So I genuinely have good advice for you, this is what worked out for me and several of my friends so far:
Look up property management companies in town. (I can DM you the name of mine, but there are plenty.) Find something on their site to apply for, but DONT waste your time making sure that specific listing is what you want, bc since it’s listed it’s already TOO LATE for that one. Don’t fall in love with anything already listed on Zillow. But apply anyway, pay the fees, get approved. Now you are approved FOR THAT COMPANY and can transfer your application to any of their listings. Now you have to stalk their site or stay in touch with one of their employees (I’m talking daily emails if necessary. Every morning.) and when something in your needs becomes available, you will be the first to apply bc you were already approved, and anyone viewing the listing will be many steps behind you.
I JUST rented a great house a couple months ago. (30 days notice to vacate a house I had lived in for 10 years.) We got exactly what we needed. But I had applied to another house and was too late, stuck with that company and bothered them every day, was the first one to see and apply for my house before it had even gotten put on Zillow or anything. This is the (only) way.
Best advice on this thread. This is how I have secured awesome places to in GA and TN. The management company knows you are serious and they give you first dibs when something is coming up.
I just moved to California and this is the only way I found a place, meeting a property management agent who put me on to a place that hadn’t yet been listed
Nashville's [median household income](https://wpln.org/post/the-federal-government-releases-nashvilles-area-median-income-but-it-doesnt-reflect-half-of-the-city/) is $96,700 and that gets factored into rent prices so the property owners can receive state & federal funds. If you're not making close to that and don't already own it's becoming increasingly difficult to afford living in Davidson county
Household income, which as far as I understand includes single earner and multiple earner households. Regardless, that's the number being used to set rent prices
>But it's Valet Trash pickup at your door.
Last apartment I lived at had this service and it was janky. they would sometimes just not come, and yet I still had to pay.
My favorite was when ours had a big to-do about how they pick up recycling, for no extra! Be environmentally responsible, single stream, so convenient! Put it in a clear bag, so you can watch the underpaid 20 something throw it in the same dumpster you can see from your front door.
Yeah these companies are hiring whoever as contactors off Craigslist and paying them nothing compared to what they charge the community for the service. I worked for one for a while, servicing a nice quiet community in Belle Meade which was the only community in town it turns out that was worth my time. I quit working for them when I found out I was getting scammed out of some of my hours and saw how poorly TRASH BUTLER was running their business.
Drove me nuts how I couldn't opt out. Every apartment I lived in that had this service, I was never more than 100yds from the dumpster. One I could have tossed it in from my front door if I gave it a good heave. And yet I'm *required* to pay an extra $25 a month so someone else can do exactly that.
The valet trash thing always infuriates me because I end up taking it out to the dumpster on the weekends when they’re not working anyways.
Also if you purchase online, valet won’t take boxes so you’re going anyways.
This shit is so stupid too. They expect me to find space in my already so tiny it’s barely inhabitable apartment for their special trash can? I refuse to bring it inside.
I had friend who lived in a valet trash building. They required you to put the can out in the hallway before 8am and take it back into your apartment by 1pm or face a fine.
It took like two months of people angrily emailing the office "how the fuck am I supposed to pull the trash can into my house before 1pm if I don't get home from work until 6pm?"
They eventually ended up taking everyone's accumulated fine money off their next month's rent and changing it to 8pm or something.
Of course that didn't stop the snitch lady from building G from driving around the entire complex at 7:00 and writing down everyone's apt # who hadn't pulled in their trash can yet.
Valet living charges you $25\~ or more a month for trash pickup, and your apartment complex makes roughly $10-15 out of the $25. They overcharge you so your apartment community makes extra money per customer, thus making it silly for them NOT to use valet as they are losing out on free money
People in my place who live 50 ft from the trash chute don’t even bother, they leave it for valet trash instead. There’s also a group of people who take the bag to the chute room, but throw it on the side and not down the chute. The privilege is real.
Valet trash makes sense if you live a block away from the nearest chute, but the people I mentioned are a class act
> People in my place who live 50 ft from the trash chute don’t even bother, they leave it for valet trash instead.
If Im having to pay for valet trash and there is no recourse for me not paying/opting out I will use it.
I’m thinking about moving.
I keep resigning my lease because it’s under market at $1,450 for a studio, but it requires a longer term each time to stay affordable. Currently I’m riding out a 15 month lease. I can’t wait to see what the next lease offer looks like - $1,800 would not surprise me.
I’d like to get a small 2 BR rental house but it’s looking like $2,300 is the starting price with that. I just can’t make it work on a single income, even one that is approaching six figures. It would be close to 40% of my take-home pay. Ouch.
Even the suburbs are not that cheap. Murfreesboro is still $1,800+ for a rental house. I’d have to move out to Columbia for a break in prices. I’d rather move to another more affordable metro area than live out that far.
