Relocating to Nashville

[dharper]

The wife and I just found out that we will be relocating to the Nashville area in early 2014. We have the misfortune to be original Southerners from Baton Rouge suffering in Michigan currently, and cannot wait to get back below the Mason-Dixon line.
If anyone has any experience with the area, what communities/neighborhoods are worth looking into? We've explored south of the city (Franklin, Smyrna, Murfreesboro) and are thinking of looking at Hendersonville, Gallatin area for houses. Any input will be welcome.
This move should allow more time to enjoy my Z4 without having to put it in hibernation in winter. Any input on good independent mechanics in that area?
One last thing. Any good drives that I should put on the list? I know that the topography is a bit less flat there than up here, so I'm looking forward to having enjoyable, scenic drives now.

Thanks for any input y'all can send my way.

[Quetzal]

I live on the east side of Nashville in the Mt. Juliet area. Nashville is a great city and has a lot to offer a family. I would make the decision on where you live based on where you work. If you work downtown there is decent access from all sides of town except the I-24 corridor. Long traffic delays commuting during rush hour along I-24. The Brentwood, Franklin area south of Nashville is very popular. Mt. Juliet to the east is growing and offer a lot of value for the money, plus if you are a boater Mt. Juliet is the city between the lakes. West of Nashville is rural so if you looking for property it's a good place to look. North is Hendersonville and Gallatin. They are on the north side of the Cumberland River so I'm not that familiar with what they offer, though there are a lot of nice lake homes. My suggestion is to live on the side of the Cumberland River you work on. There are only a few bridges over the river.
As for roads we are blessed with good twisty roads with smooth pavement in every direction. Good luck with the move. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[E85 Sport]

Quetzal pretty much summed it up. I'm in Nashville too. Lets go for a drive in the spring, I can show you some nice scenery.

[dharper]

Thanks for the quick replies and advice. We were down that way earlier in the year on a scouting trip, totally unrelated to this move, but considering the area just the same. We looked at Smyrna and Murfreesborogh, but the Hendersonville or Gallatin area seems more like our speed to start looking for houses, but no areas are off the table (except maybe Franklin, a little pricey but a great town that has a really nice little Cajun joint downtown (we're from Louisiana after all...)).
I'm looking forward to driving some decent, interesting roads for a change. Every single road up here is flat and straight, and poorly maintained.

Thanks again for the advice. I'll look y'all up when we finally get there, hopefully soon as I'm really tired of shoveling snow...

Dan

[E85BMW]

Tail of the Dragon! It's about 3 and a half hours east of Nashville.

[dharper]

Anyone know of/have experience with any good indy shops around the Nashville area? Once I get the car down there I need a good alignment after replacing the suspension this fall. The weather turned before I could find the time to have it done before putting the car up for winter.

Thanks!

[jerij]

Originally Posted by Kitsune sama

Tail of the Dragon! It's about 3 and a half hours east of Nashville.

A VERY good place to take your RX-7 also!

[dharper]

Update: FINALLY bought a house in Hendersonville and sold our house up here in Yankeeland. Movers show up on 4/30 to start packing. We'll be in H'Ville 5/5.

Does anyone know of a good alignment shop around the area? I need an alignment on the Z4 once I get it down there.

Thanks again for the input!

[TennesseeZ4]

Welcome to top down driving in the Southeast! You will find a great number of pleasant roads in middle and east Tennessee, with the Smokey Mountains providing a large number of options. On the plateau, you can find a really diverse road group. Here is a link that some of us use to plot get-aways: http://www.motorcycleroads.com/Route...essee_118.html

Don't mind that it says motorcycle roads, they accept Z4's quite nicely. There are a couple of indies that are in the area and come recommended by friends: Akin Bimmer Works in Brentwood, and Bimmers USA in Nashville. I tend to use BMW of Nashville for the alignment function and they do a great job, good folks. You can also check out the Old Hickory Chapter of the BMWCCA for some additional input. Once you get settled, come on down to the Cars and Coffee every Saturday morning from 7 ~ 9 at the Thoroughbred Cinema parking lot in Franklin. The first Saturday of the month is exotics day, and there are some very nice vehicles. You will find a number of Z3 and Z4's each week, along with some nice 3 and 5 series examples.

[dharper]

Hey TennesseeZ4, thanks for the response and suggestions. We FINALLY got down here about a week ago, and I have thoroughly enjoyed driving top-down around Hendersonville. I haven't had time to venture out too far yet as we are still unpacking boxes and setting up the house, but I plan to soon. I really would like to plan a visit to the Cars and Coffee in Franklin. I'll reach out to BMW Nashville and see what they can do for me with the alignment. I guess the first step would be to get the cars registered in TN and get a TN drivers license.
Thanks again to all for the input. I hope to see some of you around soon. Please don't hesitate to send along any other suggestions for fun roads. My mother-in-law lives in Kodak, near Sevierville, so that may be a good excuse to take the roadster over there to check out some roads too...