school me on the suburbs of Nashville

[nannymom]

We are moving to the Nashville area in the next few months. Dhs job will be in the city and we would like to find the most affordable suburb and we'd also like to know about school districts.

Our housing budget is fairly modest and we'd like to be in a family friendly community any advice on where to look would be much apreciated.

[Jenne]

Okay. Nashville is a total mixed bag in the city--unlike any place I've ever lived!-- you can have $500,000 homes next door to crack houses in many of the neighborhoods.

Lots of people love East Nashville. It is very trendy and hip. Also becoming more and more pricey but there are still some okay values if you don't mind doing a little reno. (Will you be buying or renting?)

Personally, I would not feel comfortable living in Antioch. It is probably the most affordable area but it has a high crime rate for my taste.

Madison also has a higher crime rate but feels "safer" for some reason.

The Donelson/Hermitage/Mt. Juliet area is very suburb. You'll need a car to safely get anywhere (due to lack of sidewalks) but it is reasonably priced.

Hillsboro Village is way expensive--dh's rent (650 sq ft) was more than my mortgage (1200 sq ft) but easily navigated by foot.

North Nashville has some nice places at fair cost but again has the super mixed neighborhood problem of really nice homes next to condemned homes.

Feel free to PM me for more info...welcome to the friendliest city in the US!


Jenne

[Braann]

I know a really great Realtor if you need one!
Let me know and I can PM you her details.

[MadameFancyPants]

Thank you so much for asking/answering this question! We are moving to Nashville soon and have no idea about areas either!

[nannymom]

Thanks for the info ladies!
It looks like due to the details of our relocation package we will probably be renting for a while as we wait to sell our condo in Aheville
The information about the areas is very helpful.

Also it's just a relief to know there are some MDC mamas there

[indie]

I live in Donelson. Its very affordable. I think its a great place for a starter home. We rented in the Nashville area for awhile so we had a chance to see the different neighborhoods. We chose Donelson because we could get our kids into a public Montessori school. (This will depend on the age of your kids and the section of Donelson, PM me for more info.) We often walk to school, mother's day out, and church and occasionally to the supermarket or a restaurant. Its true that its not a great walkable neighborhood but depending on where you are it can be possible. I've found that there are a lot of great young families moving into this area because it is so affordable. It doesn't have the coolness factor of other neighborhoods, but of the affordable neighborhoods we looked at this was the only one where our kids could go to a good public school.

[tnmom66]

I live in the Tusculum area of Antioch and have lived here 7 years. I like it fine. I'd probably live somewhere else if I could afford it, but I can't. Antioch is very culturally diverse, has some great ethnic restaurants.

Nashville is a great place to live--lots of places to go, things to do with kids.

I recommend checking a place out at night and on the weekend before you commit. Drive the neighorhoods,

[sapphos]

nice breakdown of information :) Do you think all of this still holds true as we enter 2011? 

Laura

(considering a job offer in Nashville)
 

Originally Posted by Jenne 

Okay. Nashville is a total mixed bag in the city--unlike any place I've ever lived!-- you can have $500,000 homes next door to crack houses in many of the neighborhoods.

Lots of people love East Nashville. It is very trendy and hip. Also becoming more and more pricey but there are still some okay values if you don't mind doing a little reno. (Will you be buying or renting?)

Personally, I would not feel comfortable living in Antioch. It is probably the most affordable area but it has a high crime rate for my taste.

Madison also has a higher crime rate but feels "safer" for some reason.

The Donelson/Hermitage/Mt. Juliet area is very suburb. You'll need a car to safely get anywhere (due to lack of sidewalks) but it is reasonably priced.

Hillsboro Village is way expensive--dh's rent (650 sq ft) was more than my mortgage (1200 sq ft) but easily navigated by foot.

North Nashville has some nice places at fair cost but again has the super mixed neighborhood problem of really nice homes next to condemned homes.

Feel free to PM me for more info...welcome to the friendliest city in the US!


Jenne

[AuNaturaleMama]

Wheb DH and I were looking for homes earlier this year no matter what we did our searches landed us in Antioch due to what we could afford.

We ended up buying a house right on the Nash/antioch border. The neighborhood across the street is Antioch. While I wouldn't live in most of Antioch, I would feel safe in any of the neighborhood around the lake.