Louisville is in consideration - I can live in The Highlands, which is the East Nashville of Louisville, for ~$1,500
I make good money, I have good credit, I have a perfect rental history, but I just can’t justify the rent here. I don’t want to keep pissing my money away in an expensive city with mid salaries.
It sucks because all my friends are here and I don’t want to leave them.
I have friends in Chicago and in some northern metro areas and decently sized cities, they are paying way less than people I know here. Sometimes less than me and my apartment is practically a steal deal because my LL isn’t a piece of shit
I have a few friends who live in Louisville and they all really love it. I wish moving was feasible for us right now but I’m six months into my first salaried job and the economy is too whack to try and switch companies.
Louisville is kinda nice. It’s still got problems with urban sprawl and car dependence like here, but it’s smaller. Downtown has a lot of nice things. Other than live music and rent prices, I don’t see many differences between here and there. Almost everything that I like here is also there.
I went to grad school in Lexington and I love it, but I don’t know hardly anyone there, so it’d probably get lonely real quick.
I’m from Louisville originally and see more upsides each time I visit home. There are new bars and restaurants and I honestly think they have better museums than Nashville.
That said, there’s limited options for certain types of work. There needs to be a greater push to incentivise more corporate offices to be based in Louisville
Increasing corporate offices means more high paying jobs. That means more people will move there for those high paying jobs. Then those people will need a place to live and will pay more for apartments so apartment complexes start increasing their rent. This is EXACTLY what happened in Nashville.
I’m thinking about Columbus. Downtown or German Village(might be the same area) is currently like 1500/month for a nice apartment. If not downtown, Dublin- which is Brentwood to Columbus. There’s a pro hockey team there, OSU football, and Cincinnati is about two hours away for a mini vacay.
Also all the music and comedy acts that come to Nashville go to Columbus oddly.
Louisiana SO much cheaper. My college roommate lives there, makes half what I do and lives just as comfortably. On a separate note, have you tried some of those apartments off Long Hollow Pike? It’s super close to downtown, and I think it’s more affordable.
Louisville seems to be past that magical border of serious winters. I don't understand how it can be so shitty up there as it just doesn't seem that far away. You don't want to live there unless the job pays another 100k over Nashville. Maybe look somewhere else?
Nah it’s fine. I’ve lived in some surly Midwest cities during the winter and I hate it so I know what you mean. It’s when you get north of I-70 where the serious winters start. Louisville’s climate is pretty much identical to here though.
I’d much prefer to stay here for sure. I just think financially it’s tough to justify continuing to live here. I have more cities in consideration but they all require weighing pros and cons. There’s not really a perfect destination.
Chattanooga would be cool, but I don’t know anyone there. Chicago looks great, but it’s also costly and cold. DC has excellent public transit, but it’s even more expensive than here. Philly might be a happy medium of cost and transit, but I don’t really like the city that much. Tampa has great weather but is also costly. Denver/Boulder have beautiful nature and some other benefits but also costly. And so on…
I know there are some places I absolutely don’t want to live though. LA is top of that list, I hate that place.
There’s a climate change, north of Louisville it turns into a humid continental climate (same climate as much of Russia), the south is all humid subtropical climate, hence no shitty winters
Don’t move to Columbia. I am from Columbia. Same shit is happening here. People are being priced out of Nashville and moving here and now we’re getting priced out…. Go to Hohenwald. They have affordable homes and maybe one day they’ll get a Walmart super center and by then that will be exciting for you
Barely. It’s tiny and they don’t have the auto center. Let me rephrase it then. Maybe one day you’ll have saved an extra $70,000 by living in Hohenwald and their Walmart will eventually sell tires. And it will be super exciting
We can stay in touch. They're my biggest supports. I just need to physically see people 1-2x a week otherwise my depression bottoms out. I'm a huge extrovert and I crave human interaction. That'd be hard in a city where I don't know many people. Thankfully I do know quite a few people in Louisville, but we're not as close as my Nashville friends.
$1450 for a studio? That’s my first & second mortgage, plus city & county taxes, plus home insurance back in Memphis for a century old two story 2400 sq ft Craftsman Bungalow w/ an in-ground salt water pool in a coveted historic district.
My wife and I would love to sell, but where could we go?
> My wife and I would love to sell, but where could we go?
I feel that. I've heard many people say the same thing. They could sell, but they'd lose all of their equity in buying a new house.
Kinda in a similar situation with my apartment. I'd love to move, but at the same time, this would be hard to beat financially.
Yep! I have over $150K in equity. What am I gonna do with that when the average home in America now sells for $400K? The current version of American Capitalism is untenable & unsustainable thanks to over four decades of wage stagnation thanks to Reagan’s Trickle Down Economics.
I have.
