Columbia, TN

[Colleen27]

Anyone familiar with the area? Cost of living, schools, etc.? I have a vague sense that it is on the fringes of the Nashville metro area but don't know anything more than that.

My husband's boss asked him if he'd be open to a possible transfer there in the fall. I'm not sure we're even seriously considering it, and if we are it might be him going when the job starts and us not following for a year or two so DD11 can finish middle school at the PK-8 she's attended since preschool, but I figure it can't hurt to get a sense of the area long before any decision would have to be made.

 

[spiders]

I've never been to Columbia. Nashville itself is booming, though. Columbia is close to Franklin. There's a lot of money in Franklin.

Lots of positive things about Tennessee. No state income tax is a big one. The state itself is beautiful. It's a quick drive to Chattanooga, about 3 hours to Knoxville and 3.5 to The Great Smoky Mountains. Lots of great outdoor opportunities. Don't head west, though. There is nothing to see in Memphis.

 

[rebbeca]

I'm about 40 miles west of Columbia in Shelbyville. I have lived all over the country. Moved to middle TN 25 years ago and consider it home. I love this area.

 

[Darcy03231]

My SIL lives in Franklin. It's a wonderful area with good schools. DH and I considered relocating to the area when we first got married, but with both of us being divorced and having custody of our children the logistics were too much to handle. I still kind of wish we made the move.

 

[Music City Mama]

I'm a little north of there (in between in it and Nashville). You'll probably want to put your child in private school -- Maury (pronounced "Murrey", btw) County School System isn't the greatest. Overall, I wouldn't say Columbia is a bad place, though. If you move a little farther north, you'd be in one of the best public school systems in the state, although, we just found out this morning that the first case of Coronavirus in TN is in our county and schools will be closed for a couple of days for a deep cleaning. Ugh.

 

[Colleen27]

Lots of positive things about Tennessee. No state income tax is a big one. The state itself is beautiful. It's a quick drive to Chattanooga, about 3 hours to Knoxville and 3.5 to The Great Smoky Mountains. Lots of great outdoor opportunities. Don't head west, though. There is nothing to see in Memphis.

No state income tax is definitely a plus! Ours is a flat 4.25%, so that's a pretty good chunk we'd be saving even on a fairly modest income.

It's funny you say that about Memphis. We were there a few years back and loved it. We camped just across the river in Arkansas and spent three days from morning till night exploring the city. Although I've been to Nashville more often, we've never stayed there - we've always just been passing through or daytripping on our way to somewhere else.

I absolutely love the mountains, all mountains, so the physical environment has a lot of appeal. Michigan is lovely in places but so very, very flat. And so far from anywhere that isn't.

My SIL lives in Franklin. It's a wonderful area with good schools. DH and I considered relocating to the area when we first got married, but with both of us being divorced and having custody of our children the logistics were too much to handle. I still kind of wish we made the move.

Yeah, looking at the school rating sites gave me that impression of Franklin, but real estate there is pricier than I'd be willing/able to deal with. Selling our current home, which we own outright, wouldn't even be decent down payment there! And while I can accept having a mortgage again for the sake of the opportunity and the pay increase, I'm not on board with being house-poor. Especially not for the sake of a school system when we've only got one kid, a 6th grader, still at home.

I'm a little north of there (in between in it and Nashville). You'll probably want to put your child in private school -- Maury (pronounced "Murrey", btw) County School System isn't the greatest. Overall, I wouldn't say Columbia is a bad place, though. If you move a little farther north, you'd be in one of the best public school systems in the state, although, we just found out this morning that the first case of Coronavirus in TN is in our county and schools will be closed for a couple of days for a deep cleaning. Ugh.

Looking at Zillow (which I know isn't always the most accurate, but it is easier than most MLS sites), it doesn't look like there are a whole lot of bargains to be had in good school systems in the area. Is that generally the case, or are their school boundaries not quite right? We do already send our daughter to private school, so continuing to do so if DH wants to take this opportunity wouldn't be a big deal at all.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I've found this website of use when considering new to me areas:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/

 

[Jedimom33]

We live in Franklin, right on the edge of Thompson's Station. We love it here , and schools are generally great, wonderful teachers, lots to offer, but most certainly very overcrowded at some, due to insane out of control building. But it's a great place, lots of nice folks from all over. Spring Hill is very nice too, and many of the kids' friends are there. But the city is split between 2 counties, so make sure if you are looking for Williamson County schools, you look just on that side of Spring HIll. Traffic is nuts too. But if you're commuting to Columbia, it might not be so bad, more the opposite of where the majority are heading. Prices are on the very high side right now. Maybe they'll drop soon, but I they're a LOT higher than when we bought 10 years ago. Good luck!!! we moved here from Louisiana, and we've really been happy.

