Young, recent college grad couple moving to Nashville...need advice! (Franklin: apartments, rent)

[JessicaAnne]

Hello!
My boyfriend and I are about to graduate from Grad school in Texas, and are looking to move to Nashville for a nice change of pace for a couple of years. Being recent college grads, we are looking to find a neighborhood/apartment that is affordable, yet close to 'the action', (meaning arts, nightlife, shopping, businesses, etc.) We don't know much about the various neighborhoods in Nashville, or where two young professionals would most enjoy spending some fun years before the whole get married and settle down with a family thing (haha) SO...Does anyone have any suggestions?

[alleycat]

I'd probably first suggest the Midtown area (this is the area around Vanderbilt and Belmont Universities, and includes part of the West End area, Hillsboro Village, and the 21st Avenue area).

Second choice might be one of the nicer parts of East Nashville. Ten or fifteen years ago I wouldn't have recommended East Nashville to anyone who wasn't familiar with the area, but it's changing and might be worth taking a look at now.

[JessicaAnne]

Thanks so much for your opinion! I'll definitely look into it

[mxj1614]

Definitely Midtown either off West End Avenue / 21st Avenue / Hillsboro Village area. Lots of apartments, condos and houses in the area and walking distance to lots of good places. 8th Avenue South is also becoming a pretty popular spot also. Good luck!

[ddurkee75]

The Hillsboro Village/Belmont, Midtown, 12 South, and East Nashville are all pretty hip neighborhoods. If your renting, you can probably find something at a decent price you would enjoy. If your buying, it might be a little more difficult.

[estudiante]

id'e say hillsboro village, but it can be a bit pricey.

[DaveyM]

Hello, I too am like Jessica, my soon to graduate daughter wants to move to Nashville to try and get her music career off the ground. Can you give us a price range on fairly nice one or two BR appartment in the area everyone here has mentioned? Hillboro/Midtown?

I am not familiar with Nashville. Years ago I was stationed in Millington while going to aviation school in the Military, thats it

[ddurkee75]

Davey, I rent in the heart of Hillsboro village. I rent a 1000 square foot apartment (2 bedrooms and 1.5 baths) a block away from Fido. We spend about $1,200 a month on it and we are getting off easy.

Rent isnt cheap in HV. It's a little cheaper in the Belmont area out by Lipscomb as well.

[Prince of Ca$hville]

I'm sure I can answer some of your questions, since many people from outside of Nashville can't admit they have crap nightlife, schools, dining, & architecture compared to Davidson County. I say Davidson County instead of Nashville because they are one
and the same. Davidson County became the Nashville city limits in 1963, & it's important to know what exactly is "in Nashville," since the Nashville area is very spread out.

Nashville's "areas of town":
Downtown(obv), Hillwood/West Meade, Sylvan Park, Belmont, Green Hills, East Nashville, Germantown, Belle Meade, Forrest Hills, Oak Hill, & the Vanderbilt area.

The places above are the best places to live in my opinion as a long-time resident of Nashtown. East Nashville is probably the lowest on the list, sadly, b/c of crime, but it's still better than North Nashville. The areas I mentioned are the best because they have the best mix of nightlife, dining, parks, shops, & people, & are only a 5 to 15 min. commute to work since you're in Davidson County. The architechture is also the best and oldest.

I didn't count Brentwood & Bellevue as being in Nashville (although many people that live there say they live in Nashville when they leave in Middle Tennesse, & that is NOT COOL. You hear me Brentwood&Bellevue? NOT COOL.). They are on the outskirts of town & Nashvillians have no need to go there, & generally only go when necessary. Traffic moves to & fro from these places in generally one direction, that of rush-hour traffic. No one from Nashville goes to Brentwood or Bellevue to "do stuff" (b/c there is nothing to do. Bellevue has an old mall & apartments. That's it. Truth.) If you're on a budget, however,...still don't live there. Live in Franklin. It's the quaint small town with a town square, nice people, etc.

You are closest to our best park, Centennial Park (where the Parthenon is), if you live in the Vandy Area. The park is great, during the DAY (Growing up we always joked about gay people that met up there in shady areas at night, then we heard it was true & it became a lot funnier) With that said, in daytime it's a great place for kids. They have a huge old steam train that every boy likes & a good museum/ gallery in the Parthenon. I think the train is still there. The park also has a good-sized lake with an island for ducks. Kids flip their sh__ when they see ducks.

