Nashville Suburbs, where to live

[llsmith42]

Considering your budget and constant need of the airport, Rutherford and Wilson County may be your best bet. Within Wilson County you have Lebanon and Mt. Juliet, the latter only 10-15 minutes from the airport. Rutherford County offers LaVergne, Smyrna, and Murfreesboro, all of which are known for their relatively inexpensive homes. Traffic on I-24 can be a nightmare at peak times, but luckily, the airport isn't far away.

The Franklin/Brentwood area would probably satisfy your need for shopping and city life better than the other cities mentioned, but homes for that price probably don't exist. However, with kids in the near future you should look into buying in Williamson County, if not simply for the schools. Homes in Spring Hill in Williamson County are by far the cheapest, but the airport is 40 minutes away (on a good day)

Back to shopping- Mt. Juliet has a nice development called Providence that has many, many stores and restaurants, and Murfreesboro has even more (college town). Smyrna/LaVergne as well a Lebanon have less shopping and restaurants, but are still quite satisfactory.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by llsmith42

Considering your budget and constant need of the airport, Rutherford and Wilson County may be your best bet. Within Wilson County you have Lebanon and Mt. Juliet, the latter only 10-15 minutes from the airport. Rutherford County offers LaVergne, Smyrna, and Murfreesboro, all of which are known for their relatively inexpensive homes. Traffic on I-24 can be a nightmare at peak times, but luckily, the airport isn't far away.

The Franklin/Brentwood area would probably satisfy your need for shopping and city life better than the other cities mentioned, but homes for that price probably don't exist. However, with kids in the near future you should look into buying in Williamson County, if not simply for the schools. Homes in Spring Hill in Williamson County are by far the cheapest, but the airport is 40 minutes away (on a good day)

Back to shopping- Mt. Juliet has a nice development called Providence that has many, many stores and restaurants, and Murfreesboro has even more (college town). Smyrna/LaVergne as well a Lebanon have less shopping and restaurants, but are still quite satisfactory.

If schools are going to be an issue, do not, for all that is good and holy, buy anywhere near Lebanon. In Wilson County, Mount Juliet has--by far--the better schools, easily on par with Williamson County. And as far as shopping, Lebanon has a dumpy Walmart and an even dumpier KMart, and that's pretty much it. The OP should seriously consider Mount Juliet although there's not a whole lot of housing left for less than $200k--but certainly more than is available in Williamson County. And considering how rapidly Mount Juliet is growing, it will almost assuredly appreciate in value rather quickly.

Otherwise, Murfreesboro is a fine recommendation although it's not super convenient to the airport, but it fits the rest of the OP's criteria.

[titanspreds_04]

Originally Posted by JMT

If schools are going to be an issue, do not, for all that is good and holy, buy anywhere near Lebanon. In Wilson County, Mount Juliet has--by far--the better schools, easily on par with Williamson County. And as far as shopping, Lebanon has a dumpy Walmart and an even dumpier KMart, and that's pretty much it. The OP should seriously consider Mount Juliet although there's not a whole lot of housing left for less than $200k--but certainly more than is available in Williamson County. And considering how rapidly Mount Juliet is growing, it will almost assuredly appreciate in value rather quickly.

Otherwise, Murfreesboro is a fine recommendation although it's not super convenient to the airport, but it fits the rest of the OP's criteria.

I really think people dont realize whats going on in Mt. Juliet. For example, my property jumped 25k in value just in the last two years according to Zillow and Truilla. Mt. Juliet HS scored higher than nearly half of the Williamson Co. schools in TCAP scores. It seriously blows my mind why newbies overpay just to say the live in Williamson Co. and deal with the 100k more people that live over there compared to Wilson.

Dont get me wrong Williamson is nice, but some people, specifically the newbs, think that if they dont live in WIlliamson they will all of the sudden become rednecks.

What happens when Brentwood is built out ( which it nearly is)?

[Drake744]

Originally Posted by titanspreds_04

I really think people dont realize whats going on in Mt. Juliet. For example, my property jumped 25k in value just in the last two years according to Zillow and Truilla. Mt. Juliet HS scored higher than nearly half of the Williamson Co. schools in TCAP scores. It seriously blows my mind why newbies overpay just to say the live in Williamson Co. and deal with the 100k more people that live over there compared to Wilson.

