The hard truth about Mt. Juliet and Nolensville.

[DonCorleone]

Originally Posted by ExIslander

I don't necessarily disagree with what the_commuter said about the political climate, which is about as red-state as it gets. I framed my response around what it's like to live here and personally interact with people on a day to day basis. Politics-watching and getting along with people are not the same thing. At least, for most people they aren't.

Well said.

Like the_commuter, I scratch my head quite often (especially January - May when the state legislature is in session) but it is quite comfortable for liberals/progressives like myself to fit in just fine in the suburbs. I've lived in MtJ and Hendersonville. Both are pretty right leaning (to wit: 2 of the most conservative politicians in the state are incumbants...Diane Black and Debra Maggart...and both are being challenged by even more conservative candidates because they're "not conservative enough"...boggles my liberal mind but I digress). I've never felt uncomfortable here despite being a blue dot in a red sea in Sumner County or Wilson County.

Politics and religion really don't come up that often in my interactions with neighbors and people in the community unless you bring it up. And even when others do bring it up, its easy to sidestep. People are polite...they get the hint if you don't want to discuss something sensitive.

So take it from a fellow progressive, I wouldn't let politics/religious beliefs strictly determine where I live. As long as you're comfortable with others' mindsets being different from your own, you'll fit in just fine in Nolensville, Franklin, MtJ, Hendersonville or any other more conservative areas surrounding Nashville proper. Budget, commute, and overall quality of life are the factors I'd focus on.

[cantsleepclownwilleatme]

What's you're home-owner plan for transplanting to the area? I mean - are you going to buy or lease at first?

We transplanted to Williamson county a little over a year ago and elected to lease for the first year until we could figure out pretty much all of the same questions you have about where we should be, where we wanted to call home permanently around the area.

For our first year, we leased a house in Nolensville. We have a daughter who attended Nolensville Elem., and we were very pleased with the school. The neighborhood we lived in (Bent Creek) was fantastic - lots of friendly people, quiet, kids for our children to play with, polite people, a community pool, etc. The area is peaceful and beautiful with interesting looking houses, even though it's a typical planned community. The caveats are that Nolensville for all its small town charm is most definitely a small town, quiet, and remote from more "happening" scenes. It's a great place to go to recharge your batteries and figure things out for the long run, in my opinion. It is also a bit of a haul getting to downtown Nashville. It's less about total miles away from downtown than it is about the trouble you'll have getting to a major interstate. The backroads you have to take to get out of the backcountry are tedious and often filled with slower driving folks (than me, at least! lol).

I've heard good things about Mt. Juliet, but so far as my research led me to believe, the schools there fall behind Williamson county for overall scoring/quality, not to say they're not great, but Williamson county schools are stellar.

We eventually settled on buying in Brentwood, which is the location we had targetted for years. It's pricey, but we consider the extra $$$ as part of a worthwhile investment in getting us to where we wanted to be for the next 30 years. We had time and leisure to make that decision and find the perfect house because of our decision to lease a house the first year. I would recommend that approach -

best of luck -

[yank283]

Originally Posted by yank283

Inglewood isn't quite as walkable as Eastwood Neighbors or some other East Nashville Neighbords, but,it will look like Greenwich Village compared to Mt. Juliet or Nolensville. If public schools aren't an issue, the I think you might be abke to find something in Eastwood (might need to be fixed up a bit though). I would suggest renting for a while before buying something though, escpecially because of some of your conflicting opinions. Good luck.

Using tiny smart phones with no spell check is not advised...

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by yank283

Using tiny smart phones with no spell check is not advised...

Definitely not the worst I've seen!

[triciaad1]

Love the house on Maynor! Adorable!

[the_commuter]

Just as a follow-up to my previous post and in response to a few of the subsequent posts --

I agree with the posters who assert that you won't encounter much 'in your face' evangelizing/politicking here. The problem--for me at least--has come with trying to develop meaningful friendships and social circles. As is the case anywhere, people here in the suburbs tend to build those friendships and social circles based on common interests. I have made plenty of friends -- but they all live in Nashville! (And before anyone asks -- Yes, I would move to the city, but I have a child who is in school here, and his happiness and his friendships are of much greater importance than my own. I'm not moving him somewhere else simply because I feel somewhat out-of-place.)

[artemis]

Originally Posted by triciaad1

Love the house on Maynor! Adorable!

Kenwood Drive is avery nice area.

[watchinthesunbake]

Thank you, everyone, for your replies. To answer a couple questions that were asked...

We are currently 3 weeks into a 6 month lease on an apt. There is no option to go month-to-month after our lease expires; we'd have to sign a new lease, unfortunately. So we'd like to find a place before the end of our 6 months.

I agree that it's tedious trying to get to a major interstate from Nolensville - that's one of my hesitations about living "way out." And yep, REA showed us photos of homes in No'ville that do have interesting looks about them even though they're in a planned community. They were nice, and I was encouraged.

REA has mentioned buying a fixer upper in close-to-downtown Franklin. Looking into that...

I can see both perspectives on the "you can fit in here regardless" issue. Astute observation by ExIslander that politics watching and getting along with people aren't the same thing. This is true for me. However, I share the_commuter's feeling that it's hard to develop meaningful relationships with folks when you have significant differences in values. Life's a sticky thing to navigate and it looks like homebuying is no different!

This forum is top notch, and I appreciate all the sincere interest and advice. And JMT, love your commentary and moderating skill.