Best area for a real "Nashville" living experience? (Franklin: for rent, lofts)

[abcathey30]

Hi! My husband and I will be moving to Nashville at the end of the year for a transfer of his job. We are 26 and 30, I am an elementary school teacher and he is a song writer. We have no kids yet.

We are not ready for the suburbs yet and we are looking for a neighborhood that has lots going on without having to travel too far. We like to go out but not to club type environments, more low key places. We also enjoy restaurants and local business type places.

We have heard mixed things about the hillsboro part of town but arent too sure where to start looking. Any suggestions will help! We are looking to spend around $1500 on rent and need a 2 bedroom..not picky on condo/single family.

Thanks in advance!

[MTFan]

Try east Nashville.

[ariesjow]

Originally Posted by abcathey30

Hi! My husband and I will be moving to Nashville at the end of the year for a transfer of his job. We are 26 and 30, I am an elementary school teacher and he is a song writer. We have no kids yet.

We are not ready for the suburbs yet and we are looking for a neighborhood that has lots going on without having to travel too far. We like to go out but not to club type environments, more low key places. We also enjoy restaurants and local business type places.

We have heard mixed things about the hillsboro part of town but arent too sure where to start looking. Any suggestions will help! We are looking to spend around $1500 on rent and need a 2 bedroom..not picky on condo/single family.

Thanks in advance!

An early "Welcome to Nashville" to you and your husband. Where will you be moving from? Will you be able to visit prior to your move?

Based on your criteria, these are the main areas I would suggest checking out:
- East Nashville: Huge area of mostly historic building stock across the river from downtown with a very local and eclectic feel. The main concentration of restaurants, shops and bars are around Five Points and along Eastland Avenue, but a lot of others are scattered throughout. The most popular residential 'hoods in EN are Eastland, Historic Edgefield, Lockeland Springs and Eastwood.
- 12South/Melrose: Increasingly popular adjacent areas surrounding 12th Avenue S. and 8th Avenue/Franklin Pike just south of Wedgewood. Mostly historic housing stock with new condos and townhomes popping up closer to the main strips.
- Hillsboro Village/Belmont-Hillsboro/Hillsboro-West End: These are basically the neighborhoods immediately south of Vanderbilt University and around Belmont University. Hillsboro Village has a cute strip with historic store fronts along 21st Ave. S. Belmont-Hillsboro and Hillsboro-West End are the residential areas surrounding the Village corridor to the east and west respectively. Very convenient to 12South, Green Hills, West End, etc.
- Germantown/Salemtown: Very charming and quaint historic neighborhoods just north of downtown with some popular local eateries scattered throughout. Residential ranges from early 19th Century Victorians to old factory lofts to tasteful new townhomes. Adjacent to the Farmer's Market and Bicentennial Park as well.
- Sylvan Park: Another area of mostly historic housing stock with a strip of local favorites along Murphy Road. There's a greenway around the McCabe Golf Course and usually the West Nashville Farmer's Market at Richland Park.

These are the main urban areas that I would make sure to check out. You should definitely be able to find a nice 2br flat or townhome in all of them with your price range and probably a single-family home in most. What were the main complaints you heard about Hillsboro Village?

[abcathey30]

Originally Posted by ariesjow

An early "Welcome to Nashville" to you and your husband. Where will you be moving from? Will you be able to visit prior to your move?