DH works in mid-town and the commute isn't terrible. We've both survived much worse traffic. Depening on the time of day he leaves, it takes him 20-35 minutes from our door to his office.

Since we've moved here, I've fallen in love with Donelson. DS goes to "school" there so I lm in the area exploring a lot. If we had to do it all over again I'd want to live there.

[sapphos]

Hey mama, I'm just curious what  you define ethnic restaurants as? I know for us here in Miami that encompasses everything from Cuban to Argentina to Jamaican to authentic Chinese to Vietnamese to Indian to Thai etc... I would love to know because that is very important for us and are the areas that those restaurants in safe to go and eat at? I grew up in Connecticut in a very urban mostly African American/Caribbean area and most places I was safe to go in or at least I thought so when I was younger and blind to race but some areas I was really not safe doing anything more than driving through at best... and it's same in Miami. 
 

Originally Posted by AuNaturaleMama 

Wheb DH and I were looking for homes earlier this year no matter what we did our searches landed us in Antioch due to what we could afford.

We ended up buying a house right on the Nash/antioch border. The neighborhood across the street is Antioch. While I wouldn't live in most of Antioch, I would feel safe in any of the neighborhood around the lake.

DH works in mid-town and the commute isn't terrible. We've both survived much worse traffic. Depening on the time of day he leaves, it takes him 20-35 minutes from our door to his office.

Since we've moved here, I've fallen in love with Donelson. DS goes to "school" there so I lm in the area exploring a lot. If we had to do it all over again I'd want to live there.
 

Originally Posted by tnmom66 

I live in the Tusculum area of Antioch and have lived here 7 years. I like it fine. I'd probably live somewhere else if I could afford it, but I can't. Antioch is very culturally diverse, has some great ethnic restaurants.

Nashville is a great place to live--lots of places to go, things to do with kids.

I recommend checking a place out at night and on the weekend before you commit. Drive the neighorhoods,

[AuNaturaleMama]

I live near an Ethiopian place that I've heard great things about. There also lots of middle eastern restaurants aroun too. Our family friend is Iraqi and has taken us to some amazing places for kabobs and such.
Of course you can also find Greek, Mexican, Japanese, and I just saw a Thai restaurant yesterday.

Where are you from in CT? DH is from the East side of the state and I lived in the NW hills for a few years.

[sapphos]

I was born in Hartford and lived mostly there and Granby and in the NW hills in Winsted as well as a couple of other areas. 

Good to know there are good ethnic restaurants - I'm a big fan of Jamaican food so I'll have to see what's available there and of course Argentine but I see no restaurant there except for someone that does choripan from a cart (the Argentine/Italian version of a sausage on roll :)). 
 

Originally Posted by AuNaturaleMama 


I live near an Ethiopian place that I've heard great things about. There also lots of middle eastern restaurants aroun too. Our family friend is Iraqi and has taken us to some amazing places for kabobs and such.
Of course you can also find Greek, Mexican, Japanese, and I just saw a Thai restaurant yesterday.

Where are you from in CT? DH is from the East side of the state and I lived in the NW hills for a few years.

[3jays]

I also just moved to the Antioch/Nashville border. The neighborhood I'm isnt at urban and trendy as I like. It's a very quiet area. I second living close to the lake seems better. I am minutes for lavergne and symrna( I do a lot of my shopping here).  Good luck

[dinade]

I'm in Smyrna. We love it here. There's some public transportation but not a lot. Most people here have a car. But I can walk to the store, restaurants, etc. I love the schools, the parks are awesome, and the people. :)

[valsblondies]

I moved to Murfreesboro from upstate NY 2 years ago. Its a bit further out but very affordable and I can get to some areas of Nashville (airport, whole foods,vandy) in half an hour.  In the few months ds1 attended them, I wasnt too impressed with the Rutherford county public schools. They rank high in the state so I think it depends what you are comparing them to. I homeschooled ds1 last year and there is a wonderful homeschooling community in mid-tn if you are interested in that.  This year, he attends a public magnet school and that experience has been a really good one.  So for motivated students, there are some alternative options.  There are alot of natural mamas and homesteaders in the area - I've met some very inspirational women- I'm sure you will too!