Teach Us About Nashville (Franklin, Hendersonville: condo, assessors, homes)

[artemis]

Originally Posted by nashvols

Don't make me start throwing Bibles.

<shrug>

I'm a lapsed Catholic.

[numberfive]

Originally Posted by Vandy-bound

We lived in the Chicago NW suburbs before moving to Brentwood. I don't recall seeing your budget in your initial post, but that will help to narrow down the right Nashville area. Williamson County schools are amazing, but I think Mount Juliet and Hendersonville schools also rate very well. If your wife has to commute, knowing her tolerance for time would be helpful in narrowing down the location as well.

TONS of allergens, nearly year-round. Vanderbilt's ASAP clinic is not bad-just depends on what you're allergic to and how you tolerate medication, etc. Allergy shots can be a lifesaver in the long-term.

Basements are available in some areas, depends on the terrain. And of course, your price-point.

We've also lived in the Atlanta area (Cobb County) and enjoyed (mostly) our time there--though it was a long time ago. The traffic in the region has apparently only worsened over time, so if commuting into downtown is an issue, you'll probably need to be inside the Perimeter.

I will say that many of our family and friends remain in the Chicago area. While they enjoy visiting "The South," it is a different lifestyle and they can't imagine living there. While we grew up in the Chicago area, we can't imagine going back. I *highly* recommend spending some time in the areas you are considering before moving. They all have a different vibe and it can be hard to compare.

We're looking to keep it below $500k, with a big bonus to homes in the 350-400k range.

We also plan on taking a short trip there in July/August to scout out the area.

Since you're from the NW Chicago suburbs, which has the most similar feel to say, Barrington/Naperville/Lake Forest? Looking for the charming downtown aspect.

[numberfive]

Originally Posted by Tempest455

I can count the mosquitoes I've seen on one hand compared to up there in 10+ years.

Originally Posted by septimus

Mosquitoes don't seem that bad here but the ticks..... I'm constantly plucking them off my kids and I live in suburbs.

Allergies-I'm probably the only person ever, but my allergies and asthma which were considered severe disappeared when we moved here.

Your housing choices will depend a lot on where you are working etc.

Definitely good to know. In my opinion, mosquitoes are worse than ticks. The buzzing by your ears, the itchiness, fuggetaboutit!

My wife works for Social Security, so she can transfer to the field office in Madison or Nashville proper. In case my remote-only job doesn't work out, perhaps I can find another database programmer position in Nashville, or another remote-only one.

[numberfive]

Originally Posted by bspray

I agree with this completely. If you are a Blackhawks fan, add St. Louis to your short list and take Nashville off.

Originally Posted by nashvols

Or maybe Dallas. I hear great things about Dallas.

Not sure I understand these. We're not a sports fan family, I couldn't name a single player from the Blackhawks if my life depended on it.

And we were looking at Dallas, I went to visit there last August. The home prices are bananas now, 15% growth year over year? It's quickly becoming too expensive for what we're targeting. We'd want to rent for a year before looking to buy, so last year's 15% plus this year's 15% plus next year's 15% means a $350k home from last year will be over $500k when we're looking to buy! Yikes. Not to mention the $12-15k/yr tax bill that comes along with them.

[numberfive]

Originally Posted by HaleyinNashville

You could definitely find something nice and attractive for your family in here or Atlanta. I actually love Atlanta, but have never lived there, so maybe I'd think less of it if I actually did, ha.

Nashville was also a MUCH better place for me for my allergies (compared to Illinois and Indiana). Definitely depends on what your allergic too, but I have found out the rural/ag/croptime allergies are what set me off and there is very little of that in this part of the country because it's too hilly. Most ag here is livestock/cattle/pasture. I get ate by bugs more than anyone I know and I don't think they are better or worse here than any other area I've been. If mosquitos bother you, you can get a company to spray and it helps a LOT. In Louisiana, the city/parish actually pays for this service every few weeks for all residents. Here, it's getting more popular with the Zika fear.

Shooting! Is fun! and you can do it in many unincorporated areas (Davidson is all annexed as Metro Nash), so look outside of there for that. There are quite a few ranges and areas to shoot skeet though, in Davidson. Definitely a pro-gun community here, by and large. Many people have their conceal carry license here(I know very few that actually carry though).

