Best neighborhood for 30-something's who enjoy bike everywhere (Murfreesboro, Jackson: best neighborhoods, real estate) - Nashville - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

jcourting · 10-20-2011, 06:16 PM

Hello- We are a couple in our 30's and are considering a move to Nashville from Nevada. Our lifestyle is centered around biking/walking everywhere. We enjoy the arts and would probably be considered "hipsters" by most, despite no longer being in our 20's. Can anyone recommend a good neighborhood that would suite our desires? We are hoping to keep at least a 2 bedroom to $1200/mo or under.... is this even possible? One of us works at Trader Joes and the other works in the biotech field. Thank you!

steindle · 10-20-2011, 07:32 PM

Why are you looking into Nashville specifically, if you don't mind me asking? If you're looking for bike/walkability, Nashville is on the bottom of just about any list -- usually surpassed only by Jacksonville, FL in its unfriendliness in these respects.

brentwoodgirl · 10-20-2011, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcourting

Hello- We are a couple in our 30's and are considering a move to Nashville from Nevada. Our lifestyle is centered around biking/walking everywhere. We enjoy the arts and would probably be considered "hipsters" by most, despite no longer being in our 20's. Can anyone recommend a good neighborhood that would suite our desires? We are hoping to keep at least a 2 bedroom to $1200/mo or under.... is this even possible? One of us works at Trader Joes and the other works in the biotech field. Thank you!

I would really reconsider moving here. As steindle said, Nashville is not biking/walking friendly. I think you might be really unhappy here.
If you have to move here for some reason, and one of you is planning to continue working at Trader Joes, you could start by looking in Green Hills. It's possible that you might be able to find a condo/apartment in your budget there, and *possibly* might be able to walk to TJs. But it would be impossible to live a biking/walking centered life here. Sorry.

airen123 · 10-21-2011, 07:19 AM

Hillsboro/Green Hills, has bike lane. Most of Murfreesboro does too.

BirdieBelle · 10-21-2011, 07:44 AM

Does the existence of a bike lane alone make an area "bikeable"? I am asking because if there is one place in Nashville where I would not want to bike, it would be Green Hills where our only Trader Joe's is located.

It is one of the most congested areas of town, and with so many notoriously inattentive drivers trying to get in and out of the many shopping centers, I would be very hesitant to bike there.

These photos are a pretty good depiction:

Study to examine Green Hills traffic - WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather and Sports |

The problem is that Nashville does not have that many hip mixed-use areas that have grown organically as true neighborhoods. Most of the areas I would recommend that have residences close to stores and shopping, such as the growing McEwen area south of Cool Springs, are newer and development-driven, so as soon as they start to take off, everybody drives there and you have another Green Hills or Cool Springs.

vivelafrance · 10-21-2011, 07:59 AM

You can find neighborhoods where it is possible to bike and walk daily to things like restaurants, cafes, groceries, etc. But biking/walking to work...especially trader joe's in Green Hills is more difficult. Green Hills has probably the worst traffic congestion in the city and Trader Joe's sits right in the middle of it.

I live in Germantown which is a compact neighborhood where I can walk or bike to restaurants, the salon, cafe, even the Farmer's Market & International Market for most groceries. It's also easy to bike to downtown & the gulch from here...although most Americans would probably think I'm crazy, I'm French and don't give a second thought to walking or biking 30 minutes to do shopping or other errands.

The best neighborhoods for biking/walking would be...
Germantown
Salemtown
Downtown
The Gulch
East Nashville (specifically the five-points area)
12 South
Hillsboro Village/Belmont
Sylvan Park
Lenox Village (more suburban)

East Nashville is definitely the hipster haven although Germantown, The Gulch, and 12 South have a good amount too.

yank283 · 10-21-2011, 11:38 AM

I can't believe someone mentioned Green Hills. It has some of the worst bottleneck traffic in town and hardly any sidewalks. I would look into East Nashville (hipster central) particularly the Eastwood Neighbors and Lockland Springs neighborhoods. If you have a bigger budget (and don't mind being around too many college kids) you might want to look at Hillsboro Village. Other neighborhoods to consider are the 12 South area Sylvan Park, and Germantown. Sylvan Park is strangely not as walkable as a lot of people think. A definite lack of sidewalks (even though it's a older neighborhood) but it's a nice neighborhood and people just walk on the streets. There's a few neighborhood places to walk to but not nearly as many or varied as East Nashville. I would do a search on here for other pros and cons of these areas. Good luck.

septimus · 10-21-2011, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yank283

I can't believe someone mentioned Green Hills. It has some of the worst bottleneck traffic in town and hardly any sidewalks. I would look into East Nashville (hipster central) particularly the Eastwood Neighbors and Lockland Springs neighborhoods. If you have a bigger budget (and don't mind being around too many college kids) you might want to look at Hillsboro Village. Other neighborhoods to consider are the 12 South area Sylvan Park, and Germantown. Sylvan Park is strangely not as walkable as a lot of people think. A definite lack of sidewalks (even though it's a older neighborhood) but it's a nice neighborhood and people just walk on the streets. There's a few neighborhood places to walk to but not nearly as many or varied as East Nashville. I would do a search on here for other pros and cons of these areas. Good luck.

but GHs now has fancy bike lanes on Hillsboro, they end right where the bottleneck starts.

OP there are wonderful things about Nashville but it is not a walk/bike friendly area. You will need a car, probably 2.

However, some of the best road cycling in the US is in the greater nashville area

jcourting · 10-21-2011, 01:11 PM

Wow- so much information! Thank you all. We will dive into researching these neighborhoods. Sadly, it sounds as if the Trader Joes is located in not-so desirable part of the city... but if Nashville is as wonderful as we hear it is, we will certain make some sacrifices.

septimus · 10-21-2011, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcourting

Wow- so much information! Thank you all. We will dive into researching these neighborhoods. Sadly, it sounds as if the Trader Joes is located in not-so desirable part of the city... but if Nashville is as wonderful as we hear it is, we will certain make some sacrifices.

TJs is in the very high rent district of the city. It is incredibly desirable area real estate wise. It just has atrocious traffic because it is next to the mall.