Dont get me wrong Williamson is nice, but some people, specifically the newbs, think that if they dont live in WIlliamson they will all of the sudden become rednecks.

What happens when Brentwood is built out ( which it nearly is)?

I may be stereotyping too much here, but part of me believes there are a lot of people new to Nashville who still perceive it to be a place that is "redneck", "country", whatever late-90s adjective you want to use. They probably hope to find a place more akin to what they're used to and they keep hearing "Williamson County this, Williamson County that", as if it's some kind of haven of normalcy rather than just the most desirable area. I would be willing to bet that these people assume other areas are too "podunk" for them, without actually knowing there are plenty of other parts of this area that would suit newcomers just fine because it's not, you know, 1997.

[Willie1212]

Check out: Woodbine, Radnor and Glencliffe neighborhoods. 10 minutes from downtown, 10 minutes to airport. These are considered urban neighborhoods....though Glencliffe has bigger yards and a more suburban feel. The area is starting to get hot, but still some sub-200k opportunities. However, in this market you must be prepared to pull the trigger or don't even bother looking until you can. I would also be looking in Donelson.

[Hey_Hey]

Originally Posted by titanspreds_04

I really think people dont realize whats going on in Mt. Juliet. For example, my property jumped 25k in value just in the last two years according to Zillow and Truilla. Mt. Juliet HS scored higher than nearly half of the Williamson Co. schools in TCAP scores. It seriously blows my mind why newbies overpay just to say the live in Williamson Co. and deal with the 100k more people that live over there compared to Wilson.

Dont get me wrong Williamson is nice, but some people, specifically the newbs, think that if they dont live in WIlliamson they will all of the sudden become rednecks.

What happens when Brentwood is built out ( which it nearly is)?

There is a fallacy in thinking that many people make. That fallacy is that a school district's quality will be their school's quality. For example, when people think of "Williamson County Schools" they have in their minds Brentwood High School and think about how great it is, and it is a truly great school. However, it is also in a part of Brentwood that has the highest incomes and has a median home price of $600,000. You are not going to "drive till you qualify" in Spring Hill and have schools that score as well as Brentwood High. Despite them being in the same district they are not going to be equal. (The flip side of that is Davidson County in which everyone thinks of the worst high schools and never realize that there are schools that score nearly as well as the highest performing Brentwood schools.) Wilson County doesn't have a Brentwood or Ravenwood High School (top 100 high schools in the nation), so people are under the (likely) false belief that their zoned school in Spring Hill or Fairview is going to be better than anything Mt Juliet offers because they are "Williamson County Schools."

[Siamese Kitty]

Originally Posted by Willie1212

Check out: Woodbine, Radnor and Glencliffe neighborhoods. 10 minutes from downtown, 10 minutes to airport. These are considered urban neighborhoods....though Glencliffe has bigger yards and a more suburban feel. The area is starting to get hot, but still some sub-200k opportunities. However, in this market you must be prepared to pull the trigger or don't even bother looking until you can. I would also be looking in Donelson.

I live over here (Glencliff Estates) and love these areas. 200K and below is still kind of doable, but becoming more and more rare. I've been here almost ten years and it is crazy to see how the market has changed even in the last six months. It's charming, wonderfully eclectic, and super convenient, though our shopping is admittedly a little sparse. I have great hopes that if they put a sushi restaurant on Murfreesboro and crepes on Nolensville, we've got to be due for some more possibilities in the future!

I think Donelson is also a great bet and comparable, but again, that price range is becoming more difficult depending on the section you're looking in.

Willie is right in saying that if you see one, you leap. Lots of competition for not a ton of inventory. (This can of course be said for most of our market.)

Further out, Bellevue has a few opportunities around this mark and they are slated to have a lot of new mixed development at the old mall that should bring great shopping.

I also have a soft spot for Mount Juliet. In my mind it has some of the best parts of Williamson County, with a very different feel. Kind of hard to explain, but it would be another area to consider. If you were interested in a condo, I am pretty sure there are several sections of Providence around that price point and maybe some smaller homes, too.