Moving to Nashville from California (Franklin, Hendersonville: real estate, apartments, renters)

[CaseyCat]

Hello!

I'm a female college student, almost 21, and I recently applied for an internship in Nashville and I got it. I will be moving there in late August. I will be working both downtown, and several minutes from downtown. I've only been to Tennessee briefly while on a roadtrip to Virginia, and from what I remember it was quite nice. I haven't moved this far from home before and I am quite nervous, and I have a few questions for you all.

1. Are there areas in or around Nashville which I should avoid? Sketchy areas, areas more prone to crime than others?
2. What areas in or around Nashville are nice to live in?
3. What is the weather like, and how severe does it get? How hot are summers, and how cold winters?
4. How friendly are the people in Nashville?

I'm not a very social person (lol) so I'm not necessarily looking for a place that's close to all the action. Safe and affordable are my priorities. My price limit would be, at the very most, $600.

Thank you for any suggestions you all might have!

[CR9]

Severe enough to spawn a tornado, enough rain to flood 2nd avenue, as hot as 107 in the summer, and as cold as -17 in the winter. The people are very friendly for the most part, just avoid the brownstone condominium developments immediately east and south of downtown. Living in a "nice" area will probably be more expensive than $600 a month, depending on what you mean by nice area.

[airen123]

Trails apartments off Stewarts Ferry, or Brandywine Apartments on Edmondson Pike are one-bedroom apartments for $600 or less, and are in safe and good areas.

[sucrose]

Besides Craig's List, here's a multiple listing service with rentals to give you an idea of what you'll find in your price range:
RealTracs Mid-South Real Estate Search Values

And average weather (-17 is VERY unlikely):
Nashville Weather - Tennessee - Average Temperatures and Rainfall

[scrapperluv]

We're moving to Nashville area from California, too. We just spent 3 days there looking at homes and we LOVED the place! People were super friendly and the area is BEAUTIFUL.
Franklin is about 15-30 minutes outside of Nashville and it's where we're looking. It's more affordable than Brentwood but a little more of a drive into Nashville. We're also looking at Brentwood as it is a very nice, upscale area and that's what we like. Brentwood is a little espensive, though.
Good luck!

[DonCorleone]

$600 a month is going to be a bit of a challenge, but you should be able to find something that is both in a good area and on-budget. Since being in the middle of the action isn't important to you, that should really open up things in the suburbs...where rent is much more affordable. The tradoff, though, is that you'll have a longer commute. There are a lot of condominum communities around and many condo owners rent their units out. So keep condos (in addition to apartments) on your radar.

I'd look in the southern part of Davidson County, which is technically Brentwood. There are some nice apartments in that area that are reasonable. It is also a pretty easy commute to downtown from there. A little further to the south is Williamson County...Brentwood and Franklin. Both are great areas but I'd imagine you'll find a hard time finding $600/month rent there.

I live in Hendersonville, which is northeast of Nashville. I am certain you can find good apartments in the $600-$650 price range there. There are several near the lake (Nottingham comes to mind...I think they even have 3 month leases too for an extra charge). Goodlettsville would be another option north of town. There might be something in the Windsor Green area on Conference Drive. Madison (also north of town, but closer to downtown) would be your best bet to find affordable housing, but if you search the forum you'll find that a lot of people disagree about Madison. Some of the housing there is probablyd downright dangerous...but there are still lots of apartments that are safe and I myself would live in with my wife and child.

You might consider looking east to Hermitage/Mt. Juliet. Mt. Juliet is further out (about 30 minute commute to downtown) but is really growing and is very family friendly/safe. Hermitage is a bit closer to downtown and has more apartment living, but can be hit and miss in a few places.

Finally, take a look in the Bellevue area. This area was devastated by the flooding recently. However, I have spoken to people who own rental homes out that way and they have lots of vacancies. The floods damaged the properties, they have repaired them, but the renters found other housing alternatives while the repairs were going on. So, if you're willing to take little gamble, you might be able to find a landlord relieved to have a tenant and get a good place out there for relatively cheap.

Good luck. Let us know if you have any more questions.

EDIT: sorry for the long response:

1. Are there areas in or around Nashville which I should avoid? Sketchy areas, areas more prone to crime than others?

There are pockets of rough areas throughout the city, but nothing overwhelming. Still, I'd avoid North Nashville/Bordeaux, South Nashville around Nolensville Road/Thompson Lane area. There are good places in both of those neighborhoods, but I'd be very cautious there. And wherever you decide upon, even if it's in the middle of posh Belle Meade, be sure to thoroughly visit the area before you commit to a lease.

3. What is the weather like, and how severe does it get? How hot are summers, and how cold winters?

We do experience severe storms from time to time, especially in the spring, but the flooding we had recently is really unheard of. Literally. We had the most rain in a 2 day period since they started keeping records. Summers do get hot and humid. Expect extended periods (2-3 weeks or more) of highs in the low-upper 90s, especially in late July and August. Winters are mild...probably highs in the mid 40s most of the time. We do get some blasts of cold air that hang around for a few weeks...getting down in the teens and even single digits...but it usually is not too lasting.

4. How friendly are the people in Nashville?

I'm biased, but I think we're very friendly. You can research the forum here and see a lot of folks from other parts of the nation come here and agree.

[CaseyCat]

Thank you very much for your feedback, it has helped a lot. I will definitely use it while I'm researching where to live.