Anyone from North Virginia/Dc area move to Nashville? (Murfreesboro: sales, house)

[heatherm941]

We are currently in North Virginia, my husband works in DC. We love the area but not the cost of living and traffic. We may have an opportunity to relocate to Nashville. Has anyone made a similar move? What do you feel are the advantages or disadvantages between the two areas? How has your life changed?
Thank you for sharing

[frumpybunny]

Hi there!

My husband and I recently made a very similar move from the DC area (Gaithersburg, MD). I grew up in the DC area (34 years) and have even worked in DC, making the tortuous commute, and have seen so many changes to the area. We moved for many reasons (some of which you mentioned as well)...traffic congestion, high cost of living, rudeness/inconsideration, uptight people.

Advantages of living in the Nashville area: much less traffic, lower cost of living (definitely get more bang for you buck here...we bought a brand new 3500 sq. ft house for about $350,000 when that same house in the DC suburbs could easily cost at least $800-900K, no state income taxes, but sales tax is a little over 9%) and people are so friendly with general courtesy being very prominent, unlike in DC where people don't even make eye contact when passing on the street or hold doors for one another, etc. We thought our salaries would significantly drop by moving to a lower cost of living area, but we make the same amount (I'm in healthcare and husband's in aviation).

Disadvantages: can't think of many right now since we've only been here about 2 weeks and are still exploring, but we really love it so far. Even though the diversity is a bit lacking compared to DC, you can still find what you need even though it may not be as convenient to find it.

Our quality of life has definitely changed for the better.

Hope this information helps. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to DM me.

[CraveCase]

Originally Posted by frumpybunny

Hi there!

My husband and I recently made a very similar move from the DC area (Gaithersburg, MD). I grew up in the DC area (34 years) and have even worked in DC, making the tortuous commute, and have seen so many changes to the area. We moved for many reasons (some of which you mentioned as well)...traffic congestion, high cost of living, rudeness/inconsideration, uptight people.

Advantages of living in the Nashville area: much less traffic, lower cost of living (definitely get more bang for you buck here...we bought a brand new 3500 sq. ft house for about $350,000 when that same house in the DC suburbs could easily cost at least $800-900K, no state income taxes, but sales tax is a little over 9%) and people are so friendly with general courtesy being very prominent, unlike in DC where people don't even make eye contact when passing on the street or hold doors for one another, etc. We thought our salaries would significantly drop by moving to a lower cost of living area, but we make the same amount (I'm in healthcare and husband's in aviation).

Disadvantages: can't think of many right now since we've only been here about 2 weeks and are still exploring, but we really love it so far. Even though the diversity is a bit lacking compared to DC, you can still find what you need even though it may not be as convenient to find it.

Our quality of life has definitely changed for the better.

Hope this information helps. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to DM me.

So it's now a few years later, do you still like it? My husband and I are making the same move this summer for all of the same reasons you mentioned. He will make the same, I will make less (as a teacher) but the difference in cost of living will make up for it we think. Anyway, I am curious to hear your views now!

[Mommys7kids]

MOVE! We made the decision in 2009 from Northern Virginia and it was one of the smartest decisions we ever made. Murfreesboro is the best place to raise our children.