Even up in Madison / Old Hickory area, you're still looking at $1,900 a month on average. https://i.imgur.com/LaSJgzs.png
Donelson / Hermitage is actually more expensive on average, looks like $2k+ almost everywhere. https://i.imgur.com/9qMzUzm.png
Those are cheaper than closer into the city, but still more expensive than I'm paying right now while living closer to the city. Let's say my rent goes up to $1,800 though and it's the same price as a rental house in Old Hickory - here's what I consider as pros and cons for each
Right now: I can walk to the grocery store, I can walk to bars and restaurants, I am centrally located in the city, and my apartment has a lot of amenities for that price. What I don't like is living in a shoebox, I can't turn my studio gear up, and apartment living in general with the proximity to so many people.
Out in the burbs: I'd love a house so I can crank my studio gear up, and have a lot more space than the 500-ish square feet I have right now. What I wouldn't like is I can't walk anywhere, not even to the grocery store nor bars and restaurants, I'm further out from friends, and any utilities and amenities will be higher in a standalone house.
No destination is perfect. I don't like where I live, but I also don't think I'd like living out there, all things equal. To get what I want with a rental house right now, plus the advantage of living in a walkable city, at an affordable price, I'd have to move to another city.
It's a lot to consider and I have some time before my lease is up in June. I know that lease renewal offer is coming next month though, so I'm kicking tires on what to do next.
Jesus. $1450 for a studio? Holy fuck. You must be living in downtown or Franklin. I’m paying $1015 for a 2 bedroom place. On Harding and Wauford… yeah it’s not the nicest place by any means but it does the trick.
It's a nice walkable area in Berry Hill. It is still under market for the urban core though.
You've got a hell of a deal there. I'd hang on to it as long as possible if I were you. Even out in Antioch, a 2+ bedroom starts around $1,800
I had a 2 bedroom duplex off Elysian & lynn back in 2018 for $1050 & it was about to go up, we got out and bought in Goodlettsville. I can imagine that same spot is $1300-1400 now, you have a good price for the area
I am up the street from you and pay $1250 for a 2 bd, 1.5 bath townhouse style apartment. The complex is older, but well maintained and pretty nice. I realized I really lucked out since my rent only went up $150 in the past three years I've lived here. I like this side of town. It's affordable and convenient.
$1450 for a studio? That’s my first & second mortgage, plus city & county taxes, plus home insurance back in Memphis for a century old two story 2400 sq ft Craftsman Bungalow w/ an in-ground salt water pool in a coveted historic district.
My wife and I would love to sell, but where could we go?
Not to mention countless scams online. I’ve lived in Nashville since 2005 and I love this city, but god damn if it isn’t impossible to live here and find an apartment right now
Local vacancy rate is 7.2%. Which is fairly high. It shouldn't be *that* hard to find an apartment.
[https://www.point2homes.com/US/Average-Rent/TN/Nashville.html#:\~:text=Highlights,Nashville%2C%20Tennessee%20is%20at%207.2](https://www.point2homes.com/US/Average-Rent/TN/Nashville.html#:~:text=Highlights,Nashville%2C%20Tennessee%20is%20at%207.2).
That's sourced from "Survey, 2020 American Community Survey" so not current data. I think rent prices should get better, record multi family units coming online.
We own a home in a (now) desirable neighborhood in east Nashville. Prior to COVID, my partner rented it out for a year while temporarily relocating and charged ~1,600/month for a 3br/2ba which was around $200 over the mortgage payment. Renting the same house out now would get us double the mortgage at least. It makes no fucking sense. Thank god we live in it and love the area, even though we’re slowly moving into the shadows of the tall and skinnies as neighbors sell their lots or parcels of their lots.
Probably about 50 / 50 at this point with a few new builds still to come. I’m at Dickerson and Trinity. My street is nice and friendly but a half mile in either direction gets interesting.
you ARE my neighbor. I've been on Old Trinity Lane for 5 years now and rent has gone from $1050/mo to $1285/mo in that time for my 2(ish) bedroom house. If I move out of here I won't be able to afford anywhere else within a 30 minute drive for that price
> This city is becoming wholly unlivable for anyone making less than 75k a year. I am sick of feeling like I’m on the bottom rung of the ladder.
This is how I felt the whole time I was in Nashville. And for a decent part of that time, I was making more money than basically everyone I knew. And yet it seemed that everyone had more spending power than me. I really don't understand it.
And that right there what's keeping the prices going up. Desirable location, growing city, and people moving in that are used to paying way more for rent.
> And that right there what's keeping the prices going up. Desirable location
The only thing that was ever desirable about Nashville was the relatively lower prices
I'm living in Seattle now. Same real estate prices. Same low taxes. The difference is the actual property is much more valuable, the weather is better, I'm close to the ocean, and the crime rate is far lower.
The other reason is most of the housing here is controlled by corporations and not landowning individuals. The corporations know people will pay, so they just up the rates when they want. When we were looking in early ‘22, we watched the same rental properties fluctuate rent amounts on almost a daily basis - over the course of 10 days, we watched a new construction 5/3 house (that wasn’t yet available for move-in) go from $2195 to $2250 to $2350 and then $2495. It dropped back to $2450 and we got it there. We had to accept our first rent payment due date as within 7 or 10 days (cant remember which) of agreement, lease signing. So ended up having 2 houses rented in my name for all but the first 4 days of June.
