Thinking of moving to Middle TN? READ THIS! (Franklin, Hendersonville: fit in, real estate market)

[nsantamaria]

This is thread for anyone who has potential interest of moving to Tennessee. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and then moved to Tennessee when I was 22. I lived there for 4 years and just moved OUT about 3 weeks ago relocating to the greater Charlotte, NC area (Tega Cay, SC to be exact). Anyway, I have to say that I hated middle TN. The smog is terrible, there is nothing really pretty or aesthetic about it at all, crime can be high in many areas and the schools overall STINK. The traffic is bad FOR NO REASON at all more than 95% of the time and people in Tennessee think their blinker is "OPTIONAL" and usually opt NOT to use it. Apparently, when people are on the road in Nashville they really have nowhere to go - they are wandering around aimlessly, because they drive about 3 miles an hour..even on the highways. Oh wait, that's not ENTIRELY TRUE. If there's a storm and rain is coming down REALLY HARD then people decide they want to drive 100 miles an hour. There's a high incidence of drunk driving especially among teenagers (feel free to google this if you want). Also, expect to see a lot of pregnant teenagers. I myself am Christian - and I've never felt more spiritually dead living in the midst of the supposed bible-belt with all these FAKE SOUTHERN people who pretend to care about you and then talk about you and gossip behind your back. There is no such thing as true southern hospitality. Of course, I am not speaking for everyone - I did make a handful of really exceptional friends there - nothing is ENTIRELY BAD, but for the most part people suck. The weather sucks. Air quality sucks - I think I mentioned that earlier. You'll probably find it relatively easy to find some kind of work in the greater Nashville area so that's a plus. I know there's a low unemployment rate - and I never had a hard time finding a job. Pay scale is about average. If you're from a big city you won't see any housing projects the way we know them - but you'll certainly see strange things like giant beautiful brick homes right next store to trailer parks which always amazed me. Even when the real estate market was good the appreciation value of homes in middle tennessee IS HORRIBLE. It's great for buyers who plan to stay a REALLY LONG TIME because you can get a boatload for your money. However, if you aren't planning to stay a long time or if something happens where you have to relocate (as in my case) you'll be hard pressed to get what you rightfully deserve for your home. The home I just sold in Hendersonville for 154k I could have easily sold for 185-190 in Charlotte and (I gasp to image in it) probably around 800K in Brooklyn.
Hendersonville is a great area of middle Tennessee to move if you have kids, it's north of nashville. Brentwood and Franklin are also great - but they are more expensive...they are located south of Nashville. I DO NOT recommend ANTIOCH to anyone really - it used to be okay not that long ago (we had an apartment there when we first moved) but now it's turning into a real slum. Overall it can't be as much of a slum as certain parts of Brooklyn as I remember, but if you're from the city and you're looking to AVOID SLUMS then don't move to ANTIOCH. Portland is even more NORTH of Hendersonville in Sumner County and it's really up and coming and growing rapidly now. You can buyer a BEAUTIFUL HOME up there - but expect a long commute if you work in Nashville and don't expect anything really interesting to do in that town for a LONG time..they have a LONG way to go.
There are many mexicans and hispanics in middle tennessee and some might find that a negative but I never did - I actually think it's a positive. For the most part they work hard and are an asset to their communities. If you speak Spanish you can BANK in this town! My husband speaks fluent spanish and it helped him TREMENDOUSLY in his job.
If you're an animal lover be prepared to be horrified at the amount of stray animals, the utter ignorance of "country folk" who refuse to spay/neuter their pets and the amount of animals put to death DAILY in the pounds and at animal control. Some neighborhoods are BETTER than others - but overall they get an "F" in animal care.
If you're into nightlife you certainly CAN find some fun things to do downtown - even though the area is small but that's only because I'm comparing it to NYC which isn't fair. It sort of reminds me of boston in a way - it's really townie- and even though I don't LOVE country music you sorta have to get into it when you walk down broadway and 2nd ave. There's always people out and about and it CAN make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside - especially if you've had a couple of drinks.
Public Transportation is practically non-existent. They have buses but not that many and the routes are terrible. You literally have to take 4 steps back to take 1 step forward if you know what I mean. Obviously, no trains or railways either. CABS are hard to come by - especially in areas OUTSIDE of downtown nashville and THEY ARE SUPER EXPENSIVE. YOU NEED A CAR TO LIVE IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE without a doubt.
People in Tennessee give the worst directions. They'll say things like, "to get to my house you know that tree over there yonder with the birds nest in it? Yeah, you know - the one with the squirrel that climbs up and down..well..go 45 lights passed that and then bare to your left." WHAT THE HE**??!!??
Healthcare is slightly above average due to Vanderbuilt which is a research hospital. There's a really nice children's hospital downtown also. A pretty good Allergy and Asthma clinic is there as well. Anyone living in Hendersonville can go to Hendersonville Medical Center which is conveniently located from any portion in Hendersonville - and the doctors are decent. I found a GREAT GYNO there - she used to do OB also but stopped to spend more time with her kids.
GALLATIN is another town in Sumner County, a little north of H'ville. This place is NOT GREAT but NOT BAD. I wouldn't live there. Again, if I was forced to live in middle Tennessee it would be in Hendersonville (1st choice) because crime is low, not many sex offenders (I checked the list) and schools in Sumner County are pretty okay for TENNESSEE (overall public schools in TN are not good). Then there's Brentwood and Franklin as mentioned before, but there you will find people with a LOT MORE MONEY and potentially a lot more snobby attitudes.
Anyway, I think I've said a lot - not sure if this has helped anyone. Also, keep in mind Nashville in general is a very transient town. I met MORE people from OUTSIDE NASHVILLE, and OUTSIDE TN then I did native nashville folk. Lots' of people from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky...those were the biggies. Michigan folks apparently FLOCK to middle TN. Not sure why.
If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to try and answer them or get in touch with someone who might have the answers. I know how tough it is to move to a new place. I lived in BK my whole life and when we moved to TN it was certainly culture shock. I finally got used to it and then when I went back to BK for a visit I felt like I didn't entirely fit in anymore! Now I'm in Charlotte and I have to start the process all over again. Oh well....touch base with me if anyone needs advice.

