Teach Us About Nashville (Franklin, Hendersonville: real estate, to rent, daycare)

[bspray]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

4. I've been here 4 years now and have been sick pretty much the entire time. Even the Vandy Allergy Sinus Asthma Pulmonary Clinic can't get the allergies under control. Miserable.

Blackhawks and their fans suck.

I agree with this completely. If you are a Blackhawks fan, add St. Louis to your short list and take Nashville off.

[brentwoodgirl]

Originally Posted by numberfive

We're more interested in finding an updated house (hardwood floors, granite countertops, open floor plan, lots of kitchen counterspace, and big open familyroom area). We're not really sure what's reasonable for the area in terms of housing costs.

We're used to the $3k PITI payments we're making now, so any money saved there is a bonus. I think that puts us at the $500k mark, but we've seen some homes that look nice in the $350k range. We don't want to go overboard with too much house.

Reasonable varies from suburb to suburb. If you are looking in the $350-$400 range, you will have more newly built/updated options in Mt Juliet or Hendersonville, so those would be good place to start.

You could search realtracs.com to see what is available in your budget in each area.

Chose the county (Wilson for Mt Juliet, Sumner for Hendersonville, and Williamson for Franklin)

[septimus]

Mosquitoes don't seem that bad here but the ticks..... I'm constantly plucking them off my kids and I live in suburbs.

Allergies-I'm probably the only person ever, but my allergies and asthma which were considered severe disappeared when we moved here.

Your housing choices will depend a lot on where you are working etc.

[Sunflower_gal]

OP - two things to keep in mind: no state income tax in TN & TX are a definite plus over GA and the property taxes here are much less than in Chicago and many metro areas. Most areas in Nashville range from: $2.60 to $3.46 per $100 assessed property valuation and the assessment rate is 25% of appraised value. Our property tax bill here is half of what it was in Kansas City and South Carolina. People here will talk about the high sales tax rate, but our county in Kansas was 7.725% and 8% in South Carolina, in comparison to 9.25% in most areas of Nashville. Overall, your total PITI payment may go further than you think because of lower property taxes.

Haven't noticed too many bugs yet, but comparing to South Carolina, where the bugs are just bigger and more plentiful.

Allergies are about the same for our family, and we only use OTC Claritin and Flonase. Can't wait for the Cottonwoods to be done blooming though this year.

I would say that about 2/3 of the people I've met in the last year are transplants to Nashville.

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by numberfive

Interesting! What's your idea of "decent" for $600k? Our home right now is ~2100 sq ft (with basement) and 50 years old, on a quarter acre. Valued at ~$430k. Just about anything would seem like an upgrade to us, size/year wise.

It's also funny that you're in Atlanta too, that's one of three areas we're looking at (Atlanta, Dallas, and Nashville). Dallas home prices are through the roof and continuing to go up, and coupled with high property taxes, it makes more sense for Nashville or Atlanta.

Updated home less than 20 years old with at least 3,000 sq.ft, a basement, top rated schools and at least 1 acre of useable land. Almost impossible to find in Franklin, TN or similar. One thing you have to watch out for down here is the land. A home may include 2 acres, but that acreage can be totally unuseable due to the sloping land/trees.

Atlanta and Nashville are not that much different. I have a love-hate relationship with Atlanta. Love the weather, love the land/scenery, but hate the city. It's like one giant soulless suburb here with no character or identity. It's nothing like Chicago.

Regarding allergies, that's one thing I've never had an issue with, but my family does. We get a ~three week period here in the spring where everything is literally coated with green pollen. Guess it depends on what you're allergic to...

Bugs are not really an issue. A little more variety, but nothing to get excited about. Mosquitos are not too bad down here.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by bspray

I agree with this completely. If you are a Blackhawks fan, add St. Louis to your short list and take Nashville off.

Or maybe Dallas. I hear great things about Dallas.

[HaleyinNashville]

You could definitely find something nice and attractive for your family in here or Atlanta. I actually love Atlanta, but have never lived there, so maybe I'd think less of it if I actually did, ha.

Nashville was also a MUCH better place for me for my allergies (compared to Illinois and Indiana). Definitely depends on what your allergic too, but I have found out the rural/ag/croptime allergies are what set me off and there is very little of that in this part of the country because it's too hilly. Most ag here is livestock/cattle/pasture. I get ate by bugs more than anyone I know and I don't think they are better or worse here than any other area I've been. If mosquitos bother you, you can get a company to spray and it helps a LOT. In Louisiana, the city/parish actually pays for this service every few weeks for all residents. Here, it's getting more popular with the Zika fear.

Shooting! Is fun! and you can do it in many unincorporated areas (Davidson is all annexed as Metro Nash), so look outside of there for that. There are quite a few ranges and areas to shoot skeet though, in Davidson. Definitely a pro-gun community here, by and large. Many people have their conceal carry license here(I know very few that actually carry though).

Acreage might be the trickiest for you, unless you're willing to commute. However, as you already mentioned with the PITI payments...your money will go much further here than in Chicagoland because taxes are so much less here. If you are willing to commute, I'd look both east and west of the city (they look much different), narrow down the acreage you'd be happy with, and you should be able to find something. There are a lot of very nice homes (I call them retreats) about an hour outside of the city that tend to always come on the market. They pop up all over, so maybe don't focus on just one part of town, and most of the time you can find 10+ and a nice home....IF you are willing to be a little further out. We've talked about making that move several times....for now we like being closer to town, so 2 acres is plenty.

Don't let the blackhawks hatred deter you! at least you will be able to see them here...not so much for Atlanta! Our friends from Chicago always come down for the games because it's cheaper to see them here and they get to visit with us...always fun to go with them!

Good luck!!!!

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by HaleyinNashville

Don't let the blackhawks hatred deter you!

You're not helping.

[artemis]

Originally Posted by nashvols

You're not helping.

Yes, she is.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by artemis

Yes, she is.

Don't make me start throwing Bibles.