Moving to Nashville TN from Boston MA - need input on areas/county and schools (Memphis: appointed, rentals)

[manloulou77]

I am moving to Nashville TN on March 2012 with my husband and our 2 children (4 and 1 year old). We are moving from Boston Massachusetts because of the cost of living and the kindergarten cut-off date (indeed my son is born on September 27. If we stay in Boston he will not be able to enroll in the kindergarten next year because for that he should have to be 5 years old by September 1st) .I also hoping to find in Nashville TN a slower pace to raise our children, not so populated, not too much traffic, excellent public schools, easy access by public transportation, safe neighborhood and friendly people.

We will be renting - hopefully no more than $800 per month. Want a neighborhood that is not over populated and easy accessible by public transportation. Is this reasonable to find in our price range? Where is a good place to look for quality rentals?

I have done some research on schools on greatschools.org and think that www.greatschools.org-Glendale-Elementary-School,Stanford Elementary Montessori Design Center,Lockeland Elementary Design Center seem like the best as far as scores . Is this accurate? Is it easy to enroll kids in those schools ? Any suggestion about private schools ??

What areas or neighborhoods should I be looking for? If you could live anywhere in the Nashville area where would it be and why?
[font=&quot]What about jobs in Nashville ( I’m a certified Phlebotomy/EKG Technician and my husband is a certified Pharmacy Technician) ?

I appreciate any input you have .Many thanks

[septimus]

I would consider a different burb in Boston than uprooting your family. Cambridge was 4 by March 31 for its 2 year K program and other towns still have much later dates.

FWIW my locally zoned school said that 27% of all Kindergarteners could have started K the year before. They were all held back by their parents.

You will be disappointed in the schools. We live in the "best" district in TN and they pale in comparison to Cambridge schools which when we lived there were considered in the bottom 25% of all schools in Mass.

Cost of living is much better here. You can actually buy a nice basic house for under $200K in a safe neighborhood.

You will have to have a car. Public transportation is spotty at best.

The schools you listed are all metro schools. I think 2 are lottery schools and the 3rd (glendale) is in a more expensive area of Nashville.

[Why_Am_I_Here]

Look at the Rutherford County area...Smyrna/Murfreesboro. (I am New England transfer as well....)

[strumpeace]

Originally Posted by manloulou77

I am moving to Nashville TN on March 2012 with my husband and our 2 children (4 and 1 year old).

You posted this exact same thing on the Memphis board, but on that one, you said that you would like to move to Memphis. Count me confused.

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by septimus

You will be disappointed in the schools. We live in the "best" district in TN and they pale in comparison to Cambridge schools which when we lived there were considered in the bottom 25% of all schools in Mass.

I look at that in amazement. What exactly does "best" in quotes mean? Williamson county schools would be possibly compared to the bottom 2 percentile of the schools in Mass? Is that why the quotes?

OK lets see what Newsweek says. Of the top 500 high schools in the nation, Williamson Co. has 3 schools showing up in their list. How many high schools in Cambridge made the list? (hee hee) ZERO -- seems Cambridge high schools pale in comparison to those in the conservative Williamson locale.

But we in the South are accustomed to progressives moving down here and not being able to resist extreme negating of the adopted red state environs or customs. Seems to be a constant show some just can't resist putting on and I must say it does entertain. The link:

America's Best High Schools - The Daily Beast

[septimus]

Originally Posted by groovamos

I look at that in amazement. What exactly does "best" in quotes mean? Williamson county schools would be possibly compared to the bottom 2 percentile of the schools in Mass? Is that why the quotes?

OK lets see what Newsweek says. Of the top 500 high schools in the nation, Williamson Co. has 3 schools showing up in their list. How many high schools in Cambridge made the list? (hee hee) ZERO -- seems Cambridge high schools pale in comparison to those in the conservative Williamson locale.

But we in the South are accustomed to progressives moving down here and not being able to resist extreme negating of the adopted red state environs or customs. Seems to be a constant show some just can't resist putting on and I must say it does entertain. The link:

America's Best High Schools - The Daily Beast

The demographics of Cambridge are probably closest to Centennial. Cambridge regular sends large numbers of kids EVERY year to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, MIT, CalTech, Princeton, etc. Centennial doesn't seem to be sending multiple kids every year that caliber of school.

In Cambridge I was never nickled and dimed by the schools. WCS everytime I turn around I'm asked to participate in this fundraiser or that fundraiser to raise money *for the schools*. Just fund the schools so every child gets a decent education and we don't have schools with huge disparities within the same district because some can raise huge sums of money and others can't.

My other point of reference is when we moved here 4th graders were doing the same math my daughter did in 2nd grade. Cambridge has its issues (very wealth, very poor, no middle class) , but we had a lot of things not offered here like foreign language instruction in elementary school.

There is no way Williamson can compete with schools in towns like Wellesley, Weston, Newton, etc. They just don't compare and the affluence is similar.

