Neighborhoods in Franklin (Brentwood, Spencer, Liberty: transplants, how much, house)

[sickofsnowychi]

We have been down twice to look at homes in Franklin and we think we have narrowed it down to 4 options. If anyone has specific information on any of these 4, we would love to hear it. Our home up here is now sold, so we are coming down to make an offer on a house next weekend, or so we hope. The biggest thing for us is to find a great, active neighborhood with lots of kids who play outside often and a community with a pool, playground, etc. Most people suggest Fieldstone Farms and McKay's Mill, but we just didn't really like those. Please let me know if you feel these subdivisions fit that criteria and if you have any other suggestions:
Founders Pointe
Spencer Hall
Cheswicke Farms
Buckingham Park (we haven't seen this one and don't know anything about it).

[Anony-Momma]

What did you not like about Fieldstone Farms and McKay's Mill? (Asked by someone in your relocation situation who has not had an opportunity to go to Williamson County in person yet.)

[septimus]

Originally Posted by sickofsnowychi

We have been down twice to look at homes in Franklin and we think we have narrowed it down to 4 options. If anyone has specific information on any of these 4, we would love to hear it. Our home up here is now sold, so we are coming down to make an offer on a house next weekend, or so we hope. The biggest thing for us is to find a great, active neighborhood with lots of kids who play outside often and a community with a pool, playground, etc. Most people suggest Fieldstone Farms and McKay's Mill, but we just didn't really like those. Please let me know if you feel these subdivisions fit that criteria and if you have any other suggestions:
Founders Pointe
Spencer Hall
Cheswicke Farms
Buckingham Park (we haven't seen this one and don't know anything about it).

All are nice neighborhoods. Well-maintained and people seem to like living there. The only thing I would watch for and this isn't a plus or a minus but Founders Point is 1/2 Williamson County Schools and 1/2 Franklin Special Schools.

Buckingham Park is a very convenient location to the highway, but I think turning left of the main entrance could be very difficult.

[BirdieBelle]

I would choose Cheswicke first because of convenience and square footage. You simply cannot beat the access to Cool Springs and the interstate from there. I used to live off Liberty Pike, and you get very spoiled by the location. I had a friend who has a problem with the windows leaking when they built their house there, so get a really good inspection. When Cheswicke Farms was first built, a lot of Michigan transplants with Saturn moved in, so you may meet people in your same situation. It has always been a family-friendly neighborhood.
At the opposite end of the convenience spectrum is Founders Point. We have friends who have lived there since 1999 and they love their house and neighbors. They have not loved the Freedom Middle/Freedom Intermediate school experience for their daughters. (Decent education, difficult social experience.) It also takes a little longer to get anywhere, though there are grocery/pharmacy stores and some restaurants nearby.
I don't know that much about Spencer Hall. Buckingham Park would be my last choice.

[brentwoodgirl]

wmsn- what about Liberty? We know several families that live in Cheswicke and all of them applied to Poplar Grove. The one family that didn't picked through the lottery ended up at Liberty and did not like it. They ended up moving. So I am always hestitant to recommend neighborhoods that feed to Liberty. Do you know anything about it?

[sickofsnowychi]

Interesting, I have heard the same thing about Liberty, which does concern me. I also forgot to mention Forrest Crossing. We were initially concerned about Foiunders Pointe being too far from everything, but I will be home and my husband works from home, so there weren't be a commute factor for now. We love the idea of being so close to downtown Franklin.

[koalarich]

I live in Buckingham Park and it's exactly what you're looking for. Lots of kids, community activities, great pool. We're moving to downtown Nashville to be closer to our jobs, though. We just rented out our house, or I'd tell you to buy ours!!!

I had the first concern about taking that left in the mornings to get to work, but it's never been a problem, to my relief. You can't beat the location; short drive to everything... except our jobs near the airport...

[BirdieBelle]

To be honest, I think a lot of people don't like Liberty because of the high number of ESL (Hispanic) students and the larger number of low-income families who attend there. It also is right across the street from a poorer neighborhood. The state says Liberty is 56% white and 23% Hispanic.
It has an attendance rate of 96%. Its students ranked high on Average Yearly Progress, in the upper 80s and 90s percentile, all As in TCAP. The only low grades it received were "Value Added," which scores how much kids learned in one school year. Most Williamson County schools score VERY low in that area because many kids come to school already learning above their own grade level.
In fact, those numbers are all very similar to my child's own school, Lipscomb, in Brentwood.
So I think it would need to be a decision based on visits, interviews and a feel for the "fit" of the school with your own particular family.

[akm4]

Visit the school. Talk to the teachers. Have lunch in the cafeteria. That's what we did before our son attended Liberty for 2 years. We loved it! We only moved him to Poplar Grove because it went to 8th grade. Had Liberty been a K-8, we would have had both kids there.

I was a room mom and had tons of involved parent volunteers, much like at Poplar Grove.

If your favorite home is zoned for Liberty, it's worth your time to tour the school before you write it off because of a couple negative comments.

Good luck with your move!

[brentwoodgirl]

Good information wsmn and akm. I had just heard some concerns from the one family I knew that went there, so I thought I would ask.
Our only experience with Liberty is attending the Young Scholars camp there every year. We love the camp.