Nashville vs Williamson County

[DannyBoy]

My wife and I are considering a move to TN within the next year or so (we currently live just outside Trenton, NJ.) Basically, we're looking to escape the high cost of living up here. Home prices are so ridiculous up here I can't ever imagine being able to afford a decent home. Not to mention taxes and auto insurance!

We lived in NE Philly for 5 years right after we were married, and I continue to commute by train into Philly for my job, so we can handle city life, but we both grew up in the suburbs so we're not hung up on it either. If we moved to TN, I'd probably look for a job in Nashville since I enjoy working in the city, and then maybe a home in the southern part of Nashville or Williamson County (we have family in Spring Hill, which is another area we'd consider although that would be a lengthy commute to Nashville from what I understand.)

I know next-to-nothing about Nashville itself - can anyone here recommend some nice, affordable neighborhoods south of downtown? And does anyone have any thoughts on Williamson County? We'd be looking in areas like Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Thompson's Station, or Spring Hill (I know Brentwood and Franklin in particular are a bit pricey.)

[cheeriokid61]

Brentwood is extremely pricey so I would not recommend moving there. Franklin can be pricey, but will probably be very affordable against what you have been dealing with.

Franklin is your quintissential suburb - very sprawly. It is a nice place to live, but is getting very crowded and traffic in the city itself is a nightmare. On an average day, commute takes about 25 minutes. Franklin is a pretty wealthy town, the average family salary is around 70 thousand, and new homes average about 200 thousand.

Spring Hill and Thompson Station are a bit cheaper, however the commute can take upwards of 45 minutes. I wouldn't exactly recommend moving there if you want to work in Nashville.

I can't say much about anywhere else. Hope this helps.

[rocket9561]

Inside the city of Nashville I would reccomend Bellevue or West Meade for affordable areas south of downtown. You might also look toward the East or North where you can find a home that would cost $400,000 in Williamson for about 300-350,000 in Hendersonville or Mt. Juliet.

[DannyBoy]

Brentwood is extremely pricey so I would not recommend moving there. Franklin can be pricey, but will probably be very affordable against what you have been dealing with.

Franklin is your quintissential suburb - very sprawly. It is a nice place to live, but is getting very crowded and traffic in the city itself is a nightmare. On an average day, commute takes about 25 minutes. Franklin is a pretty wealthy town, the average family salary is around 70 thousand, and new homes average about 200 thousand.

Spring Hill and Thompson Station are a bit cheaper, however the commute can take upwards of 45 minutes. I wouldn't exactly recommend moving there if you want to work in Nashville.

I can't say much about anywhere else. Hope this helps.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My commute from Trenton to Philly is 1 hour each way by train (actually 80 minutes door-to-door) and I have to say I don't mind it too much at all. It could be two hours each way and I'd probably say the same thing...I can just read or sleep the whole time, so it's nice. I guess if I was fighting traffic the whole way, I'd probably wouldn't say that though.

First and foremost for us is finding a suitable house for under $200,000 (we have two young children, a newborn and a two-year old. My commute would be an important, but secondary factor, and I'd be willing to drive 45 minutes if it meant we could live in a nice house. It seems to me that there are lots of homes either in or around Nashville for that price with 4 bedrooms and 2 or more baths, and that is simply not the case where we live.

As for suburban life, I can take it or leave it. It doesn't really do much for me. It's nice I guess because you feel "safer" but as long as you don't live in the ghetto or something like that I think you're no less safe in the city. As I mentioned, my wife and I lived in Philly for 5 years when we first got married, and it was great. Granted, we lived in the Northeast (Mayfair), which is a suburbanish part of the city, but we were definitely in the city. We lived in a rowhome on a great block with great neighbors, with lots of stores within a very short walk or drive, and not much crime to speak of. We only moved back to NJ to be closer to my parents after our first child was born. In many ways I wish we still lived in Philly, but since I work there I sort of feel like I never left.

[satalac]

My commute from Trenton to Philly is 1 hour each way by train (actually 80 minutes door-to-door) and I have to say I don't mind it too much at all.  It could be two hours each way and I'd probably say the same thing...I can just read or sleep the whole time, so it's nice.  I guess if I was fighting traffic the whole way, I'd probably wouldn't say that though. 

First and foremost for us is finding a suitable house for under $200,000 (we have two young children, a newborn and a two-year old.  My commute would be an important, but secondary factor, and I'd be willing to drive 45 minutes if it meant we could live in a nice house.  It seems to me that there are lots of homes either in or around Nashville for that price with 4 bedrooms and 2 or more baths, and that is simply not the case where we live.

As for suburban life, I can take it or leave it.  It doesn't really do much for me.  It's nice I guess because you feel "safer" but as long as you don't live in the ghetto or something like that I think you're no less safe in the city.  As I mentioned, my wife and I lived in Philly for 5 years when we first got married, and it was great.  Granted, we lived in the Northeast (Mayfair), which is a suburbanish part of the city, but we were definitely in the city.  We lived in a rowhome on a great block with great neighbors, with lots of stores within a very short walk or drive, and not much crime to speak of.  We only moved back to NJ to be closer to my parents after our first child was born.  In many ways I wish we still lived in Philly, but since I work there I sort of feel like I never left.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i would recommend the south nashville area. it's close to brentwood and franklin (cool springs is huge shopping complex in franklin that has tons of restaurants and shops) and still just a 15-30 min drive to downtown. it's also about 30 mins from the airport. it's a very central location for things to do around the city, being that it's within 30 mins of a lot of things. look up the nipper's corner area. there are plenty of houses for sell in that area that average around $150,000-200,000. nolensville is also a very hot market right now. they are building houses everywhere over there. it's a little southeast of the nipper's corner area, but still fairly close to everything i mentioned earlier. i'll try and look some stuff up for you so you can better understand what is offered here.

