Considering a Brooklyn to Nashville Move: What Neighborhoods Should I Explore (Knoxville: apartments, rental)

[cammccleary]

I'm hoping to move from Brooklyn to Nashville within the next six months. I love New York and all that if has to offer, but in my industry (advertising) I'm just not making enough money to keep up my standard of living here.

I grew up a few minutes outside of Knoxville in Oak Ridge and went to school at UTK, but I pretty unfamiliar with middle Tennessee. Does anyone have any suggestions on what neighborhoods would be good for a young professional? Here are some things I'm looking for:

-Rent around $1,000 for one bedroom or large studio apartment
-Plenty of young people/young families
-Proximity to restaurants/coffee shops/a bar or two
-Proximity to a park or green space with running trails

I don't have to live in the "coolest" neighborhood in the world, but I do like to be close to the epicenter of things and have amenities around.

Any advice is appreciated!

[N.Cal]

-Rent around $1,000 for one bedroom or large studio apartment

-Plenty of young people/young families
-Proximity to restaurants/coffee shops/a bar or two
-Proximity to a park or green space with running trails

I don't have to live in the "coolest" neighborhood in the world, but I do like to be close to the epicenter of things and have amenities around.

Your first sentence conflicts with the rest. You need to up your rent budget by $300-$500 or you will likely be stuck out in the far reaches (Bellevue, the Davidson Co. part of Brentwood). But with Bellevue you wouldn't be far from Percy Warner Park.

You also know that wages are generally a lot less here, right?

[cammccleary]

I actually didn't realize that rent in Nashville was so high. A preliminary search turned up a lot of places in the $800-$1,000 range, but as familiar as I am with East TN, I don't know anything about Davidson County so I'm assuming what I was seeing was far outside of the city's main hub.

I get that wages are less (and I'm hoping they're higher in Nashville than they are in the Knoxville area!), but the cost of living is generally lower. No more $15 lunches every day. I'm currently roughing it in Brooklyn on a $39K salary, paying $1,300 a month in rent. Now that I've got a couple of years's experience under my belt, I'm hoping to make around $45K. Is that totally off base for being able to live relatively comfortably?

[nashvols]

You can find properties in your rental range, but the majority of them will probably be older. You don't have to live on the fringes of the county, but most newer apartments will be a little more.

I do not have an idea of what advertising wages are here, but if you are able to make $40-45k and live in a $1k/month apartment, then you should be fine. You should definitely scout out some job opportunities beforehand, though.