Looking for country home lots of acres (Clarksville, Springfield: real estate, apartments)

[music-composer]

My wife and I are looking for a nice country home for around $160,000.00 or less. We want a home in a slower paced county that is not going to be a huge city in 5 years about 15-30 miles from Nashville, very low crime, and alot of acres for the money. We want a nice quiet place that feels pretty secluded. Can anyone recommend an area like this? We were looking at Mt. Juliet or an area like that. Any advice? We like the slow life and the less stress the better! ( :

[alleycat]

You might try areas of Cheatham County, if other factors about the county are acceptable to you. Cheatham County has a fairly "rough" topgraphy, so much of the land is too steep to build on easily, or to farm; therefore the price for some acreages is fairly low.

In the northwest part of Davidson County there's Union Hill. It's still fairly rural, but this might change in the future. Further up I-24, it's rural for much of the way to Clarksville (Clarkville itself is 40 to 50 miles from Nashville).

There are other rural or semi-rural area around Nashville; sometimes this is more like a "pocket" where it's rural than the whole county being rural . Remember that to stay within a 30 mile radius, you will have to look in one of the counties adjacent to Davidson County; all of those have grown in the past few years. Sometimes what was once "being in the country" is being build over with subdivisions. However, you should be able to find something in that price range or a little more, but it will probably have to be closer to 30 miles out than 15. I might have also suggested looking at Lieper's Fork; but it's grown in the past few years and the land prices are probably more than you want to spend.

Probably the best thing for you to do is come for a visit and spend some time driving around with someone who knows the area.

I hope that helps a little.

[music-composer]

Hey alleycat,
Thanks alot for the great advice. I've checked out Homes.com and I really like the properties in Cheatham County. I like the fact that it's hard to build or farm so we wouldn't have to worry about a bunch of builders putting subdivisions and apartments anywhere. I guess we're just a good ole fasion country family. We currently live in Hampton Roads and have been ready to move for a very long time. Is the commute bad from Cheatham County into Nashville? Are there county back roads we can take instead of taking the interstate to avoid the traffic?

[alleycat]

Actually, the Interstate is on the very northern part of Cheatham County. It's easier for most folk to either take state highway 12, US 41-A, or River Road into Nashville.

It's hard to answer your question about the commute because it depends a lot on where in Nashville you're going. A generally estimate is about 30 minutes to the main areas of Nashville (more if you're going all the way across town, or to the airport).

I sometimes take Highway 12 and then River Road to go between my home in Bellevue (in the southwest part of Davidson County) to my mother's house in Clarksville. It takes me the same amount of time whether I go the backroads, or take the Interstate. One route is longer, but you can drive faster; the other is shorter, but you can't drive as fast on the backroads. I can get from here to there in 50 minutes.

[music-composer]

Are these areas really quiet and safe to keep the windows open at night? My wife and I love to hear the crickets chirp during the summer time and where we live right now, I wouldn't open a window if someone paid me to. It looked like Cheatham County area is relatively safe but again that's statistics and probrably not pure fact. I really appriciate your help on this. We are planning to make a trip in about 3-4 weeks to the Nashville area and look at the areas and houses. Our lease is up on June 1st. Do you have any advice, since this would be our first home as to when we need to press hard and sign a contract for a home?

[alleycat]

The crime, most of the time, in most of Cheatham County, is not of the violent variety (unless drugs are involved). Breaking into homes when someone is there isn't a wise choice here . . . we shoot back.

I'm not sure I understand your question about the buying a home. One piece of advice I'd give to anyone buying a home for the first time is to be patience and don't let yourself be pressured into buying (either because of the real estate agent, or you think someone else will grab up the house, or because you have other things going on and you need to "get her done"). Remember, this is a major commitment . . . you'll probably have to live with your decision for several years. There's nothing wrong with renting for a few months.

[music-composer]

Well that sounds good about low crime rate. I was also thinking about Crossville. I believe that's in Cheatham County. We definately will be visiting Nashville in the next 3-4 weeks. This should help because we will also meet with a realitor, take lots of pictures of properties, and price what we can afford.

[alleycat]

Uh, no, Crossville is not in Cheatham County. It's way down the road.

[music-composer]

Do you think Cheatham County is a better and/or more afforadable place to live then Crossville?

[alleycat]

You don't want Crossville if you need to be close to Nashville.

Maybe Springfield, or one of the communites north of Nashville, or Nolensville (maybe). There are other choices; I'm not familiar first-hand with all of them.