Moving to TN Need Help Finding Area

Gallatin is an up and coming area, but I would suggest Green Hills as a place to start looking, especially if you are coming from a more cosmopolitan area. Davidson County public schools are spotty, but the magnet schools are excellent - get information on the lottery IMMEDIATELY. Also, Williamson County (Brentwood, Cool Springs, Franklin)is known for having great public schools.

Williamson County schools are the best public school systems in the Middle Tennessee area...I think Sumner County (which is Gallatin) are good school systems, too. If you can afford private school then that's the best option but you should be pleased with Sumner County. Good Luck!

I've live in Hendersonville, which is just south of Gallatin, but I own a house in Gallatin. If you will be working in Nashville, Gallatin won't be to far, but there are closer places. Gallatin can be a bit more affordable than closer locations, but the schools are tricky. Sumner County, where Gallatin is, has pretty good school scores, and depending on your exact location in Gallatin you stand a good chance of getting into some of the nicer schools. I would definitely do some research before committing to a lease or buying a house. Hendersonville is very nice, closer t Nashville, and has some great schools! Mt Juliet, in Wilson County, east of Nashville, is as close to Nashville as Gallatin and the schools are a bit nicer, but make sure you are in Wilson County and NOT Davidson.

Hi M.,

We just moved into the Crieve Hall neighborhood and LOVE it. It is on the south side of town near Brentwood. Crieve Hall Elementary and Granbery Elementary are both good public schools in the neighborhood. I'm not sure what part of town you'll be working in, but my husband has a 15 minute commute to downtown, and I have a 10 minute commute to Brentwood. It's a nice neighborhood with a lot of 30-somethings with kids (or starting families) moving into the area. I do not recommend the Antioch area of town. Here is a good website that will let you narrow your search by school district if you find a school that you prefer. Realtracs.com

Good luck in your house search! And welcome to Nashville! I think you'll love living here.

M.

M.,
Please consider part of town where you will be working, as traffic can be very bad during peak drive times. We have lived in Bellevue (west of downtown) for 15 years, and love it! The area is growing, everything you need is available in this part of town - shopping, good doctors, etc. Nicer than Gallatin in my opinion. Good Luck!

The best schools are in Wilson County (Mt.Juilet), Franklin and the Brentwood areas. However, you will have to commute from these locations into Nashville (not to far from Wilson). Nashville schools do have some good magnet and charter schools as well(but you will need to research them). I would stay away from the Antioch area (this is a must) unless you are looking at private schools and in that case Ezell Harding is a really good school.You can go to www.MNPS.org to check out the report cards of area school. I hope this info helps.

C. J

The commute from Gallatin to Nashville is HORRIBLE! You'd do better to be in closer. Check out the southern part of Hendersonville. The schools are supposed to be pretty good.

I don't know your financial situation, but even in Metro Davidson county there are good schools. Hillsboro cluster has some of the best schools in the county. My son goes to Glendale Spanish Immersion Elementary School and I am very pleased with the quality of education and parental involvement.

Check out www.mnps.org for more info on Davidson County schools. Also check www.greatschools.org. That website gives pretty detailed information on schools; demographics, standardized test scores, that kind of thing.

Good Luck

If you want to live in Davidson County, I would recommend the Hermitage or Bellvue areas. The schools are better and the neighborhoods are safer.

Metro Nashville Public Schools web site: http://www.mnps.org

The best schools in Davidson County are the academic magnet schools. Martin Luther King Academic Magnet High School and Hume Fogg Academic Magnet High School rank in the top 100 schools in the nation. No other schools in middle Tennessee rank in the Newsweek or the US News and World Reports Top 100 Schools in the Nation.

MLK web site: http://www.mnps.org/PageFactory.aspx?PageID=664
Hume Fogg web site: http://www.mnps.org/PageFactory.aspx?PageID=130

Meigs Academic Magnet Middle School and Head Magnet Middle School are the best middle schools in Davidson County. Meigs is a feeder middle school to Hume Fogg. Head is a feeder middle school to MLK. Meigs has academic requirements for admission. Head does not have academic requirements for admission. We have two sons at MLK and a daughter at Meigs. We are very happy with their schools and their teachers.

Meigs web site: ttp://www.meigsmagnetms.mnps.org/site16.aspx
Head web site: http://www.mnps.org/PageFactory.aspx?PageID=122

Your child has to meet academic requirements (GPA and test scores) to attend academic magnet schools. There are also magnet schools that do not have academic requirements. You have to apply to attend magnet schools and your child gets in through a lottery system. The academic magnet schools in Davidson County are the best schools in the state. You have to reside in Davidson County to apply to attend them. Call the Board of Education Magnet School Office for additional information. ###-###-####. They can tell you the deadlines for applying and mail you brochures on all the magnet schools. If you are past the deadline you can apply for your child to be put on the waiting list.

