Where to live? (Murfreesboro, Hendersonville, Columbia: transplants, houses, safe area)

[SouthernDreams]

Hi lovely people! I am looking for suggestions of Nashville suburbs that would be a good fit for my family.

We currently are living in Ohio outside of Columbus in a small town of about 25,000 people which we LOVE running into people we know everywhere we go and traffic isn't an issue because of the size. The small downtown area of our little town has a lot of amazing locally owned restaurants and even a gastropub and great BBQ. We love having local options and not chain/fast food. We currently have to drive 15-20 minutes to get to major shopping other than the grocery store, which isn't an issue for us. We like being close to things but not right in the congestion of it all. Our neighbors here are friendly and we have neighborhood get togethers and the kids play outside while parents hang out in someone's yard.

I am really nervous about moving to a new neighborhood in a new state and losing out on this experience that we currently enjoy especially since we aren't going to know anyone... so I am looking for suggestions of suburbs and/ or neighborhoods that may be a good fit.

Also, before Ohio, I was born and raised in a super friendly area in Kentucky where neighbors were caring, people looked you in the eye, strangers held doors open and genuinely asked how your day was, friends would show up and hang out on your porch, kids were safe to run around the neighborhood and we said "all ya'll"

I am looking for a similar southern hospitality experience now for my family in TN but the amount of transplants around Nashville makes me nervous that the Nashville area might be lacking this experience?? (I know... the irony since I will be a transplant as well!!)

A little about us....
-We have 2 littles that are not yet in school so school district is very important as well as a safe area!
-A bonus if there is an excellent private Christian preschool and school nearby as an option.
-Finding a contemporary nondenominational church is important to us.
-We are conservative but enjoy our bourbon, craft beers, wine, and a good time.
-Within an hour of Nashville is ideal but we don't have a daily commute as my husband works from home so this is more for future needs if something were to happen to his current position.
-Coming from out of state we prefer a new build neighborhood where everyone is new around the same time so it's easier to meet people. A neighborhood Pool and park would be a huge bonus.
-And probably the hardest part is that we are not extremely well off. $300k would be our max budget for a house (according to my husband... $320k according to me.. haha) which seems like a tall order for new neighborhoods where we've looked.... I drive a mini van, I don't wear name brands or get my nails done and it's a good day if my kids have let me wash my hair.
-We are down to earth easy going people.... I don't want to feel inadequate about myself going to church or story time at a library so tell me places to avoid too!!


Are my expectations too high?!?!
Any input/advice/suggestions of areas we should look would be greatly appreciated!!

Oh, and why is Gallatin so much cheaper than everywhere else??

[DonCorleone]

I'm biased, but Gallatin sounds like it might be a good fit. While it's 2x the size of your current hometown, the downtown and overall feel you described sounds like Gallatin. Schools, especially on the southern side of Gallatin (Station Camp area) are highly regarded. Quite a few new or new-ish build neighborhoods too and you should be able to find something in your budget though as you mentioned it will almost certainly be on the high side.

Some other areas that might be worth looking at include White House, Lebanon, possibly Springfield or Goodlettsville. Most of the other areas I can think of would probably be difficult budget-wise or would be considered more of a traditional large suburb (Hendersonville, Mt. Juliet).

Hopefully that might give you some food for thought.

[Tomandjerry45]

If looking for smaller town but resonably close to Nashville I would look at the following towns under 15,000 residents: White House, Eagleville, Fairview, Gladeville/Rural Hill, Pleasant View, Kingston Springs, Pegram, Cottontown, Cross Plains.

Some of these places aren't even towns but they would probably have a high concentration of locals still and I think might be more what your looking for in terms of a "southern" way of life. Most of the large suburbs will have a high concentration of out of state residents.

I hope this helps but Nashville has changed greatly in last 10-15 years and is very cosmopolitan in nature. You may need to look even farther to Cookeville, Manchester, Bowling Green,KY , Shelbyville, Sparta to really experience "southern culture".

I look forward to hearing what others have to say on this topic as well.

[SouthernDreams]

Thank you so much for the responses so far! They are greatly appreciated!

I should also add that we still like to get out and do things in the city. We have quite a lot of things to do with kids around here.... story time and events at the library... bowling... there are trampoline parks and play cafes and indoor playgrounds in neighboring towns that we frequent so I'd still like to be close enough to a bigger city (or be in a little bigger of a town would be ok) to be able to do that kind of thing still. Just don't want to be living in the thick of it all and dealing with traffic daily!

[BirdieBelle]

Why are you moving?

Your current town sounds like a good fit for you.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by SouthernDreams

Hi lovely people! I am looking for suggestions of Nashville suburbs that would be a good fit for my family.

