Might Be Moving to The Nashville Area From PA (Brentwood: low income, apartment complex)

[Secret Dove]

Hi,


My family and I seriously considering relocating to the Nashville area from Mohnton,PA. There's a big possibility that we'll be losing our house to foreclosure in the foreseeable future, could be anytime if it happens.

As much as we would love to stay in PA we can't afford it here anymore. Prices have skyrocketed since we moved here in 2000. We've looked for rentals in the Harrisburg,Hershey,Mechanicsburg areas but can't find a house to rent in our price range. Moving to a lower cost area would be a big help since my father's disabled and has a low income ,my mother & I are unable to find someone to hire us.

I've never been to TN and neither has my parents other then passing through. I've done some research into the different areas over the past couple years and recently. As far as I can see it looks like it's cheaper then where we currently live right now.

I have some questions to ask that'll be able to aid us in finding a rental,etc

Areas- Can you recommend areas that we can focus on that'll have rentals no more then $1200 a month, is safe and are NOT in a flood area? We definitely want to stay away from water, especially the Cumberland River. We can not afford to loose everything we own in a flood! It is an issue after the flood in May. Also, if anyone can provide names of realors,websites,etc that have rentals on them would be very much appreciated!

Utilities- What's your average gas, electric,water,sewer,etc bills like? What type of gas is typically used to heat ones home? Right now we have propane and it costs us a fortune to heat our house, I'm talking almost $900 a month in the winter!

Jobs- How easy is it to find a job? Out here when a job come available 50 million people apply and it's usually gone with in days of being advertised. It's been impossible for my mother and I to get a job. Is it like that in Nashville? How do the employers take to people out of state? Do they snub you because you're not from TN? Do they hire people who haven't worked in 23 or so years?

Restaurants- What are the restaurants like out there that have a wide variety of food that's plain(not loaded with everything but the kitchen sink) and are reasonably priced? We don't normally eat out, but when we do we usually eat a Bucca Di Beppo or Benzi, basically Italian restaurants that have a a wide variety of foods(chicken,pasta,salads,etc), cafes that sell salads and sandwiches,etc.

Hotels- Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced, clean hotel that're close to different areas outside of Nashville and close to tourest attractions if we decide to do something? Since I'm a HUGE country music fan I might not be able to leave without doing something country!

Doctors- I know this is probably a long shot but I was wondering if there are any doctors that treat Lyme Disease(I mean really know how to treat it, most doctors don't) in and round Nashville?

Thank you in advance for answering my questions. I really appreciate any help I can get! If I think of anymore I'll post!

[vivelafrance]

It's important to note that a good deal of the flooding in Nashville happened to homes that no one considered to be in a flood zone. It can happen anywhere. And, while these homes flooded, homes right along the lakes stayed dry.

[ariesjow]

^ I'll echo this. It's important to understand that the floods that occurred in Tennessee a couple of months ago are likely never to happen again in any of our lifetime. I've heard it referred to as a thousand-year flood. Living near the Cumberland is perfectly fine as it isn't very flood prone. Flooding in Nashville is certainly nothing you should fear. The flood was just a freak event where two of highest days of rainfall ever occurred back to back.

[Secret Dove]

I understand that the May flood was a fluke and it normally doesn't flood out there. When we look for a place to move to we always look for areas that are not prone to flooding. No matter if the May flood occurred or not we'd still be asking the same question.

Is anyone going to answer my questions?

[rossc]

The job market is not easy right now. Have you researched average wages here vs PA? If your monthly rent budget is based on what you can make there, you may have to adjust that downward. Unless you are in an executive or professional position, wages are typically lower here. You should also have at least 6 months expenses in the bank before moving.

[IngleDave]

I'll answer a couple. People who heat with gas generally use natural gas. I have 1500 sq ft, stay toasty warm in the winter and my highest gas bill ever was well under $200 for a month. Plus, about $60 for electric (winter).

We a gazillion restaurants, including Bucca De Beppo and practically everything else under the sun.

