Pros/Cons to moving to Nashville area (neighborhood, schools)

[Transplant99]

I'd pay a state and/or local income tax to have sidewalks and a million more streetlights.

[N.Cal]

Originally Posted by Transplant99

I'd pay a state and/or local income tax to have sidewalks and a million more streetlights.

And actual public transportation.

[three demon bag]

Originally Posted by Transplant99

I'd pay a state and/or local income tax to have sidewalks and a million more streetlights.

The state government will happily accept your tax dollars and donations. Nothing is stopping you and everyone else who is willing to pay.

[Igor Blevin]

Originally Posted by Transplant99

I'd pay a state and/or local income tax to have sidewalks and a million more streetlights.

I moved from California to Knoxville, but we have the same issues. Severe lack of walkability/sidewalks, dark twisty roads without street lights, overhead electrical lines. I too would be happy to pay more to "fix" these issues. I also DO NOT WANT TO CHANGE THE CHARACTER of Knoxville.

Should long-time locals want these fixes, I am happy to pay my share for them but I do not want to see a bunch of noobs moving in from out of state and then jacking up spending and taxes on locals for these things they haven't been clamoring for.

I am having little to no problem adapting to these things and in the meantime, low taxes add to my overall quality of life and financial security. It will be on me to find a home on a more well lit, wider street that I can navigate in my old age. It will be on me to avoid nighttime driving as I age.

Please don't turn Nashville and other Tennessee cities into the places you came from. There are reasons we moved here. Lets not negate those reasons by making the same mistakes twice.

[Transplant99]

These are safety issues though and better roads and more lighting would benefit everyone. Plus if it weren't for "us," the houses that locals bought 20 years ago for $40,000 wouldn't be worth $800,000 today, and the locals wouldn't have nearly the amount of dining and entertainment options there are now.

I don't buy into the whole don't change where you move mantra either. When cities gain or lose residents, change, be it good or bad, naturally follows.

If the locals wanted Nashville to remain in the 19th century and not become a growing, business-friendly city, then they should have voted in government representatives who were anti-businesss, with a view towards stalling or regressing the city and state. That would have kept many people out who may have different opinions on what's best for the future of the city.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by Transplant99

These are safety issues though and better roads and more lighting would benefit everyone. Plus if it weren't for "us," the houses that locals bought 20 years ago for $40,000 wouldn't be worth $800,000 today, and the locals wouldn't have nearly the amount of dining and entertainment options there are now.

I don't buy into the whole don't change where you move mantra either. When cities gain or lose residents, change, be it good or bad, naturally follows.

If the locals wanted Nashville to remain in the 19th century and not become a growing, business-friendly city, then they should have voted in government representatives who were anti-businesss, with a view towards stalling or regressing the city and state. That would have kept many people out who may have different opinions on what's best for the future of the city.

I agree and welcome the safety changes. To believe having safe roads and mass transit are negative things is being out of touch with reality. And save me the dog whistle argument about crime and taxes going up.

[N.Cal]

Originally Posted by Shakeesha

I agree and welcome the safety changes. To believe having safe roads and mass transit are negative things is being out of touch with reality. And save me the dog whistle argument about crime and taxes going up.

Agree with both of you.

[ABC012]

Originally Posted by Transplant99

Plus if it weren't for "us," the houses that locals bought 20 years ago for $40,000 wouldn't be worth $800,000 today, and the locals wouldn't have nearly the amount of dining and entertainment options there are now.

I've read this forum for years, but have never felt the need to create an account/post until now.

I sincerely hope you are trolling, as otherwise I am left speechless from the amount of self-righteous entitlement contained in this post. This quote genuinely sounds like something I would read from "Eugene, 27yo, they/them, barista" in the Babylon Bee.

Please realize that you've now contributed to a generation of natives either being doomed to becoming renters for life due to overinflated housing costs -or- being forced to move to another lower cost of living area and running the risk of ruining it the same way "you" have.

I'm not even going to address the dining and entertainment comment, as I truly am speechless. The level of tone deafness is... wow.

