Small town life close to Nashville? (Chattanooga, Murfreesboro: move to, driving, small towns)

[DonCorleone]

Sure! Direct message me or post here if you have any more questions.

Gallatin has its sore spots...very low income and public housing in some areas. Some older subdivisions that are in need of some tlc. But as Edgefield said, there are also some subdivisions and areas that are some of the most expensive in the entire county. So it's a mix. Gallatin does have more of a unique DNA to it than other areas of town, since it is the county seat and has more of a history.

[Drake744]

(reaches into pocket and gets out 2 cents...)

Gallatin is a better version of Lebanon.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Drake744

(reaches into pocket and gets out 2 cents...)

Gallatin is a better version of Lebanon.

Aleppo is a better version of Lebanon.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Drake744

(reaches into pocket and gets out 2 cents...)

Gallatin is a better version of Lebanon.

Originally Posted by nashvols

Aleppo is a better version of Lebanon.

I absolutely agree.

Originally Posted by vnysgrl

Hello all!

I've been reading through this thread and there's wonderful info here! However, many of the replies are several years old now, so I thought I'd see if there is any new info about the mentioned spots. My husband, 2 kids and I are looking at most likely moving to TN in anywhere from 2-7 years from now. While I realize things can still change drastically in that amount of time, it would be nice to know how things may have changed since the first post in 2005/2006, until now. Cities/towns mentioned were Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Spring Hill, Hendersonville, Cookeville. On another forum somewhere, I read how awful Gallatin was. Any insight to that? Had found an awesome house and property there, but now I'm not sure if I want to continue looking there. We would like to have a property of no less than 2 acres, but up to 10 would likely be ok. We are currently in CA, and honestly, cannot wait to leave, but there are details to be worked out first, long story, which is why our span of time until moving is so long. We want to be near medical facilities, shopping and great restaurants, but we don't require them to be in our door. We are so done with surburbia and houses so close together that you can hear your neighbors having a conversation. I want space! Thank you, in advance, for info!

If you're trying to escape suburbia, I would scratch Hendersonville and Spring Hill off your list. They are the very definition of suburbia. I mean, as far as suburbs go, they're nice. But if you're trying to get away from suburbia, it doesn't make any sense to go to Hendersonville and Spring Hill. Gallatin and Murfreesboro are different, although they're both growing like crazy with many of the foibles that come with modern suburbia; traffic, soulless commercial blocks, cookie cutter housing developments, etc. But at least they have real, honest-to-goodness downtowns and older, established in-town neighborhoods.

But if you're wanting land away from suburbia--and this will come as no surprise to the regular readers here--I'm going to have to recommend Cookeville. It's far enough from Nashville that it has zero ugly suburban characteristics. Land is a lot cheaper there than in the Nashville ring counties, its hospital is partnered with Vanderbilt and is ranked as one of the top 100 community hospitals in the nation, it's got a thriving downtown with lots of independent, excellent restaurants, galleries, cafés, etc., lots of shopping, and it's surrounded by beautiful countryside with waterfalls, lakes, and a half-dozen state parks. Plus, it's only an hour from the Nashville airport.

https://visitcookevilletn.com/

[DonCorleone]

Originally Posted by Drake744

(reaches into pocket and gets out 2 cents...)

Gallatin is a better version of Lebanon.

Originally Posted by nashvols

Aleppo is a better version of Lebanon.

Agreed Gallatin is a better Lebanon. Lebanon has so much potential, especially with its square.

Originally Posted by JMT

If you're trying to escape suburbia, I would scratch Hendersonville and Spring Hill off your list. They are the very definition of suburbia. I mean, as far as suburbs go, they're nice. But if you're trying to get away from suburbia, it doesn't make any sense to go to Hendersonville and Spring Hill. Gallatin and Murfreesboro are different, although they're both growing like crazy with many of the foibles that come with modern suburbia; traffic, soulless commercial blocks, cookie cutter housing developments, etc. But at least they have real, honest-to-goodness downtowns and older, established in-town neighborhoods.

But if you're wanting land away from suburbia--and this will come as no surprise to the regular readers here--I'm going to have to recommend Cookeville. It's far enough from Nashville that it has zero ugly suburban characteristics. Land is a lot cheaper there than in the Nashville ring counties, its hospital is partnered with Vanderbilt and is ranked as one of the top 100 community hospitals in the nation, it's got a thriving downtown with lots of independent, excellent restaurants, galleries, cafés, etc., lots of shopping, and it's surrounded by beautiful countryside with waterfalls, lakes, and a half-dozen state parks. Plus, it's only an hour from the Nashville airport.

https://visitcookevilletn.com/

JMT raises great points about suburbia in Hendersonville and Spring Hill. Cookeville could be a good option too as long you're aware of the distance from Nashville. It also has a great university there as well.

[Xelfer]

There's always Bowling Green, which is just over the state line to the north. It has a wonderful and historic downtown area.

[Drake744]

Originally Posted by Xelfer

There's always Bowling Green, which is just over the state line to the north. It has a wonderful and historic downtown area.

And it's cheaper than it should be. Personally, I love BG as I went to college at WKU.

[vnysgrl]

I am familiar and have been to Bowling Green, and while nice, it's not where we want to be. Thank you for the suggestion though.

We are not altogether opposed to surburbs, but we don't want, as someone earlier described, cookie cutter tract home kind of suburbs. I don't want to live where the nearest grocery store is 45 min away. I do an obscene amount of online shopping (mostly out of convenience) but I do occasionally like to head to the mall and Target/Walmart. Having a Sam's Club or Costco near is important as we do a decent amount of shopping there too. I did look at Cookeville and it does look lovely, but I do think we'd like to be closer to an airport, at least a municipal one that would connect us to a larger one. When I started this research, we were looking at Chattanooga and Signal Mountain. Then we added Murfreesboro. Then I started browsing around the map at the different surburbs of Nashville. I'm not as flighty and disorganized as my search sounds, it's just hard to get real feels of places on the internet, which is why I come here to ask those who live there

[melissahall456]

Originally Posted by vnysgrl

Hello all!

I've been reading through this thread and there's wonderful info here! However, many of the replies are several years old now, so I thought I'd see if there is any new info about the mentioned spots. My husband, 2 kids and I are looking at most likely moving to TN in anywhere from 2-7 years from now. While I realize things can still change drastically in that amount of time, it would be nice to know how things may have changed since the first post in 2005/2006, until now. Cities/towns mentioned were Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Spring Hill, Hendersonville, Cookeville. On another forum somewhere, I read how awful Gallatin was. Any insight to that? Had found an awesome house and property there, but now I'm not sure if I want to continue looking there. We would like to have a property of no less than 2 acres, but up to 10 would likely be ok. We are currently in CA, and honestly, cannot wait to leave, but there are details to be worked out first, long story, which is why our span of time until moving is so long. We want to be near medical facilities, shopping and great restaurants, but we don't require them to be in our door. We are so done with surburbia and houses so close together that you can hear your neighbors having a conversation. I want space! Thank you, in advance, for info!

Did you decide to move there? We're in Napa, CA and considering a temporary and possibly permanent move to Gallatin next month. There may be an opportunity for a travel nurse position to get us there. Let me know if you went, too!

[shinestx]

Would like to hear more follow-ups too from people who decided to move to these "small towns" around Nashville.

JMT, I can't upvote you right now (as I need to spread a little love according to C-D) but the Aleppo crack was hilarious.