Pros and Cons living in Tennessee..?

[LMPA]

Originally Posted by Librarabbit87

Hi there! My husband and I have lived in Northern Arizona our whole lives and we absolutely are not happy here. We are looking for a fresh start somewhere to expand our family and settle in for good. We are eyeing the Collierville area of Tennessee. We would like to live somewhere green as opposed to to brown desert we're used to, more rain, and a good place to make a few good friends. We have a seven year old daughter, so education and safety are a plus! Does anyone have any suggestions, any comments about living in Tennessee? Pros and cons? Are the people really as nice as their reputation says? Thank you!

We are relocating to TN in the next month or so. Still have to finalize a few details. I'm not sure what you or your husband do for work, but wanted to impart a bit of advice.

We sent out his resume to various areas about 6 weeks or so before a week long visit, although we preferred the areas surrounding Nashville due to job availability/low unemployment. We made it clear to any potential employers our interest in relocating, and when he was available for in person interviews.

We are empty nesters so schools etc did not factor into our decisions.

He did happen to get a call while we were in TN, interviewed, and eventually an offer... and did receive another call last week, but he had already accepted the first job.

I hope this helps and good luck! We really enjoyed our visit.

[Librarabbit87]

I'm a medical biller and coder. So I'm going to need to live somewhere near a Healthcare facility. Lots of coders work from home, so as long as the facility isn't a crazy distance I will be fine, because most of the time you still need to attend the occasional meeting.

[dc1538]

Originally Posted by JMT

There's only one high school in the Germantown school district: Houston HS. Its 2016 ACT was 24.9. Collierville HS isn't too far behind at 24.6. Oddly enough, Germantown HS is not in the Germantown school district, and its ACT score was 21.4.

Meanwhile, Merroll Hyde Magnet HS in Hendersonville came in at 29.0.

That's a great score!

Germantown's actual score is 25.5

Germantown district schools again lead the state in ACT scores



With that said, comparing a magnet school that requires a 85% placement on a national entrance exam with a student body consisting of approximately 650 for K-12 to a 9-12 student body of 1,869 made up of all who live in the district,is a bit of apples and oranges situation. That's no different than you implying the point of Germantown only having one high school as being somewhat misleading which is true at a quick glance.

All of the school districts mentioned obviously have great environments for learning. With all of the flack that the Memphis area catches, and much of it deservedly so, there are some bright spots. That's really all I'm trying to convey.

[dc1538]

Originally Posted by Librarabbit87

The sales tax in Arizona is ten percent I believe.

The sales tax in much of Tennessee probably hovers around the 9% range. So unfortunately you won't find relief in that area. They have to make up for the lack of income tax. Personally I'll take that over an income tax any day.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by dc1538

All of the school districts mentioned obviously have great environments for learning. With all of the flack that the Memphis area catches, and much of it deservedly so, there are some bright spots. That's really all I'm trying to convey.

That's fine. And all I was trying to do is counter the absurd statement by another poster that comparable housing in Nashville costs "double" Collierville or Germantown. If the OP is determined to make Collierville work, then Collierville will work. If someone is looking for a safe Memphis suburb that has good schools, Collierville is hard to beat.

[mattec]

Originally Posted by JMT

Absolutely not true. Using stats available right here at city-data:

Collierville median house or condo value: $283,228
Germantown median house or condo value: $299,528

Now for Nashville suburbs that also have excellent schools, low crime, and easy access to the big city:
Gallatin: $172,586
Hendersonville: $213,825
Mount Juliet*: $244,819
*In the case of Mount Juliet, "easy access to the big city" includes the only commuter train in the entire state, which connects Mount Juliet to downtown Nashville.

Right now at realtor.com, there are 475 homes for sale in Collierville with a median price of $425k. There are 276 homes for sale in Germantown with a median price of $415k.

In Mount Juliet there are 476 homes for sale with a median price of $380k. Hendersonville has 466 homes for sale with a median price of $390k, and Gallatin has 510 homes for sale with a median price of $315k.

Nashville suburbs also have lower property taxes:

Collierville property tax rate: $5.74
Germantown property tax rate: $6.08

Gallatin property tax rate: $3.49
Hendersonville property tax rate: $3.258
Mount Juliet property tax rate: $2.69

This means the annual property taxes on a $400k house will be:
Collierville: $5,740
Germantown: $6,080

Gallatin: $3,490
Hendersonville: $3,258
Mount Juliet: $2,690

I'll add that these three Nashville suburbs offer something else Memphis suburbs can't: lakefront living.

Collierville & Germantown's peers are Brentwood and Franklin; the housing product being built in all of those cities right now is fairly similar and many times are being done by the same developers and builders. The Sumner Co. suburbs are more in line with the Desoto suburbs.

[little pink]

Originally Posted by grampaTom

The area you are talking about will be very humid. If you have never experienced that it might be a big negative for you.

The humidity was a sweet relief for me coming back from Colorado , coming from Arizona I can imagine its worse. OP will get the green , LOL.

[Librarabbit87]

It is so hot and SO dry here in AZ. My daughter gets frequent nose bleeds, my skin and eyes are constantly so dry. I've heard from many people who live here now say the allergies in Northern AZ are some of the worst they've ever experienced. Weather wise, when it comes to Tennessee, it's the tornadoes that scare me and not so much the humidity lol.

[NY Annie]

There have been only 3 tornadoes that hit my area of SW TN in the last 5+ years since we moved here. There was no loss of life although there has been property damage. One tore roofs off homes, another destroyed a barn, and the 3rd one mostly damaged pasture/fencing.


That isn't to say we are not concerned, and we bought a SafeShed about 2 years ago. As a senior with arthritis and having 2 dogs (who can be led on leashes) and 6 cats who will need to be in carriers, climbing down into a shelter just would not work. The SafeShed is on the ground, not far from our front door. It's registered with county emergency. It