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We are considering a job offer which would mean a relocation to Nashville. I've read various threads and I know to stay away from Antioch (I grew up in a mixed urban area in Connecticut which is probably just like Antioch now).
Anyway, we are a family of three with a young daughter who will be homeschooled so school districts are not an issue. My husband is French and I'm American but we've traveled and lived all over including Argentina. We are looking for a family neighborhood with walkable streets but not super pricey. Not sure condos will work because we have two big dogs (our alarm system in Miami ).
We are hoping to stay under 1200 and are willing to consider neighborhood with smaller, older homes but will only have one car so within walking distance to things would be VERY helpful!.
Based on what I'm looking for are there any suggestions for neighborhoods (and zip codes?). We're not averse to transitional or mixed areas, and live in one in Miami where we don't really go walking at night and are a short distance from some not so nice areas, but we know the area at least and know where it's okay and where it's not so it's tricky in Nashville.
Nashville, unfortunately, is not a very walkable city. There are pockets that are but for the most part it is a very commuter-based city. That said, you still can find what you're looking for.
You mentioned a couple of things that made me think "East Nashville"...first, is the walkabiilty factor. There are parts of East Nashville that are walkable and near restaurants/shops, etc. There are loads of smaller/older homes in the area. It is also very eclectic and welcoming to folks of different backgrounds. By homeschooling, you're going to avoid the problematic Metro school system. It is, however, a transitional neighborhood. Additionally, property values there are on the rise and it is a growing area so it might be a little harder to find affordable housing. The zip code there is 37206 (mostly).
The West End area of town near Vanderbilt and Belmont Universities might be worth looking at too, but I imagine most places you'll find there will be above $1,200/month. That is not a transition area, but still mostly walkable. Like East Nashville, lots of diversity here as well with the universities nearby.
Aside from that...maybe 12South (12th Avenue South) would be worth a look. It is a transition neighborhood as well but walkable. There are other areas of town that you could live in and walk to stores, etc, but none that are designed with walkers in mind like the areas I've mentioned above.
Most of the other places I'd suggest you look at are not going to be pedestrian friendly...but still very family friendly though. Williamson County is very popular due to its high ranking school system. That may not be an issue for you now, but is something to consider. Lots of things to offer families there, but it can be expensive in areas. Likewise, Hendersonville to the northeast of town is popular for the same reasons (schools) and is generally a little easier to find affordable homes. You might also look in Mt. Juliet and Bellevue. Both are suburbs (MtJ is east of town in Wilson County, Bellevue is west of town but still in Davidson County) and should be more affordable and give you plenty of residential options...especially Bellevue...and lots of things to do.
Hope that helps...good luck in your relocation and let us know if you have questions. We're happy to help.
I noticed your post because you said your husband is French. My husband is a French-speaking Swiss. :-) There are some houses for rent in our neighborhood, but it seems there aren't any under $1200, but prices could be negotiable. If you search on realtracs.com and look for the neighborhoods of Autumn Oaks and Concord Hills, you might see something that would work. It wouldn't be ideal for being able to walk to many things, but it's better than some areas. There's a Kroger, Starbucks, Mexican restaurant, Japanese restaurant, Fat Moe's, Subway, 2 banks, and a medical center on our side of Nolensville Road, which makes it very easy to walk to. Across Nolensville Road, there's a Publix, Walgreens, pizza place, Asian place, dry cleaners, and a few other things.
Lenox Village is an area with shops and restaurants and a farmer's market in season. Bradford Hills is across Nolensville Road from Lenox Village, and it might have more affordable rentals. There isn't a real grocery store that would be what I'd call walkable from either of those two areas though. I have seen many people walking down Nolensville Road, but it doesn't have sidewalks and is really hazardous (in my opinion)
Good luck in your search!
We are currently moving to the Nashville area and I have found that, as previous posts have mentioned, it is not a very pedestrian friendly. We too are homeschooling our son but just in case he decides he wants to go to PS we have chosen to look in Williamson County. They have a wonderful PS system and they are consistently testing above state average (we live in Memphis now and their PS system is consistently testing WAY BELOW state averags). On another note, I grew up in South Florida and moved to the "south" about 15 years ago. I love it and wouldn't trade it for the world. Good luck with your move!
Thanks for all the feedback so far, definitely getting some good ideas and confirming some of the looking around I've already done.
Probably should have mentioned that job will be near the international airport.
Can anyone comment on the Green Hills area as well? I'm not sure so walkable but it's seeming that perhaps I should bump it back on my wish list.
Definitely diversity and welcoming of new residents is a huge plus for any neighborhood. And I should have mentioned areas that have parks/playgrounds/nice libraries. Am I asking for too much now? LOL
We're also looking at the possibility of going a bit higher on the rent since it seems our overall cost of utilities and car insurance will drop drastically from Miami.
Thanks so much and look forward to hearing any other suggestions!
Thanks for all the feedback so far, definitely getting some good ideas and confirming some of the looking around I've already done.
Probably should have mentioned that job will be near the international airport.
Can anyone comment on the Green Hills area as well? I'm not sure so walkable but it's seeming that perhaps I should bump it back on my wish list.
Definitely diversity and welcoming of new residents is a huge plus for any neighborhood. And I should have mentioned areas that have parks/playgrounds/nice libraries. Am I asking for too much now? LOL
We're also looking at the possibility of going a bit higher on the rent since it seems our overall cost of utilities and car insurance will drop drastically from Miami.