Acreage might be the trickiest for you, unless you're willing to commute. However, as you already mentioned with the PITI payments...your money will go much further here than in Chicagoland because taxes are so much less here. If you are willing to commute, I'd look both east and west of the city (they look much different), narrow down the acreage you'd be happy with, and you should be able to find something. There are a lot of very nice homes (I call them retreats) about an hour outside of the city that tend to always come on the market. They pop up all over, so maybe don't focus on just one part of town, and most of the time you can find 10+ and a nice home....IF you are willing to be a little further out. We've talked about making that move several times....for now we like being closer to town, so 2 acres is plenty.

Don't let the blackhawks hatred deter you! at least you will be able to see them here...not so much for Atlanta! Our friends from Chicago always come down for the games because it's cheaper to see them here and they get to visit with us...always fun to go with them!

Good luck!!!!

This is all extremely helpful, thanks so much for the write-up. It seems like mixed opinions on the allergies, some notice year-round misery, others had it clear up. I do see Tennessee making a lot of lists for the worst allergies in the country, as well as one of the lowest tax burden states in the country (the very lowest according to CNN).

A major part of our move is to reduce the commute to no more than 30 minutes each way. Right now my wife commutes 1.5 hours each way, and that's entirely too draining on her. Since I work from home, my commute is to the daycare and back on most days. The big concern with moving to an area far from Metro Nash is if I switch jobs (which can and does happen in IT for various reasons). I'd hate to inherit a 1.5 hour commute with a job switch.

This is making a big assumption though: the major concentration of IT jobs is in the Nashville proper area. Is this a fair assumption?

[flamadiddle]

They're just yanking your chain on the Hawks.

You want Franklin, TN for the downtown and proximity to IT jobs. Franklin is loaded with tech companies.

Downtown Franklin TN - America

[N.Cal]

The home prices are bananas now, 15% growth year over year?

You do know the same thing is happening in the Nashville metro area, right? In some areas, homes are increasing up to 75%.

[numberfive]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

You do know the same thing is happening in the Nashville metro area, right? In some areas, homes are increasing up to 75%.

I'd believe it! But are they growing by the same high rates in Hendersonville or Mt Juliet? That's where we're initially considering.

Not to mention the property tax rates. I'm not trying to make this into a Dallas vs Nashville thing, since both areas have their pros/cons, but this is one area where Nashville has Dallas beat for sure: tax burdens. The property taxes between the two metro areas aren't even in the same ballpark.

Right now on our $420k home (at $200/sq ft), we're paying just under $12k/year. If we were to move to Dallas and bought at the same price, we'd be paying the same $12k in property taxes. If we were to buy the same priced home in Hendersonville, we'd be paying $2.2k-ish.

So all I'm seeing is that same growth between Dallas and Nashville works out to almost a $10,000 per year cost difference for us. And that's just looking at property taxes, not the overall tax burden.

[DonCorleone]

Originally Posted by numberfive

I'd believe it! But are they growing by the same high rates in Hendersonville or Mt Juliet? That's where we're initially considering.

At least for my section of Hendersonville (around the Station Camp High School district) they are increasing but not 75%. Ours has increased about 8%/year since 2009. The last 2 years resale values seem to have increased but I wouldn't say they've spiked. Other areas of Hendersonville are probably a little more volatile, especially those close to the Indian Lake area or the lake itself.

Sumner County raised its property tax rates for the first time in many years recently to fund schools. There was some pushback but most seemed to support it. So I don't think you're going to see massive property tax increases (or assessment increases) without some increased scrutiny. At least that's not been the recent history.

[titanspreds_04]

Originally Posted by DonCorleone

At least for my section of Hendersonville (around the Station Camp High School district) they are increasing but not 75%. Ours has increased about 8%/year since 2009. The last 2 years resale values seem to have increased but I wouldn't say they've spiked. Other areas of Hendersonville are probably a little more volatile, especially those close to the Indian Lake area or the lake itself.

Sumner County raised its property tax rates for the first time in many years recently to fund schools. There was some pushback but most seemed to support it. So I don't think you're going to see massive property tax increases (or assessment increases) without some increased scrutiny. At least that's not been the recent history.

I know of some homes in Mt. Juliet went up 20-30 percent in just the last 5 years but nothing close to 75 percent. Wilson County just did a reassessment of homes in 2016. I also know of several people recently who sold their house at 105k over the assessed value of home. Real Estate prices are crazy here and multiple offers are now normal here.

A coworker of mine sold her house in just a few hours and had multiple offers in Mt. Juliet.