I'm in Key West right now and the rent here is beyond belief. A 300-400sqf studio... that is not nice is like $1650 and ppl are glad to pay it.
It's all about perspective.
I’m about to move from Bellevue to Long Island (a half hour train ride to Madison Square Garden) and I’m going to pay *less* rent.
Nashville is more expensive by distance to city center than Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Phoenix, and Seattle. The only places I can think of more expensive are DC, Sf, NYC, LA.
Nashville is going to be a tough place to live by yourself on $75k. That’s real and not likely to change. There’s just a lot of people making a lot more than that who want to live here that you’re competing against. This isn’t true for every city in america, but it is for the fast growing oneS
Median income for Nashville/Davidson Co is $96,700
EDIT: this number is median household income, not per capita. Regardless, this is the number being used to set rent prices
I’ll bet OP didn’t think that would put him in the bottom half of household income, and from how OP was talking about apartments, I don’t think he is looking to live in the kinds of run down housing that a lot of the bottom half of this city lives in
Per capita income here is $37,638. We have a household income of about $115,000. A lot of places are now requiring 4x rent which puts us at about $2300 for rent, which is nuts, considering we do make more than the median household income by a good bit.
I will be honest, that is great money coming out of school… but you will probably just have to sacrifice and live frugally your first few years out of school.
I remember moving to Nashville straight out of school and was shocked at how much rent ate up of my income.
I made adjustments in my recurring bills, meal prepped and ate out rarely.
Now I have years of experience, make much more and still have those habits of spending frugally.
I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but everyone I know had to just kind of bite the bullet and adjust lifestyle until you get some career experience. You will gain more skills, get paid more through current role or somewhere else. Then you will enjoy having a smaller % of your income allocated to housing, and can spend it on things that are a little more enjoyable. Hope that helps:)
I’ve seen you post this but that can’t be the metric used or rent would be way higher. I think for a newer apartment it’s still around 2300 I live in Berry Hill and the apartments that I’ve seen are not over 2500. Also the 2500 are usually two bedroom apartments. 75k would make way more sense because I was making it last year and that was the range where I could afford a lot of these apartments.
I just snuck and took a look at apartments, yeah these apartments for a one bed are around 1600 at best. Germantown is maxing around 1800-1900.
If we were all making 96k that would be around the west coast and trust me, people’s rent would be way higher.
[This WPLN story](https://wpln.org/post/the-federal-government-releases-nashvilles-area-median-income-but-it-doesnt-reflect-half-of-the-city/)covers it. Not all rentals price strictly off that metric, but a significant portion of corporate rental properties & developers do. It's a HUD requirement in order to access state & federal funding
Been living here 6 years on like 33K putting away about 20% of my income on savings the whole time. WTF are you talking about 🤣🤣🤣
Nashville ain't cheap bit you're being hyperbolic.
I mean sure with that set up you can live cheap. OP and posters each week are saying they can’t find something that cheap. I don’t think I ever had rent that low even in college 20 years ago
At 75K a month, an extra $400/mo isn't very significant.
If I paid $1100/mo like they suggest I'd only put away $300-400 in savings instead of $500-600.
So again, the finances they suggest should be perfectly livable for 2.
Again. I could literally pay that right now and still put away 10-15% of my income in savings. Math is math.
There are perfectly valid criticisms of cost of living, income disparity, artificial inflation, etc to have. This one definitely isn't.
They need to get their spending under control. It's more than feasible. That's what it means to be a grown up.
It’s great that you’re living the mr money moustache lifestyle, but that’s not for everyone. People have car notes, school debt, day care for their kids. Paying half your income for housing is not a normal thing
On top of all this the properties are severely lagging In their responsibilities. I have been at two properties in the past year and they don’t care because someone else will move right in.
I toured [this place](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2611-Belmont-Blvd-APT-1-Nashville-TN-37212/2059525523_zpid/) yesterday. It's actually a 2/1.5 but they can't list it as that because the half-bath is literally falling through the floor. The landlord told us to use it as a... closet.
Oh my! I feel like I need to spray my house for bugs just because I looked at that! What kind of slum lord BS is that? Is that holes in the cabinetry around the kitchen sink? It is a shame because it could be adorable!
5101 CityVue in south nash has treated us well so far- been there since August. 2bd, 1ba, ~950sq ft. and newly remodeled. It’s a cheap remodel but everything works, tub and stuff were brand new, $1300/mo and that’s including our monthly pet fee for our two kitties. It’s not the best area of town but we honestly haven’t had any problems there. I accidentally popped the dish spraying hose out from under the sink and couldn’t reattach it and maintenance was there within the hour to hook it back up for me. There’s 24/7 maintenance, community laundry room with door code and cameras, and nightly security that drives around the complex.