The public buildings & parks in Nashville are another huge reason why you should live in the city, not the surrounding 'burbs. It's why we don't mind paying a few more $$ in taxes than our neighbors. Our downtown library is new and is world-class, with a HUGE reading room that everyone should at least check out (sorry for the really bad unintended pun). They have murals everywhere, a courtyard in the middle, & maybe a cafe. They have DVDs to check out too, but they probably all suck compared to the books. It's all downtown on Church St.

Green Hills & Belle Meade are the areas I know best. They are within 5mins of each other. Green Hills has a new library. good for kids I guess... Belle Meade has no library because all of the houses have them. They do have their own police force though (with the smallest jurisdiction ever). These guys basically just stop speeders and run security at parties. I've thought about if they want to actually solve crimes as police officers, or just want easy jobs. Live in Belle Meade if you have the means. It's beautiful, with a huge park at the end of it's main road (Belle Meade Blvd.) & a great public golf course, as well as "old-school" Belle Meade Country Club, where some long for the "old days," when Nashville wasn't as good. There are good public & private schools in the area, including Harpeth Hall (Reese Witherspoon's alma mater), an all-girls school that used to have the hottest girls (& biggest *******. Big surprise, right?). Yep. It's true. It's also true that there are insanely conservative, Brooks Brothers only, old-money idiots (& smart people) in Belle Meade, but there are also plenty of open-minded liberals, as well as some Jewish people. I grew up here and I know I found more diversity than I would have in any of Nashville's surrounding areas. "City" out-of-towners take note: the closer to downtown you live, the less cultue-shock you'll have. Nashville is a diverse town, to an extent, but it has deep roots. This clash of differences is one thing i like, & hate, about Nashville. Many people have moved here in recent years and few realize that to have friends outside of town, one must have an appreciation for the country life that many Tennesseans have always loved (even if you think it's really boring & you'd never hang out at a Sonic on Friday night).

For those who care, the best mall in Nashville is "The Mall at Green Hills." No, it's not called the Green Hills Mall like a normal mall. It's better than that. It's the only Nashville mall that has Prada, Tiffany's, Louie V., etc., so if you have a gold-digging wife, sucks to be you. It does have a really good cookie place I gotta mention. & their Santa Claus is probably the most grandiose of them all, if you care about not what Christmas is about. Don't even say Opry Mills. It's for tourists, & I miss Opryland. It was 100 times better than a mall. Opry Mills' stores aren't even that good. Some idiots tore down our great amusement park to build a big, mediocre mall. Sad, but true.

I know something about the bar scene, especially compared to some older people who clearly don't get out much, or are ridiculously biased (Leiper's Fork is only cool if your idea of cool is sitting in the woods, getting bored, & then realizing you should drive to Nashville to find something to do). I won't describe it now though because i've already typed an ass-load...I also know the best local schools, public & private, including some info. that will make some parents angry (Brentwood Academy has problems, dont ever send your kid there, & it's a private school no less). You find out a lot when you talk to graduates...If you want my recommendations on either of these topics, simply reply & ask....


This is random, but I have this theory that could help some people out in terms of deciding where to live:
Some people that move to the 'burbs say they do so to leave the "hustle & bustle" of Nashville. Maybe they say it just to justify it to themselves, but this is hilarious to anyone from a big city, who realizes there is no great hustle & bustle in Nashville, only a little more traffic & people compared to the outlying areas. The funny part is that people leave Davidson County saying they want to leave "the hustle & bustle," then end up hustling more driving to work every day for an hour (or 2), in heavy traffic, on interstates that Nashvillians never even need to use for the daily commute.

-Hope this helps some people. I'll be glad to write more if people reply...Nashville rocks....Go Titans...Free Pacman...& Hope we beat the Colts on Sunday.

[alleycat]

Contrary to Ca$hville's rather odd and lengthy post (which I could make it half-way through), I could live just about anywhere I wanted to . . . and I choose to live in Bellevue.

As they say, each to their own.