Leaving Nashville

[u/Impossible-Pomelo-85]

Have you been living here for a while now and are you wanting to move either because of the traffic, politics, home prices, jobs, culture or religion etc ? Please share your opinions because I have plenty and want to hear other's! Thank you!

Oh and where are you moving to?

[u/Balance_THG]

If you have kids and you want them to have a chance at a better education, then it is actually cheaper to pay the taxes for New Trier schools than it would be for 1-2 kids at most Nashville independent schools. As much as I hate to say it, MNPS is mostly bad the last 10-15 years unless you can luck your way into a lottery magnet.

My wife and I did the math for this two years ago. Yes, our property taxes might be 12k more a year, but a single year at most Nashville independent schools starts at 20k per kid up to 40k.

[u/ChocolateMorsels → u/Balance_THG]

Least relatable comments beneath this one.

But does confirm Nashville is becoming more and more only for the upper 5%. As well as most cities.

[u/beck_y855 → u/ChocolateMorsels]

For the upper 5% who’s motivation to move here is because they don’t want to pay taxes and invest in / believe in the place they currently / used to live, so they ditch it for the Pay-to-Lay states like TN and TX. Then they try to morph the new culture, that they didn’t realize isn’t as conservative as the national news made it seem, to the culture they wanted to find.

[u/Pruzter → u/Balance_THG]

For Nashville this is absolutely true. Williamson county has comparable public schools though to the best that Chicagoland has to offer. You can also get a great education in Nashville, you are just going to pay for it dearly.

But if you are a high enough earner, the trade off in no income tax and low property taxes is still worth it to send your kid to a top tier private school in Nashville vs solid public school in Chicago. I would say the math probably starts to flip once your family income crosses the 600k mark with a home value of $1.5mm+. At this point, you are saving $30k plus a year in income taxes and 10-15k a year in property taxes. Solid private schools are also significantly better capitalized than solid public schools anywhere, so the academic/athletic programs are likely better.

[u/nashvillethot → u/Pruzter]

I went to a top-tier public HS in Chicagoland and then transferred to Brentwood, which was tied for #1 in TN the year I graduated. My class position rocked up about 80 points once we moved here.

North Shore and other public schools are still MILES above Williamson County schools.

[u/Pruzter → u/nashvillethot]

That’s interesting, because from the stats I am looking at Brentwood outranks new trier on college readiness. Brentwood also outranks New Trier overall nationally. I’d give more credit to a statistically driven analysis than an anecdote. Maybe you personally preferred the public school experience on the north shore, but seems like a stretch to say they are MILES ahead.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/tennessee/districts/williamson-county-schools/brentwood-high-school-18264

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/illinois/districts/new-trier-township-high-school-district-203/new-trier-township-high-school-winnetka-153386

[u/nashvillethot → u/Pruzter]

New Trier is 10th in the state, whereas BHS is #4

Illinois's #4 school is Jones which is ranked #53 in the country and college readiness is #108

Brentwood is #221 in the country and ranked #341 on college readiness

So Illinois's #4 spot is placing way, way beyond Tennessee's #4 spot

I also never said I went to New Trier

[u/Pruzter → u/nashvillethot]

You did mention the north shore, so I went with the only public north shore school I know. Don’t bring magnet schools into this, you cannot compare them as the entry system is jacked up and cannot be relied upon or planned for. The public schools in Chicago proper are on average some of the absolute worst in the country, I would absolutely not hold that city up as any sort of shining example to be emulated for education. If anything, the success of the very few successful magnet schools in Chicago just draw attention to the glaring problems and underlying racism baked into the Chicago public school system.

If you live in Chicago, don’t have the money for private school, and your kid doesn’t get into one of the few highly selective public schools you are absolutely screwed. There is a reason why most middle class leave the city for the suburbs to raise a family.

[u/nashvillethot → u/Pruzter]

I mean 60% of the T5 high schools in middle Tennessee are magnet, too

[u/Pruzter → u/nashvillethot]

That’s why I specifically compared two non magnet public schools between the two larger regions. I would completely exclude magnet schools from both regions, as magnets schools don’t function like a normal public school. They function more like private schools.

For the record, I do believe the Chicagoland public schools are better on average than here. I just also think the best (excluding magnet) are comparable. The data also doesn’t support that Chicagoland is „miles ahead“.

[u/Unique_Midnight_6924 → u/Pruzter]

No state income tax in Tennessee is why it sucks so much to live here. The government doesn’t do shit and sucks the life out of working people.

[u/Pruzter → u/Unique_Midnight_6924]

Pros and cons. This is exactly the reason why wealthy people disproportionately move to the state. As I said, if you are worth enough, then it’s a lot more financially beneficial, especially coming from a high income tax state. It all depends on what you value.

[u/atwood_office → u/Balance_THG]

New Trier taxes are going up 10+% a year right now

[u/robmox → u/Balance_THG]

MNPS is mostly bad the last 10-15 years

Based on what?