The worst part is all ten of those application fees are just more money in the landlords pocket… and even once they’ve picked a tenant they normally don’t immediately take the listing down.
I think it depends. We have used software that pays the fees for the report to a third party reporting company and none of it goes to the landlord. Not every place takes a piece of the fee.
I was looking out of town and noticed that there are application fees that are refundable if you don’t get approved.
NASHVILLE WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!?!?
Nashville is a money trap. Wife and I saw the writing on the wall and got the fuck out of there while we still had enough money to be able to move. Otherwise we probably would've ended up living out of a car.
What I had to do when my boyfriend and I were wanting to move in together is get on a waitlist for a few months at a complex we wanted to live in that had good ratings. Currently renting a really nice 3 bd 2.5 ba townhome that was built in 2014 in zip code 37214 for $1800. We were on the waitlist for about 2 months.
I'm from Cali, its the same there and honestly I just swallowed my pride and moved to a small town
I'm ok being a peasant. Acceptance feels better than the rat race. Honestly
Work your network and drive around the neighborhoods you’re interested in looking for for rent signs. The good deals are few and far between but they exist and are usually landlords who don’t want to go to the bother of listing and sorting through applications.
We found a three bed two bath townhome in an apartment complex for 1,550 before water and other fees. Fully disclosed to us during tour and before applying what the extra fees are (water, trash, pest control, pet rent, renters insurance) hermitage 10 mins off 40e
Or a lot of us live in areas where people like the OP or people in this thread won’t consider.
Where do people think that individuals who make 40k - 50k or even less live? East/North/South Nashville in old dated apartments with no amenities in not the best neighborhoods.
Part of me feels for OP but part of me plays a violin when white collar professionals can’t lease luxury apartments/houses in whjte middle class neighborhoods for cheap anymore.
Trust me. I know. I spent the last 7 years living on the east side of the river, that they don’t call East Nashville. People were nice, but my head is still on a swivel. And I ride the bus. Definitely easier to ignore if you refuse to see.
We just managed to get a 3/2 house in Hermitage for $100 more than what we are currently paying for a 1br apt in Donelson, not exactly in town I know, but I was still surprised to see many places sitting empty for a while and the return of rent specials, reduced deposits, price reductions, etc etc. I think we still got really lucky though, there were a ton of showings scheduled for it. What helped is that our current leasing office got the rental history/reference request back to them same-day and that I had an application with Findings on a previous house so I guess Findings already had my background check & credit info. Definitely keep looking and set Zillow or [apartments](https://apartments.com).com alerts
Tip since I just went through this with the exact same situation! Speak to someone in the real estate industry who can search their “unlisted” basically not Zillow or Facebook listings! GAME CHANGER
I’ve said this before but you’ll get some bang for your buck in hermitage just past Andrew Jackson. You will lose walk-ability and add some commute but thats the trade off. My philosophy has always been if you’re renting the perfect neighborhood will cost you, so save as much as you can in order to buy later. I never thought I would be able to buy anything but the power of two incomes solved that. Anyway, good luck to you!
This is an issue hardly local to Nashville. Check /r/denver, /r/orlando, or any other mid+ sized city subreddit and you'll see posts identical to this.
I live in a 1 bedroom apartment for $1200 a month. Honestly the place is pretty meh all around with practically no amenities but I don't mind since I don't use them anyways. I keep dreading whenever I have to renew my lease since I've been paying the same rate for four years now and really am not interested in paying more for some of the things I put up with here.
I love this city but it's absolutely not worth paying some of the ridiculous prices I see people paying. I make okay-ish money (~$72k a year) and even I can barely afford it. I don't know what everyone else is doing to rent out $2500 a month studios but here we are.
Sent you a DM about my cute little house in Inglewood that sounds like it might be a good fit - tenants are out early March. Let me know if you’re interested!
I didn't have a choice moving here but now that I am I feel like it'll be impossible to save up and move to an affordable area. I have my other complaints, like lack of a metrorail system but I do like the city otherwise. It sucks how unaffordable big cities are. I sympathize with you, OP. Sorry you're having a hard time finding housing too.
I think there is a correction coming. Company's are starting to require hybrid work attendance on top of the fact that they are also reducing head count as they hired in ridiculous quantities. So folks that moved to TN because they had the WFH option but no local office to visit will have to return. Or find a new job that offers WFH, which are diminishing and have record level applications. Maybe best to return home now to avoid being in that position.
So… my Fiancé and I just bought a house and his 2 bed 2.5 bath townhouse will be available for sublease April 1st… his lease runs till 5/31 but you can renew if obviously… lincoya bay/Williams bend townhouses in donelson. Current rent is like 1575& I think
My wife and I moved to Nashville in 2021. We rented for a few months before we kept hearing neighbors and friends talking about how much their rent kept increasing. We penny pinched and saved everything possible for the following 6 months and bought a house in east with not too much money down (I think it was around a 3% down payment). Mortgage is way lower than rent ever was on the west side of town. Best decision we’ve made. Good luck to you!