We currently are living in Ohio outside of Columbus in a small town of about 25,000 people which we LOVE running into people we know everywhere we go and traffic isn't an issue because of the size. The small downtown area of our little town has a lot of amazing locally owned restaurants and even a gastropub and great BBQ. We love having local options and not chain/fast food. We currently have to drive 15-20 minutes to get to major shopping other than the grocery store, which isn't an issue for us. We like being close to things but not right in the congestion of it all. Our neighbors here are friendly and we have neighborhood get togethers and the kids play outside while parents hang out in someone's yard.

I am really nervous about moving to a new neighborhood in a new state and losing out on this experience that we currently enjoy especially since we aren't going to know anyone... so I am looking for suggestions of suburbs and/ or neighborhoods that may be a good fit.

Also, before Ohio, I was born and raised in a super friendly area in Kentucky where neighbors were caring, people looked you in the eye, strangers held doors open and genuinely asked how your day was, friends would show up and hang out on your porch, kids were safe to run around the neighborhood and we said "all ya'll"

I am looking for a similar southern hospitality experience now for my family in TN but the amount of transplants around Nashville makes me nervous that the Nashville area might be lacking this experience?? (I know... the irony since I will be a transplant as well!!)

A little about us....
-We have 2 littles that are not yet in school so school district is very important as well as a safe area!
-A bonus if there is an excellent private Christian preschool and school nearby as an option.
-Finding a contemporary nondenominational church is important to us.
-We are conservative but enjoy our bourbon, craft beers, wine, and a good time.
-Within an hour of Nashville is ideal but we don't have a daily commute as my husband works from home so this is more for future needs if something were to happen to his current position.
-Coming from out of state we prefer a new build neighborhood where everyone is new around the same time so it's easier to meet people. A neighborhood Pool and park would be a huge bonus.
-And probably the hardest part is that we are not extremely well off. $300k would be our max budget for a house (according to my husband... $320k according to me.. haha) which seems like a tall order for new neighborhoods where we've looked.... I drive a mini van, I don't wear name brands or get my nails done and it's a good day if my kids have let me wash my hair.
-We are down to earth easy going people.... I don't want to feel inadequate about myself going to church or story time at a library so tell me places to avoid too!!


Are my expectations too high?!?!
Any input/advice/suggestions of areas we should look would be greatly appreciated!!

Oh, and why is Gallatin so much cheaper than everywhere else??

Someone else mentioned Cookeville, so I'll chime in. If you're willing to live a little over an hour from Nashville, Cookeville absolutely checks all your boxes:

• Excellent schools
• Lots of private Christian preschools
• Lots of churches including several contemporary, nondenominational churches
• Cookeville has several breweries, two wineries, and a whiskey distillery
• Cookeville is an hour to the Nashville airport and a little over an hour to downtown Nashville
• Cookeville is very family friendly: children's museum, children's library, children's theater
• Since your husband works from home, you might enjoy gigabit internet, which Cookeville has (even in the countryside outside of town)
• $300k will buy quite a bit more than what you can get in the Nashville area. Here are samples of homes in your price range in Cookeville. The ones with * are in neighborhoods with neighborhood pools:

In neighborhoods with neighborhood pools:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...?fullpage=true
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3...?fullpage=true
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...?fullpage=true
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...?fullpage=true

Within walking distance of one of the top rated elementary schools in the state:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4...?fullpage=true
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3...?fullpage=true

Within walking distance of downtown which has the children's museum, children's library, children's theater, a winery, a whiskey distillery, two breweries, and 20+ locally owned restaurants:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...?fullpage=true
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4...?fullpage=true
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3...?fullpage=true

Within a few blocks of a bike trail that leads to downtown:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...?fullpage=true
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...?fullpage=true
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...?fullpage=true
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8...?fullpage=true
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...?fullpage=true

Sorry for going overboard with the zillow listings, but it's a rainy night and I'm bored. But you get the idea of what Cookeville is like. If you don't mind being a smidgeon over an hour from Nashville, and if you're wanting a beautiful, affordable family-friendly town with a thriving downtown and lots of Southern charm and excellent schools, you should check it out.

[MTFan]

Check out Murfreesboro. Larger than 25,000 but has good public schools, private schools, nondenominational churches (check out the Experience Church) parks, and lots of things to do. It also is in your price range.

[CountryGirl2b=]

JMT - woken up by the storm this morning. I looked at all the Cookeville houses. Had no idea you could buy that much house there and some were really pretty - love the rocking chair porches!

[septimus]

Columbia might also be a good option.

[Tomandjerry45]

Originally Posted by CountryGirl2b=

JMT - woken up by the storm this morning. I looked at all the Cookeville houses. Had no idea you could buy that much house there and some were really pretty - love the rocking chair porches!

Like countrygirl2b, I had no idea Cookeville had such nice housing in that price range. Those homes look great for under 300k!