Commute to West End/Vanderbilt? (Gallatin, Lebanon: insurance, crime rate, houses)

[mullican03]

Hi all,

I've been all but assured that I will receive a job offer in the West End/Vandy area in the next two weeks, and I am reasonably confident that the package will be enough to entice me to relocate. So it's time to seriously look at places to live.

My biggest unanswered question so far is commute times. Since I have a family of four, and can only spend $130k or less on a 3 bedroom, I know that I'll have to put up with at least a moderate commute. We want to have some civilization nearby - but a Wal Mart or a Kroger, a few chain restaurants and a municipality with some children's programs is probably sufficient.

So I'm hoping people can help me out with commute times from different family friendly areas similar to what I described above to Vandy/West End. I'm particularly interested if you've do the commute yourself and what route you take.

Hard data is good, ie "I drive 25 miles from X to the West End along Y interstate and it takes me about Z minutes at 7 am." Of course, I'll also be interested in best guesses from people who know the area well.

Commute pain tolerance is all relative - something that might be horrible for you may not be so bad for me. I'm probably willing to put up with as much as 45 minutes each way if I like the area.

Particular places I'm interested in hearing about re: commutes are Donelson, Hermitage, Mt. Juliet, Fairview, Kingston Springs, White Bluff, Charlotte, Dickson, Ashland City, Pleasant View, Greenbrier, Springfield, White House, Gallatin - along with any other locales that someone thinks could fit my above descriptions. My favorites right now (subject to change, of course) are probably Fairview, Donelson and Hermitage.

Thanks in advance!

[alleycat]

I don't drive to and from these areas on a regular basis, so this is a rough guess. To stay within a 45 minute commute, I would removed Charlotte, Dickson, Greenbrier, Springfield, White House and Gallatin. I would think about also removing Fairview and White Bluff.

So that would leaves, let's see . . . Donelson, Hermitage, Mt. Juliet (might be difficult even there to stay within your price range), Kingston Spring (again, might be out of your price range), Ashland City (east side), and Pleasant View (starting to get pricier). Sometime the actually commute time will vary quite a bit on exactly where you live and the time you travel. If you can jump right on the Interstate or a major highway, your commute time will generally be shorter. And if you can commute (like I do), slightly off of peak rush hour times, you can shorten your commute time quite a bit.

Remember, I am guessing quite a bit here. Someone who lives in one of the areas will have a better handle on commute times and the price range of houses in the area.

Now, for another question . . . are any of your kids teenagers and are you planning on sending them to public high school?

[mullican03]

Thanks for your reply, alleycat, I was hoping to hear from you.

Interesting that a potential future coworker I talked to mentioned she lives in Charlotte and can get to work in 35 minutes. I suppose she may live on the outskirts, or perhaps she comes in early enough.

As for your question, both my kids are quite young and are a few years away from pre-school. If I'm still living in the first place I buy in Nashville by the time they're in high school, I got bigger problems. A bigger concern of mine might be the proximity of a local church for our denomination.

While you're at it, alleycat, I'd love to hear what you think about the local amenities of the locales whose commutes you recommended... especially in regards to shopping and retail.

thanks so much!

[alleycat]

I'm surprised your potential coworker can actually get from Charlotte to Vanderbilt in 35 minutes; at least not from start to finish. The West End corridor carries a lot of traffic, so sometimes during rush hour just going through a few stoplights can take 10 to 15 minutes (been there, done that). But, I suppose it's possible.

I'm be glad to tell you what I know about some of the areas (as soon as the Cardinals game is over), but I'm not really "recommending" any of them. I was just giving you a ballpark figure of commuting times.

If we don't have your domination here it must be the only one we don't have. There's a big Hindu temple out in my neighborhood.

[alleycat]

Here's another way of looking at commuting times that might help you. If you looking at the surrounding, adjacent counties to Nashville, your commute (start to finish) during rush hour from the side of the county closest to Nashville usually isn't so bad (30 to 40 minutes, maybe a little more, maybe a little less, depending on a lot of factors). Your commute from the side of the county furtherest from Nashville will be more like 40 to 60 minutes. This is just a rough average without taking into account a lot of variables. The thing that slows down the commute time is that there's are bottlenecks all around the city during rush hour. You can listen to the traffic report in the morning and it's generally the same ones every day. During non-rush hour times you can get from place to place relatively quickly.

