Moving to Nashville (Franklin, Germantown, Brentwood: low income, apartments, rentals)

[laurreil]

We are moving to Nashville and have been told a lot about Franklin & Brentwood when we ask about good areas to move to. We live in a city center area now and are wondering about great neighborhoods in the city of Nashville. What residential area closer to the city would be worth consideration?

[alleycat]

You could look at the Hillsboro Village (near Vanderbilt University), Hillwood, and the Green Hills area. If your budget would allow it, you could also look at the Oak Hills and Forest Hills area. If you have more money than you know what to do with, you can look at the Belle Meade area.

[lala27poodles]

Green Hills is closest to the city area you probably want to be in, but can be pricey and apartments are hard to come by in the area.

The Gulch is relatively new, and supposedly wonderful, however I know that most apartments are lease to own, and the rentals are not cheap.

Bellevue is a lovely area, about 10 mins from downtown, with very nice residential suburbs that range from low income, to mainly moderate, and even some nice, expensive sub divisions are starting to rise between the Bellevue/Charlotte Pike area.

West Meade and Hillwood area is very nice, and if you can find an affordable residence in that area, TAKE it, that neighborhood is top notch, close to everything, and bound to go up in price in the future.

Franklin is nice, but the drive to and from Nashville can be a pain because the interstate 65 is always congested, as is 440 during rush hour. Franklin is more country, a lot of farms, historic mansions, plantations, and houses....very elite. Very nice.

Brentwood is right next to Franklin, and has a lot of new money. New mansions, expanded shopping centers, not as quiet as Franklin, but still very nice area of town.

[oakland2nashville]

Brentwood is a good area. You can own horses and land there. But, I just get bored in suburban areas.

[yank283]

I would look into Hillsboro Village (most expensive, least crime inner ring neighborhood, near Vandy)Lockeland Springs, Eastwood Neighbors (East Nashville, more transitional but still going strong even now, closer to the city, very walkable, lots of cool restaurants, bars, coffee shops), 12th South Belmont area (walkable area, also nice little restaurants and shops, not as many as East Nashville, but probably considered a little safer), Sylvan Park (safe, very expensive like Hillsboro Village, near West End). I'm with oakland2nashville, I have lived in Antioch, Bellevue, and Hermitage. I have also lived in Sylvan Park and now East Nashville. I'll never live in the suburbs again. It's either near the city or the (real) country for me. Good luck.

[tabbva]

First, what type of area are you interested? Artsy? Upscale? Urban Pioneer?
With that being asked, you won't find a high density upscale 'city center' here like in most major metro areas. Green Hills is probably the closest you will find as far as upscale, higher density, & possibly walkable. It's high density comes from garden apartments, townhomes and lots of shopping. For a more urban feel you could live downtown. While "normal" shopping is sparse, there is an urban HG Hills (a smaller grocery store that still has all the necessities)and a good many art galleries, restaurants, and some pocket parks. Somewhere inbetween is the Vandy/West End area. It's more urban than Green Hills and more liveable than downtown is right now. If you're an urban pioneer Germantown (downstream from Downtown) or East Nashville (across the river from downtown) are two possibilities. I little less pioneering is the Gulch. Lots of new condos already on line and great nightlife. However, it is being built from the ground up so grocerystores, parks, etc are lacking.

[brentwoodgirl]

When we first moved to Nashville, we lived in Green Hills and loved it. The traffic on Hillsboro Road isn't fun, but the restaurants, shopping, & location are fabulous.
When we had our first child, we moved to Oak Hill, right off Franklin Road. We liked it, but the people were mostly older. It was definitely more of a family suburban feel, even though it's in the city. But we had a huge yard with deer and could walk to Radnor Lake.
We live in Brentwood now, and it's great for our life stage- mid 30's, 3 kids. The schools, children's activities, etc. are perfect for us. It has a real community feel- everyone goes to the same schools, plays sports at the same places, etc. It's similar to living in a small town. When we lived in Nashville, all the neighborhood kids went to different schools, played sports different places. It didn't have the same community feel.
So to me it depends on your life stage. If we didn't have kids, I would move back to Green Hills in a heartbeat.

[laurreil]

These replies have been so helpful. Thank you all. We have done the suburban thing with two kids but one is leaving for college this year and the other is right behind. We wanted to try city life again.. the realtor keeps directing is to Franklin/Brentwood area which would have been great for us a few years ago. I think we may need to find a realtor who understands what we are trying to accomplish. Thanks again!

[akm4]

Sounds like you're on the right track. Nothing worse than a realtor who steers you where you don't want to go! Good luck. You've gotten solid advice here so far.

[shinestx]

Check out some of the condo towers that went up in the past few years... some of them like Terrazzo and The West End are going for deep, deep discounts, and some at auction. Check them out. They're centrally located too!