There are several good neighborhoods with good school systems outside of Davidson County. Williamson County, Rutherford County, Sumner County, and Wilson County all have good school systems and safe neighborhoods.

Williamson County Schools web site: http://www.wcs.edu/
Franklin Special School District web site: http://www.fssd.org/
Rutherford County Schools web site: http://www.rcs.k12.tn.us/
Murfreesboro City Schools web site: http://www.cityschools.net/
Sumner County Schools web site: http://www.sumnerschools.org/
Wilson County Schools web site: http://www.wcschools.com/

Get a good realtor to show you around. Most schools have a web site. You can go online and visit the web sites. You can visit the school and meet the principal before you buy a home in the neighborhood. Go to a sporting event, musical performance, or play at the school and check out the students, teachers, and parents. See if you think it would be a good fit for your child. Good luck! Welcome to Tennessee!

Hi M.,
We moved from Scottsdale,AZ in June to Brentwood,TN. WE LOVE IT!!!! My husband retired early from dentistry, so we could pick anywhere to live. We knew we wanted to get back to mid west or south since this is where our families are. We researched every city from Ohio-Mississippi for the best school system, living standards. Williamson County kept coming up on the top of the list. The school system was the most crucial part for us because my oldest son needs public school resources. I have been so impressed with our school. I would definitely reccomend living inside Williamson County. We had a great realtor ,so we are very familar with all the neighborhoods in this area. I can give you some places to look for homes if you send me your price range or I can give you the contact info of my realtor. She is amazing, not only will she find you the home you want she will make sure you know your way around and get you in contact with anyone you need. You can also email me later for numbers of doctors, hairdresser, ect...
Best of luck to you,
J.

Hi M.. People in the south are generally very friendly and look out after their friends. Gallatin is a pretty area, kind of "far removed" unless that's where your work is! If you're "alone" I'd suggest someplace close to work/school so when your daughter needs you .. you can actually "quickly" get to her. I live in Ridgetop (Robertson county) taxes are a little better there and it's a small community. My dad moved us to this area in the early 70s because he felt it was a "better" area to be in. (for several reasons-some still exist today) I went to Greenbrier high school and so did my oldest son.. actually watauga and greenbrier all the way thru school.. then we put our younger son in private school.. Davidson Academy until after the 6th grade and now he's going to Greenbrier. (age 14) If you have any specific questions.. I'll sure try to answer them for you.

K. M
____@____.com

M.,
I have been in the Middle TN area since 1987. I have two children but they are not in school yet. It really depends on your price range as to where you should look. If you are strictly basing your location on good schools, Brentwood is definately the best area (but very pricey). Mount Juliet is a rapidly growing area just outside of Nashville that is affordable and still offers a good school system.

Mount Juliet is a favorite pick and is actually a suburb of Nashville. Lebanon is very popular right now but is a little far for my taste, and Watertown is a small community that has an awful lot to offer children, still farther than I'd like to travel to work. Lots of arts there, for some reason, and lots of community involvement. My friend has four children, 4-14, home schooled, and they are busy as little bees. If you want to live in Nashville but not right inside, Old Hickory is nice with houses on or very near the lake and without the traffic of Nashville proper. All the areas mentioned have good schools. However, I must say, most of the folks I know have their children in private schools, so research carefully.

My coworker is very interested in real estate (not selling, just looking) and has a broker friend who sold one of her houses for her. If you'd like, email me and I'll send you his name. ____@____.com

Brentwood school is the best in Nashville. We moved here in mid 2006 due to job relocation and I checked out the school system first when we were deciding where to purchase the house even though our daughter was only 2 months old at the time. I also work in Nashville, close to Vanderbilt, the communte isn't too bad. The housing is a bit more than other areas; however, it is very safe and children's futuer is worth the investment. Alternatively, all Williamson County school rank high over all, you may also want to consider city of Franklin, which is a south of Brentwood. Good luck with the move and house hunting.

Gallatin is a nice area, I live in Nashville and have ventured through there. There are other nice areas as well, depending on what you can afford. It's a small town, quiet, and about half an hour outside of Nashville, good choice.

When going to work you'll need to be sure to leave in plenty of time for your commute, you'll be fine!

Hendersonville is just south of Gallatin (and closer in to Nashville) I would suggest it for the school system. I have several friends who live there and I also know several teachers who work in the system. I would stay out of the Metro Nashville area because of the school system. Good Luck!

We just moved to Nahville this last summer from California. We left all of our family. My husband and kids were all born in Calif. and I've lived there since I was 7. We moved to Franklin, TN and absolutely love it. Grassland Elementary School is one of the best public schools.There are so many good schools to choose from. We're out in the country a little, but it only takes 7 minutes to get into various towns and 10 min. into Nashville.TN people are so friendly and it's a great place to raise children. Our kids are 11 and 12. S. R.