I can zip from Bellevue in southwest Davison County to a place I have in the country in Montgomery County (which is west of Springfield) in 50 minutes on the weekend. Uh, I didn't say I was exactly going the speed limit . . . but not too much over, officer. ;-)

[mullican03]

Thanks alleycat! (BTW, I meant "recommending" in the sense they might fit my commute parameters. Sorry for the unclear phrasing.)

I'm beginning to think a smaller 3 BR not far from I-40 in Hermitage could be a pretty good option. Plenty of amenities nearby and about 15 miles to the West End. If I can time my trip right, it sure seems like it shouldn't take more than 45 minutes.

I'd love to hear more from anyone who has any thoughts.

Thanks!!

[alleycat]

There's a few smaller homes out in Bellevue in Harpeth Woods that might be close to your price range. Bellevue is within an easy commute to Vandy and all sorts of shopping (although they'll soon be turning the Bellevue Mall into an "streetscape" type of thing. Just about anything you want is within a short drive. Not a lot of nightlife in Bellevue itself however, unless you count going to the free concerts at the park or going to the local dinner theatre. It's one of the lowest crime rate areas in Nashville.

Just a thought since you mentioned "smaller" is your last post.

[cleoquel]

Hello

I live in Donelson, on the west side near Briley Parkway, between Lebanon Road and Elm Hill Pike. My commute time from my driveway to Vanderbilt is about a steady 35 minutes in the morning if I leave at 7:45, and a little quicker (25-30 minutes) if I leave before 7:30 or after 8:15. Parking at Vandy can take another five minutes if I don't get a good parking place near my building. I typically do NOT take I-40, as it can get clogged (can take an hour during rush hours). I take Lebanon Road or Elm Hill Pike as far as I can, then work my way around several streets just south of downtown. During off peak hours, I-40 is fine, and takes about 25 minutes.

Hermitage would take a lot longer on Lebanon Road because of traffic lights; if I lived in Hermitage, then I would drive I-40 up to Briley, then get off before the 440 split, and use Elm Hill Pike or Lebanon Road. I go through some industrial areas but I have never felt concerned about my safety (I am single, female), except once or twice late at night on Lafayette.

Amenities-- I'm not sure where you are from, but as far as regular "shopping" in Donelson there's a nice Kroger, a couple of Food Lions, a super-Walmart out East in Hermitage, and an Ace Hardware store in Donelson. I don't have kids, so can't report about the schools, though from my 8 years of living here, I don't think there have been a lot of school problems that I've heard about on the 6 o'clock news. There's a mall at Opry Mills (north on Briley Parkway just a few miles), and there's also several very clean, well-kept "dollar" stores and thrift shops for basic items. ** For date night with the wife, try Ellendale's restaurant once in a while **

Donelson and Hermitage are lovely, very family oriented communities. I think the population of natives--raised in Donelson and Hermitage all their lives--is fairly high--that's just my anecdotal observation. Most of the properties are very clean, though for my personal dislike of yardwork--they have too many dang trees. Most homes in this area were built between 1950 to 1980.

Church/Denomination-- Donelson and Hermitage do tend to be Protestant Christian (Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist), from what I've seen.

I would definitely recommend Donelson as an affordable family community, with reasonable commute times to downtown/West End. I would think you can find a 3 bedroom in your price range quite easily. As an insurance plus, many of the homes are brick or nearly all brick.

[mullican03]

Thanks cleoquel, that's some great information and exactly what I'm interesting in hearing about.

It seems Hermitage/Donelson should be one of the first places I look if I'm interested in a non-rural community where you don't have to drive 10+ miles to get to Wal-Mart or a decent sized hardware store. And I'm glad to hear there are several routes one can take from the area to the West End if things get dicey traffic wise.

Thanks so much.

[patsymom]

Hi there.

I commute from Gallatin to West End during the week. I work 7-4 p.m.

Usually the morning traffic from 5:30 is not too bad from Gallatin.

Of course the afternoon, can be somewhat different. Five minutes can make a 10-15 minutes in your driving time. It is not so very bad. I usually am in Gallatin by 4:45 - 5:00 in the afternoon.

Good luck!