Tell Me About TN.

[ktlove]

Hay all, I need advice... Its about Nashville and the surrounding area.
I have never been, my other half has, but not I, and I totally need a clue.
I am 30 this year, applied and accepted to culinary school in North Nashville.
I really do not like cities, I am in the burbs here in Florida and dont like that much either, what I really need is a few names of towns outside of Nashville where couple may be able to rent an affordable house, land a job and not have to drive over an hour to N. Nashville. Since I am going to be going to school again I know I wont have much for income, and I do not want to get stuck in an appartment in the city with druggies as my neighbors.
-I am taking a blind leap again, and I am not scared BUT choose to be prepared, so anything you have to share I would greatly appreciate-
kt

[bee_pipes]

...Nashville and the surrounding area...
...culinary school in North Nashville...
...towns outside of Nashville where couple may be able to rent an affordable house, land a job and not have to drive over an hour to N. Nashville...
...do not want to get stuck in an appartment in the city with druggies as my neighbors...


I moved out her in 2002 or so. Before moving here I got my hands on a road map of Nashville ans spent some time looking at it and getting familiar with the names and layout of the town.

I lived in apartments (The Trails, I think) on Stewart's Ferry Rd. It wasn't bad for apartment living. It was right next to Percy Priest Lake and I would go down there to paddle every opportunity. There are also sailing opportunities there.

My job was near the airport - off of Elm Hill Pike and McGavic. The drive was not too hateful. But this is on the east side of town.

There are two areas to steer clear of - Antioch and Madison. Antioch is no problem - that is the south side of town. Madison is on the north side. Both are rough neighborhoods and always in the news for violent crime. Nashville is not a bad place, as cities go, but it is pretty mean for such a little city. Traffic, to my thinking, is bad but much better than a lot of other cities. Don't know your exact location in Florida, but this may be a great improvement for you. There are also ample back roads to get around highway backups. The worst of the traffic was on I-65 north of town - they were doing a lot of road work and that caused problems. The road work should either be completed or near completion.

There are a number of towns north of Nashville on the interstate. As to the current rents or property values, I couldn't say. When you get out here there are a number of free magazines with listings of apartments for rent. Should be the same for houses and real estate. Most every store has them on little wire racks and in newspaper machine looking stands.

The west side of town is interesting. There are college campuses out there and the neighborhoods have interesting shops and restaurants.

State tax is collected through sales tax - no state tax to file. Sales tax is kind of stiff, though.

I like Tennessee. I like it better than anywhere I've lived in the US. The winters are fairly mild, and the summers are not as bad as regions to the south.

Best of luck to you.

Regards,
Pat

[ktlove]

Thanks Pat for the great info, I really appreciate it!
I found a website called zillow and it gives you a heck of alot of info county by county but it doesnt tell you west side of town is eclectic and the north has some rough spots.-that's valuable info.
As for my current location, Tampa Bay, so I know traffic.
If you think of any other info a stranger may find helpful, please share!

[TNDadx4]

Hello ktlove,

Welcome to the forum!

Your best bet if you are staying in the Nashville metro area is in the western part of the city, near Vanderbilt University and Centennial Park.

Directly to the East (across the river) and South of the city as well as North (along Charlotte Ave) are low income projects and a higher crime area.

Bee Pipes was right about Stewart's Ferry area (Donelson). It's pretty decent out there and is right near Percy Priest Lake. I would rule out Madison, Antioch and some parts of Nolensville.

If you go to http://pdmap2.police.nashville.org/ it will show you crime maps of the metro area.

Some more info...

Smyrna is a pretty nice area, but you'd be looking at a ~45 minute commute.
The Brentwood area is nice, but the rents/prices are generally more in that area.
Dickson is a small city about 30 miles West of the Nashville with a lot of rural acreage.
Franklin may be worth checking out, but is South and West and may be too far for you.

I travel to Nashville on a regular basis for work and live far outside the city. To me, the commute is worth it to not be in the direct metro area.

Best of luck to you!

[ktlove]

Thanks for the welcome and the info TNDad!
-I wouldn’t consider myself a new member though as I have been a member here for over a year and have been hanging out around here a bit longer than that really. I am rather quiet, a lurker if you will, I haven't very many posts under my belt but never the less, I am here just about daily. My email is through yahoo so it appears as if I am a new member now I guess.-
Anyhow, thanks for the heads up on Madison, the school I will be attending is by 65 and 386 near Goodlettsville. My job is not transferable but my other half's is with the big chain pharmacy that has 3 locations in Madison alone.
I just assume not drive an hour to school so was hoping to find something out a ways from that area itself. I have also heard 65 is a nightmare so I will keep that in mind. I really don’t fare well in traffic, since moving here I have learned that too long in a vehicle or dealing with traffic has the ability to trigger some serious road rage. The fact of that is really I do not have a tolerance for, well, you can use your own term.
All the info shared has been great, I am a research, research, prepare and ready kind of gal, I know I jumping blindly so I need to be mentally ready.
(Like how bee pipes said before he moved he took some time to familiarize himself the layout of the town, I cant even go on vacation without memorizing the street map!)
Now, does anybody want to buy a mobile home in sunny Florida? -Kidding, I know, I know, nobody does!
Thanks again for the input.
kt

[ktlove]

I was missinformed, the school is east, by Donelson near Stewarts Ferry.
Thats good, since you have both mentioned that to be a pretty nice area.

[TNDadx4]

kt, sorry about the new member "thing" :) I understand. I lurked for a while before I joined and then some more before posting a lot, too. :)

As an interesting side note, we moved here from Florida years ago. You'd have to drag me kicking and screaming back there. All-in-all, the area and people are much nicer in TN.

I understand the road rage. I'm not one who likes to sit in traffic either, but the traffic here seems different from FL traffic. Maybe it's my skewed perception.

Keep looking, you'll find something just right. There's a lot of nice areas. The further East of Donelson, the more open areas. Mount Juliet has a low crime rate and is very nice... http://www.bestplaces.net/city/Mount_Juliet-Tennessee.aspx

[ktlove]

TNDad,
I came to Florida from NY State, kicking and screaming you couldn't get me back there and now I cant get out of Florida fast enough.
Look at this from the link you posted:
Mount Juliet public schools spend $4,367 per student. The average school expenditure in the U.S. is $6,058. There are about 0 students per teacher in Mount Juliet.
That reads funny doesnt it?!
Both of you have been real helpful, I appreciate it. I am sure I will have a few more questions in the coming days hopefully you can field.
Thanks again!