Trying to pick an area to focus on, need help (Chattanooga: high crime, houses)

[runningmom]

Hello everyone,

I've been reading over the Nashville thread today while looking for a good neighborhood for my family. My husband and I will be graduating from law school in May, and we're now thinking of moving to Nashville with our two small children (3 and 1). We currently live about half-way between Nashville and Chattanooga, and have considered both places as options. But we're now leaning more heavily toward Nashville as that's where we go to school and with which we're most familiar.

What we're looking for is the same as everyone else: safe, fairly urban, good neighborhood for kids/families, with some shopping and dining options.

We now spend the majority of our time in Nashville around Berry Hill/Belmont/Green Hills - all of which are zoned to good schools. I've read that Eakin, Julia Green, and Percy Priest are the best public elementary schools, but I'm not ruling out the private option. I'm fairly sure that I would want the children to attend private schools after elementary, anyway. However, since those neighborhoods are fairly expensive, I don't think living in an extremely high dollar house AND paying private school tuition is a good game plan for us, either. But I've also read that if a child doesn't begin kindergarten at the Nashville private schools, he/she will have a difficult time getting in later. Does anyone know if the private schools have kindergarten waiting lists that I need to be getting on?

We don't really want to live in Williamson County, no matter how great the schools may be. Several of our friends live in Franklin and Brentwood, but I think we'll just leave it to them. We're quite liberal, and don't think we would fit the Williamson County mold well.

I'm not opposed to new construction, but I like the character of old houses better. We drive Woodmont between Franklin Road and Green Hills pretty frequently, and I love the older homes in that neighborhood (but like I said, $$$$). I think our budget won't be more than $300,000 (maybe a tad, but not much).

That being said, does anyone have any suggestions? I've looked at Germantown homes online, but having never been in the neighborhood it's difficult for me to get a feel for it. I don't want to live anywhere that has risk of severe depreciation or high crime (even a "patchy" neighborhood).

Thanks for any and all help!

[Mike&CindyNYC]

We are looking for the same EXACT place as you guys! Good luck - let us know if you get any good info Are Brentwood and Franklin really that conservative? We're pretty liberal also and are afraid of not fitting in!

[BirdieBelle]

Franklin and Brentwood are traditionally conservative, but there are many, many people who have moved here from the midwest, northeast and California. I feel like it's a welcoming area. Of course, I'm looking at it as a Tennessee native. But I have know families who have moved away and then moved back here in only a few years because it has everything they wanted. There are some on this forum who have had negative experiences, but each case is individual.

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by Mike&CindyNYC

We are looking for the same EXACT place as you guys! Good luck - let us know if you get any good info Are Brentwood and Franklin really that conservative? We're pretty liberal also and are afraid of not fitting in!

Several people from Williamson have posted on this forum that they are liberal and loving their environs. There are many California expatriots in Williamson, maybe more than from any other state outside TN.

That said, I remember one woman, single, self described liberal feminist, said she was growing tired of Williamson and wanted to move after many years there, closer into Nashville to get a more liberal environment.

BTW I visited Nashville and Franklin last Thanksgiving. I drove around some parts of Wm. county I had never seen, such as Leiper's Fork. Jaw-dropping beautiful. Miles and miles of genteel horse farm country in the hills.