[Wandering Mind]

theres plenty of things to complain about it, but air quality isnt a negative. and ive never heard of any animal control problems either.

seems like you were just looking for negatives, and tried to bring your big city lifestyle down there.

see the citiots guide to rural living

[akm4]

Ummmmm....decaf?

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by akm4

Ummmmm....decaf?

Well, maybe . . . but first, paragraph breaks. Darn, it's hard to be even feel hated when it's put like that. Who can read it?

[bnewman]

Wow, from what little I skimmed through in all of that mess of a word jumble, seems that someone has a chip on his/her shoulder...

Would-be relocators and visitors to Nashville and its surrounding areas, please disregard this person's rantings. What a shame.

Nashville is wonderful in many more ways than it is not...certainly the majority of readers and posters will overlook this person's remarks and notice a pretty consistent POSITIVE view of our area!

[AliceT]

Originally Posted by bnewman

Wow, from what little I skimmed through in all of that mess of a word jumble, seems that someone has a chip on his/her shoulder...

Would-be relocators and visitors to Nashville and its surrounding areas, please disregard this person's rantings. What a shame.

I saw it that way too.

[Beretta]

I suddenly feel sorry for North Carolina. And I am being very nice and not generalizing about the folks in and from Brooklyn, NY.

[46Barb]

Wow! I'm orginally from New York, moved to Connecticut, and now live in middle Tennessee. I LOVE it here! I think the people are great. Please remember to take what one person says with a grain of salt.

[Lake.Lady]

Originally Posted by alleycat

Well, maybe . . . but first, paragraph breaks. Darn, it's hard to be even feel hated when it's put like that. Who can read it?

My sentiments exactly........reading that gave me a headache! I guess the school she attended in Brooklyn sucked too

[nsantamaria]

YOU CAUGHT ME! I just hated middle tn just because i hated it. LOL sorry folks...

But i'm entitled to an opinion too am i not?

Oh well.

I'll admit one thing, I didn't like TN predominantly because most of the bad thing that happened in my life happened while I was in TN. Although it's NOT FAIR of me to blame TN and hate it for that - I sorta kinda need that to vent. If you were able to unscramble any of my rant you'd see that near the end I was listing some PROS as well as CONS. Also, I had taken a pain killer cause my back was killing me and that's the MAIN reason why it sounds like a giant rant.

I'm a big enough person to admit when I act insane! But alas, I still hate TN. lol