Moving from Los Angeles to Nashville area (Clarksville, Murfreesboro: health insurance, condos)

[Ldoubled]

Originally Posted by brentwoodgirl

devon-
I would find a good realtor and ask about neighborhoods that turn over more. And ask the neighbors. Westhaven, for instance, would be more like the article described. It seems to attract more transplants and is not very centrally located- so you would spend more time driving to activities from there.

Not sure what you mean about the driving. Westhaven is 5 minutes from Franklin's baseball, football and soccer fields, 10 minutes from the Y soccer and football fields, 10 minutes from the Grassland Baseball fields, 5-10 from the Franklin Library and 3 miles from downtown Franklin. It's within Franklin city limits. Yes it's farther from nashville but still, that's about 30 minutes away, 35-40 in "rush hour" such as it is here. As far as transplants, yes a lot of us are but I would think that's because it's still being built out. The turnover is higher in the last couple of years, of course. The benefit is that there are newcomer activities generated to get people involved in the community, there's a strong community feel to it. This is the first place I've lived since my kids were born where my social life doesn't revolve entirely around my kids' school.

When we moved here, we narrowed our search to Brentwood and Franklin (I LOVE downtown Franklin). I spent a beautiful fall day driving around neighborhoods. The only ones where I saw people outside enjoying the day and talking to neighbors were in West Franklin (Founder's point, fieldstone farms, westhaven, Spencer Hall). I thought that was a good sign of how the community would feel.

[mrskennedy]

Hi Devonrenee - I am thinking of doing the exact same thing so thanks for posting this. I'll keep you posted of what I find, too. So burned out on LA and want to raise our boys in a great environment. Franklin TN sounds so good and I did visit once. My musician husband is a bit afraid to take the leap and start over but we both know the quality of life will be better there. Maybe we'll be neighbors!

Originally Posted by devonrenee571

My husband (who is British), myself and our 8 month old daughter are considering a move to Nashville. We both have successful careers in the movie business, however I have decided to be a stay at home mom for the time being and my husband works all over the world, so we can relocate where we please. My brother lives in Nashville and loves it. We are hoping Nashville ticks our boxes of:
1. affordable housing (we own a shoebox 721 sq ft house in LA)
2. good schools
3. a strong community

My biggest concern is that we are not church goers and are liberal (not to the extreme, but hate listening to right rhetoric). We like the downtown and countryside of Franklin. Are there enough transplants and like minded locals in the area that we will be able to make friends and feel at home.

We have a love hate relationship with Los Angeles, love the weather, culture, and access to creative employment, hate the traffic, cost of living, schools, earthquakes, and lack of community.

[sarahnyc]

Originally Posted by devonrenee571

My biggest concern is that we are not church goers and are liberal (not to the extreme, but hate listening to right rhetoric). We like the downtown and countryside of Franklin. Are there enough transplants and like minded locals in the area that we will be able to make friends and feel at home.

Funny how when it comes to schools, living standard, safe/clean neighborhoods, etc... liberals don't want to live anywhere near the type of people they claim to love.

[VixenKS]

That was a good article, but one thing doesn't make sense: The woman in the article is my age, and I graduated high school in 1988. Yet the article states that she met her husband in a pub while in college, and three years later they married... in 1988.

Whatever!

I've lived in California, I've lived in the deep south and the southwest both, lived in Champaign/Urbana, IL and Chicago, lived in Florida... live in Kansas now. I get along with everybody and like everybody whether they agree with my views or not (unabashedly Christian). Fitting in is another story. In many places, if you are not "from there" you really aren't anybody, no matter how much your life mirrors others around you. Being a Marine Corp brat, I didn't really have that much choice as to where I was "from"...

Was going to move to Omaha, but that fell through, so we'll see how Nashville treats us.

[akm4]

Originally Posted by sarahnyc

Funny how when it comes to schools, living standard, safe/clean neighborhoods, etc... liberals don't want to live anywhere near the type of people they claim to love.

You paint with a broad brush. How do you get that from her post, anyway??

[bwood bell]

To the OP, we're actually considering doing the opposite.

We live in Brentwood here. This is actually our hometown, but we've both lived in SoCal previously (before we were married). There are a lot of things we love about being here (probably the schools and our yard the most). I'm quite confused about the person who said people were fleeing Brentwood for the greener pastures of Nashville (or whatever the comment was). We were looking to upgrade our house here to a larger one. Luckily, the house we chose fell through. It gave us a little time to think about going back to LA. Here's why we're doing the opposite of what some other people have done.

