Some ideas please (Portland, Dayton, Oak Hill: appointed, real estate, apartment)

[dustinsn3485]

Currently I'm living in a small suburb of Dayton, OH. I'm burnt out up here. I am an avid motorcyclist (sportbike) and the terrain here is not suitable for any good riding. I'm stuck in a rut with jobs and life in general and am just wanting change. My family has a boat on Lake Cumberland so I want to be closer to that and have the big city feel for a change. I've been doing a lot of research both on this forum and on google and Nashville is really growing on me.

I will be moving with my g/f. She's 20 I'm 24. We also have one dog and will likely be getting a second in the next few weeks. I have to sell my house up here first before anything happens. We are thinking about some trips down to the area in the next couple months to start looking around. From the research I have done on this forum I feel like the Berry Hill, Belmont, Oak Hill area seems to be a desirable place to live.

Basically what I'm looking for is something close to the city so we can enjoy the city life. If I buy a house I'm trying to stay in the $100K area. I'm open to renting though. Having a garage is a requirement, whether it be house or renting.

She has had jobs mostly in the food industry, anything from a barista to some serving experience. I am a certified motorcycle mechanic, but can't find the money in that job anywhere so I'm currently working in Shipping/Receiving for a large company. I think we're both pretty open to any type of job, what type of job openings are abundant?

I'm interested in any insight you all may have so please don't hold back!
Thanks, Dustin

[rossc]

Around 100k won't happen in the areas you mentioned unless its a fire sale. Look at realtracs.com. That will give you an idea of what to expect. 100k is possible but not in the trendy downtown areas.

The job market is weak. The. Type of work you are doing will be low paying and hard to find. Basically, there is nothing in abundance. You just have send out resumes and hope for the best. I've been stuck in ruts before also but I wouldn't move in this economy without having a job lined up.

[alleycat]

If I were you I'd think first about renting rather than buying for a couple of reasons: 1) A price range of $100k is going to really limit the nicer areas you can afford, and 2) Renting for at least six month would give you a chance to get to know the area and see if it's for you; in the meantime you can get a firsthand look at the various areas around Nashville. Generally when someone has a price range such as yours we can sometimes suggest areas further out that are less expensive than those closer in, but that doesn't apply if you actually want to live in one of the more urban areas. For future consideration, East Nashville could be a possibility for you; a lot of the areas in East Nashville were on the run-down to scruffy side for a long time, but things have improved there and are improving daily from what I gather. Maybe the Inglewood area as well. $100k really is on the low side here however.

By the way, you can rule out Oak Hill completely, and probably Belmont as well. There might be something decent in Berry Hill for $100k, but I'm not sure (and am doubtful). One of the real estate members will probably come along and offer a better opinion that I can.

Back later with some ideas about jobs.

EDITED TO ADD: I was typing while rossc was posting, I didn't see his post until after I posted. I duplicated his answer somewhat.

[gbone]

Originally Posted by dustinsn3485

Currently I'm living in a small suburb of Dayton, OH. I'm burnt out up here. I am an avid motorcyclist (sportbike) and the terrain here is not suitable for any good riding. I'm stuck in a rut with jobs and life in general and am just wanting change. My family has a boat on Lake Cumberland so I want to be closer to that and have the big city feel for a change. I've been doing a lot of research both on this forum and on google and Nashville is really growing on me.

I will be moving with my g/f. She's 20 I'm 24. We also have one dog and will likely be getting a second in the next few weeks. I have to sell my house up here first before anything happens. We are thinking about some trips down to the area in the next couple months to start looking around. From the research I have done on this forum I feel like the Berry Hill, Belmont, Oak Hill area seems to be a desirable place to live.

Basically what I'm looking for is something close to the city so we can enjoy the city life. If I buy a house I'm trying to stay in the $100K area. I'm open to renting though. Having a garage is a requirement, whether it be house or renting.

