North West Nashville (Hendersonville, Goodlettsville, Henderson: best neighborhoods, apartments, low crime)

[kewhit]

Im taking a job in North West Nashville, and im wondering are there any areas in that area that are low crime, good neighborhoods to live? If so, I'm looking for an apartment or a house in 1 of those areas. I have been searching on the web and have found some apartments, but when i read the reviews, noone is giving good reviews on anything. It's really hard to find a good area when you're not from Nashville. Please, any help would be great. I know the area given is vague, but anywhere in that general vicinity would be great. Im looking to stay away from the high gang, high crime, drug infested, areas. If there is somewhere else that i would have to fight with extremely heavy traffic getting to work, then that would be fine also. I want to be safe if at all possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

[MiddleTNresident]

I kinda-sorta work in Northwest Nashville myself (I don't exactly know what constitutes Northwest here, but I work mostly N and slightly W of downtown) and I wouldn't live in this neighborhood on a bet. I even drive away from the neighborhood for lunchtime errands/shopping and restaurants. I head towards the Rivergate mall area for my lunchtime getaways. North of that mall is my personal boundary line for nicer places to live with an easy commute to Nashville.

I know the ideal is to live close to work and cut down on driving times, but in Nashville, there just aren't a lot of options I would recommend if you are looking for that "safe" neighborhood. Of course, my personal fright factor is pretty high now (with this weaker economy, the news is loaded with what appears to be a higher outbreak in crime throughout the metro area, especially on the street where I work!), so I hiked myself out to Robertson County. Some may think that's far, but my commute to work is about 98% highway driving on I-65 and I actually get to/from work faster than when I lived in Hendersonville (another nice place to live, but I had to get away from annoying neighbors and an aggravating daily commute home). My commute is about 20 minutes each way now. And in the winter, I know that I-65 will be cleared quickly on those rare occasions we get wintery weather.

Nothing against life within the Nashville city limits, but for me, the places that are "good" in the metro area are also pricey (too pricey for me). And the pricey neighborhoods are still too close to the declining neighborhoods for my tastes. You may live someplace nice, but you may have to drive past not-so-nice areas to get there (and possibly do your grocery shopping in borderline neighborhoods). My co-worker's house just got robbed and it's in what I consider one of Nashville's best neighborhoods.

There's a reason so many people seek the communities surrounding Nashville rather than within Nashville itself. I guess that's true for most cities.

There are other nice places east, west or south of town. I'm one that prefers to live north of town.

[DonCorleone]

I've not really looked in areas northwest of Nashville, but depending on how far out you want to go, you might consider Joelton or even Ashland City out on I 24. Both of those areas are fairly rural (even though Joelton is Davidson Co) which means it should be cheaper to live there. I have several friends who live out that way and they love it...I also know some people who feel like they're isolated there because it feels so far out of Nashville.

[kewhit]

I was looking out that way actually. It's not really all that far to get in to Nashville from there. I was looking at all the surrounding areas like whites creek, joelton, and even madison which is north east of where my job is. I just dont know anything about anywhere up there north, south, east, or west. lol. I know every town/city around Nashville more than likely has it's good areas as well as it's bad. I just want to make sure im staying away from the bad ones. I kind of wish i could live near the city, but close enough to the country i could feel at home. Im sure there are places like that around Nashville and im hoping i'll find 1 before i go and settle for something i hate. Also i would like to be in a communtiy where there's a lot going on. Like community stuff. I really like getting involved in things like the rec department and other organized events. Im sure someone could be bias and convince me that their community is the best to live in and make me want to move there. lol. I know my perfect place is up there somewhere though, i just need a little guided direction.

[alleycat]

If your budget can stand it, there are some places within Nashville where there is a lot happening, and are still convenient to the north Nashville area. For example, the Midtown area. You can hop on I-440 or I-65 and be over in north Nashville in no time generally.

As others have mentioned, you probably don't want to live in what is known as North Nashville (with is really northwest of downtown).

BTW, I work in MetroCenter, which is in the north Nashville area, and live in Bellevue. The commute is between 20 and 30 minutes generally. Bellevue is a good place to live, but I don't think it's what you looking for in terms of things to do.

[DonCorleone]

There are rough patches in every suburb of Nashville, even the "nice" ones.

Again, I've not been in the Joelton/Ashland City/Whites Creek area for almost a year so I'm definitely not an expert. But I know several people up there and went to high school nearby. My take on it is that you'll find more apartments in the Madison/Goodlettsville area, but might have a longer commute. The tradeoff is that you'll be closer to more restaurants and shopping in Madison/Goodlettsville than you would be in the Joelton areas.

I have to say that the Joelton/Ashland City areas are pretty, especially in the fall when the leaves change.

[artemis]

I have a friend who just bought a new house in the White's Creek area (North of Briley). She likes it because it's close to the city, but more country.

Joelton is ok, tho it seems a bit remote.

[kewhit]

I guess i need to just get used to the fact that no matter where i live in Nashville, i'll have to realize that crime is a bigger factor than living in my small town. lol. It's going to take a lot of getting used to im sure, but hopefully i'll meet some folks and get through this transition ok. Im excited and scared to death about moving. This is my first out of state move, so it's all new to me. Im flying to Nashville on Sunday to be do orientation on Monday. Im thinking about just driving around and checking the city out as much as possible while im there so maybe that'll help me decide on my neighborhood. Hopefully i'll make the right choice. lol. I'll ask you all before i pick though to make sure im not making a mistake. lol. Im still waiting on someone to tell me to move to their area because it's the best nieghborhood to live in. haha.

[DonCorleone]

I think we probably make our crime situation sound a lot worse than it really is. For livetime Nashvillians like me, I can tell there's been an increase in crime as we've gotten bigger. But really it isn't a widespread problem. Trouble doesn't find you here like it does in other cities. Sure there is a very small amount of random violence, but as long as you are aware of your surroundings, you're going to be fine.

[goodman2]

There is one other very good part of North Nashville besides Metrocenter well more rather Northeast Nashville and it's the Bellshire neighborhood in zip code 37207 which is also shared with East Nashville.

It's equally close to Whites Creek,Goodlettsville,and Madison if you choose the right spot also you could try something around Whites Creek Pike or the Haynes neighborhood if you think you are up for it otherwise I would go with Bellshire or Parkwood which are pretty diverse and nice.