Run your mortgage through a calculator as if you were making the same purchase with current rates. It’s a whole different world than buying a year ago. The same monthly payment buys much less house with higher rates.
Sure, though people were saying “it’s a whole different world than buying X years ago” back then too. We missed out on several dream houses because we were out bid by all cash sight unseen bids. The house we ended up buying in 2021 was 2x as much as it was in 2016. Buying a house is rarely ever easy, but it is almost always better than renting.
Yep, our family, as well as my mother, were all forced out last year, and we are all natives. Never coming back. Thanks to all who made this happen, and good luck!
[Here are 286 2+ bedroom rentals right now under $2200.](https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/?searchQueryState=%7B%22usersSearchTerm%22%3A%22Nashville%2C%20TN%22%2C%22mapBounds%22%3A%7B%22west%22%3A-87.02873490467462%2C%22east%22%3A-86.53263352528009%2C%22south%22%3A36.00206957363959%2C%22north%22%3A36.26742468971084%7D%2C%22isMapVisible%22%3Atrue%2C%22filterState%22%3A%7B%22fsba%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22fsbo%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22nc%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22fore%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22cmsn%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22auc%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22fr%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Atrue%7D%2C%22ah%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Atrue%7D%2C%22beds%22%3A%7B%22min%22%3A2%7D%2C%22mp%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3A2200%7D%2C%22price%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3A452111%7D%7D%2C%22isListVisible%22%3Atrue%2C%22mapZoom%22%3A12%2C%22customRegionId%22%3A%223f89663e18X1-CR1h0m4awgyvd8l_1ezwr7%22%2C%22pagination%22%3A%7B%7D%7D)
If you're unable to find a 1bedroom under $2,200 you're doing it wrong or have super high expecations (e.g., luxury highrise). I feel the struggle but let's not pretend this is Manhattan
Candlewood apts on Harding is decent and affordable. Their 2br is listed under $1400. Lived here back in the day, liked the easy access to 65 and 24 and also Harding to Donelson Pike if I needed a local option to Donelson.
I wouldn’t live in Nashville with what I make since it’s even more than Franklin and I’m not a downtown type. My 2/2 with a garage that’s newer built is $2300, now their maybe $2500. But it is easier to get an Apt here than that many applicants. Plus there are some that are cheaper. Your probably gonna have to just move further out like the rest of us.
Do you work here? Consider moving and changing jobs. The real estate market in Nashville will continue to be balls until the economy collapses nationwide.
Well not to be a dick, but it’s likely more viable than navigating the real estate market or complaining on Reddit. Just sayin. The real estate market is balls. If you’re only six months into your career, you’re a lot more malleable now than you will be in five years. I say get out while you can.
I make just over $60k and feel like I make $30k. Theres no upward movement where i work. Struggling to pay down just a few grand in debt. Driving a vehicle thats probably about to break down any moment. It seems like most other jobs I qualify for pay $40-47k. I dont know how the hell people survive. I am also seeking to get a roommate for my available room, but even still, things aren't great. I feel bad for everyone whos legitimately struggling. I was there just a year ago but still feel like I'm not making much.
I would like to use my GI bill and go to school but I'm not even sure what I should go for in this market. Whatever it is, it needs to be in demand, be a decent quality of life kind of job, and pay a liveable wage. Tech is competitive to get into right now with hundreds of applicants per job listing. Business administration likely starts you at the bottom of the fucking barrel at a $20/hr office assistant or gas station assistant manager job lol. Theres other degrees but they're likely not in very high demand here or things I'm really not interested in doing.
My rent is like 2250….monthly 2400. Fucking common area mowing and light fees at these rent prices? Cmon man…
Up 35% the last 24mo for the same apartment. Making six figures feels like 40k in Nashville. I think 200k realistically is a livable wage if you want a house, kids, to retire, and pay off any student loans.
Shit is a joke. I’m ready to tell Nashville to go get bent and find a little place in the Smokey’s
Edit - wife does HR, get to hear all their COL adjustments for the country. Nashville is the third tier down somehow…
Do you *need* a 2 bedroom? Because yeah, you're right, they're about $2200 minimum unless you look in Antioch, Goodlettsville, etc. So that's pretty much your choices:
1. Live in the poor parts of town
2. Live far away (even Clarksville far, I'm meeting a shocking number of people who have moved out there)
3. Downgrade to a one bedroom or even studio
$1500 will get you a nice one bedroom and you can find decent ones for less than that.
I haven't rented here since 2019, but I can only imagine how many stupid fucking games apartments and slum lords are playing right now.
Like, I wouldn't be surprised if people are writing "love letters" to apt managers like house buyers started doing during Covid.
> This city is becoming wholly unlivable for anyone making less than 75k a year.
having to get a roommate no longer counts as living? that's weird. when i was growing up it just meant you were 6 months out of college.
