Job relocation to Nashville - lots of questions (Memphis, Franklin: rent, hotel)

[Anony-Momma]

We may be transferred to Nashville because of a job relocation.

We have three tweens, one is on the autism spectrum. Our tweens' interests include drama, music, art, baseball, figure skating.

One child is on a GFCF diet, and Mom doesn't want to have to drive long distances for specialty food items.

Looking for input, insight regarding where we might look for housing, be close to activities the kids enjoy, be close to stores that sell gluten free flours and foods, good public schools and strong homeschool groups (I homeschool one child).

I've talked to a few people - when I mention "autism" and "Nashville", I'm always told, "Williamson County". I'm curious to hear about other areas.

Thanks in advance.

[septimus]

Originally Posted by Anony-Momma

We may be transferred to Nashville because of a job relocation.

We have three tweens, one is on the autism spectrum. Our tweens' interests include drama, music, art, baseball, figure skating.

One child is on a GFCF diet, and Mom doesn't want to have to drive long distances for specialty food items.

Looking for input, insight regarding where we might look for housing, be close to activities the kids enjoy, be close to stores that sell gluten free flours and foods, good public schools and strong homeschool groups (I homeschool one child).

I've talked to a few people - when I mention "autism" and "Nashville", I'm always told, "Williamson County". I'm curious to hear about other areas.

Thanks in advance.

I think Williamson County is the choice. WAVES has a very good autism program.

Homeschooling is popular and people don't just do it for religious reasons.

Gluten free is becoming more common. I can get some gluten free products at harris teeter, but Whole Foods and Trader Joes obviously have more. The only Whole Foods are in Green Hills and Cools Springs (Franklin). The only Trader Joes is in Green Hills.

For the ice skating, Scott Hamilton lives in Williamson County

[Anony-Momma]

Thank you! I am unfamiliar with WAVES. (We are coming in from quite a few states away.) What is WAVES?

In Williamson County, does one school have a better music and band program and better baseball program than another? I'm not sure that matters with all the rezoning I've been reading about online in the N'ville newspaper.

A neighbor of ours relocated to N'ville a couple of years ago - her boy is going to play middle school baseball with his school. (We don't do that here.) Do Little League and PONY League etc stop in Tennessee at middle school, or do kids do both there?

In Williamson County, do band students purchase their instruments, rent them, or does the school provide them? (We rent, and the company we rent from is not in Tennessee.)

Wondering to self: Does Scott Hamilton coach/teach lessons and does he ever work w/ kids w/ special needs? How cool would that be? (He'd probably be out of our price range.)

I have never even seen a Harris Teeter - is it similar to Kroger? Never seen a Publix - are there Publix stores there, too? I see people talk about those stores, but we don't have them around here. I shop at locally owned markets, here, because they have huge GF sections. And Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. I'm glad to see N'ville has those two stores.

Do we stay here until our public school year ends, or move and have the kids switch schools mid-year if we get the opportunity to do so? I'm weighing pros and cons of that at the moment. One of my children will begin high school in the fall.

I have never moved with children.

[BirdieBelle]

I'll answer what I can:

1) Waves: Home

2) Are you talking about high school band or middle school? Renting instruments is preferred here unless you own yours.

3) You can play all kinds of baseball here. We don't have PONY league, but Babe Ruth and many kinds of travel teams. Most middle schools in Williamson have baseball, if you can make the team. It is pretty competitive. High school sports here are very good.

4) Unfortunately Scott Hamilton does not teach lessons! He is very busy being a dad but still is a very cool and decent human being.

5) Grocery stores are different everywhere; just takes some getting used to.

6) As for moving, it would be better, IMHO, if you moved after your school years ends so your kids could have some closure, then get them involved in some kind of rec league sport or lessons in your new home over the summer so they can make some new friends soon. They will meet neighborhood kids over the summer and feel more at ease when school starts.
Everyone is new the first day of 9th grade. If you frame the move in a positive way, it will help them transition.

[septimus]

I'm going to disagree. I think moving mid-year is better for kids. You join a new class at the beginning of the school year no one knows you are new. You join a class middle of the school year everyone in the class knows you are new....plus it sucks if you move and have to spend the whole summer without friends. I'm sure others will disagree.

[Anony-Momma]

I have two middle school band students at the moment; we rent their instruments. One will begin high school in the fall.

We don't get out of school until mid-June (we begin school after Labor Day, here). If we wait to move until school is out here (for closure, which is one of my considerations), I doubt we'll be able to join any summer rec leagues in the N'ville area, because they'll have been in session for a month (maybe I'm wrong about that, I haven't looked at rec programs too closely, except that I know we'll miss baseball opportunities). If we stay here until school is out, my kids will hardly get a summer break, because in N'ville, kids return to school in early August.

Lots to think about.

Thanks for all the info. Keep it coming. I appreciate all of you!

[Anony-Momma]

Looks like WAVES is for either very young children or adults with nothing in between.

The more I research, the less I find, particularly for tween-age kids. We are NOT in a state that people move to for autism services, but we have a lot more around us that I have been able to find in Nashville.

Are there really few-to-no opportunities for special needs kids in the Nashville area?

[wacamole4u]

It's hard to move no matter when you choose to do so, but as previously stated, it is completely up to you to make the move a positive one for everybody involved. As a kid, I had the opportunity to move a couple of times during school sessions because my stepfather was in the military. I had lots of fun moving during the school year because I was an adventurer at that time in my life. If your children are less inclined to be adventurous, then you might wan to take that into consideration.
As far as the schools and activities go, I am not the one to ask. I moved up here to Tenn. after my children had grown. My daughter finished out her last year of HS without me in the house. But as
far as the markets are concerned, I have heard great things about the farmer's market in Nashville and of course there are tons of things to do there for people of all ages. Nashville is bouncing back quite nicely from the problems that they had in March and several venues are opening back up to the
public now. So whenever you decide to move here, welcome to the state.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by septimus

I'm going to disagree. I think moving mid-year is better for kids. You join a new class at the beginning of the school year no one knows you are new. You join a class middle of the school year everyone in the class knows you are new....plus it sucks if you move and have to spend the whole summer without friends. I'm sure others will disagree.

I would think that for kids at that age, being new with everyone at the beginning of the school year and blending in would be the preferred option since most tweens/teens don't want to be singled out in front of the class as "the new kid." At least mine don't.

I guess I threw out the summer sport option because it worked for some new friends we met who moved here from Memphis but had to stay in an extended-stay hotel first because their house closings didn't time out right.

The parents researched camps and sports stuff online and the mom was able to have them here in time to join. Rec league baseball is definitely a spring and fall thing here, though, so it wouldn't work on your current school schedule, you're right. But maybe some other camp or lesson would work just to give them something to do. There are tons of options there.

That's my rationale for moving in the summer, but so many factors go into a cross-country move that you're usually lucky if you get to choose anything.

Keep asking questions, though, if you want more help.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by Anony-Momma

Looks like WAVES is for either very young children or adults with nothing in between.

The more I research, the less I find, particularly for tween-age kids. We are NOT in a state that people move to for autism services, but we have a lot more around us that I have been able to find in Nashville.

Are there really few-to-no opportunities for special needs kids in the Nashville area?

I would ask here. tnautism.org - Home

In my experience, unless you have one of the major special-needs diagnoses (ADHD, autism w/IEP, dyslexia etc), the middle schools here are not so helpful.