Moving to Bellevue (Need Info on Hillmeade, The Lexignton,Colonial Grand) (Lexington: apartment complex, renter)

[NewgradRN]

Hello Everyone!

I am a young single woman Relocating to the Nashville area, I wanted to know in terms of safety and cleaningness which of the three places stated above would you recommend? I have narrowed down to these three according to reviews from apartment ratings, Thank You!

[Eescapes]

I live in Hillmeade and love it! I am also female and single. Never felt unsafe here, ever! I regularly take my dogs out very late at night (sometimes after 1am) and weather permitting sit on the hill above the lake for a while. I lived here from 6/08 - 8/09. I only moved away because had the opportunity to move into a house owned by a friend). That didn't work out so I came back in 1/10. About a month ago I talked with a neighbor who had also lived here before, moved into a house and then moved back here Never had any problems, or I would have never come back. Not long after I moved here I was out very late walking the dogs and a police car passed me twice. I stopped him and asked if there was anything I should be concerned about as I walk my dogs late at night. He told me no that this complex was very safe. Presently there are two policemen living here. It is an older complex but very clean. The Lexington was my second choice when I first moved to Nashville. I do know that they have had managment problems in the past. Not sure about now. Don't know anything about Colonial Grand. I will say this though, it is peaceful and very quiet here. CG sits in a very busy congested area and is close to the street. The Lexington is a little better. Hillmeade sits way back up off the street and in the hills. The peace and quiet are a big deal to me. It really doesn't feel so much like living in an apartment complex here, in my opinion.

The office staff here is great. I have read apartment reviews in the past and noticed how many of them complain about the management. I have never had any complaints. Whenever I ask for something they take care of it ASAP. I think it's good when the staff actuallyl knows who you are. I pay my rent in person instead of dropping it in tihe box. I am aways friendly and nice to them and to the maintenence men. A couple of times a month I have meetings where I take a dish (usually bake something). I always drop the leftovers at the office! When I go out of town for more than a few days I let them know so that someone kind of keeps an eye on my apt. Once I had been out of state and got home about 10pm on a Sunday night. I was really tired after driving 10 hours (and had two dogs with me that were going nuts because they had been cooped up in a car for 10 hours!) and found when I went to open my door that my key was missing from my key ring. Driving up the hill I had noticed that the guy who rented me the apt was in the office so I called. He actually answered the main line at 10pm on a Sunday night, came up, opened my door, gave me another key and was really nice about it! Also, when I moved back they worked hard to get me in a nice unit very quickly. It might be a southern thing, but if you treat people like you want to be treated you really do catch more flies with honey! Good luck!

[NewgradRN]

Thanks for your input Eescapes!!, I have read mixed reviews as well but compared to others it has one of the best ones in Bellevue !! I am glad to hear that people are so nice to you, this is very important to me since I will be by myself and support is important in this situation , As of this moment I am waiting for my interview at Vanderbilt Hospital, I hope I get the Job I am currently in South Florida and looking for a change !

[GWoodle]

I prefer Waterford Place & most apartments on US70S over anything on Old Hickory. Depends how far you want to travel to Kroger, Publix, Walgreen, etc. The area is mostly safe. US70S is a very busy road, even at night.

Travel to Vandy can be done on the Route 3 MTA bus. Their travel planner has a Goggle map link to set up how far you may have to walk to the stop & at what times. For $1.60 it's not a bad ride & usually close to time. Don't be late, you will wait 40min for the next bus. It becomes a great option in bad weather & if gas goes back to $4.00.

There seems to be many medical folks on this side of town.

[mgoosten]

I am also interested in the above apartments. Hillmeade sounds great. Most iportant for me are safety and a nice place for my dogs. I have two small dogs and I they love to be outside and go for walks! Eventually I am hoping to have my credit up and to be able to buy a house but for now I think it will be an apartment type setting.

