Thoughts on Franklin, TN? (Hendersonville, Brentwood: house, neighborhood, public schools)

[brentwoodgirl]

Astrid-
Are you searching Henderson or Hendersonville? Henderson is a small town in West TN. Hendersonville is the suburb of Nashville.

Not trying to talk you out of Franklin. I live in Williamson County, just one suburb north of Franklin and love this area. Just making sure you are comparing the right areas in case you want some options.

[Mayor_McCheese]

Loved my time in Franklin. Hope to move back some day. I think most Tennesseans would agree that they've had an unusually active winter this year. Usually Tennessee gets some snow every year but not this much.
Not sure how the traffic has fared since I left back in 2002 but even when I left traffic was getting pretty bad. I loved the small town feel of downtown but yet there were big city amenities not far away. I also miss the beautiful landscape. Luckily I get back about once a year or so to visit the folks.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Astrid9

Thanks everyone for all of the advice so far - I'm still pretty stuck on Franklin I looked into Henderson a bit, it might be a lovely place to live, but I don't see myself there for some reason (pretty nice public transportation goes from Henderson to Nashville though). I also did not see as many homes in Henderson, but it is also much smaller than the other locations I've been looking.

If anyone is from Franklin and has any comments about it - living there, growing up there, I'd love to here them!

If you're pretty stuck on Franklin, that's probably what you should go with. If you come down to visit, though, it wouldn't be a bad idea to tour around the other areas just to get a feel for them.

I didn't grow up and have never lived in Franklin, but I have friends there and have spent a considerable amount of time there. I can't speak for the individual neighborhoods, but as a whole, I think a lot of people really like living there, and take pride in living there.

And as brentwoodgirl said, Hendersonville, not Henderson. Hendersonville, in terms of size, only trails Murfreesboro and Franklin among the suburbs.

[HastingsJD]

Great info a few posts ago NashVols! I'm printing out your post to take with me this weekend when we head to Nashville

[CountryGirl2b=]

I moved from Simsbury, CT to Franklin last April. The weekend of the flood. Before that I flew down about once every 6 weeks to look at houses. NOT a big budget. Your money will go further in Davidson County and I did look at homes there.

It's been 8 months and so far, we are very happy in Franklin. And are NOT missing the snow that Connecticut has been getting! We still have the 4 seasons - even had a white Christmas! But I didn't need a winter coat until the day after Thanksgiving and I didn't need one today! So, that's a pretty short winter! (although we might still get some cold days, I think March will be the start of Spring).

We went from a 2 bedroom/1 den 1800 sq ft condo to a 3 bedroom and bonus room 1600 sq ft house for about the same price. We do NOT have a basement though and the rooms are much smaller (obviously). We are in one of the cookie cutter developments which I thought we would never move to BUT we're pretty happy here! Small yard but it's enough for me to take care of.

Utilities have been averaging $200 a month - water, sewer, trash, electicity & gas. That's great compared to the electric bills we had in CT (although we were all electric in CT).

I think one of the best things is the location - easy surface street drive up to Nashville through Green Hills and past Vanderbilt. Maybe 20 minutes to the airport (where Southwest flies!!! Weeeeeee!), Cool Springs mega stores and restaurants just over the hill, and little downtown Franklin which is wonderfully quaint!

We really like it! If you want to DM me, feel free! I DID look at other places but I, too, sort of had my heart set on Franklin. Follow your heart! And we paid less than your bottom line for our little house so you should do fine!

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Mayor_McCheese

Loved my time in Franklin. Hope to move back some day. I think most Tennesseans would agree that they've had an unusually active winter this year. Usually Tennessee gets some snow every year but not this much.
Not sure how the traffic has fared since I left back in 2002 but even when I left traffic was getting pretty bad. I loved the small town feel of downtown but yet there were big city amenities not far away. I also miss the beautiful landscape. Luckily I get back about once a year or so to visit the folks.

Since 2002, a few things have changed that benefit Franklin a bit. Carothers Parkway is completed and now open between Cool Springs Blvd and Highway 96 (it's a great cut-through without having to deal with the interstate!), and McEwen drive provides a 4-lane connection between Cool Springs Blvd (west of I-65), Mallory Lane, an exit on I-65, Carothers Pkwy, and is under construction to reconnect with Cool Springs Blvd (and continue on to Wilson Pk).

Traffic currently bottlenecks pretty bad before you get to Hwy 96 on I-65. So many people have moved to Spring Hill (population 25,000 now!) that the interstate can no longer handle it. The good news is that they are widening the interstate to 8 lanes (4 each way) all the way to TN-840. There are numerous other proposals for future projects, including a much needed widening of Mack Hatcher. Franklin has a lot of catching up to do, but they are finally realizing they need to be proactive when it comes to development and infrastructure.

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by Astrid9

Thanks everyone for all of the advice so far - I'm still pretty stuck on Franklin I looked into Henderson a bit, it might be a lovely place to live, but I don't see myself there for some reason (pretty nice public transportation goes from Henderson to Nashville though). I also did not see as many homes in Henderson, but it is also much smaller than the other locations I've been looking.

If anyone is from Franklin and has any comments about it - living there, growing up there, I'd love to here them!

Make sure you search HendersonVILLE and not just Henderson since there is a Henderson, TN. Hendersonville has a population of around 50,000 so its the 3rd most populous suburban city after Murfreesboro and Franklin.

[BirdieBelle]

How old are your kids? My three kids were born in Franklin at Williamson Medical Center, and we lived there until they were about 6 and we moved to Brentwood.

What are you especially interested in?

Here's some info that's a couple of years old but pretty helpful:

Best places to live 2008 - Top 100 City details: Franklin, TN - from MONEY Magazine

[septimus]

My advice to OP. Come to Williamson County. The schools in TN don't hold a candle to Northeastern schools, but the standards are getting a bit better. Williamson has the best schools in the area, but they aren't like the top districts in Northeast. They aren't like West Hartford or Simsbury in CT or Newton or Wellesley in Mass to name similarly affluent communities to Williamson County

[Astrid9]

Thanks again everyone...I did look into Hendersonville not Henderson (like I did yesterday), but I still think I would enjoy Franklin more. We obviously have to go down and look around though. Everyone here has been incredibly helpful.
To Wmsn4Life we have a 1 yr old and 3 yr old (and most likely stopping there). I guess the main things I am looking for is whether or not the community is friendly, are there activities to do with children, are there activities to do outside (my husband is an avid runner), and whether or not there are places for adults to enjoy themselves too without going into Nashville (good restaurants, live music, etc..) Also, we know absolutely no one in TN, so would it be difficult for us to meet people?

Thanks