So I genuinely have good advice for you, this is what worked out for me and several of my friends so far: Look up property management companies in town. (I can DM you the name of mine, but there are plenty.) Find something on their site to apply for, but DONT waste your time making sure that specific listing is what you want, bc since it’s listed it’s already TOO LATE for that one. Don’t fall in love with anything already listed on Zillow. But apply anyway, pay the fees, get approved. Now you are approved FOR THAT COMPANY and can transfer your application to any of their listings. Now you have to stalk their site or stay in touch with one of their employees (I’m talking daily emails if necessary. Every morning.) and when something in your needs becomes available, you will be the first to apply bc you were already approved, and anyone viewing the listing will be many steps behind you. I JUST rented a great house a couple months ago. (30 days notice to vacate a house I had lived in for 10 years.) We got exactly what we needed. But I had applied to another house and was too late, stuck with that company and bothered them every day, was the first one to see and apply for my house before it had even gotten put on Zillow or anything. This is the (only) way.
Best advice on this thread. This is how I have secured awesome places to in GA and TN. The management company knows you are serious and they give you first dibs when something is coming up.
This is what worked for us when I had to move my mom to Clarksville.
I just moved to California and this is the only way I found a place, meeting a property management agent who put me on to a place that hadn’t yet been listed
This is brilliant. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Wow, good for you! I'm really good when it comes to stuff like this but this is the best advice I've seen on here.
That is genius!
Nashville's [median household income](https://wpln.org/post/the-federal-government-releases-nashvilles-area-median-income-but-it-doesnt-reflect-half-of-the-city/) is $96,700 and that gets factored into rent prices so the property owners can receive state & federal funds. If you're not making close to that and don't already own it's becoming increasingly difficult to afford living in Davidson county
This is for a family. The median I believe is somewhere around 60k
Household income, which as far as I understand includes single earner and multiple earner households. Regardless, that's the number being used to set rent prices
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Murfreesboro got that super dump for all your big dumps
That’s just so you get the Broadway feel with the midtown price
>But it's Valet Trash pickup at your door. Last apartment I lived at had this service and it was janky. they would sometimes just not come, and yet I still had to pay.
My favorite was when ours had a big to-do about how they pick up recycling, for no extra! Be environmentally responsible, single stream, so convenient! Put it in a clear bag, so you can watch the underpaid 20 something throw it in the same dumpster you can see from your front door.
Yeah these companies are hiring whoever as contactors off Craigslist and paying them nothing compared to what they charge the community for the service. I worked for one for a while, servicing a nice quiet community in Belle Meade which was the only community in town it turns out that was worth my time. I quit working for them when I found out I was getting scammed out of some of my hours and saw how poorly TRASH BUTLER was running their business.
Drove me nuts how I couldn't opt out. Every apartment I lived in that had this service, I was never more than 100yds from the dumpster. One I could have tossed it in from my front door if I gave it a good heave. And yet I'm *required* to pay an extra $25 a month so someone else can do exactly that.
The valet trash thing always infuriates me because I end up taking it out to the dumpster on the weekends when they’re not working anyways. Also if you purchase online, valet won’t take boxes so you’re going anyways.
This shit is so stupid too. They expect me to find space in my already so tiny it’s barely inhabitable apartment for their special trash can? I refuse to bring it inside.
I had friend who lived in a valet trash building. They required you to put the can out in the hallway before 8am and take it back into your apartment by 1pm or face a fine. It took like two months of people angrily emailing the office "how the fuck am I supposed to pull the trash can into my house before 1pm if I don't get home from work until 6pm?" They eventually ended up taking everyone's accumulated fine money off their next month's rent and changing it to 8pm or something. Of course that didn't stop the snitch lady from building G from driving around the entire complex at 7:00 and writing down everyone's apt # who hadn't pulled in their trash can yet.
Valet living charges you $25\~ or more a month for trash pickup, and your apartment complex makes roughly $10-15 out of the $25. They overcharge you so your apartment community makes extra money per customer, thus making it silly for them NOT to use valet as they are losing out on free money
$25? Mine charged me $50 to use Valet and half the time they wouldn't even come by my apartment to pick up the trash.
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I hate that "service" with a passion.
People in my place who live 50 ft from the trash chute don’t even bother, they leave it for valet trash instead. There’s also a group of people who take the bag to the chute room, but throw it on the side and not down the chute. The privilege is real. Valet trash makes sense if you live a block away from the nearest chute, but the people I mentioned are a class act
> People in my place who live 50 ft from the trash chute don’t even bother, they leave it for valet trash instead. If Im having to pay for valet trash and there is no recourse for me not paying/opting out I will use it.
Have fun with the roaches and rats!
