Apt rental - Grove Richland, Colonial Grand Bellevue or other? (Belle Meade: apartment complex, rentals)

[aaronmidnight]

Hello all.

My wife and I are planning a move to Nashville from NYC.

We hope to buy a house eventually, but would like to rent at first to get to know the city and figure out which neighborhood we like best.

We have taken a couple trips to town (we're here now) and at first tried private condo/house rentals via Craigslist, but didn't like what we saw.

A friend recommended the Grove Richland as being a great place to rent. We visited and thought it seemed upscale, clean, safe, well-kept, but a little pricey with not-so-great views and quite close to the Internet.

Since we both like nature and the Warner Parks, we went to see Colonial Grand Bellevue. This is also gated and felt safe, perhaps a bit older, but still pretty well-kept (particularly inside the apts, less in the common area).

Does anyone have thoughts on the quality/safety of either apt complex or area? I know that another Bellevue apt complex (the Iroquois) has been described elsewhere and perhaps on this forum as unsafe. The Iroquois is nearby to the Colonial Grand, but I don't think it's gated. And from NY, I know that two nearby areas can sometimes be very different from each other (i.e. one block can be safe, another dicey).

Are there other apt complexes in which we should look? I work from home. My wife will likely work downtown.

Thanks for any advice/suggestions!

[alleycat]

The Bellevue area is generally safe and a low crime area.

[aaronmidnight]

Thanks for your reply, Alleycat.

Any idea why people disparage the Iroquois? Just hearsay?

It's a tough choice btwn Grove and Colonial Grand. Both seem appealing for different reasons - one far more nature-oriented (Warner Parks, Natchez Trace), the other more convenient to the restaurants and cultural attractions downtown...

By the way - do you know of any other complexes besides the Grove that are downtown-ish but still offer access to green space? Maybe something near Centennial Park?

And I saw on a long ago thread that someone had suggested checking coffee shop bulletin boards for private apt listings. Does that method still work here or has everything migrated online to Craigslist? If it still works, any suggestions on which coffee shops get the best listings - Fido? Bongo Java?

Thanks !

[alleycat]

I too have heard some negative comments about Iroquois. Just a guess . . . those apartments are some of the oldest ones in Bellevue, they may have let them run down a bit, or the management itself isn't very good. It might also attract a different type of tenant. Again, just a guess. I used to know some people who lived there, but that was many years ago. If there's any safety issues there, it's at the apartment complex itself; the general area around there is safe.

Two other suggestions to look at: Hillmeade and Creekwood. I've known people who have lived at both and they gave the apartments good reviews.

One thing to keep in mind is it's not really that long of a drive between Bellevue and the Belle Meade / Richland / West End area. Off of rush hour times, you can sometimes drive it in 10 minutes (as I often do). Also, Warner Park is so large that it extents all the way to Belle Meade (the park entrance is near Cheekwood Botanical Gardens). From Richland to there is less than a 10 minute drive.

Richland would offer you a bit more convenient to some of the things you mentioned (it's very convenient to almost anything because you can get on I-440 and loop around to most other parts of town). I might give Bellevue a little higher mark for being "closer to nature", but I don't really think there would be that much difference between living in Richland and living in Bellevue. It's not like you're going to take a drive down the Natchez Trace every evening. In case weren't aware, Montgomery Bell State Park is a short drive west of Bellevue, and there is a greenbelt walkway in Bellevue along the Harpeth River (if you visit that area, you won't be too far from where I live).

By the way, I'm not trying to talk you into either Bellevue or Richland. I've lived in Bellevue for twenty-five years and like it for the most part. At the same time, I certainly wouldn't have a problem living in the Richland area.

[aaronmidnight]

Thanks for the additional thoughts, alleycat. Very helpful! I've heard about the Harpeth River greenway and would like to see it. Is there an ideal point to access it (parking lot, trailhead, etc.)? Thank you

[alleycat]

You can get to the greenway off of Old Harding Road (see map below). It's not a big feature, but it is nice having it in the neighborhood. There are several other natural areas or parks in the general vicinity.

Here's the Metro map of the greenways in Nashville: Nashville.gov - Greenways - Trailheads with Directions

[Eescapes]

You might want to look into Hillmeade. I lived there and was very happy. The apts are older but very large. Both the apts and the grounds were well kept. It's up in the hills and I found the area very beautiful. Lots of wildlife to look at. It's maybe five minutes from Warner Parks.

[Coney]

Aaronmidnight, I too, am a New Yorker and new to this forum. I am also looking to move to the Bellevue area and am interested in what you found in the area. I was in Nashville in August and passed the Hillmeade complex. It looked nice on the outside, but I didn't see the inside of any apartments. Are there are any recommended apartments in Richland?

The apartments advertised on bulletin boards like Fidos or Cafe Coco tend to target the young student crowd at Vanderbilt.

[alleycat]

Coney, Richland is an older neighborhood, and a relatively small area. There are some apartments in the area, such as the ones near I-440 that Aaron mentioned, Brixworth (close to St. Thomas Hospital), and a few older apartment buildings (on or near West End), but it's mostly condos and single-family homes. You wouldn't have a lot of choices of apartments. Still, you might want to check them out and see if there's anything you'd be interested in.

[aaronmidnight]

Tried using the quick reply function, but apparently my response was lost because I wasn't logged in yet.

sigh.

Eescapes - Thanks for your input. I really liked Hillmeade, but am slightly concerned about the steep driveways and the icy (so I've heard) Nashville winters. Was that ever a problem for you when you lived there? I don't want to end up in that duck pond!

(By the way, did you leave Hillmeade for a different apt complex or to buy a house? We're planning on renting for a year or so and then buying after we figure out what part of town we like best.)

Coney - From what I saw, I think the best apt complex near Vanderbilt is probably the Grove Richland. It looks swanky, but it's pricey and it's also quite close to one of the freeways, so I'd be a bit concerned about noise and car pollution. I liked Hillmeade's interiors quite a bit -- as Eescapes said, the grounds are pretty and the floorplans are spacious.