Overall Massachusetts usually ranks in the top 5 states for public education, TN is always in the bottom 5.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by manloulou77

I am moving to Nashville TN on March 2012 with my husband and our 2 children (4 and 1 year old). We are moving from Boston Massachusetts because of the cost of living and the kindergarten cut-off date (indeed my son is born on September 27. If we stay in Boston he will not be able to enroll in the kindergarten next year because for that he should have to be 5 years old by September 1st) .I also hoping to find in Nashville TN a slower pace to raise our children, not so populated, not too much traffic, excellent public schools, easy access by public transportation, safe neighborhood and friendly people.

We will be renting - hopefully no more than $800 per month. Want a neighborhood that is not over populated and easy accessible by public transportation. Is this reasonable to find in our price range? Where is a good place to look for quality rentals?

I have done some research on schools on greatschools.org and think that www.greatschools.org-Glendale-Elementary-School,Stanford Elementary Montessori Design Center,Lockeland Elementary Design Center seem like the best as far as scores . Is this accurate? Is it easy to enroll kids in those schools ? Any suggestion about private schools ??

What areas or neighborhoods should I be looking for? If you could live anywhere in the Nashville area where would it be and why?
[font=&quot]What about jobs in Nashville ( I’m a certified Phlebotomy/EKG Technician and my husband is a certified Pharmacy Technician) ?

I appreciate any input you have .Many thanks

Well, to be perfectly honest with you, a lot of your wants are simply not feasible here.

-There are places with great public schools
-There are areas with easy public transit access
-There are areas with less traffic that aren't as crowded (in fact, I would say compared to Boston, almost the entire city would apply to this criteria)
-There are a number of safe neighborhoods with friendly people
-$800/month is somewhere in the neighborhood of the median rent rate...so there are plenty of options there...but that's really going to depend on the size and the location.

Your problem is going to be meeting all of the criteria at once.

The "great public schools" is going to get a bunch of people riled up on here, disputing what is good or not good. I think most will agree that Williamson County Schools are good (as well as the Franklin Special Schools District). Several of the other county systems are fine IMO, although the usual bureaucratic problems involving funding come up from time to time. The Metro Nashville Public Schools are going to receive a general thumbs down from a lot of the people on here. Not all of the schools are bad (especially when it comes to the elementary schools)...and the magnet schools are top notch (but have a very limited enrollment -- so it's a bit risky). The private school route is going to be very costly if you are starting from elementary on.

"Easy" public transit is probably your most limiting criteria. To put it bluntly, if you live here, you would be crazy not to use your car. There is no subway system. There is one single commuter rail line (east side of town), and the bus system really only has decent coverage close in to town. If you were to combine your desire for public transportation access with your desire for a safe neighborhood, your options are pretty limited. The safer the neighborhood (close to town), the pricier it will be. $800 might be a stretch to meet all of those criteria (especially for something decent). I don't know, though...you might investigate further.



If you want, I'll give you some suggestions to look into...but I think you should seriously weigh some of this information. Life in Nashville will be starkly different -- for better or for worse -- than it is in Boston. Two very different cities in terms of makeup. There is a lot that Nashville has to offer -- but the way of life is different here. Things are more spread out and transportation is definitely more car oriented. Think of all the things you like about Boston....make a list. We can compare that to what we have here. You might love it here -- or you might find it lacks in what you and your family are looking for in terms of lifestyle.

[DonCorleone]

nashvols is a sage. Listen to his advice. I couldn't agree more.

[brentwoodgirl]

Here's a comparision of statistics between Brentwood High School and Newton North:

Brentwood: ~1500 Students
Average ACT 25.4 (note 100% of children in Williamson County are required to take the ACT)
13 National Merit Semi-Finalists
Graduation Rate: 99%
College Bound: 95%
Great Schools Ranking: 10/10
Newsweek Best High Schools Rating: #100

Newton North High School ~1900 Students
Average ACT 25.1 (very interesting since it's not required at Newton. It's a self selecting population of college bound students, and they don't score higher than Brentwood where 100% take the ACT)
17 National Merit Semi-Finalists
Graduation Rate: 99%
College Bound: 80%
Great Schools Ranking: 8/10
Newsweek Best High Schools Rating: #754

So there's an objective rating of these schools by the numbers.

As for where the attend college, Brentwood High's Class of 2010 are now attending 103 different colleges and universities.

For fundraising, I can only speak for our school, but we do 2 fundraisers per year. One where we are asked to donate $75 per child in the fall and a basket auction in the spring.

[buddyjo143]

manloulou77,

Have you visited here yet? I understand you may be looking and comparing, hence the question about your posting on the Memphis board.

My husband and I vacationed twice from Chester, NH/Watertown, MA before thinking about moving last year. Then we made a visit with "moving eyes" not just "vacation eyes".

I agree with the other suggestions about staying put.

And as far as your son getting into school early, I am a September baby and made the cut-off back in the 1960s. I was always the youngest in my class. Even though I was among the smartest, it never made up for my lack of social/emotional maturity.