Leaving our home town... (Franklin, Hendersonville: neighborhood, construction, high schools)

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by ExIslander

Let me ask -- did you come up with Spring Hill and Fairview because those look like the areas in Williamson County where you can get a house on a decent-sized lot for under $250k, and you've been led to believe by reading the forum that you have to be in Williamson County to have a good school situation?

If so, you should definitely expand your search. I did the same research over a decade ago, and came to the conclusion that if Spring Hill was what I could afford, there were plenty of nice areas in Sumner, Wilson and Rutherford counties where my kids would do just as well in school and I'd probably get more for the money house-wise. Based on your description, there are many neighborhoods/school zones in or around Smyrna, Mt. Juliet or Hendersonville that may suit you perfectly. They have good schools, good high school sports programs and active youth baseball. But, as others pointed out, it's important to know where in Nashville your husband will work. As much as possible, I'm sure he'd rather watch his kids play instead of sit in traffic.

I agree. The commute from most suburbs with good school systems will be less than ideal, so I would look around to other towns.

Now that I have looked up Centennial Avenue, I see that he will be out by the John C. Tune airport. I would NOT recommend trying to commute from Murfreesboro then.

I see now why you asked about Fairview. That would be a much better commute for your husband. It might be similar to where you live now, but it really is a very small country town. I am not sure how your kids would handle the transition. There really is nothing for kids to do there but sports. They don't even have a movie theater. Folks drive into Bellevue or the Cool Springs area of Franklin for shopping, etc.

I do think it would be good to visit if you could.

[jaimel]

I was mostly looking at Williamson because I keep seeing that they have the best schools. I will defiantly look into the other areas mentioned! Thanks so much for the recommendations! It doesn't sound like Fairview is right for us...a little too country. Although it sounds lovely, I think I need a little more for the boys to do and I'm also worried they won't fit in there. I'm going to start researching Sumner, Wilson and Rutherford counties...Any advice on those areas would be much appreciated!! THANK YOU!!!

[El Passeaux]

I can recommend Hendersonville. It fits the criteria above, great youth sports programs. One of the high schools (Beech) was the State Champs in Football 2 years ago in the largest high school division. Plenty of parks and youth sports, good schools, nice parks, a lake bordering the entire south side of the city and its going to be a much better commute downtown than Spring Hill. It was also in a few top 100 cities for families. In my opinion, in that price range, you can get a house in Franklin but have to give up some of the wish list, then Hendersonville, Mt. Juliet, and Smyrna.

Hendersonville, TN - Best Places to Live - Money Magazine

Hendersonville Named Among Best Cities For Families - NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & Sports

[CountryGirl2b=]

I was also going to mention that you could get a small house with a small-ish yard in Franklin if you wanted to make schools a priority. Fieldstone Farms and Franklin Green would have a house in your price range (use realtracs.com).

Google said commute would be half an hour but that's without any traffic.

Both are family friendly communities. Fieldstone has a big pool very popular with kids in the summer so they could meet kids before school starts. Note that school starts early here - like the first week of August I think? Looks like Franklin Green has a pool as well!

But you'd have to give up having a bigger yard and space between the houses . . . it's all a matter of what is most important! Best of luck!

[libertyme]

I agree with the above posters who said go for quality of life above "the perfect school or town." Dad sitting in traffic for an hour after work does not make good quality of life, that is for certain. Figure out exactly where he is going to work(WHICH part of Nashville makes a huge difference) and then go for the best area with the easiest commute.

[ExIslander]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

Now that I have looked up Centennial Avenue, I see that he will be out by the John C. Tune airport. I would NOT recommend trying to commute from Murfreesboro then.

If it's there, which is Centennial Boulevard as opposed to Avenue, which doesn't appear to exist at least on Google Maps, then either Rutherford or Wilson would be iffy commutes. Hendersonville would be better since the northwest part of Briley Parkway isn't as congested.

I'm thinking, though, she probably means the Centennial Park/Medical Center area off West End, which is at least somewhat reachable from any direction.

[jaimel]

Thank you guys so much! This has been very helpful!!

[Anony-Momma]

Note: We discovered late in the game that holding kids back at kindergarten so they start at six instead of five is popular. My kids suddenly became the youngest in their classes when we moved with kids the same ages you mention. Your boys may be competing for first string spots on school sports teams against kids in the same grade but a year older. Travel sports place kids by birthday, so grade level is not Isa factor there.

[El Passeaux]

Originally Posted by Anony-Momma

Note: We discovered late in the game that holding kids back at kindergarten so they start at six instead of five is popular. My kids suddenly became the youngest in their classes when we moved with kids the same ages you mention. Your boys may be competing for first string spots on school sports teams against kids in the same grade but a year older. Travel sports place kids by birthday, so grade level is not Isa factor there.

That was our school too. The kindergarten teacher showed studies that starting kids in school at 6 instead of 5 typically resulted in higher achievement because they are more mature when they start school. My daughter is 5 and will be 6 in April and right now, of the 19 kids, only her and another are still 5. We have several kids who already turned 7 over the last couple months.

[artemis]

Originally Posted by jaimel

Thank you guys so much! This has been very helpful!!

Jaiemel, I would recommend looking in Sumner County, either Hendersonville or White House. It's an easy commute via Briley Pkwy to where he'll be working.

Franklin or Spring Hill would be a hellish commute.

I'm from NW Indiana as well, Crown Point.