 

[Colleen27]

We live in Franklin, right on the edge of Thompson's Station. We love it here , and schools are generally great, wonderful teachers, lots to offer, but most certainly very overcrowded at some, due to insane out of control building. But it's a great place, lots of nice folks from all over. Spring Hill is very nice too, and many of the kids' friends are there. But the city is split between 2 counties, so make sure if you are looking for Williamson County schools, you look just on that side of Spring HIll. Traffic is nuts too. But if you're commuting to Columbia, it might not be so bad, more the opposite of where the majority are heading. Prices are on the very high side right now. Maybe they'll drop soon, but I they're a LOT higher than when we bought 10 years ago. Good luck!!! we moved here from Louisiana, and we've really been happy.

Yeah, I'm getting the sense that affordable houses and decent schools don't go together down there. Which is unfortunate, because we're coming from a place where real estate is still quite inexpensive. We'll get something around $125K for our house when we sell and don't want to take on a such a big mortgage that it erases the pay increase that comes with the new job, so even with $100+K of that going towards a down payment, Williamson County is likely out of the question.

Do you know anything about private schools in the area? My girls attend(ed) Catholic schools up here, but in Michigan there are a TON of Catholic schools still. I'm not seeing much in TN on the Diocese of Nashville schools page - lots of K-8, not many high schools and none of them in the right area. But there's so much more variation in quality and worldview/approach to science among non-Catholic Christian schools that investigating them feels like a daunting task.

 

[Southernmiss]

Yeah, I'm getting the sense that affordable houses and decent schools don't go together down there. Which is unfortunate, because we're coming from a place where real estate is still quite inexpensive. We'll get something around $125K for our house when we sell and don't want to take on a such a big mortgage that it erases the pay increase that comes with the new job, so even with $100+K of that going towards a down payment, Williamson County is likely out of the question.

Do you know anything about private schools in the area? My girls attend(ed) Catholic schools up here, but in Michigan there are a TON of Catholic schools still. I'm not seeing much in TN on the Diocese of Nashville schools page - lots of K-8, not many high schools and none of them in the right area. But there's so much more variation in quality and worldview/approach to science among non-Catholic Christian schools that investigating them feels like a daunting task.

MIL lives in Middle Tennessee about 45 minutes south of Columbia. There is not a big Catholic population in the area. This is more of the "Bible Belt" with lots of Church of Christ, many forms of Baptist, and other non-denominational churches. And there are a lot of churches.

We have attended the 2 Catholic churches near her-very small congregations. One does have a K-8 school. I do not think that there is a Catholic High School in her area.

You can certainly email the Diocese of Nashville to see what might be near the area you are looking at.

The 2 parishes we have attended have priests who are from India and on our last visit in January, the Bishop was going to India with one of the priests the next day. I presume to seek other priests to help in the Diocese.

The area is beautiful with rolling hills and lots of countryside.

For 3-5 day visits, we have always found lots to see and explore and find the people and communities there to be very nice and welcoming. More of a small town, slower feel, and things are spread out.

I would say your $125,000 even in that area probably would not buy what you may be used to.

Nashville is sprawling and spreading out. In MIL's area, a new high end development is coming in to house the executives in businesses that need to be near Nashville, but are not needed to be IN Nashville. If that makes sense. Her area is seeing a lot of growth of industry due to the proximity to Huntsville, Nashville, and Memphis. Many industries are finding the area a good location.