Based on your criteria, these are the main areas I would suggest checking out:
- East Nashville: Huge area of mostly historic building stock across the river from downtown with a very local and eclectic feel. The main concentration of restaurants, shops and bars are around Five Points and along Eastland Avenue, but a lot of others are scattered throughout. The most popular residential 'hoods in EN are Eastland, Historic Edgefield, Lockeland Springs and Eastwood.
- 12South/Melrose: Increasingly popular adjacent areas surrounding 12th Avenue S. and 8th Avenue/Franklin Pike just south of Wedgewood. Mostly historic housing stock with new condos and townhomes popping up closer to the main strips.
- Hillsboro Village/Belmont-Hillsboro/Hillsboro-West End: These are basically the neighborhoods immediately south of Vanderbilt University and around Belmont University. Hillsboro Village has a cute strip with historic store fronts along 21st Ave. S. Belmont-Hillsboro and Hillsboro-West End are the residential areas surrounding the Village corridor to the east and west respectively. Very convenient to 12South, Green Hills, West End, etc.
- Germantown/Salemtown: Very charming and quaint historic neighborhoods just north of downtown with some popular local eateries scattered throughout. Residential ranges from early 19th Century Victorians to old factory lofts to tasteful new townhomes. Adjacent to the Farmer's Market and Bicentennial Park as well.
- Sylvan Park: Another area of mostly historic housing stock with a strip of local favorites along Murphy Road. There's a greenway around the McCabe Golf Course and usually the West Nashville Farmer's Market at Richland Park.

These are the main urban areas that I would make sure to check out. You should definitely be able to find a nice 2br flat or townhome in all of them with your price range and probably a single-family home in most. What were the main complaints you heard about Hillsboro Village?

Thank you so much for such a detailed response. We are moving from Tampa, FL and plan on visiting several times to look around and get a feel for different areas, we just didnt want to go into it blind and waste valuable time

We have heard such mixed things about Hillsboro Village. Several people have told us we would love it but then others have told us it was basically just college kids. We were not looking for anything like a college environment, which is where we got apprehensive.

Looking online only we have seen a few lofts in Germantown that we have really liked. We like the exposed brick, industrial feel and the historic buildings. We have also been interested in the East Nashville area.

I am noting all the different places you told me to be sure and check out when we visit in August...thanks again for the advice!

[Joey Saint]

We are planning a fact finding trip later this year. I'm curious which of the areas mentioned were effected by the flooding? Anyone know of 55 & communities in the area?

[yank283]

Here's a resource to check out for East Nashville. Lot's of local restaurants and shops and getting more all the time...good luck on the move, wherever you decide to move...



The East Nashvillian

[jen_bastian]

Originally Posted by abcathey30

Hi! My husband and I will be moving to Nashville at the end of the year for a transfer of his job. We are 26 and 30, I am an elementary school teacher and he is a song writer. We have no kids yet.

We are not ready for the suburbs yet and we are looking for a neighborhood that has lots going on without having to travel too far. We like to go out but not to club type environments, more low key places. We also enjoy restaurants and local business type places.

We have heard mixed things about the hillsboro part of town but arent too sure where to start looking. Any suggestions will help! We are looking to spend around $1500 on rent and need a 2 bedroom..not picky on condo/single family.
.
Thanks in advance!

Yea I agree with the other poster. West End is one of my favorite, take broadway from downtown, lots of shopping, eating and hip.

Love East Nashville, very old urban. There is a lot of trouble there though

[Dyrssen]

With your price point $1500 and your need for 2 bedrooms, most likely you could find something for rent in the heart of downtown. The Cumberland and Rolling Mill Hill are 2 downtown loft/condo buildings that may be in your price range and are in walking distant to all the downtown venues. And they are also in close proximity to The Gulch, West End, Germantown and East Nashville.

12South/Belmont is great for the restaurants and very walkable but the traffic/parking situation is insane and East Nashville is hip/trendy but the area is still somewhat sketchy.

Nashville is a GREAT place to live. I've been here forever and think the city has endless entertainment options going on at all times. There's always something to do. Good luck in your search!

[Dyrssen]

Originally Posted by Joey Saint

We are planning a fact finding trip later this year. I'm curious which of the areas mentioned were effected by the flooding? Anyone know of 55 & communities in the area?

The flooding hit the Bellevue area and the Pennington Bend area (Donelson Area), some parts of Antioch, There was some around North 1st, and with Titan's stadium being effected, I would check out anything in the Shelby bottoms area for flooding. I believe some the the office buildings basements/garage areas had flooding in downtown. I don't recall a lot of damage to loft units in downtown Nashville. I don't think any of the areas mentioned were involved in the flooding (Shelby is on the East side, though).

[artemis]

There was flooding on the East side, nothing close to the loft units tho.