Info. about Murfreesboro (Smyrna, Central, Oakland: sales, real estate, low crime)

[Elwood]

Hello all, we are considering a move to the south!

One of the locations that looks pretty nice (according to internet information) is Murfreesboro Tennessee. I do have many questions though. I have been reading this forum and there is some pretty good information here from plenty of good people.

My questions are:

How does Tenn. tax people? I have read that they have no personal income tax, so how do they get their money? License plates, property tax?????? What would the estimated real estate taxes be on a $200,000 house?

Schools: How are the schools in the Murfreesboro area? Is the city/county keeping up with growth?

Infrastructure: Again, is the city/county keeping up with growth? We are looking for a larger city, but don't want to be slammed with traffic issues everywhere we go.

How is crime? I am from a small town in Illinois and theft, small violence and especially drugs (pot and meth.) are HUGE and it seems that law enforcement has their hands tied. We are looking for a low crime area that has stiff penalties for those who do break the law.

What about Job and Business prospects? My wife is an Rx, so her finding a job is not really a problem, but I am a farmer, so the prospects of a good jobs and /or a good business environment are important.


Basically, we are looking for small town type living, while having the nice shopping, restaurants and activities of a city. Excellent education is very important to us. We have two very smart kids who are very bored with school. Our local schools test about 5-10 points below state average and our graduation rate has fallen to 69%. My daughter who is in first grade has a reading ability and comprehension level of a 4th grader and she is quite bored in school and trouble from the bad seeds in her class seem to find her. My son is in about the same boat. They need a better education!

We are looking for friendly people with a good sense of community. People who care about their surroundings and who will work hard to keep it nice or make it nice.

What about fun activities? What is there to do in leisure time?

Any and all information you can share with me would be great. Thanks so much for all the help.

[BeeHoyal]

There is a good magnet school in Murf. (Central) while Oakland has the International Baccalaureate program. Siegel High has more than the usual national merit semi-finalists from what I heard but the new crown jewel of Rutherford County schools has to be Stewarts Creek. In addition to all three schools covering K-12 being adjacent to each other, the high school has cool stuff like a recording studio, vet clinic, etc. I heard Thurman Francis K-8 (?) magnet school in Smyrna had a good reputation and doesn't have slacker/disruption/misfits kids holding back the ones who want to learn and achieve.

[KJB0007]

Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to live here. We are one of the fastest growing towns in the US and we have over double the population that we should have fora town this size. This is a huge college town *MTSU, and we are over run with college kids. I have lived here for 25+ years now and would love to move elsewhere now that my kids are grown. I just can't stand it being so crowded any more. I live in the county. When I moved here, the city limits were 5 miles away. Now, they are .4 10ths of a mile. Amazon just built a huge warehouse a mile from me and I don't even think about trying to drive anywhere on most days because the traffic is a nightmare. I used to hear quiet out my window at night. Now all I hear are cars and speakers at all hours of the night.

Murfreesboro has become horrible in the last 10 years. The schools aren't much to speak of any more. Do yourself a favor. Look elsewhere. You will thank me for it. If you are from a small town, this isn't for you.

[DaveM123]

I have lived in the Murfreesboro area for over 6 years now and truly enjoy living here. I live just outside the city limits. It's definitely a city that has grown quickly and in some respects too quickly however I don't think it's a terrible place to live. Traffic can be a difficult at times depending on the time of day and what part of the city you are trying to navigate. Having lived in the NYC area and Chicago areas the traffic is nothing compared to that. I don't find that Murfreesboro is "over run with college kids" - MTSU is noted primarily as a commuter school but that said the college populations seems to stay close to the college area. Many of my neighbors have school age children ranging from 1st grade to high school and they have no complaints about the quality of the education.

Most revenue in Tennessee is generated by sales tax - basically 9.75% in Murfreesboro. Real estate taxes depend on whether you are in the city limits or in the county as there is a two tier tax system. A guess on taxes on a $200,000 home would be about $1,200 or so in the county and around $2,000 in the city.

The best thing to do is come down here and look around. I think Murfreesboro and the surrounding area has a lot to offer.

[N.Cal]

My wife is an Rx

What is an Rx?

[Reactionary]

Since the OP posted in 2006 and doesn't appear to have returned, I'll guess that his wife (the Rx) is a pharmacist. Or maybe a prescription. Ya never know these days...