[Coney]

Originally Posted by GWoodle

I prefer Waterford Place & most apartments on US70S over anything on Old Hickory. Depends how far you want to travel to Kroger, Publix, Walgreen, etc. The area is mostly safe. US70S is a very busy road, even at night.

Travel to Vandy can be done on the Route 3 MTA bus. Their travel planner has a Goggle map link to set up how far you may have to walk to the stop & at what times. For $1.60 it's not a bad ride & usually close to time. Don't be late, you will wait 40min for the next bus. It becomes a great option in bad weather & if gas goes back to $4.00.

There seems to be many medical folks on this side of town.

How is Waterford Place in terms of safety, maintenance, reputation. I also looked at it.

Not sure if the OP will be an employee at Vanderbilt; Vanderbilt employees, I believe, have free fares on the MTA.

[aaronmidnight]

We looked at both Hillmeade and the Colonial Grand when we were moving to Nashville.

I liked Hillmeade's apartments better and they were larger, but as Eescapes said, they are also older. Also, Hillmeade (as the name suggests) is a very hilly complex and I was a bit concerned about the driving within the complex, particularly in icy weather. It doesn't get icy much in Nashville, but all it takes is one or two icy days to make things really dangerous.

Colonial Grand is right across from the Warner Parks, which could be awesome for you if you have dogs. Just please pick up after them if you walk them in the Warner Parks! (Lots of people don't pick up after their dogs in this city park and it's kind of disgusting for the rest of us who use the park.)

With the Colonial Grand, beware of the fact that you're right next to a train track. The freight trains will come by at 1 a.m. and blow their whistle LOUDLY. We are far away up on highway 70 south and still hear the noise.

Sorry, but not personally familiar with the Lexington.

Hillmeade and Colonial Grand both seemed safe and gated to me.

Good luck in your search. Bellevue is a great area to live as a renter and a great place to get acclimated to Nashville!

[mgoosten]

Thanks for your input. I am not too worried about the hills in hillmeade. I live in Buffalo now so am pretty used to the ice, etc. And if it was really bad and I didn't have to I just wouldn't go anywhere! lol

I always pick up after my dogs but I would probably take them to the dog park at Warner as opposed to walking in the parks anyway. We were there in April and the dogs loved it. Planning another trip in 3 weeks....can't wait! This one I am going to try to get to all 3 of those complexes. I am also thinking still of renting a house if I can find one decently priced around Bellevue. I haven't lived in an apt since I was a young kid and not sure I want to. But then again some of the apartments seem bigger then my current house!

[Eescapes]

Hillmeade is very good about keeping things clear in snowy/icy weather. We had a pretty heavy snowfall (in Feb I think) and they plowed the roads in here every hour. Also, if there is a significant chance of snowy/icy weather I usually find that my steps have already been salted down by the time I get up and then again later if necessary. Hillmeade is older and the design is a little dated, but it is well kept up. I have a 2bed/2bath unit that is 1400 sq ft. and the rent is more than reasonable (of course this depends on the time of year that you rent and what the market bears at that time). There is another 2bed/2 bath that is 1250 sq ft. I chose this floor plan because it has lots of closets and that kept me from having to rent storage space. As I said before, I really don't feel like I am living in an apartment complex here. I had more noise when I lived in the house in Hillsboro Village than I do here. I have heard the train when I am out walking the dogs or I can't sleep, so I wouldn't want to be at Colonial Grand right next to the tracks! I have heard it between 1-2am and around 4am. That would definitely keep me awake if I was right next to it!

[Coney]

Eescapes, thank you for that information. My main objection to Hillmeade was the idea of walking or driving those hills in snow or ice. It's nice to know that they salt and shovel. Everyone has been telling me that few people own a snow shovel or use salt. That's also nice that they put salt on your steps for you. I am more concerned about the ice rather than the snow and salt or sand should help. Thank you and to Aaron about the trip regarding the tracks. I had noticed them and was wondering how much they are used.