Would you recommend suburban Nashville for your retired parents? (Murfreesboro: daycares, how much)

[jpimus]

Would you recommend suburban Nashville for your retired parents?

My parents are both 63 and debating retiring in Nashville from Connecticut. Financially they are middle class. They will be looking for a nice quiet suburb to reside. They are not the 'lets hunt and live in the backwoods' type, but they definitely don't want to deal with any of the city life in terms of their residence. My mother likes the country music scene and that is part of the reason Nashville is in consideration. The politics of Tennessee are defintely more to my father's liking than Connecticut. Also, how are the summers and winters? Are there four seasons in Nashville? I was raised in Connecticut, but currently live in Houston. I am trying to move back as Houston is just hot and hotter with horrible humidity. My parents don't want that either, but a little warmer than Connecticut. Any recommedations?

Thank you

[aaronmidnight]

I would say that TN is more than 'a little warmer' than CT.

I went to college in CT. As I recall, it is cold and rainy/snowy for a good 4-6 months of the year, with very nice/short spring and fall and pretty mellow/mild summer.

Nashville and suburbs typically have shorter (2-4 month) cold winters, sometimes even colder than the NE, but with less snow. We do get ice storms though.

Springtime and fall can be very nice temperature-wise, although we warmed up way too fast this year and have been in the 80s already a number of times. (That's quite unusual though.)

Spring also sees its share of violent storms (i.e. tornadoes), not a common concern in CT.

I'd say that summer sets in earnestly in May and lasts through September. Expect temperatures to consistently rise into the mid-to-high 90s during those 5 months. At least that's been the story the past couple of years.

Not quite as hot as Houston and much less humid (from what I understand) but a far, far cry from CT.

Something else to consider - how old are your parents and how much longer will they want to rely on auto transport? Nashville is one of the most car-dependent cities in the USA. (And that's saying something!) If they wanted to live in the city proper, I'd say they could get by with buses and such. But in the suburbs, they'll be dependent on cars on narrow, winding country roads as traffic gets worse and worse.

As for Country music, well, your mom would have lots of entertainment choices any night of the week

And there are plenty of suburbs that are more BMW/Nordstrom than back woods. Franklin could be a good fit. In fact, a suburban development nearby to Downtown Franklin might be perfect for your folks (if they could stand the summer heat/humidity)...

[jpimus]

Cool, thank you for the reply. They are both only 63, so they have a ways to go before they give up driving. They would definitely live outside the city, so it will be a car all the way. Franklin sounds good, that may be just right for them.

[septimus]

My parents moved to CT when I was in boarding school, so I spent my summers there.

There are so many retirees in Franklin. A lot relocate to be closer to family, others just come because they visit and fall in love. They are close to good healthcare (vanderbilt), significantly milder winters, but still have all 4 seasons most years. Also, at least in the community I live, you can avoid a lot of car driving. Most people have golf carts they use to drive around the 'hood.

My father came down to visit us from CT and he was disgusted by the number of businesses advertising as "christian" and the number of mega churches put him off (and he is pretty religious). It is just part of being in the south (christian daycares, christian garden centers, christian car repair, etc).

There is definitely some culture shock. I thought I was pretty conservative when we moved here, but it turns out I'm pretty liberal comparatively.

[DaveM123]

I lived in southwestern CT for a good part of my adult life. I retired to Murfreesboro - outside the city limits and love it. The winters here are very mild but you will get some very cold mornings in the teens -usually followed by 40's during the day. Summers are very hot and humid compared to CT. In CT you get that one week of really hot and humid weather.. here you get it from mid June - August. Fall and Spring are very nice here. If they can tolerate the summer here they will be fine. I'd suggest a visit here in July to get a feel for the summer heat.

[CountryGirl2b=]

I moved my Mom down here two years ago from Simsbury, CT. I am much closer to your parents age but not yet retired. We really love it down here. The winters have been really mild compared to most we had in CT and summers pretty warm but everything is air conditioned of course.

Haven't had any issues with religion. I mean, we don't go to church but a lot of people here, do, and sometimes we get wished a "blessed" day which is fine by me. It was getting SO bad in CT where banks couldn't put up Christmas lights which was sad.

Certainly cheaper. Our property tax is 1/4 what it was in CT. Electricity also probably 1/3? Groceries are taxed, though. Still, we find the cost of living a lot less.

We live in Fieldstone Farms in Franklin (big housing development about 15 years old) and the only reason I mention it is because the Franklin Trolley comes here - to the Publix - and on it you can get to downtown Franklin, Cool Springs mall, Williamson County medical center and even some local tourist spots. I think it's just $1 and runs it's circuit just 8 times a day BUT it's nice to have an option if the car breaks down or you just want to rid the trolly! Also gives rides on demand I think if you are a senior citizen.

Cool Springs is very close to Franklin and has everything you'd need. Southwest flies in to Nashville, which is my favorite airline. Downtown Franklin is cute. Cheekwood is nice for walking around - we have a family membership.

The only thing I miss about CT is Mohegan Sun casino.

We have also found the healthcare to be excellent and people here are SO friendly. A friend visited from MA last weekend and noticed right at the airport how 'happy' people seem to be.

PM me if you need any more specific details but yes, I'd suggest Nashville for retired parents.

Come on down!!!

PS. Yes, four seasons, but winter much shorter (just 2 snowfalls this year). Daffodils up in February. Leaves DO change colors and there are lots of drives you can take to see them. Nothing compares to New England for leaves but we do have fall. Lots more plants can grow here if they are at all into gardening. Franklin and Nashville both have Farmers Markets and I think traffic here is more civil. Downtown Nashville is much easier to navigate than downtown Hartford (to me).

[airen123]

Other burbs to consider are Mt. Juliet and Hendersonville. If your parents are interested in boating at all, those are good choices.

[DonCorleone]

I was going to recommend Mt. Juliet as well, specifically the Del Webb Retirement Community. It's a 55+ community very close to the Providence Marketplace (sort of an outdoor mall with lots of retail shopping and restaurants). Likewise there are a number of other similar (but smaller) retirement communities in Sumner County/Hendersonville.

You'll find that people recommend Williamson County (Franklin/Brentwood) and Sumner County (Hendersonville) a lot of this forum due to good property values and good educational system. So only half of that would really apply with your parents. So looking at some Davidson County suburbs might be a little more cheaper. That said, quality of life in areas like Williamson and Sumner County is really good I think. And as others have mentioned, the access to high-quality health care in the greater Nashville area is really a good selling point for retirees. In fact, Nashville is a huge healthcare mecca.

Best of luck and hopefully they have a chance to come down and visit.

[sfitz]

We moved to Maury Co. 2.5 years ago, just north of Columbia and love it. More relaxed area than Franklin, but close to Cool springs (30 min) and 45 min. from downtown Nashville. People are very welcoming. The Del Webb is nice if that's what your parents want, but we decided we weren't ready for that kind of organized living. We have a little over an acre and much lower taxes and cost of living than Northern Illinois where we moved from. Columbia Community College has much going on. Concerts, lectures, ect.

[GWoodle]

A good question is what do your parents like to do with their spare time? Being close to parks becomes important. Then you may want to be somewhat close to good doctors/hospitals/health clinic etc.

Shopping will only get better now that Opry Mills is back open! & the economy continues to improve.

BTW if your parents can use an ap for their iphone they can tune to WSM Online to be connected to anything Opry.