Hendersonville or M'boro? ANOTHER city v. city! (Gallatin, Goodlettsville: sales, home)

[BimsBandBooms]

Blergh. That sounds horrible. Hmmmm.

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by BimsBandBooms

Blergh. That sounds horrible. Hmmmm.

The commute from Hendersonville is not exactly a piece of cake but just about everyone I know agrees that the I-24 commute from Rutherfod County is the worst in the area. As I mentioned, you have more alternatives when coming from the northeast and I also noticed they are expanding the number of lanes before the 65-25 merge which will make the commute in from Hendersonville even smoother in a year or two.

[nashvols]

I-24 from Murfreesboro to Nashville is bad, but the last little leg on I-440 is even worse.

The problem with Hendersonville to Vanderbilt is that you have to go through downtown, unless you take a huge detour (which frankly isn't worth it). But the drive in is moderately less crowded, and is a good 10 miles closer.

[Hey_Hey]

Originally Posted by BimsBandBooms

Reasons other than commute would be the most helpful--so far my Google mappings at rush hour aren't registering a huge difference in drive times, due to where the homes actually are in their respective cities. Also, if anyone can speak to schools, that would help, too: the zones are Walton Ferry/V G Hawkins/Hendersonville, vs Brown's Chapel/Blackman/Blackman.

I don't think I would equate the two commutes. Distance-wise there may not be a huge difference, but I-24 southeast of Nashville has the WORST traffic of any interstate. Coming from midtown/vandy you're going to be dealing with either the downtown loop or 440 for either location. That leg of the trip will be roughly equivalent. However, once you cross over the Cumberland River coming north out of downtown there are rarely major delays between there and Hendersonville unless there's a wreck. However, you will be sitting in traffic from downtown to Antioch the whole way or 440 to Antioch.

I live 4 blocks from vandy and regularly travel north at rush hour. You can easily get to vietnam veterans pkwy in 30-35 minutes assuming no wrecks. I recently drove from my house to old hickory blvd off I-24, and it took 45 minutes to get there. You still have another 15-20 miles until you get to Murfreesboro from there.

If I were you I would drive both commutes during rush hour traffic before you make your choice. The other thing to consider is that traffic WON'T get better any time soon (either way) and will be worse and worse every year. Gas won't get cheaper either.

[dngirard]

Getting around downtown to the midtown/Vandy area during the mornings isn't horrible from the north side. I've been doing that commute (to Belmont) from north of town for the last couple years. The worst spot on the highway, by far, is the Trinity Lane interchange, because so many people getting on the highway there then need to quickly move over two lanes to get onto I-24 at the split in 3/4 of a mile. It's a bit of a mess. It usually backs up past Briley Parkway by about 7:45 or so. If you're driving before 7 or after 9:30, you should be fine. Once you get used to skirting that, though, it's really not that bad, and 9 out of 10 times, as soon as you cross the Cumberland River, it's a clear shot. Just beware, if you take exit 1 off of I-440 (the West End/Murphy Ave exit) there usually is a pretty decent line there (again, this applies between 7:30 and probably 9:30 or so). I would say probably you should allow for 40-45 minutes or so from the Walton Ferry area to get to the Vandy area during peak traffic times, unless there's a badly placed wreck by the I-24/I-65 split at the river, which usually happens every couple months or so.

[artemis]

Originally Posted by dngirard

Getting around downtown to the midtown/Vandy area during the mornings isn't horrible from the north side. I've been doing that commute (to Belmont) from north of town for the last couple years. The worst spot on the highway, by far, is the Trinity Lane interchange, because so many people getting on the highway there then need to quickly move over two lanes to get onto I-24 at the split in 3/4 of a mile. It's a bit of a mess. It usually backs up past Briley Parkway by about 7:45 or so. If you're driving before 7 or after 9:30, you should be fine. Once you get used to skirting that, though, it's really not that bad, and 9 out of 10 times, as soon as you cross the Cumberland River, it's a clear shot. Just beware, if you take exit 1 off of I-440 (the West End/Murphy Ave exit) there usually is a pretty decent line there (again, this applies between 7:30 and probably 9:30 or so). I would say probably you should allow for 40-45 minutes or so from the Walton Ferry area to get to the Vandy area during peak traffic times, unless there's a badly placed wreck by the I-24/I-65 split at the river, which usually happens every couple months or so.

Get off of I65 and onto Ellington Pkwy, and avoid the mess around Trinity Lane.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by artemis

Get off of I65 and onto Ellington Pkwy, and avoid the mess around Trinity Lane.

I would highly suggest that if the destination was downtown...but I'm not so sure with Vanderbilt being the final stop. Using Ellington requires getting back on the interstate (in a very congested area) or using surface streets (James Robertson to Broad, or eventually KVB to 8th).

I've never tried it during rush hour...so I couldn't tell you for certain, but I imagine it would end up taking as much or more time in the end.

[poolagoo]

You must keep in mind that everything is relative to where you are coming from, these opinions are probably decent coming from an insiders point of view but as an outsider, coming from Michigan, I have a different perspective on things. The commute: from Hendersonville to Vandy area is a piece of cake, coming back home in rush hour can be a bit tedious but it's not bad at all. I would much rather have to drive into the city from the North than the South. The parks and schools in Sumner county get positive reviews, not so sure that's warranted. We had to fight for special accommodations for our children to receive a proper education and it's still lacking. Parent support in some areas is severely lacking and when you get to the Merrol Hyde /Hendersonville High types you are looking at the other end of the spectrum. Then take into account this city has not seen their taxes increase in what, 20 years? Then they ask for a little for the schools and it gets denied.
If you like close minded, bible thumping, ignorant, yuppy wannabes... Hendersonville is the place for you. Oh, the parks are overrated as well.

[BimsBandBooms]

Oh no, poogaloo...I only like OPEN-minded, bible-thumping, ignorant, yuppy wannabees!

Seriously though, specifics are more helpful for my decision. How old are your kids? What's lacking in their education? If you're comfortable saying, what zone are you in (if not, I get it)? What areas is support severely lacking? How are the parks overrated? Do you know where you wish you were?

As for traffic, we're used to a pretty long commute (40 min where we used to live), but not an especially traffic-y one, which may make a huge difference to the stress levels. We'll drive it and see maybe. Again, the days I've done Google maps at rush hour the drive times "in current traffic" were no different. But I could have been tracking the only days that was true.

Thanks for all the insight, everyone.

[vivelafrance]

Well I am the exact opposite of everything poolagoo listed and I enjoyed my time in Hendersonville. Everyone will have their own experience though.

The school funding situation is tricky. Of course, being the French socialist type of liberal that I am, I would of course be in favor of higher taxes to support the schools. However, I can see the point that opponents were trying to make. Lower taxes are what makes Sumner County attractive to newcomers and the schools have always received high marks in spite of the limited budget. Moreover, the request felt like a power play from the director and was poorly handled all around. I believe it was a learning experience for both sides and sometimes these things happen when you've had locals running the district for 100 years and then you bring in a newcomer.

I think there are a lot of good things coming down the line for Sumner Schools though. Merrol Hyde was a great success and there are already talks of another magnet school to help meet demand. There is also an IB program coming to Beech High School and the opening of the other specialized academies at the rest of the high schools.