More on Nashville? (Knoxville, Chattanooga, Charlotte: best cities, homes, living)

[Jandrew5]

Originally Posted by artemis

Perhaps you should work with a real estate agent.

I'm not deep enough in the process for that. I'm not committed to Nashville, just very interested and trying to know as much as I can from locals. As far as I'm aware, a RE agent cant legally answer that anyway.

I just know every city has it's share of good and bad. When I was a doing a driving tour, I somehow stumbled across Nashville's industrial area. Just trying to figure out where to look and not.

[artemis]

Well, what do you consider "bad"?

[coopermochi]

Originally Posted by Jandrew5

Bad areas to me are basically areas with crime issues and low value. For instance when I was in DC, I looked at a place in Oxon Hill that was like $500 a month. It looked fine enough on paper, until the lady told me I'd have to park on the street, and then I searched heat maps and saw that that street was car break-in boulevard - literally. So that's what I'm looking for.

every bit of nashville/davidson cnty has some type of crime or another. maybe it would be the best approach is to ...

1. know for a fact that your moving here.....research good/bad areas is pointless unless you are truly commited.

2. if commited, know your budget and ask us again. we can recommend places according to your needs. im not sure where you visited, but next time you're here and you see a place you like.... jump on trulia, to see if nashville really is a contender.

[jkc2j]

Originally Posted by Jandrew5

I'm not deep enough in the process for that. I'm not committed to Nashville, just very interested and trying to know as much as I can from locals. As far as I'm aware, a RE agent cant legally answer that anyway.

I just know every city has it's share of good and bad. When I was a doing a driving tour, I somehow stumbled across Nashville's industrial area. Just trying to figure out where to look and not.

Currently, most if not all of inner city Nashville is going through rapid gentrification so areas once considered "rough" or "bad" are now popular and the prices reflect that. That's why it's difficult to answer your question because bad will be relative to what you're used to. I will say, if you find a place here then you'll most likely be in an area that's either up and coming or already there.

[Jandrew5]

Originally Posted by artemis

Well, what do you consider "bad"?

I guess "bad" is poor wording, but when I say bad I mean unsafe. Safety is always a concern in a new city and I just want to know where I shouldn't look. Like I said on the last page, that area in Maryland that had the $500 house didn't look bad on paper, but then I found it was extremely high in property crime.

On the flip side I found a house in Alexandria, VA for $600 off King St, and the area was very safe and family friendly with high value and a central location, walkable, with a grocery store a few minutes walk away. I never felt unsafe in that area, not even close. So both areas were two different worlds with just a $100 rent difference.

Everything is not how it always appears, so that's why I was trying to gather some local input.

Originally Posted by coopermochi

every bit of nashville/davidson cnty has some type of crime or another. maybe it would be the best approach is to ...

1. know for a fact that your moving here.....research good/bad areas is pointless unless you are truly commited.

2. if commited, know your budget and ask us again. we can recommend places according to your needs. im not sure where you visited, but next time you're here and you see a place you like.... jump on trulia, to see if nashville really is a contender.

I know nowhere is crime free, thats not what I'm concerned with. I don't see why I'd need to wait until I was committed. I'm just trying to learn as much about the area as I can.

I visited pretty much everything in the "loop" and inside 440 and that corridor (sorry, IDK what you locals call it), Sylvan Park, Opry/Briley, southern Nashville, parts of Brentwood, and I somehow stumbled on industrial areas near the airport. I stayed with my cousins friend on Nolensville Pike so I saw a bit of the I65 corridor.

Originally Posted by jkc2j

Currently, most if not all of inner city Nashville is going through rapid gentrification so areas once considered "rough" or "bad" are now popular and the prices reflect that. That's why it's difficult to answer your question because bad will be relative to what you're used to. I will say, if you find a place here then you'll most likely be in an area that's either up and coming or already there.

I appreciate your reply. The same thing is currently going on in Charleston, but the region still has parts you want to avoid and its pretty easy to pinpoint them. Again maybe "bad" is poor wording as it is pretty subjective. I'm just curious on what areas of the metro are not the "safest."



Note: I'm not trying to step on toes or anything, and if my tone comes off as abrasive I apologize, I promise it's not. I just thought asking about areas to avoid was routine. I appreciate help given so far. Thanks.

[N.Cal]

$500 house

Any place for $500 will most likely be bad.

know for a fact that your moving here.....research good/bad areas is pointless unless you are truly commited.

And depending when you might be ready to move, that bad area now might be the next upcoming area.

[Jandrew5]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

Any place for $500 will most likely be bad.

And depending when you might be ready to move, that bad area now might be the next upcoming area.

To be clear I'm not expecting anything that cheap with Nashville and wouldnt even want anything that cheap. I was an intern so I had to wiggle, but if I land a full time job in Nashville, i'll have much more to work with.

And true, I'm still debating on whether to start applying to Nashville and other cities now, or wait until the fall. That's why I'm trying to gather as much info as I can, because of the cities I'm currently considering, Nashville is the one I'm familiar with the least, by a long shot.

[coopermochi]

Originally Posted by Jandrew5

Note: I'm not trying to step on toes or anything, and if my tone comes off as abrasive I apologize, I promise it's not. I just thought asking about areas to avoid was routine. I appreciate help given so far. Thanks.

my apologies if i come off that way as well.....i just hard to answer open-ended questions

Nashville is a great city! i think you'll love it as well!

[Jandrew5]

I have to say I am floored by how much Nashville has changed in just 10 years. I've been playing around on Google streetview and looking at some areas of town back in 2007-09 vs today it's amazing.

A good part of downtown didn't look that hot, but then the Music Center came, plus some new towers and infill of the surface lots, landscaping, that traffic circle with the crayons. It all looks nice. Charlotte Ave has transformed nicely, especially at the intersection with I40, and so has Midtown. I don't know what this complex is on the 28/31st street connector, but it's looks great now compared to the warehouses that were there back in 07. Centennial Park seems to have gotten some nice additions as well. The Bellvue Mall is being redeveloped.

Google maps satellite still isnt updated. Where the new amphitheater and all those blue buildings are now is still dirt and a bunch of surface lots on the map. The new baseball stadium isn't on it either. Crazy how that has transformed since 07. Hermitage Ave has also transformed. Then you got Topgolf and that August Moon theater coming on the riverfront, which should kickstart the redevelopment of all that industry there.

I understand there's growing pains and what not, but I have to say, Nashville is kicking tail turning all this ugly industry, warehouses, and surface lots into beautiful spaces and great landscapes. Will be cool to see how the infill development progresses.

[shinestx]

Nashville cleans up very well. Lots of "rough" areas now will be showplaces in 3-5 years. The city is just flying high... not that it's growing at Atlanta speed. It has never wanted that. Nashville is attracting a different level of people. In many ways, more sophisticated. Creative and not the type that follows the crowd. That's why Nashville's growth is steady, sustainable and growing greater each year. By 2020 the metro will exceed 2 million. By 2030 it will be close to 2.5 million. By 2040, over 3 million. Davidson County alone will have 820-850K residents by 2030. Rutherford will be pushing 500K. Nashville is a hub for specific businesses in its own right. I bring people from Atlanta all the time into Nashville and they always comment that the place is not filled with "cheesy, cheap new development". If not for those types of comments, I wouldn't have noticed but Nashville does have a high quality of development going on.