Cheatam, Davidson, or Wilson County? (Clarksville, Lebanon: purchase, high schools, shop)

[Out of Indiana]

Hi all-

My husband and I will likely be relocating to the Nashville area in a little over a year. We are taking a trip down there this fall to check things out, but after doing extensive research on the internet and reading many threads on this forum, I have a few more questions....

We want to purchase at least 5 acres (more if possible) for $8K an acre or less to build on.....and we need to be fairly close (30 min or so) to the Nashville Airport due to our jobs. We have a couple of horses and dogs, so a more rural area that allows horses is a must. No children at this point, but that remains a possibility, so school systems are important as well.

Some cities we were considering include Ashland City, Pegram, and Pleasant View in Cheatam County. I noticed no one has said anything particularly favorable about Ashland City, and I was curious as to why? (There seems to be quite a bit of land available there).

Also, Whites Creek in Davidson County looked promising, but apparently it is such a small city (if it is called that) that it is not referenced on this site. Anyone have any additional info on the Whites Creek area?

Finally, Lebanon and Watertown in Wilson County looked interesting...with Watertown being our favorite in Wilson County at this point. Does anyone have anything good/bad to say about those cities/outlying areas?

Thanks for any and all info and advice you can give us - we really appreciate it!

[alleycat]

Ashland City/Cheatham County has some problems: it's small, it's next door to Nashville (people go to Nashville or Clarksville to shop and work), there's no major (Interstate) highway near Ashland City itself, there's limited retail sales, and the topography makes it difficult to build in some areas. Because of all these factors, it's the poorest county of those adjacent to Metro Nashville. It has not grown as much as other counties, although that is slowly changing. I don't have anything negative to say about the people of Cheatham County, just it's location.

Whites Creek is not a town. It's a communitiy (and road) in the northwest corner of Metro Nashville and part of the Joelton area. The area itself isn't so bad but the high school there is (probably one of the worst in Metro). If you can accept that limitation, then it could be a possible location for you.

Wilson County is probably your best bet; or some place east of Nashville. However, if you still want additional information about Cheatham County or Whites Creek, let me know. I grew up in Montgomery County and have spent a lot of time in Cheatham County and I have family there.

[WantingoutofAz]

Originally Posted by Out of Indiana

Hi all-

My husband and I will likely be relocating to the Nashville area in a little over a year. We are taking a trip down there this fall to check things out, but after doing extensive research on the internet and reading many threads on this forum, I have a few more questions....

We want to purchase at least 5 acres (more if possible) for $8K an acre or less to build on.....and we need to be fairly close (30 min or so) to the Nashville Airport due to our jobs. We have a couple of horses and dogs, so a more rural area that allows horses is a must. No children at this point, but that remains a possibility, so school systems are important as well.

Some cities we were considering include Ashland City, Pegram, and Pleasant View in Cheatam County. I noticed no one has said anything particularly favorable about Ashland City, and I was curious as to why? (There seems to be quite a bit of land available there).

Also, Whites Creek in Davidson County looked promising, but apparently it is such a small city (if it is called that) that it is not referenced on this site. Anyone have any additional info on the Whites Creek area?

Finally, Lebanon and Watertown in Wilson County looked interesting...with Watertown being our favorite in Wilson County at this point. Does anyone have anything good/bad to say about those cities/outlying areas?

Thanks for any and all info and advice you can give us - we really appreciate it!

Hi, We have some friends who just moved to Pleasant View from Davidson county last fall. They did extensive research on Cheatham county and although the husband's job is in Ashland City, chose to move to Pleasant View. Their main reasons are that one Ashland City is very industrial and two the schools there aren't as good as Pleasant View. We visited Pleasant View in April and loved it. It is a very small, sweet community. It is very rural. The closest shopping is in Ashland city which is about 10-15 minutes away and then Springfield is about 20 minutes away and Nashville and Clarksville are about 25 minutes away. I don't have any info on the other areas you mentioned but from what I understand Pleasant View has a lot of growth potential over the next few years but land there is still inexpensive compared to other parts of Nashville.

[alleycat]

Pleasant View is a nice little area. It is about an hour from there to the airport however, maybe a little less in non-rush hour traffic.

[WantingoutofAz]

Originally Posted by alleycat

Pleasant View is a nice little area. It is about an hour from there to the airport however, maybe a little less in non-rush hour traffic.

It actually only took us 25 minutes to get from the airport to Pleasant View and back. We flew in and out on a Saturday though so no rush hour traffic and we only drive a little over the speed limit That is why if you are looking for a small town Pleasant View is a good choice. It is convenient to the big cities and the airport.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by WantingoutofAz

It actually only took us 25 minutes to get from the airport to Pleasant View and back. We flew in and out on a Saturday though so no rush hour traffic and we only drive a little over the speed limit That is why if you are looking for a small town Pleasant View is a good choice. It is convenient to the big cities and the airport.

The trouble is there's two, maybe more, areas between Pleasant View and the airport where there's almost always a bottleneck during rush hour. But someone probably could make in less than an hour, even during rush hour, if the traffic isn't too bad. And here lately there's almost always a bottleneck on I-265 getting through Trinity Lane. I go the other direction every day and see it backed up (I'm not sure exactly what's going on). I don't know whether the other side of the loop (which would be the route from the airport) backs up as well.

[Out of Indiana]

Thanks for the info! Cheatam Co. sounds pretty under-developed there from the descriptions everyone has given, but I won't hold that against it, because I grew up in a county with less than 5,000 people. And I guess I'm curious as to what retail stores are available in Ashland City, as someone mentioned that you could shop there and etc.....

I am also curious as to the Whites Creek high school issue. Do they just have bad test scores, or are there actually gangs dealing drugs in the parking lot....??????? (I'm just trying to gauge the severity of "bad"!)

We definitely want to try and remain as close to the 30 min or so from Nashville International Airport. Aside from the cities I mentioned in my original post, does anyone have any other favorites as far as nice rural areas or cities in the counties surrounding Nashville? Thanks!

[alleycat]

Downtown Ashland City has some stores, it's just not a very big downtown and there's isn't a lot of choices. Think Mayberry, but not quite as cute. There's also some stores in the Pleasant View area, and there is sure to be more in the future. As I mentioned, there's just a number of factors that has kept Cheatham Country from growing in the past; that is changing somewhat now. There are parts of Cheatham County where it would be almost impossible to build on because the land is so hilly; but it varies from area to area within the county.

Probably the biggest problem with White Creek is that students are bused in from the urban area of north Nashville. In some ways it's like an inner city school. However, I'm just going by what I hear, and what I see on TV, I don't have any direct knowledge of the school. There are a few high schools around where you're always hearing of something bad happening . . . a gun at school, a stabbing, drugs; Whites Creek is one of them.

Still, Joelton and the area nearby aren't so bad. It one of the few places left in Metro Nashville that you could still call rural.

[Terrig14]

Well it's very nice that you want to look into Chetahm County, but if your looking to purchase a 5 acre tract your are looking for a whole lot of money.