Looking for nice apartment in good area at a reasonable price (Brentwood: sublease, affordable apartment)

[cjm4899]

I have a child that just graduated college and is wanting to move to Nashville. I am looking for a decent apartment in a safe area of town. Where should we be looking?

[BirdieBelle]

Your definition of "reasonable price" is the most important piece of info.

[alleycat]

Besides the "reasonable price" you're thinking of, it would help if you had some idea where your child might be working (or looking for work). You might find a reasonable apartment in, say, Bellevue, but if your son or daughter is working for, say, Dollar General in Goodlettsville, then the commuting costs are going to make the apartment less reasonable considering the cost of cars and gas these days (Bellevue to Goodlettsville is almost a 20-mile commute, for example).

You might not be able to provide many specifics, but the more you provide the easier it will be for someone to give you some ideas on where to start the search.

[Liz M.]

I just relocated and did a lot of recon on commutes. I found that reasonable price was relative- especially depending on where you are moving from's cost of living. I came from Richmond, VA, which on paper (via salary calculator) showed that Nashville was 18% less expensive. However, rent is about 25% higher once I dug in. (am now thinking the 'less than' calculation was based on lack of state taxes in TN.) Good news is that except for tourist eateries, I find pricing reasonable. Not at all like Chicago, DC, NYC.
But to your point, my recommendation would be that you check out trulia, homes.com and zillow. You can find a lot of sublease/ private rentals,and I found that the big apartment complexes had wretched reviews relative to how expensive they were. East Nashville is spotty. Up and coming but probably generally less expensive, more urban, hip, and some sections are I am sure perfectly safe, but you may have to know good blocks/ bad blocks to really be informed. Downtown is expensive. Vanderbilt area and west of it tend to be slightly pricier, but very universally safe and established. Still, you can find some better deals by rooting around. As alleycat said, where you will work is an important piece because the commutes can be wretched. 30,000 people drive in to Vanderbilt every morning, so interstate from east to west is nightmare in morning. Also, commute from Brentwood into city is nightmare. But if you live west and work east, it is more reasonable. I hope this helps. I spent probably 60 hours researching, calling, etc which was at times daunting, but ultimately found a great place with a decent commute. Best of luck!

[improving healthcare]

Thanks Liz M.
I have also felt overwhelmed by the daunting task of trying to find an affordable apartment in a safe neighborhood. Apartment reviews have been horrible. I appreciate the reference to trulia, homes.com and zillow. Maybe they will make my hunt a little easier.

[livnluv]

Just as a heads up...My son just graduated from college about a year ago. During that time we had to find him a couple different apts. The reviews online were often horrible and unhelpful. You really have to get out there in person to get a good feel for things. The reviews are just not reliable.

[MetropolitanTN]

Agreed. Most apartment reviews, like restaurant reviews, tend to be more negative then they deserve. People with bad experiences tend to be more likely to review than those with good experiences.

[improving healthcare]

Thank you livnluv and ETSUAccountingGuy for the additional feedback. I am relocating very soon and am happy to hear that the Nashville area is better than the reviews. I am visiting this weekend, so I can personally assess the areas and apartment communities. I do agree, bad customer service and/or experiences cause people to want to tell everyone. It's unfortunate that people with good experiences are not as pressed to share.