Mt Juliet (Providence) or Symrna (Stonewood) (Murfreesboro, Franklin: sales, house, neighborhoods)

[oliviacapri]

Okay, I know there is a post similar to this but I have some questions!

My husband and I were recently on a house hunting trip. We have found two homes that interest us greatly.

One house is in the Providence subdivision in Mt Juliet. It is a beautiful home with a great yard. I love the floor plan of the this house but very few upgrades. I can walk to the elementary school and enjoy the ammenites (pool and playgrounds). It also has shopping right there which I have not decided if that is good or bad.

The other house is in the Stonewood subdivision in Symrna. Again a beautiful home but it has upgrades. We will have to redo the yard immediately. I am not as fond of the floor plan but this neighborhood has some stunning views. It does not have any ammenities. I will have to drive a small distance to shop.

I have two young children. According to great schools Symrna has a better school.

My husband will be driving to Grassmere daily. We don't know which would be a better drive.

If you have experience with either area let me know what you think.

[Griz83]

If it was me, I'd go for Mt. Juliet. The commute up 24 from Smyrna will be much worse than 40 from Mt. Juliet. I used to drive (recently...last year) from Lebanon every day, and 40 is a cake walk compared to 24. Additionally, Mt. Juliet seems like a quieter, cleaner, better kept area. I see it as an up and coming area, Smyrna...not so much. You'll likely be happier for a much longer time in Mt. Juliet. Obviously, these are just my personal opinions.

[Mary_Moon]

I live about 2 miles from Stonewood and have many friends/husband's co-workers there. The homes are beauiful and very well built and the views are absolutely amazing! I'm also a PTO board member at Stewarts Creek Elementary, the school for which Stonewood is zoned. Both the school and neighborhood are top notch in my opinion. We lived in Gladeville/Mount Juliet for several years and couldn't wait to move back to Rutherford County for many reasons, with the quality of public school being our main concern. I especially like the way the Stewarts Creek schools are developed with the elementary, middle and high schools all in the same complex.


Providence is an amazing neighborhood for families with plenty of activities for kids and a very active social calendar for all residents. Plus, the neighborhood walking trails are very nice and convenient. Stonewood does have planned activities for families on holidays, but there are no plans to develop a neighborhood pool or playground. However, the City of Smyrna is going to build a huge recreational park just across from the school complex which will include soccer and ball fields, greenway trails eventually linking to the rest of the Rutherford County greenway system, a dog park and eventually a community pool and exercise facilities. Although there are no sidewalks at Stonewood, families get out and walk all the time. And, since the development is closed and the roads only serve the residents, through traffic and speeding is not an issue.


I found community amenities and extra-curricular activities for kids to be somewhat anemic in Wilson County with choices being extremely limited. Sure, I could have traveled to Hermitage to enroll my daughter in gymnastics, but I wanted to stay in my own community. In Rutherford, we have a wide variety of enrichment programs including many choices for martial arts, dance, gymnastics, art, horse riding, etc. Not to mention the excellent Discovery Center in Murfreesboro that is great for younger toddlers and preschoolers. Both the Murfreesboro and Smyrna libraries have fabulous programs for young children and I've heard great things about the Nolensville library as well. If your family likes watersports and boating, Wilson County is a better bet.


While Providence is obviously much closer to shopping, Stonewood's location allows you to choose from more options - it's about 10 minutes to both The Avenue in Murfreesboro or shopping in Smyrna and 25 minutes to Franklin/Brentwood. Plus, because there are is no commercial lighting in the area, Stonewood's location is excellent for stargazing on clear nights and enjoying the quietness of the countryside. Medical facilities are much closer to Stonewood as well with the subdivision being almost directly between the excellent StoneCrest Medical Center in Smyrna and the brand new Middle Tennessee Medical Center currently under construction and slated to open in 2010 in the Boro.


Stonewood would put your husband closer to work, allowing him to take backroads much of the way, avoiding the Interstate during rush hour traffic. I can get to the zoo in about 20 minutes on both the backroads and Interstate during mid-morning. The Interstate route will be much longer during rush hour since I-24 west is always congested. I-40 in Wilson Co. seems to flow much better, but it is quite a bit further from the Grassmere area.


