About 25 minutes outside of Nashville, you’ll find the lovely city of Gallatin, TN. Located on the banks of Old Hickory Lake, Gallatin is a sportsperson’s paradise, with plenty of nature to explore and enjoy. The city is also quite historic, having been founded way back in 1802! If you’re making the move to Gallatin, you probably have lots of questions about what the pros and cons of living in Gallatin, TN are. To answer them, we put together this list just for you and all the info you need about our fabulous town. So welcome, neighbor, and enjoy!
PRO of Living in Gallatin: Our City is Affordable
No matter where you live in the United States, you’ll have plenty of bills to pay. The good news about Gallatin is that those bills will be about 15 to 25% lower than in other cities. Housing and utility prices are lower, and so are groceries and other goods, making things much easier on your budget. In fact, Tennessee has one of the lowest cost of living indexes in America. (We’re the #9 lowest overall!)
CON of Living in Gallatin: Sales Taxes are High
While the cost of living in Gallatin is undoubtedly affordable, we also (unfortunately) have one of the highest sales tax in the nation, 7%. That increases your cost a bit, that’s for sure. However, when you look at the overall picture, living here is still affordable and this isn’t the worst con to have on the list of pros and cons of living in Gallatin, TN.
PRO of Living in Gallatin: Public Schools Get an A+
One thing essential to young parents is the quality of schools. You’ll be glad to know that, here in Gallatin, they’re very highly rated. For example, Merrill Hyde Magnet School gets an A+ while Jack Anderson Elementary School and Union Elementary School both get A’s. Indeed, no public school is graded at less than a B. That’s great news if you want your kids to get an excellent education (and who doesn’t). This is a big pro for us on this list of
One thing essential to young parents is the quality of schools. You’ll be glad to know that, here in Gallatin, they’re very highly rated. For example, Merrill Hyde Magnet School gets an A+ while Jack Anderson Elementary School and Union Elementary School both get A’s. Indeed, no public school is graded at less than a B. That’s great news if you want your kids to get an excellent education (and who doesn’t). This is a big pro for us on this list of pros and cons of living in Gallatin, TN.
CON of Living in Gallatin: Summer’s are HOT
While wintertime in Gallatin is relatively warm (and, thankfully, short), summer here can get intensely hot and humid. June, July, and especially August see temperatures in the 90s on most days, which, for some, can be overwhelming. That’s why they invented air-conditioning, but prepare to get hot and sticky in summer if you venture outside.
PRO of Living in Gallatin: Outdoor Activities Abound
What can you do on the 1400 Lakes in Tennessee and Gallatin? Practically anything you like! That includes fishing, mountain biking, and white water rafting, to name just a few. We even have snow skiing close by in winter for those of you who like to strap on skis or snowboards! Plus, the scenery here is simply spectacular! If you’ve never been to the Great Smoky Mountains, you’re in for a real treat! Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the best in the United States! Being close to this park is one of our favorite pros on this list of pros and cons of living in Gallatin, TN.
CON of Living in Gallatin: We’re Completely Landlocked
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t love the beach and the coast. In Gallatin, though, you won’t find either. That’s because, like all of Tennessee, we’re entirely landlocked. Tennessee has no coast on the ocean, although, with over 1400 Lakes, boating is still huge here. Amazingly, our state borders eight others, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia! You can certainly drive to the beach, but it will take about 8 hours. (The closest is in Florida’s panhandle region.)
PRO of Living in Gallatin: TONS of History
A major pro for any city is having roots — Gallatin comes with many and that’s a major pro for us on this list of pros and cons of living in Gallatin, TN! From the National Civil Rights Museum to Elvis’s home, Graceland, Gallatin offers plenty of history. Some of the best of them include:
- Douglass-Clark House, the seat of history in Gallatin built in the late 1700s.
- Historic Rose Mont, a gorgeous Greek Revival home.
- Trousdale Place, home of Governor William Trousdale.
- Sumner County Museum and it’s 10,000 square feet of exhibits and artifacts. Some date all the way back to prehistoric times!
CON of Living in Gallatin: We Get Some Severe Weather
Though landlocked, Gallatin has its fair share of severe weather. We don’t have it very often but, when we do, it’s usually pretty nasty. Some of the worst natural disaster threats we experience here include:
- Hurricanes
- Severe thunderstorms
- Occasional tornadoes
- Flash floods
- Very occasional earthquakes
- Severe winter storms
PRO of Living in Gallatin: We Don’t Have Income Taxes
While we mentioned a con of living in Gallatin is that there’s a high sales tax, on the other hand, a major pro is that Tennessee, like eight other states in the United States, doesn’t have personal income taxes. That’s great news for many people, of course, and very helpful when it comes time to make your budget. That being said, there is a 6% tax on interest and dividends called the Hall Tax. Overall, though, no income tax means quite a few more dollars in your bank account at year’s end.
Honorable Mention: Close to Nashville’s Music Scene
If you’re a big fan of country music living in Gallatin is excellent! The reason why is simple; the country music capital of the world, Nashville, is less than 25 miles away! Not only country but also jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, and the blues, all within an hour’s driving distance! That means live music galore of many different genres and many opportunities to see some of music’s best performers!
Honorable Mention: We Have SO Many Fairs
One last pro about Gallatin is that we have all sorts of festivals and fairs every year. There doesn’t seem to be a weekend that goes by without one, which is excellent for the entire family. Some of the best include:
From Your Friends at iStorage
When you arrive in Gallatin, iStorage is here to help you with anything you need to store — we have many storage units in Gallatin, TN. That includes household goods, boats, RV’s, and more! So welcome to gorgeous Gallatin! We genuinely hope that you enjoy living and working here as much as we do!