New job at MTSU...reasonable to live in Nashville? (Murfreesboro: for rent, houses)

[scarletneon]

Originally Posted by Diane Giam

I guess not Trendy, Just Cute. I guess he's looking for a Hipper scene, but with a 1 year old I would look more for safety and good schools for the future.
Franklin has both of those.

Diane G

Oh i would never argue that Franklin isn't cute... I've ALWAYS loved being in downtown Franklin. then again, there's not much to do downtown after a certain hour.

[Mike in TN]

Originally Posted by kcnative

The commute wouldn't be bad, as like you said you'd be going opposite rush hour. EN is of course on the east side of the city, so it would probably be about 30 mins to the M'boro exit and another 15 or so to the school.

I think that's being generous. I'd say it would be at least 55 minutes from the time he got out of the door to the time he got into the his office.

You'll be in the HHP department, right? If so, they probably have the best staff parking on the entire campus. They park in a vacant lot across the street from their offices. If you're in another department, well...good luck.

[artemis]

I think it's do-able at 30 minutes to the M'boro exit. He could get on 24 right by the stadium. In the morning, most of the traffic is Westbound into the city, and he'll be going the other way.

East Nashville would probably be a very good fit for them.

[drewnobi]

Originally Posted by Mike in TN

I think that's being generous. I'd say it would be at least 55 minutes from the time he got out of the door to the time he got into the his office.

You'll be in the HHP department, right? If so, they probably have the best staff parking on the entire campus. They park in a vacant lot across the street from their offices. If you're in another department, well...good luck.

Yeah, I think the parking is pretty good from what the other faculty have said. As for the commute, 55 minutes door to door is pushing it for me. 15-25 minutes seems like a long time to get from the interstate to campus, but I guess traffic is that bad huh?

I like some of the Nashville neighborhoods like East Nash and the areas around Vanderbilt. I like the idea of being in a 'vibrant' area that is walkable, where people hang out on their front porches. I like diversity as well. I'm just not sure of the drive. 30 minutes is doable, 45 is maxing it out. 55+ seems like just too much. Although, I could possibly work from home on fridays...

I just don't have a good feel for what Murfreesboro is really like. Are there things going on a lot? Do people talk to their neighbors? What is the atmosphere?

[KathyNashville]

East Nashville has been compared to Williamsburg (Brooklyn neighborhood) so it is probably a great match for you.

[Mike in TN]

Originally Posted by drewnobi

Yeah, I think the parking is pretty good from what the other faculty have said.

Yeah, you guys in the HHP department basically park in someone's lawn on Middle Tennesse Blvd.

As for the commute, 55 minutes door to door is pushing it for me.

From somewhere in E. Nashville, like 5 points, it's going to take you 30 minutes just to get to the Medical Center Parkway exit (76), probably more.

15-25 minutes seems like a long time to get from the interstate to campus, but I guess traffic is that bad huh?

If you are coming in around 8:00 when the majority of classes begin, then yeah, you can count on about 20 minutes from when you exit I-24 until you park your car.

I live 1 mile from MTSU and it takes me 12 minutes to get to exit 76 hitting most every green light and going when traffic is light. I've also recently driven from MTSU to E. Nashville and it's just not going to happen in less than 45 minutes in the afternoon. Forget it if there are any wrecks.

I just don't have a good feel for what Murfreesboro is really like. Are there things going on a lot?

Not really. Aside from the typical drugs and drinking the younger crowd gets involved in, there isn't really much going on if you don't have kids involved in sports. Take out the college demographic, and Murfreesboro is community for married couples with 1.5 kids and a small pets.

What is the atmosphere?

I'll just be blunt with you, you aren't going to find the atmosphere you seem to want anywhere in Murfreesboro. They are planning on building a mid rise condo project on our public square fairly soon. That might be something you'd like, but it's a couple of years away at this point.

[kcnative]

Yeah, I lived in M'boro for a few years when we first moved out here, so my wife could finish school. It's okay and all, but COMPLETELY different from a place like East Nashville or even Nashville period.

