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We're a family of 5 (kids 9-11-12) looking to move back to the US after 8 years in Costa Rica (8 yrs in Hawaii prior to that). I grew up in Atlanta but have lived in many places in the US & Europe. My husband is French and the kids are trilingual. Here's what we're looking for:
- either NC-SC-TN to be close to grandparents
- lakefront/lakeview living or very close to outdoor activities
- excellent public or private schools
- an hour max to airport/shopping/culture
- hopefully someplace w/an international community
- the usual: friendly folks/no traffic/no crime
I know it's a lot to wish for but I can't handle the crime here anymore. Any suggestions are most appreciated!
We're a family of 5 (kids 9-11-12) looking to move back to the US after 8 years in Costa Rica (8 yrs in Hawaii prior to that). I grew up in Atlanta but have lived in many places in the US & Europe. My husband is French and the kids are trilingual. Here's what we're looking for:
- either NC-SC-TN to be close to grandparents
- lakefront/lakeview living or very close to outdoor activities
- excellent public or private schools
- an hour max to airport/shopping/culture
- hopefully someplace w/an international community
- the usual: friendly folks/no traffic/no crime
I know it's a lot to wish for but I can't handle the crime here anymore. Any suggestions are most appreciated!
Check out Knoxville, Tennessee. We're next to the Great Smoky Mountains, we're surrounded by large lakes, we have very good public schools and some excellent private schools, we have an airport, we're 3 hours by car to Atlanta, and because of the university and the Oak Ridge labs we have quite a large international community.
The city of Oak Ridge, in particular, is known for its outstanding public schools in large part because the city is home to thousands of nuclear engineers and researchers.
Since your husband is French: in just the French department at the university there are faculty and staff from: Russia, Bulgaria, Japan, France, Belgium, Yemen, Togo, Australia, Haiti, and Senegal.
Thanks for the input everyone! JMT, thanks for photos and the info! My husband is really going to love those water pictures! I really don't know anything about Knoxville so I'm glad to hear about the int'l community. Can you recommend neigborhoods to look into? Are there any lakefront communities?
Thanks for the input everyone! JMT, thanks for photos and the info! My husband is really going to love those water pictures! I really don't know anything about Knoxville so I'm glad to hear about the int'l community. Can you recommend neigborhoods to look into? Are there any lakefront communities?
It pretty much depends on what kinds of neighborhoods you want and your price range, and if you want to live in a more urban environment, suburban, or small town.
Steve_TN also has a good suggestion with Nashville. There are a couple of large lakes in the city limits of Nashville, Nashville also has a much larger airport than Knoxville and also much cheaper air fares since it's a hub for Southwest Airlines.
Knoxville is closer to the mountains but Nashville is a larger city and undoubtedly has a larger international community. You might want to look into Nashville as well as Knoxville.
If you want to live in the Knoxville area but want to live in areas with excellent schools and near lakes, check out:
I don't think the decision could get more difficult. Luckily we have about 2 years before we move. I've been reading some great things about the Nashville area. Looks like we'll have to make a trip soon! Recently we've been looking at property on Lake Murray outside Columbia, SC. I'm not sold on the area, but I have yet to visit. This past summer we almost put an offer on a place in Lake Wylie on the SC side. But we discovered that the Catawba Nuclear Plant found a "little leak" during routine testing- soooo we nixed that area after 1-1/2 years of research and 3 trips to househunt. That's why we're back to the drawing board...
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and I've heard a lot of good things.