My husband also works in the movies. He's a location manager. Of the last 4 movies he's done, only one was here in Nashville. Two were in LA and one in Hawaii. Our health insurance usually is through the MPIPHP (via CA union). We have only had insurance through the TN union once (just for a quarter I believe). We then had to pay a ridiculous amount for COBRA until my husband went back to LA to do a movie and get enough hours to qualify for our CA insurance. I know you said your husband works all over the world, but when he's working in LA he can be home at night. That local work probably won't be replaced here.

Also, the entertainment industry here is pretty closed to newcomers. Not completely, and your husband already has experience breaking in to a pretty exclusive industry. However, I'd say it's easier to get into the movie business in LA (especially when so many people burn out and don't make a long career of it there) than it is to get a job in the music or entertainment industry here.

Yes, we will probably go down in square footage on our house there and the size of our yard if we go back to CA. However, we spent much more time outdoors in CA so we both think it's much easier to live in less square footage there. It's almost like we need a bigger house here because the weather here can just be unbearable. Lately it's felt like 75% of the time we couldn't go outside because it was either too cold, too wet, too stormy or too hot (already - it was 91F yesterday in EARLY APRIL). We also feel like you basically could trade in some indoor square footage here for the outdoor square footage there.

We're actually probably going to spend the same amount on a house there (we're looking in Calabasas, Agoura Hills and Westlake Village exclusively for the combination of schools, weather, atmosphere, amenities, cost of living, commute) as we would have on our next house here. Yes, we're giving up some indoor square footage and some yard space (that we often can't even use here because of the weather). The schools are comparable to the Brentwood schools we're zoned for here. The prices have come down a LOT in CA. I've seen a lot of 3-4 bedroom houses in the areas we're looking for under $500K zoned for excellent Las Virgenes schools. I've even seen townhouses under $200K.

Logistically, it makes sense for our family to go back. Since our husbands are in the same industry I thought I'd share because our lives may have similar circumstances or requirements. Aside from the access to work and health insurance, I will also say we just fit in better back in CA. I'm not exactly sure what it is... maybe it's just being able to hang out with friends in the same industry who don't have to ask you to explain what the heck it is he does. I'm not sure. I love Brentwood. I will always come back here and probably always maintain a residence here, but it just feels right to go back now (especially with the housing prices in CA so much better).

A couple subtle differences I think people overlook when it comes to comparing cost of living. Utilities in LA are much lower than here. The milder temperatures mean less AC or heat to run. Gas costs more per gallon in LA, but I think you drive less there. People here will drive more than 20 miles one way here all the time to go anywhere. LA really is just a cluster of smaller cities/neighborhoods keeping day to day driving (unless you're commuting which your husband wouldn't necessarily be doing) down. There's no income tax here, but our sales tax is a killer.

Also, a lot of things in LA are cheaper. My husband misses Fry's dearly because unless he shops online he can't find anything with those prices. I miss 2 Buck Chuck (they don't sell wine in grocery stores here). I think a lot of food, especially produce are cheaper in LA. There are some great farms here who offer CSA shares, but overall I think it's cheaper to buy food in LA. And this next one isn't by any means a deciding factor but just a little factoid, spa services (everything from getting your eyebrows waxed to microdermabrasion to whatever really) is cheaper in LA. I think that's due to all the competition. Sure, there are places with $200 haircuts, but you can easily find a great place that'll give you a better salon or spa service than here for much less.

I'm sure you could be happy here as many CA transplants are, but as someone who's lived in both places and can relate as far as the job goes, I think CA can be a better choice. Either way, you'll do just fine so good luck with whatever you decide.

[HastingsJD]

Bwood Bell - wanna switch places? We're dying to get out of California and head back to Nashville

Las Virgenes is an excellent school district. Do they cover all of Westlake Village though? Could be totally wrong about this but I thought some of that area was also coverd by Conejo Valley Schools (good but not as good as Las Virgenes.)

[mblight]

Originally Posted by bwood bell

To the OP, we're actually considering doing the opposite.

It's almost like we need a bigger house here because the weather here can just be unbearable.

I thought this was so true. When the weather's rough, it's pretty easy to feel cooped up inside. I also agree with bwood bell's statement about comparison of utility prices. Unfortunately, for a good part of the year here, windows are just things to look out of, not to open up and let fresh air in.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by mblight

I thought this was so true. When the weather's rough, it's pretty easy to feel cooped up inside. I also agree with bwood bell's statement about comparison of utility prices. Unfortunately, for a good part of the year here, windows are just things to look out of, not to open up and let fresh air in.

That's one sure way to tell someone did not grow up here: they open up their windows the minute it warms up a little.

[brentwoodgirl]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

That's one sure way to tell someone did not grow up here: they open up their windows the minute it warms up a little.

Or when it rains. My friend from Seattle opened her window to "listen to the gentle rain" and ended up spending the rest of her day shop vaccing water out of her house. She said I should have warned her that it rained horizontally in TN.