Help me find an apartment (Brentwood: extended stay, apartment complex, rentals)

[whyhelloannie]

We are moving to Nashville in less than three weeks and need help finding a rental. I'll be working in South Nashville and have been told to rent in East Nashville.

We are an interracial couple in our 30s with a young son and want more kids. We are looking to rent a 2-3 bedroom apartment or townhome and can't pay more than $1,000 a month. Safety is our number one concern. Would also be nice to live within walking distance of parks, shopping, etc.

Which complexes or companies would you recommend? So far, most of the ones I'm finding have TERRIBLE reviews.

[dngirard]

There's a townhouse available on Channing Drive in Madison/North Nashville for rent right now. 2 bed, 1.5 bath, $895, a pretty good location. I rent from the same landladies, and they're fantastic. It's just a bit north of East Nashville, but with really easy access to the highways (right off of Briley, Ellington and I-65). A commute to South Nashville should be reasonable.

[yank283]

Originally Posted by whyhelloannie

We are moving to Nashville in less than three weeks and need help finding a rental. I'll be working in South Nashville and have been told to rent in East Nashville.

We are an interracial couple in our 30s with a young son and want more kids. We are looking to rent a 2-3 bedroom apartment or townhome and can't pay more than $1,000 a month. Safety is our number one concern. Would also be nice to live within walking distance of parks, shopping, etc.

Which complexes or companies would you recommend? So far, most of the ones I'm finding have TERRIBLE reviews.

The large apt complexes in East Nashville are all a bit sketchy. They haven't caught up with the whole renewal of the neighborhoods that is going on right now. A huge majority of the bad rap that East Nashville gets is from crime that happens in these complexes (usually ex-felon vs ex-felon "disagreements") and Cayce public housing. I'm sure it will eventually change but right now I would probably steer clear. A lot of the good rentals might found on Craigslist and other online sites. I would recommend joining East Nashville Google Groups and looking on that site. Also East Nashville is a really large geographical area. So it encompasses many different neighborhoods, each with their pro's and cons. I would do a search on here and inquire on East Nashville Google groups about the different neighborhoods. I wouldn't rush into anything if you do not know Nashville very well. You might want to rent in a apt complex with a good reputation in another area of town, while you get to know Nashville and in particular East Nashville. From your criteria, I think you will love East Nashville but settling into the right area/situation would be part of that. My apologies for the crappy and choppy sentence structure, blame it on a smart phone. Anyway, good luck.

[whyhelloannie]

Thanks for the help. Very good information to know. Can I get the number for the available townhome?

We were sort of thinking that to start off, we would need to go with a large scale apartment complex in a nice area of town (something we would never do where we live now), because we would be able to see reviews and know that it is safe. Then after being there for a year, we'd move again and rent a house in East Nashville.

So can anyone recommend a mega complex that will be safe? Again, I'm working in the South (sort of SouthEast) part of town, so we would like to be able to commute. People have steered me towards Bellevue.

Even in looking at the mega complexes, most get bad reviews....

Unfortunately, we cannot take our time. We'll be there on March 14 and won't have time to look for apartments as I start my new job almost immediately. So we will have to rent sight unseen.

[Edgefield D]

Maybe some of the ones on Edmondson Pike? I had a friend that lived at Brentwood Downs and he liked it pretty well. It's not exactly a walkable neighborhood...but there are some things you can walk to. A lot of people walk, jog up and down Edmondson. There are several complexes. Brentwood Downs just seems newer and nicer than some of the others. There's a Publix shopping center just around the corner from it.

[CountryGirl2b=]

I realize it means a double move BUT you can rent a storage unit for a month and stay in one of those suite hotels upon arrival and then you can actually LOOK at apartments. I did this while closing on a house. I put my stuff at a storage place in Cool Springs (Mallory Station Storage & Consignment - State Of The Art Self Storage) and they had a truck that I was allowed to use free (had to pay for gas) for one day to move things. And we stayed at the MainStay Suites in Brentwood. It's $65 a night but they might have a weekly rate (Extended Stay Hotels Brentwood TN: Mainstay Suites hotel near Bridgestone Arena, hotel Brentwood). I realize it's a bit of an added expense BUT renting an apartment sight unseen and having to live there a YEAR unless you break your lease could be worse . . . .

[whyhelloannie]

We have a one year old son, so I don't think we could live in a hotel while we searched for a place. As much as I hate to, we really do need to rent a place sight unseen. Will look into some of the apartments mentioned.