We're a major healthcare center. I'm sure Lyme Disease is not a foreign concept to many of the doctors here.

[CountryGirl2b=]

Hi Dove,

I'm sorry you are about to lose your home. That's happening to a lot of people down here as well. I don't know if TN is cheaper than PA. It IS cheaper than CT but a lot of that has to do with taxes and the price of electricity.

For areas that have affordable rents, you should look at Craigslist.org, Nashville, Rentals. At the top you can put in your price range and see what comes up. From there you can go to Google Earth, type in the address and take a birds eye look around the neighborhood. It's not perfect science but you can get an idea of the area. You can also look at realtracs.com and check Davidson County if you need be close to downtown or spread out if that is not an issue for you. Click RENTAL and then again, put your price range in.

I just moved here and have a small house - 1600 sq feet (3 bedrooms). Our gas bill this month (gas for hot water & heat) was $40. Our electric bill (running the AC at 78) was $120. Our water, sewer, garbage (which may get covered if you rent an apt) was about $40. We're not using propane.

How easy it is to find a job depends on what you do and how willing you are to look for one! No crystal ball here. No, you aren't snubbed for moving here from someplace else.

Nashville is a big city and there are all sorts of restaurants - all the chain places are here and many MANY ethnic restaurants. I don't think you will go hungry here! LOTS to choose from.

I don't understand your question about hotels? Are you visiting or moving here?

8% of Lyme disease patients live in TN so I am sure you can find a doctor who an treat you.

I see someone else has also responded. You might also want to search the forum (see above) for specific topics and look at other lengthy posts about moving here from other parts of the country. There are heaps. Just look back a few pages!

Good luck with your move!

[TVofM]

Nashville has world class medical facilities but the job market is not too hot right now.

Sorry to hear about the impending foreclosure.

[Secret Dove]

Thank you for the replys.

As far as salary, we're on a fixed income so we don't really get raises, if any it's very little(talk cents not dollars). My parents can't put 6 months worth of money in the bank, we're struggling to make ends meet to begin with. Luckily my father has a guaranteed income for another 5 years, so he always get his salary.

We paid $260-ish, about 3000 sqft and taxes are between $7700 & $7900 a year Propane is the most expensive, I think electric is between $120-$140 in the winter, we don't pay water or sewer(septic tank/well) and I'm not sure how much we pay for trash. What are taxes like outside of Nashville for a house under $200K(like $170-$160-$150,etc)?


I know for a fact that most single family,townhouse, and apartment rentals are usually higher then $1200 a month, if their lower then $1200 their tiny and only have 1 or 1 1.2 bath rooms(we need at least 2). We can't afford anything over $1200, from what I've seen outside of Nashville there's a good amount of homes that are under $1200 a month that are a nice size. That alone would be helpful if we can find a nice house in our price range!

As far as pay, Pa's minimal wage is $7.25 an hour. I'm from what I saw on the US Government website TN doesn't have a minimum wage. Does that mean an employer can pay you anything they want, even very little? Is that a good or bad thing?

Can someone recommend a apartment complex that have furnished apartments and allow large dogs(lab) that has a good reputation? I've looked at Grandview apartments and Mission Brentwood for temp quarters until we can find a house to rent. Are they a good choice? Any apartment that looks nice has disgusting reviews on it!

[Secret Dove]

Another question:

Does TN tax you to death? Here in PA we have to pay the county to be able to work! The county that I live in takes $50 a year out of my pay! I know it's only $50 but when need every penny you make to pay things that your responsible for, it makes you mad! It's one of the things I hate about PA.

Do you have to pay TN to be able to live? My father has to pay $10 a person living in our house a year. I forget what they call it, I think it's called per capita tax

Does TN have a occupational tax? I'm not sure if we have it here but if you were to live in Hershey they take $450 a year(200 spring/250 fall) if you make $12K a year.

PA is a tax you to death state. Is TN like that? What taxes does TN have?

Here's a site that tells you what PS taxes you for: What Are PA's Local Taxes?