She has had jobs mostly in the food industry, anything from a barista to some serving experience. I am a certified motorcycle mechanic, but can't find the money in that job anywhere so I'm currently working in Shipping/Receiving for a large company. I think we're both pretty open to any type of job, what type of job openings are abundant?

I'm interested in any insight you all may have so please don't hold back!
Thanks, Dustin

I'm a motorcyclist also and you won't be disappointed with some of the roads around Nashville. You will also be within a three hour ride of some of the best two wheel roads in the country in NE Georgia and east Tennessee.
That being said, if there is any chance you will be renting you might want to consider putting off a second dog until you find out where you are going to live. Many rentals have pet restrictions. As far as the areas you indicated an interest in there will be nothing in Oak Hill even close to 100k and it will be difficult to find anything in the other two areas you mentioned near 100k unless it was an extreme fixer upper. In general, if you find a house in Nashville for no more than 100k it will either be an extreme fixer upper(mortgage issues here) or in an area not considered desirable. You are probably going to have to look further out. One of the previous posters suggested checking out realtracs.com and I would second that. Good luck.

[dustinsn3485]

Thanks for the responses so far. I really figured that the price range for there is low, I suppose even 130K is doable, but really that doesn't help much I'm guessing. For any large city really...That's why renting was more of an option at this point. I will be sure to check out the website mentioned and see what is available. I'm starting to wonder if I'm better off renting for awhile anyway just in case I'm not happy and want to move again. I just hate the idea of paying $800-$1000 a month and seeing no return.

As rossc mentioned with the job market. That's really anywhere in the country right now. I suppose I should be happy I have a job at this point. But whats the thrill in living if you don't change things up and jump into uncertainty every so often? I'm just tossing that out not negative feelings or anything. Just a thought.

Everyone please keep ideas coming, we are certainly planning a trip soon and probably a few more after that to see what the area is like as well as trying to get a job lined up before moving down there. We are aware of the difficulty associated with the move, but are up to the challenge. Where there's a will there's a way.

[alleycat]

I don't know anything about the field, but I'm surprised you find shipping and receiving pays better than being a motorcycle or small engine mechanic.

There's a couple of large motorcycle dealers in the Nashville area. Gbone might have an opinion on whether there might be a need for a good mechanic.

[dustinsn3485]

I'd be interested to know. When I was wrenching here I was making 9 dollars and a bit of commission with mediocre health benefits and no vacation.

Shipping/Receiving I'm close to 12 dollars with awesome healthcare, a 401K, and accrue 5.5 hours of vacation every 2 weeks...Plus they have company profit sharing and stock options to buy into.

[dustinsn3485]

On that realtracs website I'm seeing some houses of possible interest in the 37211 zip what is that area like? More specifically Glen Cliff and Paragon Mills Park area. Anywhere North of 255 and south of 155, East of 65 and West of 24.

[dustinsn3485]

I am back with more questions. I have taken into consideration a lot of what some of you have said. I think it is best to rent for awhile. This certainly broadens my areas of living. I will be coming down this weekend and staying, what area's would be best to focus on? I really think I want to be within a 10-15 drive of downtown. As for renting, I think because I do have one dog I'd like to have something like a condo of sorts where there is room for him to run. And with the consideration of a second dog I'd like to see what options are available.

Also are there any websites that list homes for rent? I don't like the apartment feel and would rather rent a smaller home with some yard space and a garage. I've seen on craigslist that this is a feasable option, but would be interested in a website more closely dedicated to that.

Thanks again.

[yank283]

No one's mentioned this but you might be able to find something in your range in the South Inglewood area (around $100,000). It's a four to five minute drive to downtown. You also have an abundence of restaurants (to name a few - Mitchells Deli, Wantanabe, Pied Piper, Family Wash, Rosepeppers, Eastland Cafe, Ugly Mugs, Portland Brew and a 15 minute bike ride to Five Points and other restaurants/bars). Also Shelby Park (with a Dog Park) in nearby. Young people have been moving into the area quite a bit. You just need to do a search on this websiite for more pro's and cons, research the street as well and get a real estate agent that knows the area well.