College kids are everywhere when school is in. No big deal...they're mostly decent enough kids, but what it means is that college bars are really the only nightlife around. There are a couple of places, like Bluesboro and Bunganut Pig, that are decent, with an eclectic mix of young and old, but for the most part the "things to do in M'boro" list is pretty short. If you like to go out to eat, there will be no shortage of places to go, however. The only bad part of that is almost all are chain/franchise restaurants that you can find anywhere. A couple of good local places are Marina's (downtown...Italian), Demos' (pronounced "Deemuses"...it's steak and pasta food), Parthenon (greek), and Toot's (pub grub).

The adults, being from a smaller southern town, tend to be more "red." Definitely different than my experiences in Nashville.

One thing that sucks is MTSU is a good ways from the interstate, as it seems you've realized, so anywhere outside of M'boro is going to take 30 mins, minimum. Some may try to talk you into Smyrna or LaVergne (NNW of M'boro), but they are really just more of the same. IMO between the three I'd rather live in the Boro.

...but if you're looking for what it seems you're looking for, aside from the commute E. Nash. seems to be pretty close to what you want...I suppose it's going to come down to commute vs. neighborhood.

[kcnative]

You'd mentioned wanting to rent initially...on another message board, I saw this, for East Nashville rentals:

1257.5 McGavock Pike - 3 bd 2 ba remodeled top to bottom home with
vaulted ceilings, tiled baths, new spacious kitchen, party deck &
storage. $1350 Month $1000 deposit

1024 Seymour Ave. 2 bd 2 ba remodeled transitional victorian with
fenced in backyard, new granite kitchen,hardwood floors. $1350 Month
$1000 deposit

941 Seymour Ave 3 bd 3 ba totally remodeled brick cottage with new
kitchen, basement finished den, hardwood & tile thru out. $1600 Month,
$1000 deposit

905 McFerrin Ave 3 bd 2.5 bath, 2886 SF totally remodeled, new
kitchen, fenced backyard, basement, formal dining, hardwood & tile
floors. $2000 Month, $1000 deposit

207 Manchester Ave- Charming Victorian with 3 bd 2.5 ba, walk to
Rosepeppers! New granite kitchen, fenced back yard, pretty hardwood
floors. $1350 Month $1000 deposit

1515 Riverside Drive - 3 bd 2 ba stone home with 2 car garage, 1.76
acres of land, den & formal dining, workshop,fenced back yard $1500
Month $1000 deposit

Contact Karen Hoff 228-4663 Historic & Distinctive Homes 228-3723 ext
22

------------

Now these will be on the upper end of rentals in the area. These are most likely completely remodeled and VERY nice. I'm sure you could find some for rent that are cheaper if these are out of your price range.

Not sure how familiar you are with the homes in that area, but they are mostly your typical early 20th century bungalows, victorians, and tudors. Depending on the neighborhood, it varies from almost all the homes remodeled to just getting started. EN is currently in the middle of a pretty big gentrification effort. Inglewood, and the northern areas of EN were built later (50s/60s) and have larger yards.

Here are a couple more message boards specific to the EN area if you're interested in getting an idea of the people/events/whatever in the area.

East Nashville | Google Groups

Topica Email List Directory

[drewnobi]

Kcnative, thanks for the listings. I think they might be more than I want to pay for a rental though. I have seen some cheaper, around the 850-1000 range in EN, but I'm not sure where the "areas to avoid" are located. As for the tradeoff b/t N'ville and Mboro, it's really not like we go out a lot at night, we have a 1 y/o, but the idea of people actually getting involved with their community and putting effort into the quality of life and caring about how it looks and really having an identity is all very attractive. For my wife, who will mostly be a stay at home mom, it would be important to have places to walk to, and friends nearby for our son to play with. The idea of commuting is not pleasant, but palatable knowing I will be going against traffic. I also like the idea of doing the commute on a motorcycle when the weather is nice (I don't know if that is nuts or not). Anyways, we are planning a visit in April or May, and we should have time to look around in both places, so hopefully we can get the feel of them both.

[kcnative]

As far as areas to avoid in EN, I'd generally recommend living east of Gallatin and north of Shelby. You can usually tell pretty quickly by the houses/yards/people which areas you don't want to be in. 37206 is the zip code you'd want, though there are areas within that, that are less than desireable.

Send me a private message if you want and I'll shoot you my email addy, if you'd like more info down the road.

Good luck.