Hey M.,
I am a Real Estate agent in Nashville. I have lived here all my life, so I can understand your concerns about moving so far away from your home, family and friends. I will be happy to send you information on the area, and schools. I can send you websites to link to and can send you listings of the different areas so you can see what the price ranges are for different areas. The market is still pretty good here. Sales are down a little, but the prices remain steady. Nashville is Davidson County. There are 7 other counties that surround Davidson and they al hve partnered together to try to bring commerce, jobs and people to the area, so when you hear "Nashville" or "Nashville and surrounding area" you may be hearing about Gallatin, Hendersonville, Murfreesboro, Mt Juliet. of several other cities here. A 30 minute from downtown Nashville can put you in several different cities and counties so you need to get an idea of each area before you make the investment in a house.
Here is my contact information
C. Holmes
EXiT Realty Music City
124 12th Ave S 6th Floor
Nashville, TN 37203
Cell ###-###-####
Office ###-###-####
Fax ###-###-####
____@____.com or ____@____.com

if you would like me to start sending you information please email me with yours. There is one publication that comes out here for new construction that has some great numbers on schools, but I need to mail it. If you don't mind e-mailing your address, I will send you one of those and an area map so you can see how Nashville is laid out in conjunction with Gallatin and other areas.

I look forward to hearing from you!

C.

M.,

I live in Tennessee in Brentwood which is immediately south of Nashville. If you are looking at schools specifically, Williamson County (where Brentwood is) has some of the best public schools in the state. Depending on how far you're willing to commute to work, you might want to look in Nolensville or Franklin. Brentwood would be the most expensive probably, but Ravenwood and Brentwood high schools are EXCELLENT. Feel free to email me at ____@____.com if I can help you in ANY way!!!

S.

Hey M.!
Welcome to Tennessee. I have lived in Sumner, Robertson and Williamson counties which all border Davidson county which Nashville is in. Gallatin is in Sumner county which has wonderful schools. I actually moved from Davidson to Williamson for their schools 2 years ago. You will love Tennessee and the people. Everyone is very nice and there is a lot to do. As far as investment purposes, Williamson county is a good bet that you will get a good return as well. I have heard good things about areas in Rutherford county (Murfreesboro) as well.
There is a website www.realtracs.com that you can go to to see houses and get info in certain price areas.
Hope this helps.
J. M.

Gallatin is a pretty long way from Nashville and the traffic at rush hour is usually worst in that direction - Brentwood Franklin area most say are the best but high dollar living, I moved from Nashville to LaVergne/Smyrna area(Rutherford County) about 9 years ago and we love the area. Smyrna is close enough to Nashville to not be a long comute and the school system seems so much better than Nashville, Davidson County. It has really grown recently and has all the conveinences of big citystores and close to several malls and the city is very big on parks and recreation. i have a 21yr old who graduated from LaVergbne High now going Middle TN State Univ. in Murfreesboro Tn (also Rutherford County) and a 12 year old who is in the 7th grade at LaVergne Middle school and I think the school and teachers are really good - my daughter is loving it and making great grades. She also just joined the Lavergne girls softball and it seems very well organized. Several natural areas, historic area lots of parks etc in the county (Murfreesboro is very nice and much larger than Smyrna/LaVergne but is aboutn 15-20 minutes further up interstate - anyway - might just want to check the area. I hear a lot of good things about Mt. Juliet in Wilson County as well - still close to Nashville - D.

Hi,
I am a retired school teacher here in Nashville. Where you live depends s lot on where you will be working. Gallatin is a distance north of the city. Living there may give you a difficult commute.
Many offices are located in the Cool Springs area near Franklin in Williamson County. The schools in Williamson County are usually excellent.
Nashville is in Davidson County. Let me know the location of your work and I will tell you the best schools convenient for
you.
Best to you, C. T.

Williamson County south of Nashville has some of the best schools around.

M.- Not to worry. Nashville is by far the friendliest places ever. I grew up in Atlanta and knew I would never leave there and my family. Then I married my husband and we have been from Illinois, KY, back to Atlanta, now to Nashville and are moving on to Austin, TX soon but Nashville has been wonderful. We live in Franklin (Cool Springs) area. I stay at home but it only takes my husband 30 min. to get into town and I never go more than 10 miles or so from home to do ANYTHING. Everything you want and need is right here and the SCHOOLS IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY are the BEST!!! My daughter is 9 and has some special needs. We put her in private school the first year we were here and have moved her to the public system (Walnut Grove Elem.) this year because they can offer us the exact same special needs right down to a helper in the class with her 3 hours a day in this public school system. Gallatin in nice but I think for schools and busy families Franklin has more to offer. Good luck to you and if you come to Franklin you have nothing to fear. Everyone will make you feel right at home. Promise!!

T. A.