Thanks so much and look forward to hearing any other suggestions!
I would look out towards Mt. Juliet. Maybe the Providence neighborhood. Mt. Juliet is family friendly.
We moved to a planned community when relocated. I like how easy it was to meet people and get involved. I wonder if it would have been as easy if we had moved to Green Hills instead of a planned community. The community pool/gym/parks just made the transition a lot faster.
If your husband doesn't mind a little commute I'd look at McKay's Mill (franklin) and Lenox Village in Nashville.
Our car insurance dropped dramatically when we moved here and we upped our coverage at the same time. It was 1/2 as much as it was in the Northeast and we have 2 cars now instead of 1. Our utilities are about the same, but our house is twice as big.
Green Hills is pricey although you could probably rent an older ranch style home
I've been impressed at how many international families I know here. In our old town it was pretty normal but we lived between two world famous universities that attracted people from all over. Here we have a good number of friends where one spouse is non-U.S.
Good to see other French moving into the Nashville area! There's an honorary French Consulate that was established last year and a fairly sizable Francophone community.
If you can afford private schools or want to risk a lottery with Magnet Schools (among the best schools in the nation) I would recommend the urban/semiurban neighborhoods around downtown like Germantown, East Nashville, Belmont/Hillsboro, or Sylvan Park. It's really the only thing you'll find that's close to that real (European/International) neighborhood feel where people walk to do shopping and eat at local restaurants.
I moved here from France and initially settled in the suburbs (Hendersonville.) I did love it there...great schools, parks, amenities, etc. But, after awhile, I missed the feeling of my old French neighborhood and moved to the Germantown community in Nashville.
If you're set on the suburbs, the best for airport commutes are Mt. Juliet and Hendersonville. The Providence area of Mt. Juliet and the Indian Lake area of Hendersonville seem to match what you are looking for in a neighborhood.
Indian Lake has a new urbanist type outdoor shopping center bordered by the city greenway system and a brand new library. Schools are close by and if you settled on a community like Berry Hill you would be within walking distance of the schools, city parks, and grocery stores.
definitely not set on suburbs. We have experimented a lot over time with living in different places (Asheville, NC but rural; Buenos Aires, Argentina suburbs; San Antonio far suburbs; Chapel Hill rural suburbs; Savannah suburbs) and have come to realize that at this time we really prefer a to be in a place that is closer to town and will be a short drive for my husband, pretty liberal minded but have to still consider price and the fact that we have two big dogs and not everyone wants to rent to big dogs .
I was wondering if anyone can comment about Atioch but near the lake?
I'll also check out Sylvan Park. I looked at East Nashville and like a lot of things but some areas might not have enough people movement for us = oddly enough I like peace and quiet but like to see people.
One last thing - if I search around East Nashville are there any particular search terms I should use (mainly from Craigslist) or just East Nashville?
Thanks for all the helpful comments - it really is nice to see a forum with people who want to help each other rather than beat down or glorify a place!
Quote:
Originally Posted by vivelafrance
Good to see other French moving into the Nashville area! There's an honorary French Consulate that was established last year and a fairly sizable Francophone community.
If you can afford private schools or want to risk a lottery with Magnet Schools (among the best schools in the nation) I would recommend the urban/semiurban neighborhoods around downtown like Germantown, East Nashville, Belmont/Hillsboro, or Sylvan Park. It's really the only thing you'll find that's close to that real (European/International) neighborhood feel where people walk to do shopping and eat at local restaurants.
I moved here from France and initially settled in the suburbs (Hendersonville.) I did love it there...great schools, parks, amenities, etc. But, after awhile, I missed the feeling of my old French neighborhood and moved to the Germantown community in Nashville.
If you're set on the suburbs, the best for airport commutes are Mt. Juliet and Hendersonville. The Providence area of Mt. Juliet and the Indian Lake area of Hendersonville seem to match what you are looking for in a neighborhood.
Indian Lake has a new urbanist type outdoor shopping center bordered by the city greenway system and a brand new library. Schools are close by and if you settled on a community like Berry Hill you would be within walking distance of the schools, city parks, and grocery stores.
Haven't posted in awhile as we've waffled between moving and not - getting closer to the time where a permanent job offer might be on the table and have a few more questions.
My husband is living in East Nashville right now and is not far from train tracks which have constant traffic. Where we live in Miami we're just across the street from a freight train track which doesn't run often but is still noisy. I've noticed in looking at maps of Nashville (East, West, etc) that there seem to be a lot of train tracks throughout the city. Are there some areas that don't have trains running through them?
Haven't posted in awhile as we've waffled between moving and not - getting closer to the time where a permanent job offer might be on the table and have a few more questions.
My husband is living in East Nashville right now and is not far from train tracks which have constant traffic. Where we live in Miami we're just across the street from a freight train track which doesn't run often but is still noisy. I've noticed in looking at maps of Nashville (East, West, etc) that there seem to be a lot of train tracks throughout the city. Are there some areas that don't have trains running through them?
Thanks
Belmont/12th South, Green Hills, and West End have no railroad tracks whatsoever.
There is a railroad track that runs between Sylvan Park and Richland (near West End), but I'm not sure how much of an issue noise is.
Germantown isn't all that close to the tracks, either.
As far as East Nashville goes, the tracks run right through the middle. You can choose to live closer to the river (more towards the East Inglewood side), which is farther and less walkable to stores and restaurants, or more towards Edgefield and Lockeland Springs...which can be hit or miss as far as crime go.
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