So... Why Franklin, Brentwood, and Murfreesboro?

[BirdieBelle]

I used the $150,000 figure relatively.

I'm sure you remember that Nashville and Knoxville are nearly 200 miles apart, in two separate time zones and quite different from each other.

Please stop wasting our time with your baseless comparisons and naive generalizations until you've actually been in Nashville for more than a visit.

Since it makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE to live there, I'm sure you will enjoy the Knoxville area.

[HastingsJD]

Originally Posted by sliverbox

But when you start talking about 500k homes in Nashville, its like what the heck? That's not far from owning property on the beach in San Diego.

Sadly 500K will not get you anywhere near the beach in San Diego or LA. Well, at least a single family home or even a townhouse. Single family homes in LA or San Diego near the beach will likely run you a minimum of 900K. We paid nearly 500K for a 2 bedroom 1000 sq foot condo in desperate need of repair - with no yard - just a patio. (No ocean view but we're within a mile). Some beach communities are more expensive than others but I'd say that's pretty typical.

To us, buying a single family home for 400-600K in TN sounds like a bargain. We're homebodies though and having a really nice home is important to us. Cars - we could care less about. My husband and I both drive 10 year old vehicles. However, I know people who lay out big bucks for cars because they want a really nice car. To me that seems crazy but to each his own I suppose - just depends on how much someone cares about a particular item/need.

[sliverbox]

I used the $150,000 figure relatively.

I'm sure you remember that Nashville and Knoxville are nearly 200 miles apart, in two separate time zones and quite different from each other.
Please stop wasting our time with your baseless comparisons and naive generalizations until you've actually been in Nashville for more than a visit.
Since it makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE to live there, I'm sure you will enjoy the Knoxville area.

I am from Tennessee and I am extremely familiar with Nashville as I used to go there bi-weekly and have friends who live there still. Plus- lots of family live there as well as all over the state. In fact, my family has been living in TN since the 1780's. Anyway, I can see this topic is going downhill fast thus there's no need to delve into it further. If what I typed made you upset- sorry.

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by sliverbox

I've noticed something on this site for a few years and that is whenever someone- usually from out of state- starts asking about places, the areas mentioned are almost always Franklin, Brentwood, and Murfreesboro. As someone who used to go to these areas when I lived in the state and recently visited a few years ago, I'm still not sure why people seem to be fixating on these places. To me they looked just about like any other typical southern suburban area with mainly newer construction, lots of Mcmansions, and shopping mall complexes. The biggest difference seemed to be that the houses were more expensive. Drive 10 minutes down the freeway and wallah- the same houses in a similar looking suburban setting for a lot less. Close your eyes and you wouldn't notice the difference.

Perhaps someone- preferably TN natives could tell me what is up with these areas and what makes them special?

Franklin/Brentwood have become the corporate headquarters. Nissan moved there a few years ago. You will find most retailers big box stores near Cool Springs. I-65 provides access to Nashvillle. You may compare property tax of these areas with higher tax downtown Nashville. The new census may show the difference of the suburban area to Nashville.

I'm not sure how most real estate listings deal with different parts of Davidson county/Nashville. Makes a difference if you are talking about Belle Meade, Donelson,Antioch, etc. IMHO the city may be growing slowest in the West Bellevue, Hillwood, Sylvan Park. Listings may also depend if you want new home or older homes.

[YallWantHam]

Originally Posted by sliverbox

I am from Tennessee and I am extremely familiar with Nashville as I used to go there bi-weekly and have friends who live there still. Plus- lots of family live there as well as all over the state. In fact, my family has been living in TN since the 1780's. Anyway, I can see this topic is going downhill fast thus there's no need to delve into it further. If what I typed made you upset- sorry.

Well hey, I have lived in Knoxville and Nashville and would gladly pay $500,000 for a house in Nashville than pay $250,000 for the same house in Knoxville. Different strokes

[aaronmidnight]

As someone who is currently looking for a house, I think there's an incredible diversity in terms of what is available and price points.

If you want to live in a rural area with several acres of land and you don't mind living in a somewhat outdated (30-40 years old) nondescript ranch house, you can probably get a decent place to live for $150,000.

Now there won't be any shopping nearby. And you'll probably have to take very windy narrow dark (at night) country roads to get anyplace. And you'll probably be a good 30-40 minutes from downtown. Etc.

On the other hand, a very similar house in Belle Meade or Forest Hills would cost $600,000 and would be advertised as a tear down.

What is the difference? Location, location, location.

Now if you have $600,000 to spend, you could get a mansion with dozens of acres in that super rural area or you could get a 2-bedroom apartment in the Gulch or a McMansion on 1/4-acre in a gated development in one of the fancier parts of Brentwood or Franklin. Etc.

The point is that there is incredible variety. If Brentwood or Franklin floats your boat and you make enough to afford it, good on you mate. If you'd rather make some tradeoffs - longer commute, less convenience, perhaps a bit less safety (real or perceived) - you can certainly get more house and land for your money almost anywhere else in Middle TN (except for the fanciest parts of Nashville including Belle Meade, Forest Hills, Green Hills, Oak Hill and Historic Richland).

[sliverbox]

If you want to know the truth, its that I am just a tad concerned when I see prices for homes in Nashville creeping upwards with some ordinary homes being listed for $300,000-$400,000. To me it seems that about every couple of years some Southern city suddenly gets touted as the "new" hip and cool place to live and wallah-people come streaming in from everywhere. I've read a few recent reports claiming that Nashville is now the new "in" place to be.

Personally, I don't blame people who want to move from places like NY, CA, MA, and all the other states that are expensive or difficult to live in. I would be a hypocrite to say otherwise since I live in Cali myself despite being a TN native. Its just that this is my home state. Sure- places change. But I visited Raleigh NC about a year ago and honestly, they might as well change the state's name to "South New Jersey" because that's about what it felt like. Hopefully the same won't happen to TN.

Thus there's this slight nagging worry in the back of my head that if I plan on moving back to be closer to my family, I can afford to do so. That's about it, as ridiculous as that might sound.