The public schools are taking note that the executives coming in to the area will be looking at schools for their children and are working to meet that demand.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Columbia is formerly a sleepy town that the interstate skirted but did not go through that is growing toward the interstate and becoming an exurb of Nashville. That said it's going to have its plusses and its drawbacks. The schools are just ok. Nightlife is non existent, and you'll have to go into Franklin for power shopping and the like (unless you just want to go to Walmart or lowes or the like and all the way into Nashville for any fine dining. There is some decent food in Columbia. We like a pizza place and a steakhouse there. But other than that and the usual chains it's lacking. But you'll also find housing still affordable there relative to Williamson County. The median home value there is about 211k. Maury County as a whole is just over 150k. The newer builds in Columbia, however, are 250k and up with many in the 300s. Most people are friendly, however, if you have a prius, you can expect to get coal rolled. Maury county passed a tax referendum to fund its schools better so expect some improvements there in the near future. I would actually prefer Columbia to Franklin though as it is far less me first and far more laid back. Be careful of some areas close to the Duck River. It is prone to flash flooding.

 

[Music City Mama]

I think @Cannot_Wait_4Disney's assessment is pretty much spot on with everything.

I can't think of any Catholic private schools in the immediate area (a few in Nashville).

The only other city in Williamson County that might be in your price range is Fairview, but it would be about an hour's drive from Columbia. There are some unincorporated areas like College Grove and Bethesda too, but those areas typically have more land, so probably pricey for the most part. You may possibly find some homes in Spring Hill or Thompson's Station for around $250K.

 

[Colleen27]

Columbia is formerly a sleepy town that the interstate skirted but did not go through that is growing toward the interstate and becoming an exurb of Nashville. That said it's going to have its plusses and its drawbacks. The schools are just ok. Nightlife is non existent, and you'll have to go into Franklin for power shopping and the like (unless you just want to go to Walmart or lowes or the like and all the way into Nashville for any fine dining. There is some decent food in Columbia. We like a pizza place and a steakhouse there. But other than that and the usual chains it's lacking. But you'll also find housing still affordable there relative to Williamson County. The median home value there is about 211k. Maury County as a whole is just over 150k. The newer builds in Columbia, however, are 250k and up with many in the 300s. Most people are friendly, however, if you have a prius, you can expect to get coal rolled. Maury county passed a tax referendum to fund its schools better so expect some improvements there in the near future. I would actually prefer Columbia to Franklin though as it is far less me first and far more laid back. Be careful of some areas close to the Duck River. It is prone to flash flooding.

A lot of this sounds like where we live now. We're about 50 miles from Detroit, where it is exurbs near the interstate and corn fields away from it (we're 15 miles from I-94 and 12 of those miles are corn). No nightlife, so that wouldn't be a change. No shopping - even Walmart and Lowes are 20 miles from me. One decent seafood place and some pubs, otherwise dining out it is McDonalds or pizza delivery. We even have that particular breed of jerk that feels compelled to coal roll a Prius. All of that I can handle, and I'm happier with laid back and a little more "country" than conspicuous consumption suburbia.

Thanks for the tip about flooding. That's one thing that will take some getting used to - our area floods, but only slightly and in the slow-rising-water sense, not flash flooding.

 

[Colleen27]

I would say your $125,000 even in that area probably would not buy what you may be used to.

That part I expect. Our area is rather uniquely affordable even for our relatively low cost part of Michigan, so I don't expect our money to go as far anywhere else. But this job would come with an almost $20K annual pay increase, so there's a fair amount of mortgage that could be absorbed without negating the benefit of the move, especially since it looks like a number of other costs are also lower down there (state income tax, property tax, car insurance).

 

[CogsworthTN]

Columbia is in Maury County. North Maury County has higher home prices due to a boom in new residents. I live in southwest Columbia and the home prices are not as expensive. The area prone for flooding is East Columbia called riverside. We have a great hospital, good restaurants, and the residents are friendly. Columbia is also a close driving distance to Spring Hill, where GM is located and to the Williamson County area.

Columbia has three private schools. Columbia Academy, Zion Christian Academy, and Agothas. Since your youngest is in the sixth grade, I highly recommended one of these private schools. I would not send my own children to either of the two public middle schools (Whitthorne middle or Cox middle) I know this because I currently teach at one of those schools.

The neighborhood I live in, also is the home of the builder, and three realtors. It’s quiet and convenient to everything. If you would like the name of one of these realtors you can PM me. Good luck on your move to my home.