Pros/Cons to moving to Nashville area (Memphis, Brentwood: power lines, income)

[bspray]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

Yes, remember around 2012 to 2014 when lots of people on this forum kept telling everyone who posted to move to Middle Tennessee? Be careful of what you wish for fulfilled.

I will gladly admit to wanting to roll up the welcome mat immediately after I came back in 2013. I think I led the movement here directing people to Texas instead of Nashville.

[bspray]

Originally Posted by Spikett

I'm from Nashville and was looking forward to moving back when I retire in a few years. It saddens me to say, that I probably won't be back. I was ther for one year, 2012. I moved to Los Angeles in 1993 in my mid 30s. I still had my LA drive in 2012 - they gave me a huge promotion and at my age and in my health, I couldn't walk away. Now, I'm looking at smaller cities to retire to. Why:

The crime rate is way above the national average:

https://realestate.usnews.com/places...ashville/crime

The COL - especially housing - is through the roof (no pun intended). Rents are close to LA rates!

https://www.tennessean.com/story/mon...et/1483223001/

And the total lack of infrastructre for all of the new reisdents - I read on another forum recently about a man who doesn't leave his neighborhood much anymore. Traffic - not enough interstates so the surface streets are jammed. He used to go to the downtown library - but the traffic combined with the fact that the library parking lot is full of tourists because the rates are cheap - well, he has book sent to his local branch. And the final straw - coming out of the symphony to see a group of bacherlotte partiers- vomiting and one actually peeing in the grass right outside the symphony hall. I'm sure there are a lot more anedoctal stories out there.

So many Nashvillians couldn't wait until the city grew. Well, be carefull what you wish for.

Have you thought about Texas?

Looking for a smaller city with low crime - maybe College Station, Corpus Christi or San Angelo.

A little larger but not 'Texas Sized' - San Antonio or Waco.

[Birddogjr]

Originally Posted by aaronmidnight

If by 'mild' you mean 98 degrees in mid-September, than sure, it's plenty mild in Nashville.

https://www.nashvillesevereweather.c...-and-counting/

Lol I was just about to post this. The summer is horrific in Nashville. Nauseatingly humid and hot, like an oven.

[Antioch]

Originally Posted by Birddogjr

Lol I was just about to post this. The summer is horrific in Nashville. Nauseatingly humid and hot, like an oven.

This summer has been unusually hot for us as well as many across the country and world. This is not typical.

[septimus]

Originally Posted by Antioch

This summer has been unusually hot for us as well as many across the country and world. This is not typical.

More than likely it is the new normal.

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by bspray

I will gladly admit to wanting to roll up the welcome mat immediately after I came back in 2013. I think I led the movement here directing people to Texas instead of Nashville.

9 years later and traffic is back to the same. I-40, I-65 busy as ever. Maybe more traffic on I-24 to Clarksville. Wonder how many take I-69 to Evansville or continue I-24 to Paducah & Illinois. Big backups where interstates meet & crossovers for thru traffic. Other cities do this with flyovers.

Bus service has yet to recover from Covid. Some routes not yet restored. Same traffic on city streets.

Main difference in the amount of construction filling some of the empty spaces. In the West Nashville Bellevue area a lot more condo apartment town home dwellings. New Bellevue Place replacing old mall.

[italmim]

We've lived in the Nashville area for 6 years. We came for a job opportunity and have two kids. We moved from a large metropolitan city in the South.

Here are the pros and cons (from my experiences):

Pros:

-Cost of Living: I'm sure that is what is drawing most people here. You really can buy more real estate for a better price, but people do still struggle here with high rents and mortgages. If you are getting paid well, you can do well financially. Taxes are low and there are always homes being built, for better or worse.

-Schools: We've been very pleased with the schools. I've noticed a difference from where we moved from. Of course, we always need more teachers and turnover is standard for the education profession. I feel like my kids have been loved and nurtured, and set up for success.

-Natural Beauty: There are plenty of hiking trails, greenways, rivers, and lakes. The wildlife is wonderful. If you are an outdoorsy person, you'll find a lot to love about Middle Tennessee in general.

