From New York to Nashville? (Gray: neighborhood, buying, college)

[urbanlemur]

My wife and I live in the Bronx right now. We are hoping to move to the Nashville area yesterday () but know that it may take some time before we can actually make the move. To be honest, there are nice folks here in the NYC area and then there are those not so nice...you simply have to work around and make the best of it. If you like the city life then NYC is perfect for those who do. For my wife and I, we prefer the quieter way of life, especially since we're approaching the 60 mark and after visiting the Nashville area, we were pretty taken by everything. Long story short, you do the best you can where you're at until you have a chance to go somewhere more to your liking. That's our hope for the near future. Blessings.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by urbanlemur

My wife and I live in the Bronx right now. We are hoping to move to the Nashville area yesterday () but know that it may take some time before we can actually make the move. To be honest, there are nice folks here in the NYC area and then there are those not so nice...you simply have to work around and make the best of it. If you like the city life then NYC is perfect for those who do. For my wife and I, we prefer the quieter way of life, especially since we're approaching the 60 mark and after visiting the Nashville area, we were pretty taken by everything. Long story short, you do the best you can where you're at until you have a chance to go somewhere more to your liking. That's our hope for the near future. Blessings.

Very good post. It all comes down to preferences and what you value at this time.

Out of curiosity, where are you thinking of moving in the Nashville area? What was it that you liked/disliked the most?

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by septimus

the intolerance goes both ways. Try being an athiest in the south it is just as uncomfortable as being a southern baptist in NYC

I tried being an atheist materialist - in the (counterculture era) south; also Southern California where I got bamboozled into it the second time. It was just as uncomfortable there as in the south. Come to think of it, the discomfort had nothing to do with being south in either case; discomfort had more to do with living in a pointless universe. And living a small minority thought system engendered and cultured by majorities in maybe in 3 world regions - non-muslim W. Europe (i.e. the rapidly shrinking part), the east and west coasts of North America. Oh I forgot -- Communist parties and university faculties worldwide.

[urbanlemur]

Out of curiosity, where are you thinking of moving in the Nashville area? What was it that you liked/disliked the most?

We're thinking about the Hendersonville area but someone also mentioned Mt. Juliet or Lenbanon but we're still researching. What do you folks recommend for a couple who are nearing 60 where she is a paraprofessional (assitant teacher) and I work as a homeless shelter counselor.

Actually, we didn't find much we didn't like about the area. The folks were nice and the area is so beautiful and easy to get around. I'm sure once we move there, we'll find something to complain about but we're not concerned. Any advice would certainly be appreciated and we sure hope to move within the next year or two. However, we are going to have fun being grandparents for a season as my wife's son and his wife are expecting in January so we want to spoil the child really well before we decide to depart for different pastures!!!

[steindle]

Originally Posted by groovamos

Oh I forgot -- Communist parties and university faculties worldwide.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by urbanlemur

We're thinking about the Hendersonville area but someone also mentioned Mt. Juliet or Lenbanon but we're still researching. What do you folks recommend for a couple who are nearing 60 where she is a paraprofessional (assitant teacher) and I work as a homeless shelter counselor.

Actually, we didn't find much we didn't like about the area. The folks were nice and the area is so beautiful and easy to get around. I'm sure once we move there, we'll find something to complain about but we're not concerned. Any advice would certainly be appreciated and we sure hope to move within the next year or two. However, we are going to have fun being grandparents for a season as my wife's son and his wife are expecting in January so we want to spoil the child really well before we decide to depart for different pastures!!!

I think there are a lot of spots that a couple your age might find attractive. Much of it comes down to specific things that you want, or want to avoid.

As a growing area, something to consider for folks that are possibly looking for a place to settle down and retire would be a stable community that isn't experiencing the explosive growth that certain suburbs do. Otherwise, what you thought was a quiet area may have major traffic problems several years down the road. Mt. Juliet is a nice community...but it's for that very reason that I would caution someone searching for a quieter life about looking there. Of course, it's going to be a lot quieter compared to NYC...so that might not bother you at all.

Also, have you considered how much land you want to have (assuming you want a house rather than an apartment/condo)? More land is more upkeep...but for some, it provides the right about of personal space and privacy. To me, a lot of the newer subdivisions don't offer that sort of privacy...the older (typically pre 1980s) areas tend to have larger trees, and a more "mature" feel to them. However, older homes sometimes have a lot of work that needs to be done to them.

Something else to consider is that there are a lot of areas in Nashville itself that have a very suburban feel to them, but they are much closer to amenities or at least more central in location to some places you might frequent (airport, shopping, parks, etc). Communities are very spread out here...so if you locate yourself in, say, Lebanon (which is about 30 miles from downtown Nashville), you might find yourself pretty far out from a lot of the things you enjoy. Then again...you might find you like being some distance from the city.

As is said many many times on this forum...you might consider renting temporarily, so you can get a feel for the area and its pros and cons.

[urbanlemur]

As is said many many times on this forum...you might consider renting temporarily, so you can get a feel for the area and its pros and cons.

That is a very good idea and one that my wife and I have strongly considered. We're still debating on whether or not we want to struggle with the demands of owning a home or just get into a nice condo/townhouse. There are benefits either way so that is still a question for us.

Thanks for the intuitive thoughts on different aspects of moving there. We're not in a rush but that's because we want to take our time researching everything before we decide plus we still have some work to do on our place here before we can put it up for sale. All in all, we're looking forward to moving there but we want to make we have most of, if not all, the bases covered.

Thanks for all your suggestions and help...it is much appreciated!!!!

[aaronmidnight]

Do you currently own a car? I ask because I moved from NYC to Nashville and - while I really like owning a car - it's definitely been a huge change.

If either of you plan on commuting to downtown Nashville Monday to Friday, I'd strongly suggest doing a couple of trial runs during rush hour wherever you plan on living. Traffic is a piece of cake most of the time in Nashville OUTSIDE rush hours. Rush hours can be a nightmare, especially in bad weather or if there are accidents (which there seem to be every day on the major highways).

Also, remember that while Nashville is in the South, we do get occasional snow and ice down here, which can also make for quite tricky driving especially on winding country roads. It's not an issue if you don't *have* to go out in the inclement weather, but if your job requires you to be there regardless of weather (hospital, police, firefighter, etc.) you might want to think about living really close to your job.

[urbanlemur]

aaronmidnight: We have been to Nashville during the rush hours and after driving in NYC and surrounding areas, I don't think it'll be too much of a change. (at least we hope) I remember one year it took me over two hours to get from Nyack (Rockland county) to the Bronx, and that wasn't in snow either!!!

We are both hoping to find something close but that's why we'll do our research before we decide to move so that we can adjust to the differences. All in all, we are looking forward to that day because we truly love the area!!!!

[Coney]

Urbanlemur, welcome to the Nashville forum. Nice to see ya'.
Never been there, but you might want to look at the Del Webb community in Mt. Juliet/Lake Providence.