more. Nashville and surrounding areas have fantastic restaurants, 2 lakes, the river (if you like boating, you can go just about anywhere on the river systems). If you like music, well, Nashville IS Music City with every genre represented. Since so many talented people come here to get into the business, we have an embarassing high quality of music at every club and honky-tonk.

Want to live in the woods? We have plenty of that! Like shady country lanes? We have a million of 'em.

Got questions? I'll answer.