Breaking lease in West Meade to move downtown? (Midtown, Charlotte: apartment complex, rentals)

[EvanWilliams]

My girlfriend and I got a 3 bedroom apt in West Meade in October 2011. At the time I was between jobs and the rent was cheap ($800/month), so it made sense to live there (plus, being next to Percy Warner/Nashville West shopping is awesome).

But I just started a new job two weeks ago working downtown near Cummins Station, and well -- the commute is awful. It's only 8.5 miles from my apartment to my job, but because of traffic, it takes anywhere from 35-45 minutes to get there. I don't live close enough to I-40 so I have to take the super congested Harding Pike/West End route the whole way.

My girlfriend works at Vanderbilt so she would benefit from moving closer as well. We're thinking about getting a 1 bedroom either at West End/440 or somewhere downtown.

I guess my question here is twofold: First, what should I do specifically in order to break my lease? My apartment complex isn't too strict on it, especially if I can find someone to take over my lease. Also, does anything negative happen to credit, rental history, etc., if you break a lease, even if the complex allows it?

Second, what is living downtown like? My g/f and I are both in our mid 20s and while we like the area we live now, it is quite boring for a young couple. But I do worry about things like noise, crime, parking, road blocks due to events, ease of access to shopping/groceries, etc.

Also, our rental budget is anywhere from $900-$1200/month, if that helps.

Any help from the more experienced Nashville residents would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[ariesjow]

I think most of the apartment complexes will probably charge you a predetermined fee for breaking the lease. I would re-read my lease to determine if it has an early termination clause. It shouldn't negatively impact you if you pay all the fees you contracted to pay under the lease agreement.

Living downtown in Nashville is really just starting to take off here. I imagine living near Lower Broadway and the District would be fun. A friend of mine enjoyed renting right off 2nd Avenue before he had his kid. The rentals are neither plentiful, cheap nor spacious around there but they do exist. Just be cognizant of the fact that you'll still probably need to make weekly treks to somewhere a little further out like Nashville West for basic amenities. You range will probably be on the low end for an one-bedroom apartment in The Gulch, but you can possibly find one if you and your gf are willing to compromise drastically on space. Enter your range in Padmapper and you'll get the gist of what's available downtown. If you wait a few months, you may be able to get one of the brand, spanking new units at Eleven North in the Gulch.

Since your gf will work for Vanderbilt, I actually think somewhere in Midtown near West End may potentially be a better fit than downtown. You will not only have many more rental options but be closer to more non-touristy amenities. The newer units will be pricey but you can still get some pretty decent deals on an older unit. Just be mindful of the fact that there's little incentive for landlords to update quickly in the popular neighborhoods around Midtown. Students and young professionals tend to rent those places for high amounts sometimes regardless of whether they've been recently updated. If you guys like the idea of a house but wanted somewhere closer to the action, Sylvan Park would be perfect for you due to the easy access to West End. I wouldn't sleep on 12South or the Melrose area either. All these places would probably be better fits for a young couple than West Meade.

In the interim, you can probably chop your commute times quite a bit by learning backroads. Depending on where you live in West Meade, you could probably take backroads rather easily to get onto I-40 at Charlotte Pike. You could take Brook Hollow Pike or Hillwood Boulevard to get onto I-40 and avoid the slow crawl on Harding/West End. Post Road also runs parallel to Harding for a stretch. You could easily take Post into town to get onto White Bridge near the Target. From there, you can jump onto I-40 at White Bridge if there's too much traffic on West End/Harding Pike.