You are not the hero you think you are. You are a plague.

[three demon bag]

Originally Posted by Igor Blevin

I moved from California to Knoxville, but we have the same issues. Severe lack of walkability/sidewalks, dark twisty roads without street lights, overhead electrical lines. I too would be happy to pay more to "fix" these issues. I also DO NOT WANT TO CHANGE THE CHARACTER of Knoxville.

Should long-time locals want these fixes, I am happy to pay my share for them but I do not want to see a bunch of noobs moving in from out of state and then jacking up spending and taxes on locals for these things they haven't been clamoring for.

I am having little to no problem adapting to these things and in the meantime, low taxes add to my overall quality of life and financial security. It will be on me to find a home on a more well lit, wider street that I can navigate in my old age. It will be on me to avoid nighttime driving as I age.

Please don't turn Nashville and other Tennessee cities into the places you came from. There are reasons we moved here. Lets not negate those reasons by making the same mistakes twice.

Nailed it, brother. Great insight and attitude.

[Jerzg]

Originally Posted by three demon bag

My wife and I have two teenagers just moved to Brentwood 4 months ago from San Diego. We LOVE IT. I was so tired of the CA nanny state, vaccine mandate BS, left-wing nut jobs, etc.

Schools are incredible. Granted, we're in Williamson County and they go to the top public high school in the state, but it's fantastic. The kids are super nice and focused on college, etc. Top notch.

No state income tax. Low property tax. HELL YES. I can't tell you how incredible it is to see the change in our standard of living, and the house we were able to buy. It's heaven.

The weather here is beautiful with the four seasons. Yes, the summer was pretty brutal for a short period of time, but it was atypically hot in late June/early July. Is it San Diego? Of course not. If all you care about is weather, then stay in CA...but that's all it has going for it. Keep in mind that because electricity is SO much cheaper than CA, you can keep your house super comfortable for little cost, whereas it costs a FORTUNE in San Diego to run the AC.

The natural beauty here is ridiculous. Autumn has been incredible. We thought we'd be trading off natural beauty when leaving San Diego, but not at all. It's prettier here with the windy country roads, trees, hills, greenery, wildlife, etc. We have deer running around our backyard.

Bugs? Yea...there are more bugs here but in no way was it oppressive. We just hired a pest control company to come every quarter and do spider and mosquito control. Dudes showed up in Ghostbuster-like equipment and sprayed the hell out of our yard. You should know that Brown Recluses are the typical house spider here, at least in our house. They just put sticky traps everywhere and sprayed around the house. It's not a big deal. Don't kill Wolf spiders because they're the only predator of the Recluse, which isn't as dangerous as people make them out to be.

People are really nice here, definitely moreso than CA by far. And, it's not this "fake nice" that people talk about, although I'm sure there's some of that. My wife and I love going out to bars, live music and dancing, and people are just more outgoing and talkative.

Downtown Nashville is great. The vibe is not pretentious like it is in downtown San Diego, or other major cities. People are dressed casually and just there to have a good time. No judgmentalism. Granted, Nashville is touristy and called "NashVegas" for a reason, so my wife mostly stay in the Franklin area when going out each weekend...super fun and ridiculously talented musicians.

Churches? Yea...more churches here but NOT ONCE has anyone brought up religion or asked where we go to Church. My wife is atheist and I'm agnostic, and she was quite worried about this point. Granted, we live in Brentwood so it may be more of an issue if you live in rural areas, but it's 100% a non-issue where we live.

Extremely helpful post for someone considering Tennessee! We live outside Seattle and vacation in San Diego often and boy, there is nothing like the weather in southern California but I could never afford living there on a fixed retirement income. We are trying to figure out the right area of Tennessee that both my husband and I can agree on so it will be interesting where we land for retirement. My husband has been to the Nashville area often since his best friend lives out there and I had he pointed out the exact same things as you. I also worry since we are not religious people. More spiritual I would say and prefer more progressive churches like Unitarian Universalist and there are a few to choose from in different areas.