[DannyBoy]

i would recommend the south nashville area. it's close to brentwood and franklin (cool springs is huge shopping complex in franklin that has tons of restaurants and shops) and still just a 15-30 min drive to downtown. it's also about 30 mins from the airport. it's a very central location for things to do around the city, being that it's within 30 mins of a lot of things. look up the nipper's corner area. there are plenty of houses for sell in that area that average around $150,000-200,000. nolensville is also a very hot market right now. they are building houses everywhere over there. it's a little southeast of the nipper's corner area, but still fairly close to everything i mentioned earlier. i'll try and look some stuff up for you so you can better understand what is offered here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks...I'll definately check back on that...

[cheeriokid61]

You can't sleep on this commute. We are working on a commuter train, but none so far. You'll have to fight the traffic.

[Rural King]

I would suggest West Meade its a very nice and affordable area. It also provides a simple commute downtown via Charlotte Avenue/Pike/US 70. No stress. Its west/southwest of downtown.

[DannyBoy]

i would recommend the south nashville area. it's close to brentwood and franklin (cool springs is huge shopping complex in franklin that has tons of restaurants and shops) and still just a 15-30 min drive to downtown. it's also about 30 mins from the airport. it's a very central location for things to do around the city, being that it's within 30 mins of a lot of things. look up the nipper's corner area. there are plenty of houses for sell in that area that average around $150,000-200,000. nolensville is also a very hot market right now. they are building houses everywhere over there. it's a little southeast of the nipper's corner area, but still fairly close to everything i mentioned earlier. i'll try and look some stuff up for you so you can better understand what is offered here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Any info yet on either Nolensville or Nipper's Corner? I can still check myself, but I was just wondering if you looked anything up...

[brewerw]

Brentwood isnt that bad. People move there cause its more affordable. Brentwood is more children friendly and has much better public schools than Nashville public schools. There is everything you need in Coolsprings and if you dont mind 5 or 10 extra minutes on your commute you could move to Franklin. It has much cheaper homes than brentwood and is almost just as nice. The areas you would want a family are much more pricey than brentwood or franklin. Not supporting sprawl but i think for you Brentwood would be the way to go. If you wanna go inside the city then Bellvue would be your best bet.

[satalac]

Any info yet on either Nolensville or Nipper's Corner?  I can still check myself, but I was just wondering if you looked anything up...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

not yet. i've been looking, but there doesn't seem to be much on it. i'll keep looking though.

[it's just dave]

I'd personally investigate realtors web pages and find someone who is tuned into your needs. You can usually tell by the descriptions who you might want to call. Then, book an advance ticket and fly down to meet the realtor and ask him/her for a tour of neighborhoods. You can find someone who can do that. That's the truest way to find what you're looking for imo.

So, someone tell me where those $200k houses are in Brentwood. I've only been seeing them start at 500k, or million or two and up from there. Have I been missing something?

[nashvol85]

So, someone tell me where those $200k houses are in Brentwood. I've only been seeing them start at 500k, or million or two and up from there. Have I been missing something?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There are some older houses that are less expensive (I don't know just how much less) that are in "old"(60's-70's Brentwood) There are some smaller ranch houses that i would guess would sell for around $250k. I know there are some in my neighborhood that would (there are several houses in Williamson county here).

I think the average home price in Brentwood is $330k or something. There are more million dollar homes (by leaps and bounds) in Davidson county than there are in Williamson. In fact, there are more in Forest Hills (a city of 4,500) than in Brentwood (which has almost 30,000).

[knoxster77]

Being someone that has spent a lot of time in Philly (south philly to be exact), let me tell you that Nashville and Philly are two different cities. The safety issue of living in the inner city is not equal between Nashville and Philly. There are a lot of nice neighborhoods in Nashville that are very safe. Because the difference in city design and density, you will not have one block that is safe next to one block that is rougher or more dangerous. Most of the crime that occurs in Nashville is focused into certain areas that most people know to avoid. As for prices, to Tennesseans Nashville is expensive, but to you it will seem cheap compared to northern large cities. If I were you, I would just take about 3 or 4 days off from work and come down to Nashville and drive just around. Personally, I do not like Williamson. It is a very nice area, very nice homes, and good schools which might be what you

[nashvol85]

My fater also told me something pretty cool about brentwood, did you all know that brentwood has one of the wealthiest zip codes in the US!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah....I live in that zipcode...pretty soon, even the Davidson County homes here will be out of reach...

37027 (Brentwood/South Davidson) Population 35,747; Average house value $276,500; average household income $94,590

37205 (Belle Meade, West Meade, SW Davidson) Population 21,861; Average house value $241,600; average household income $68,194

37215 (Forest Hills, Green Hills?) Population 22,112; Average house value $281,300; average household income $69,446

37220 (Oak Hill) Population 6,163; Average house value $197,300; average household income $70,861

37067 (Franklin) Population 15,588; Average house value $228,000; average household income $66,137

37069 (Franklin) Population 16,243; Average house value $221,300; average household income $86,944

37064 (Franklin) Population 37,516; Average house value $184,000; average household income $59,496

Those are just the wealthy zipcodes that came to mind...funny how they all connect, isn't it?

**side note...interesting how the Franklin zips combine to make 69,346 people...

[nashvol85]

Honorable mention, Nolensville (37135) Population 4,236; Average house value $172,600, average household income $63,789