We’re only a couple months from our new home being done and we couldn’t be more excited! I figured it was about time I shared a little bit more about our building process and how we chose our new home. Moving across the country is not for the faint of heart, and this process certainly didn’t come without its challenges. Throughout the decision making process though we realized there will always be pros and cons of a certain location, builder, house design, etc…and we just tried to do what we thought would ultimately be best for our family.

First, a little back story on why we decided to move to Nashville. Originally we moved to Southern California for my husband’s job and at that time he was going into an office everyday to work. Flash forward a couple of years and he began working from home. It really was at that time that we realized we didn’t have to live in Southern California anymore. While we loved it and had made wonderful friends, the cost of living is very high and it prevented us from doing other things we wanted like vacations, remodels, etc. So it always lingered in the back of our minds that we could live somewhere else. For many reasons that could became a should. Nashville offered us a little more financial freedom and a family friendly, slower paced lifestyle that we both craved. Brad’s job also is better out here since many of his clients are east coast based. It was a win win win so we decided to just go for it!

Now, WHERE in Nashville? We looked at a few new build options and resales and let me tell you the market was NUTS. We first started our search in January 2021 and by the time we actually had our ducks in a row and could put offers in on homes, house prices had gone up by hundreds of thousands. Yikes. We really wanted to stay at our original budget and not follow the market craze by upping our comfortable price as well. Thankfully we found a great new build option and went for it! We’re building with a larger home builder in a community a little outside of Franklin, TN. There are some pros and cons to our choice but ultimately we are incredibly happy with our decision!

PROS:

• BEDROOMS: One of the initial draws of moving to Nashville was to gain a little more space in our home for our family of six. With four kids, it really is a luxury for them to all have their own room, but we were really hoping to give them that with this move. We’re incredibly thankful that in our new build each kiddo will have their own room. We also have a guest room that we are hoping our California family and friends will take advantage of often!
• BASEMENT: ie teen hangout, romper room, play space….we’re so happy to have a basement in this new house so the kids and their friends have a place to hang out and play!
• OUR LOT: Our Southern California home backed up to a hill and we had a neighbor only to one side of us (the BEST neighbor I might add, hi Holly if you’re ready this). Since we were already used to looking out to nature we certainly didn’t want to move to beautiful TN only to look into another home. Backing to trees was an absolute must for us and we also wanted to be away from any major roads. Our new lot checks both of those boxes and I can’t wait to sit on our back deck overlooking our beautiful trees!
• TIMING & MATERIALS: Our builder doesn’t seem to be dealing with the delays and material issues that other builders are having in the area. I think because they are larger and not custom we are able to avoid these problems. We are so thankful that the house is moving along and our target move in date has not been pushed back! Yet anyway! 🙂
• KID FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD: I think being in a new neighborhood makes it a little easier for kids to make friends and adjust. We knew this was going to be a big move for our kiddos, so even though country properties appealed to us in many ways, we knew a neighborhood would likely make our kiddos feel a part of the community faster.

CONS:

• NOT CUSTOM: This is definitely our biggest con…our house is much more of a track home and we can’t make the custom changes during the build that we’d ultimately prefer. We had to pick from a limited selection for flooring, tile and finishings.
• PROJECTS ONCE WE MOVE IN: Because we don’t get to do the custom details while the build is being done, we’re going to end up with a lot of projects on our wish list once we do move in. I’m already planning on re-doing some flooring and customizing the kitchen.
• EXTERIOR: My dream house is a white traditional house in a neighborhood full of trees and unique, older, charming homes. Let’s face it, we’re not getting that with this newer community 😉

All in all we really feel like the pros outweigh the cons. We’re getting the size house we want for our family and we already have friends in our new neighborhood. Landscaping will grow and we’ll customize our home over time, so the cons are somewhat ‘fixable.’ I think it really does go to show that nothing is perfect though! We’re just so blessed to be building this house and excited for the future it brings. Stay tuned as we continue the build!