Stonewood is outside of Smyrna City limits so there are less property taxes to pay. Of course, you won't receive city-provided trash pickup, but BMI only charges around $20 a month for trash pickup which at $240 per year is far less than city taxes would be. There is a volunteer fire station about 1 mile from Stonewood that is staffed 24/7 and the Rutherford County sheriff's office patrols the area on a regular basis. Stonewood is also on a STEP system instead of sewer so there are no additional charges on your water bill. My bill runs about $30 a month and we have 4 baths/showers a day + a ton of laundry.


It's obvious that I am biased toward Smyrna/Stonewood so hopefully someone from Providence can step in and provide input as well. We left Mt. Juliet almost 5 years ago and there have been MANY changes during that time mostly because the the Providence development. Good luck with your move and if you have any specific questions about Stonewood, Smyrna, Murfreesboro or the local schools, please don't hesitate to DM me.

[denawilliams]

Wow, great post Mary_Moon. She's definitely one to pay attention to since she's lived in both places. She brings up some great points in Smyrna's favor. Smyrna really does have tons of activities. I recently placed a buyer there, and they LOVE it there. Their very active children are not in want of anything they love to do.

Mary_Moon is right about it being convenient to Murfreesboro shopping. The Brentwood/Franklin drive is not too bad either. However, the Providence MarketPlace is a nice development and quite convenient to several neighborhoods. It's new so it has a lot of attention.

I am always impressed every time I go to Smyrna though because of the retail, restaurants and services that are there for a smaller town. Plenty of that development is new like Mount Juliet's, but it just doesn't have a mall. Mount Juliet has the newness buzz, while Smyrna is a little more established.

Smyrna's average sales price is just a bit lower than Mount Juliet's overall. In 2008, Smyrna saw 601 sales with an average sales price of $168,134 vs. 2007's 951 sales at an average of $178,939.

In 2008, Mount Juliet saw 860 sales at an average sales price of $240,670 vs. 2007's 1,125 sales at an average sales price of $251,679.

So they've both seen a decrease in sales and average sales price, but it's not far off from each other.

[vchampion]

Mount Juliet- Willoughby Station- has a great elementary school, north of I40, and back road to interstate through hermitage to avoid providence traffic. My husbands work was in Grassmere when we moved here and the commute was between 15 to 20 minutes. We love willoughby's ammenities- pools, playground, sidewalks, swimteam, etc. It is also close to the ymca and new walmart shopping.

[GrnMtnFire]

I chose Smyrna over Mt. Juliet, I did not live in either. But, after visiting, driving through and asking around I found Smyrna to be a "better" place....

[Pimpy]

Mount Juliet and Smyrna have completely different atmospheres. You really need to drive through both areas and see which gives you a better feeling. I personally have enjoyed the time I have spent in Smyrna and do not care for Mount Juliet, even though on paper MJ is probably a "better" area -- lower crime, more upscale housing, better retail, etc. I know many people in Mount Juliet who LOVE it there, so it really just boils down to personal preference.

[ExIslander]

I live in Mt. Juliet. It is an unusual place in some respects; it's not a real city so much as a roped-off bedroom community that is suddenly becoming a city due to rapid growth. The city population has doubled within the last ten years, Providence being a contributor to that. When we moved here, there wasn't much; you either went to Hermitage or Lebanon for most shopping and activities. That's changing fast, since MJ's population and demographics reached critical mass for luring retail.

Mt. Juliet still has a small-town feel to it, which is good or bad, depending on your perspective.

Smyrna/Rutherford has more stuff nearby, as you'd expect since Rutherford's population is more than double Wilson County's.

Schools here in Mt. Juliet are like most other places -- your mileage varies depending on which school it is. We're extremely happy with our kids' school. If you were in Providence, you'd be zoned for Rutland, and I don't know that much about it.

To summarize, I like it here. I also like it around Murfreesboro. I like it around Hendersonville or Franklin. I'm not that hard to please.

[MantaRay]

Good floor plan + amenities vs. not so good floor plan + no amenities, seems like Providence is the easy call here. Upgrades are easier to work around or change than a floor plan is. And I think (from personal experience) having shopping a few steps from where you live will absolutely spoil you, it's that great a thing/convenience.

As far as "better schools" here is something you really should read. Top of the page. Too many people put unnecessary shackles around their own ankles.