Moving to Nashville in April--help! (to rent, crime, houses)

[sdo1007]

My boyfriend and I are moving to Nashville in April or May and are looking hard for a house to rent. We have a dog so we really are trying to get a place that has a fence in obviously a safe area. We are attracted to East Nashville because of the character and charm that a lot of houses have there and the convenience of the dog park... but also have been told by friends and others there that Lockeland Springs is the only gauranteed safety on the East side. We've seen homes available in Shelby that we are interested in and a couple in Inglewood (which I know Inglewood is huge)... not sure if we should toss it out the window. It's just difficult because there aren't many homes coming up in Lockeland especially at an affordable price if there is one. We basically just want to know what neighborhoods to definitely avoid! I've looked on crime websites but there's crime in every neighborhood so it's really hard to know what's good and bad. Anything is helpful!
Thanks!

[Edgefield D]

I think your statement that "there's crime in every neighborhood" pretty much sums it up. Sure Lockeland Springs is great and it's pretty much as gentrified as it gets on the east side...but it's by no means the only safer neighborhood in East Nashville. Keep looking at the crime maps and more than anything....drive around the neighborhoods and get a feel for them. I'm not sure if that's an option...but if you are visiting Nashville at all...that's what I would suggest. There's nothing wrong with Inglewood either...I have plenty of friends that have lived there for many years without any kind of problem. I've lived in Edgefield for almost 5 years....just a few blocks from the Cayce Homes and I've never had a problem. When you live in an urban neighborhood you need to be aware of your surroundings...but it's by no means a battlefield.

Good Luck with your search...but don't limit yourself before you even get started

[sdo1007]

Ok thanks! That helps a little I guess I am more interested in Shelby but have heard it's safe during the day but has problems at night... have you heard of a lot going on there to be cautious of? I can't get there until a couple weeks before we plan on getting a place so it's all online research right now. Although I've been to Nashville before, it's never been to look at houses so I'm just trying to narrow down my option as much as possible. Thanks for your help!

[Edgefield D]

Can you tell me where around Shelby? I might be able to give you better insight. Shelby near the park is not bad. Shelby near the Cayce Homes sees a lot of action.

[CompSecurity]

A police detective friend of mine once gave me some advice with regards to making a quick assessment about a neighborhood, or more particularly, a few streets, where the majority of your time would be spent.

In general, people work from 9 to 5 jobs getting home around 6pm. Kids get home around 4pm.

I was told, if you are going to make a financial decision of a purchase of $100k+, and you can afford the time, attempt to do a stake out on the street that you are considering moving to.

You want to arrive around 4pm and stay until around 8pm or even 9. Weekends are hit and miss as too many varied activities go on or do not happen on weekends. You want to be sure to do both weekend day as well as a week day.

Things to look for and compare to your level of tolerance:

Have any police patrols gone by?

Are the kids outside playing? Or have the parents instructed them to stay inside?

Are the older kids outside listening to music from their vehicles so loud that they can't hear themselves speaking?

When the parents start arriving home from work, are they going jogging? Playing with the kids? Or are they setting up outside drinking adult beverages?

If you have been sitting there in a vehicle for more than 30 minutes, has anyone phoned the police yet to ask for a drive by for suspicious person? (has an officer tapped on your window yet? Speaking of which, if a patrol car does come up behind you, place your hands on the steering while after you roll down your window at 10 and 2 position. Wait for the officer to address you. Ask for permission to retrieve documents before making any sudden moves of your hands from the steering wheel and explain where the documents are located. This action will most likely cut down some of the tension from the officer and an unknown person)

Has someone just come over to you and asked if they could help you?

After dark, are the streets well lit? Do neighbors put on an outside light?

Do you see people walking dogs, jogging, bicycling, etc.?

Do you see neighbors chatting it up with each other? Waving Hello?

Or do you see them rush indoors as soon as they get home and close the door and pull down the shades?

Most of the time we don't have the luxury to go and sit in a vehicle on the street that we want to move to for several hours, but with the size of the investment and the time commitment, it may be worthwhile to make the effort. I have done this on my last 2 home purchases. 1st home everyone kept to themselves and it turned out ot be that way after we moved in. the 2nd one, kids were outside playing, neighbors making the effort to wave to every vehicle that passed by, though the neighbors were at least 20 years older that myself, mostly retired folks. I didn't see anything that would change my mind about the purchase in either case, which was the point of this long post.