Help choosing an area (Memphis, Clarksville: sale, homes, find a job)

[artemis]

Originally Posted by 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?

Too far out too.

[Drake744]

Spring Hill is much farther away from Nashville than Mt. Juliet.

[Spikett]

Originally Posted by 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.

You should probably expect lower pay in TN - a lot of jobs pay less in this area. Something you might want to check out - get a ballpark estimate of how much he could expect to make.

[Bellamouse]

You seem unusually worried about our finances.... We're not some naive kids who don't understand things. The question is about which neighborhoods fit what we like, not whether the move is good for us financially or not. Thanks though.

I've already mentioned in previous posts that knowing if there is a neighborhood that we would like is part of the equation when making the decision to move. I come to this board to try and get information that will help us make a decision, one that has many facets to it, quality of living being just one facet. I just don't get why it is SOOOO hard to answer the question that is asked, rather than make assumptions and be condescending and dismissive.

[CountryGirl2b=]

People looking to move here are usually unaware that housing costs more than they think it will, and that wages, across the board, are generally lower than they are used to in a lot of other states.

Yes, you can get a house for $250,000. Yes we have Costco and Trader Joe's. You could probably find some county that allows chickens and goats in your backyard. Yes, we have heaps of churches. Yes, we allow people to cook and to garden. Yes we have craft beer. Yes, we have better weather.

I don't know what question we are not answering to your satisfaction. Maybe you should consider FL or getting in touch with a PROFESSIONAL realtor.

As I said in a previous post, we're just normal type people trying to lend a hand.

[Bellamouse]

The question is WHICH neighborhood(s) would meet our desires and wishes, if any. That was the only question asked. We are not moving before we have a job, so it is quite obvious we would know what the pay is before coming.

Why is it assumed that we REQUIRE the same pay we get now? Does it not occur to anyone that quality of life may be worth the trade off of a lower salary? We know full well how to weigh our options, and at this juncture we are just trying to determine what those options may or may not include. If we can't get what we are looking for then perhaps the trade off of lower pay might not be worth it? I just thought that was the purpose of this forum was to be able to ask questions and get direct answers, not lectures and condescending "advice". Apparently I was mistaken.

And anyway, I wasn't responding to you Countrygirl. You keep saying "we" as if you speak for everyone who has responded to my post. You do not represent everyone. You have been helpful, not everyone has.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by Bellamouse

The question is WHICH neighborhood(s) would meet our desires and wishes, if any. That was the only question asked. We are not moving before we have a job, so it is quite obvious we would know what the pay is before coming.

Why is it assumed that we REQUIRE the same pay we get now? Does it not occur to anyone that quality of life may be worth the trade off of a lower salary? We know full well how to weigh our options, and at this juncture we are just trying to determine what those options may or may not include. If we can't get what we are looking for then perhaps the trade off of lower pay might not be worth it? I just thought that was the purpose of this forum was to be able to ask questions and get direct answers, not lectures and condescending "advice". Apparently I was mistaken.

And anyway, I wasn't responding to you Countrygirl. You keep saying "we" as if you speak for everyone who has responded to my post. You do not represent everyone. You have been helpful, not everyone has.

The Nashville MSA includes 13 counties.

The responses you've gotten have been fairly typical for people who have visited here once. We started off giving you general areas because that's how you do it. Middle TN is way too diverse for us to successfully pinpoint specific neighborhoods, even though some people tried to.

We don't know you. We don't know what kind of trade-offs you're willing to make. You named the kinds of things that 75% of the people who want to move here want ... Mayberry, but near upscale stores and, oh yeah, for less than $250K.

The truth is the suggestions you've received here are good ones. Defensiveness isn't going to help us help you.

[Bellamouse]

Originally Posted by Drake744

Spring Hill is much farther away from Nashville than Mt. Juliet.

We don't necessarily need to be close to downtown. We rarely go to downtown Chicago and would likely have a similar lifestyle there. The question is do you think Spring Hill is

a) nice
b) decent proximity to good grocery stores
c) sidewalks

[Bellamouse]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

The Nashville MSA includes 13 counties.

The responses you've gotten have been fairly typical for people who have visited here once. We started off giving you general areas because that's how you do it. Middle TN is way too diverse for us to pinpoint specific neighborhoods, even though some people tried too.

We don't know you. We don't know what kind of trade-offs you're willing to make. You named the kinds of things that 75% of the people who want to move here want ... Mayberry, but near upscale stores and, oh yeah, for less than $250K.

The truth is the suggestions you've received here are good ones. Defensiveness isn't going to help us help you.

You don't need to know me. I didn't ask for help determining which trade offs would be worth it. I gave specific requirements and asked if anyone knows of places that fit those requirements. Telling me "find a job first then move" is not helpful and doesn't answer the question posed *at all*. Telling me there aren't many manufacturing jobs isn't helpful (just because you don't know they exist doesn't mean they don't). We have several headhunters working on it and they all say my husband's niche job does in fact exist there. We aren't looking for financial advice. Just advice about neighborhoods. That is the topic. Some people have been helpful and I have said thank you to those people. I am annoyed by the off topic responses from people who talk to me as if I am some 20 something kid who has no concept of reality.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by Bellamouse

I am annoyed by the off topic responses from people who talk to me as if I am some 20 something kid who has no concept of reality.

To be frank, that's what you sound like when you get into t*t-for-tat arguments with those posters.

The reality is that your budget will not put you in the neighborhoods you want here. There is one Trader Joes in all of Middle Tennessee, and it is built in an upscale area, Green Hills, which the MLS currently shows 0 homes for sale under $250K. There are 2 Costcos, one on the south edge of Brentwood and one in West Nashville.

You may find some homes in subdivisions like Autumn Oaks in south Nashville along the Old Hickory Blvd corridor. Many, like Crieve Hall, don't have sidewalks. To me, Spring Hill is just too far out to be worthwhile. Yes, there are some neighborhoods with sidewalks, but no, it is not close to any decent stores that you named. At least a 30-minute drive.

I honestly think you should visit here a few more times to get the lay of the land before you commit to moving.