-Healthcare: Nashville is well-regarded for quality healthcare. Vanderbilt and St Thomas have excellent providers. We have a long way to go in providing insurance to all who need it, but if you need care, you'll generally get good care.

Cons:

-I am unusual in that I get bored easily, so when people tell me this is the "big city," I don't see it. I need lots to do, and after 6 years, I feel like I've seen it all. But this is me, and given my need for novelty, I'd probably need to live somewhere 4 times as large. I don't like Broadway and generally avoid it (the Woo girl scene). We need more mixed use developments.

-Transit and Traffic: Traffic bottlenecks in popular areas. Transit keeps getting voted down even though there are so many opportunities to expand it. It shouldn't be a political issue. We need transit and better walkability.

Better Political Policies: People who are poor suffer and we need healthcare, affordable housing, childcare subsidies, affordable higher education, and public school funding. Unfortunately, progressive policies get voted down and the cycle of disenfranchisement continues.

[shinestx]

I have lived in four cities where progressive policies rule the day, and there's more poverty in all of those cities now than ever before. "Progressive" policies are no panacea, and at worst, they're a fig leaf that enable the progressive officials to hide behind as "doing something about the problem". We've seen the failures of "progressive" policies, and they fail every time they're implemented.

Quotes used because "progressive" is nothing but old style socialist redistribution of wealth guided by self-dealing politicians who use it to look benevolent. Overall, Americans are getting wise to that ruse.

[three demon bag]

Originally Posted by italmim

Better Political Policies: People who are poor suffer and we need healthcare, affordable housing, childcare subsidies, affordable higher education, and public school funding. Unfortunately, progressive policies get voted down and the cycle of disenfranchisement continues.

This is code for start a state income tax. No thanks. Move somewhere else. Don't change one of the main things that makes this state so great.

[three demon bag]

My wife and I have two teenagers just moved to Brentwood 4 months ago from San Diego. We LOVE IT. I was so tired of the CA nanny state, vaccine mandate BS, left-wing nut jobs, etc.

Schools are incredible. Granted, we're in Williamson County and they go to the top public high school in the state, but it's fantastic. The kids are super nice and focused on college, etc. Top notch.

No state income tax. Low property tax. HELL YES. I can't tell you how incredible it is to see the change in our standard of living, and the house we were able to buy. It's heaven.

The weather here is beautiful with the four seasons. Yes, the summer was pretty brutal for a short period of time, but it was atypically hot in late June/early July. Is it San Diego? Of course not. If all you care about is weather, then stay in CA...but that's all it has going for it. Keep in mind that because electricity is SO much cheaper than CA, you can keep your house super comfortable for little cost, whereas it costs a FORTUNE in San Diego to run the AC.

The natural beauty here is ridiculous. Autumn has been incredible. We thought we'd be trading off natural beauty when leaving San Diego, but not at all. It's prettier here with the windy country roads, trees, hills, greenery, wildlife, etc. We have deer running around our backyard.

Bugs? Yea...there are more bugs here but in no way was it oppressive. We just hired a pest control company to come every quarter and do spider and mosquito control. Dudes showed up in Ghostbuster-like equipment and sprayed the hell out of our yard. You should know that Brown Recluses are the typical house spider here, at least in our house. They just put sticky traps everywhere and sprayed around the house. It's not a big deal. Don't kill Wolf spiders because they're the only predator of the Recluse, which isn't as dangerous as people make them out to be.

People are really nice here, definitely moreso than CA by far. And, it's not this "fake nice" that people talk about, although I'm sure there's some of that. My wife and I love going out to bars, live music and dancing, and people are just more outgoing and talkative.

Downtown Nashville is great. The vibe is not pretentious like it is in downtown San Diego, or other major cities. People are dressed casually and just there to have a good time. No judgmentalism. Granted, Nashville is touristy and called "NashVegas" for a reason, so my wife mostly stay in the Franklin area when going out each weekend...super fun and ridiculously talented musicians.

Churches? Yea...more churches here but NOT ONCE has anyone brought up religion or asked where we go to Church. My wife is atheist and I'm agnostic, and she was quite worried about this point. Granted, we live in Brentwood so it may be more of an issue if you live in rural areas, but it's 100% a non-issue where we live.