Anyone familiar with Atlanta & Nashville - need some recs! (Green Hill: real estate, apartment)

[30305atl]

Pondering a move from Atlanta to Nasvhille

We are in our late 30s / early 40s and have two children, 3 and 5. We live in Buckhead in Atlanta, in a fairly urban neighborhood in walking distance to everything we could need - restaurants, grocery, drugstore, shoes & clothing stores, etc. Our children are at a private school that is non-religious - in fact, it is not traditional at all - more progressive, individualistic, creative.

Would love neighborhood & school recs for Nashville (no clue where to even start!)

A few priorities for us:

1) No more than 10-15 minute drive to work (midtown) & school
2) Walking distance to shops/restaurants if possible
3) Comparable housing in the 750k-1.5MM range (we are currently in a 5 bedroom / 5.5 bath at 4500 sf)
4) Schools that are not religious, that honor the individualism of each child
5) Urban feel but still ability to live on a culdesac, kids ride their bikes, walk to friends' houses, etc (is this even possible to get both?)

Thoughts? Thanks in advance! Really appreciate it

[groovamos]

I was born in Atlanta lived there twice and Nashville 3 times. You are in luck with Nashville education, you have many private schools to choose from equal to what you have in Atlanta. I graduated from one of them, Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) founded more than a century ago.

If you are saying that non-traditional living and government style progressivism is what you want in a school, I'm not sure how that squares with Randian/ John Galt individualism or "leave me alone" individualism as in John Wayne/ Clint Eastwood. No joke, if you would not be OK with 'progressives' suspending your kid for playing Clint E. style shoot 'em up you might want to look past University School in favor of say Ensworth, or Davidson Academy. MBA is 7-12 and Harpeth Hall is 5-12. Here is a list of dozens of choices for non-public schooling: http://www.nashvilleparent.com/direc...schools/page/1

All your other priorities and budget suggest Belmont/Hillsboro, or Richland/West End: Richland-West End Neighborhood Association

[30305atl]

Ha, thank you very much......appreciate that! If you are familiar with Atlanta, I am talking about more Galloway/Paideia than Westminster/Lovett if that makes sense. Progressive is not a very specific word, can mean many things to many people I suppose.

Appreciate the recs!

[nashvols]

Hillsboro-West End, Whitland, Richland, Cherokee Park, Belmont, 12 South, Green Hills. Those are all in the same area, though each is a little different from the other.

It's roughly the equivalent to Buckhead in Nashville.

[Cards1988]

Originally Posted by nashvols

Hillsboro-West End, Whitland, Richland, Cherokee Park, Belmont, 12 South, Green Hills. Those are all in the same area, though each is a little different from the other.

It's roughly the equivalent to Buckhead in Nashville.

IMHO Buckhead is nicer than all of the above.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Cards1988

IMHO Buckhead is nicer than all of the above.

.....ok. Is there another area of Nashville you would compare to Buckhead? Because what I said is that area is roughly equivalent to Buckhead in Nashville. Not that it is the same as Buckhead.

[Cards1988]

Originally Posted by nashvols

.....ok. Is there another area of Nashville you would compare to Buckhead?.

Not really. Buckhead is kind of in a league of its own and is much larger than any of these areas.

You have to remember that Atl metro is 4x larger than Nashville.

[N.Cal]

Pondering a move from Atlanta to Nasvhille

Why?

Urban feel but still ability to live on a culdesac, kids ride their bikes, walk to friends' houses, etc (is this even possible to get both?

I would guess not like you already have.

[Cards1988]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

Why?



I would guess not like you already have.

I would agree with the last statement.

[Hey_Hey]

I think you'll roughly find what you are looking for in Nashville. No two cities are exactly alike, but there are definitely neighborhoods that you can get the feel you are looking for. Nashville is, obviously, smaller than Atlanta, but it is also different in many ways.

First off, Buckhead isn't a neighborhood. It's a collection of neighborhoods, so comparing Buckhead to Richland, 12South, or Midtown isn't going to gain you much because you're comparing apples to oranges. You will never find the range of housing, business, and entertainment in Buckhead in those neighborhoods because Buckhead is so much larger than any of those areas. Depending on how you define Buckhead, it is around 20-30 sq miles. It would be more accurate to compare Buckhead to "Area 2" in Nashville based on area and comparability of affluence and urbanity. "Area 2" is a real estate area in Nashville and includes: 12South, Hillsboro-Belmont, Hillsboro-West End, Music Row, Edgehill, Waverly-Belmont, Midtown, West End, Green Hills, Richland, Cherokee Park, Sylvan Park, Sylvan Heights, Oak Hills, West Meade, Hillwood, Belle Meade, Forest Hills, and Bellevue.

If you include all of those neighborhoods in your search criteria you can find just about anything. Belle Meade is equivalent to the priciest neighborhoods in Buckhead with some homes selling in the 8-figures. Midtown and West End gives you mixed use, condo/apartment living in a dense, walkable neighborhood with moderate building heights (up to 20 stories). H-B, H-WE, and Edgehill will give you turn of the 19th Century bungalows with alleys and small lots. 12South, Cherokee Park, Richland, and Sylvan Park offer urban nieghborhoods with slightly larger lots further from downtown. Green Hills provides you with new construction galore and ranges from new urbanist designs to traditional suburban design. Forest Hills and Oak Hill provide large lots with significant elevation changes and a mix of executive homes and ranches. West Meade and Hillwood gives you mid 20th century homes on large lots without subdivisions. Bellevue gives you traditional suburban subdivisions.

Don't expect to find Buckhead in Nashville exactly as you find it in Atlanta. You will find something roughly comparable, and you will be able to find a walkable, urban neighborhood with large houses often of new construction in your price range.