Help choosing an area (Brentwood, Spring Hill: for sale, how much, headhunters)

[Bellamouse]

Thank you, that was helpful. I thought I was very specific about my sidewalk "requirements". I need them JUST for leisure walking with my husband or the dog, NOT to try and get to stores. I do not want to walk my dog at night out in the street. So walking around the subdivision is just fine. I guess not everyone reads the whole posts....

So is Franklin near the Costco, Whole Foods, etc? Say, 15 minutes driving distance or so? What else would be good other than Franklin? I guess I will check Brentwood out - I imagine there must be some lower priced homes there too.

In the neighborhood where we live now (for 20 years) we live in a small, very inexpensive house among all the big million dollar homes. So we get the good amenities but not the big mortgage and taxes that go along with it I guess I'm looking for something similar.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by Bellamouse

Thank you, that was helpful. I thought I was very specific about my sidewalk "requirements". I need them JUST for leisure walking with my husband or the dog, NOT to try and get to stores. I do not want to walk my dog at night out in the street. So walking around the subdivision is just fine. I guess not everyone reads the whole posts....

So is Franklin near the Costco, Whole Foods, etc? Say, 15 minutes driving distance or so? What else would be good other than Franklin? I guess I will check Brentwood out - I imagine there must be some lower priced homes there too.

In the neighborhood where we live now (for 20 years) we live in a small, very inexpensive house among all the big million dollar homes. So we get the good amenities but not the big mortgage and taxes that go along with it I guess I'm looking for something similar.

I would stick with Franklin.

It's a bigger area with a wider variety of price ranges than Brentwood. Many of Brentwood's "lower-priced areas" were built before the city required sidewalks. But you can barely get into those neighborhoods for under $400K.

[CountryGirl2b=]

Hi,

Don't get discouraged! Do understand we get a LOT of people asking about moving here. We pour our heart and soul into a response and the person never comes back to the board or says thanks or anything. We are all just normal people (well, most of us!) and unless we win a contest, we do it for the love of where we live.

Sidewalks and under $250,000 is NOT a "dream" but it is harder to find than it used to be. If you just need sidewalks to take a walk and not toodle your way to a popular restaurant then you CAN find that in Franklin.

The one on Glass Street . . . that area is near Hope Cemetery and there are some really charming older little houses there. My sister looked at one that had been fixed up and even had a studio (art or music) in the back! But it's lot by lot. There are a lot of homes there that haven't been kept up and have old junk cars or trailers in front. I think it might 'gentrify' itself in the next decade but isn't there yet.

The one on Tarrington (I think that was the name?) is in Fieldstone Farms, where I live. I wasn't a big fan of HOAs and subdivisions but it's the way a lot of recent homes were built. In a clump. Fieldstone Farms has some of the most affordable (under $250,000) in Franklin. But a year ago you could have paid $215,000. Houses here have really shot up for no other reason than people started to hear a buzz about Nashville and started to watch 'our' show on Wednesday nights on ABC! (just kidding)

Fieldstone Farms has over 2,000 homes and about 13 or 14 different little neighborhoods which have different price points. There are sidewalks on the main streets. Walking trails. Two pools. You CAN walk to the neighborhood Publix in what is called Harpeth Village. There's a bank, sushi place, pizza, a decent restaurant, UPS store . . .

The affordable areas of FF are Trent Park, Maytime, and Prescott Place. You might also find something in a subdivision called Franklin Green. Not a lot out there right now but that's where I'd look.

From Fieldstone Farms you can get to two different Whole Foods, Costco, and Trader Joe's in 20 minutes or less. Spring Hill, south of Franklin, is more affordable but a long commute up to Nashville and not sure about sidewalks.

There is a lovely Farmers Market in Franklin, year round, again maybe 10 - 15 minutes from Fieldstone Farms:

http://franklinfarmersmarket.com/

I do NOT work for Fieldstone Farms. It's one of the earliest developments (mid 1990's) and they just happened to pick the perfect location (IMHO) and I really enjoy living here.

And I agree, realtracs.com is a good resource.

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by Bellamouse

Thank you, that was helpful. I thought I was very specific about my sidewalk "requirements". I need them JUST for leisure walking with my husband or the dog, NOT to try and get to stores. I do not want to walk my dog at night out in the street. So walking around the subdivision is just fine. I guess not everyone reads the whole posts....

So is Franklin near the Costco, Whole Foods, etc? Say, 15 minutes driving distance or so? What else would be good other than Franklin? I guess I will check Brentwood out - I imagine there must be some lower priced homes there too.

In the neighborhood where we live now (for 20 years) we live in a small, very inexpensive house among all the big million dollar homes. So we get the good amenities but not the big mortgage and taxes that go along with it I guess I'm looking for something similar.

Part of the problem here is finding a job in manufacturing. Nashville is a government, hospital, office work town. Manufacturing does exist, but maybe you need to be more specific. Be a printer for the Tennessean? Be a auto worker for GM (Spring Hill ex Saturn plant), Nissan (Smyrna)? Utility worker (NEs power, Comcast cable, ATT phones)?

[Spikett]

Regarding manufacturing jobs, Spring Hill/GM would be okay from Franklin, but Smyrna/Nissan (bigger plant, more jobs) would not. For Nissan I'd look in the Murfreesboro area. If you're willing to drive a few more minutes to town, you could find a place where you could have chickens...

[Bellamouse]

My husband is in engineering for the manufacturing industry. He estimates the cost of making everything - mostly things made of metal but also plastic, glass, wood, etc. Very complex parts ranging from things like aircraft parts or space projects or computer/cable box chassis to point of purchase displays in every store. Currently he is involved with the design and manufature of the inside of just about every store you go into from Walgreens to Nike to Michael Kors to Publix to the Lego store. All the shelving, lighting, racking, displays - everything you see. He doesn't work in a plant actually building anything but rather in an office on spreadsheets all day. He deals with material suppliers and the designers and the sales department and the actual plants all over the world (many in China of course). There are jobs for him in the area, we have looked. It's just a matter of getting one of them, and one that he likes and wants, and one that pays what we want.

I checked out realtracs, but it was hard to navigate. There is no function that I could find that plots the properties all together on any map, so you just have to already know where they are or you have to look at each and every one of them on the list to figure out where they are. Way too time consuming.

But thanks everyone for the help. I will keep looking. I think I will just talk to a realtor and maybe make another longer trip down to check things out.

[CountryGirl2b=]

Zillow.com would give you a bunch of homes on a map in a specific area . . . there are options for price and bedrooms, etc . . . .

[ExIslander]

Agreed with some of the above posts -- if you're just looking for a neighborhood with sidewalks, they're not *that* rare. Much tougher is being able to buy at $250k and be anywhere near the upscale groceries or the hot dining/entertainment zones. If you can give some ground on proximity, you'll have a lot more options. For example, Mt. Juliet has some nice neighborhoods that generally fit the description of the kind of property you're looking for. It doesn't have as many local dining and upscale shopping options as a place like Franklin, though. On the plus side, it's a nice suburb and you'd get a lot more house for the $250k. It's an option if you're okay with Publix being your everyday grocery and Costco and Trader Joe's being over there 30 minutes away when you want them, but if you're going to be out hitting Trader Joe's or fancy restaurants multiple times a week, then Mt. Juliet may be a bit too far from the action for your taste.

[Drake744]

I think Providence in Mt. Juliet would be worth at least a look.

[Bellamouse]

Thank you both. I will definitely look at Mt. Juliet. I think 30 min *might* be a bit too far, but I would like to weigh that decision after I see it. What do you all think of Spring Hill and Thompsons Station?