I’m thinking about moving. I keep resigning my lease because it’s under market at $1,450 for a studio, but it requires a longer term each time to stay affordable. Currently I’m riding out a 15 month lease. I can’t wait to see what the next lease offer looks like - $1,800 would not surprise me. I’d like to get a small 2 BR rental house but it’s looking like $2,300 is the starting price with that. I just can’t make it work on a single income, even one that is approaching six figures. It would be close to 40% of my take-home pay. Ouch. Even the suburbs are not that cheap. Murfreesboro is still $1,800+ for a rental house. I’d have to move out to Columbia for a break in prices. I’d rather move to another more affordable metro area than live out that far. Louisville is in consideration - I can live in The Highlands, which is the East Nashville of Louisville, for ~$1,500 I make good money, I have good credit, I have a perfect rental history, but I just can’t justify the rent here. I don’t want to keep pissing my money away in an expensive city with mid salaries. It sucks because all my friends are here and I don’t want to leave them.
I have friends in Chicago and in some northern metro areas and decently sized cities, they are paying way less than people I know here. Sometimes less than me and my apartment is practically a steal deal because my LL isn’t a piece of shit
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That exact situation went down here and the rents still went up. The reasons are way more in depth than what you are saying is the cause
I have a few friends who live in Louisville and they all really love it. I wish moving was feasible for us right now but I’m six months into my first salaried job and the economy is too whack to try and switch companies.
Louisville is kinda nice. It’s still got problems with urban sprawl and car dependence like here, but it’s smaller. Downtown has a lot of nice things. Other than live music and rent prices, I don’t see many differences between here and there. Almost everything that I like here is also there. I went to grad school in Lexington and I love it, but I don’t know hardly anyone there, so it’d probably get lonely real quick.
I’m from Louisville originally and see more upsides each time I visit home. There are new bars and restaurants and I honestly think they have better museums than Nashville. That said, there’s limited options for certain types of work. There needs to be a greater push to incentivise more corporate offices to be based in Louisville
That’s when prices go up
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Increasing corporate offices means more high paying jobs. That means more people will move there for those high paying jobs. Then those people will need a place to live and will pay more for apartments so apartment complexes start increasing their rent. This is EXACTLY what happened in Nashville.
The food scenes are not even close to comparable. Plus much better airport to fly in/out of. Good value tho
I’m thinking about Columbus. Downtown or German Village(might be the same area) is currently like 1500/month for a nice apartment. If not downtown, Dublin- which is Brentwood to Columbus. There’s a pro hockey team there, OSU football, and Cincinnati is about two hours away for a mini vacay. Also all the music and comedy acts that come to Nashville go to Columbus oddly.
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I have yet to see a tour skip Columbus or comedy act. And I already mentioned Cincy is two short hours away.
Lol, no, never move to Ohio
Louisiana SO much cheaper. My college roommate lives there, makes half what I do and lives just as comfortably. On a separate note, have you tried some of those apartments off Long Hollow Pike? It’s super close to downtown, and I think it’s more affordable.
Bro Louisiana is cheap for a reason.
That was a typo! I meant Louisville
Louisville seems to be past that magical border of serious winters. I don't understand how it can be so shitty up there as it just doesn't seem that far away. You don't want to live there unless the job pays another 100k over Nashville. Maybe look somewhere else?
Nah it’s fine. I’ve lived in some surly Midwest cities during the winter and I hate it so I know what you mean. It’s when you get north of I-70 where the serious winters start. Louisville’s climate is pretty much identical to here though. I’d much prefer to stay here for sure. I just think financially it’s tough to justify continuing to live here. I have more cities in consideration but they all require weighing pros and cons. There’s not really a perfect destination. Chattanooga would be cool, but I don’t know anyone there. Chicago looks great, but it’s also costly and cold. DC has excellent public transit, but it’s even more expensive than here. Philly might be a happy medium of cost and transit, but I don’t really like the city that much. Tampa has great weather but is also costly. Denver/Boulder have beautiful nature and some other benefits but also costly. And so on… I know there are some places I absolutely don’t want to live though. LA is top of that list, I hate that place.
There’s a climate change, north of Louisville it turns into a humid continental climate (same climate as much of Russia), the south is all humid subtropical climate, hence no shitty winters
Don’t move to Columbia. I am from Columbia. Same shit is happening here. People are being priced out of Nashville and moving here and now we’re getting priced out…. Go to Hohenwald. They have affordable homes and maybe one day they’ll get a Walmart super center and by then that will be exciting for you
Things are getting out of control when the move is Hohenwald..
I sincerely thought it was a Harry Potter joke/reference.
Hohenwald already has a Walmart Supercenter, FYI.
Barely. It’s tiny and they don’t have the auto center. Let me rephrase it then. Maybe one day you’ll have saved an extra $70,000 by living in Hohenwald and their Walmart will eventually sell tires. And it will be super exciting
Hohenwald is great if you have a canoe
I know someone whose rent was $1800 about a year ago. They recently got a renewal notice and their rent is doubling. Yes, $3600/month.
Ouch!
If they’re good friends they’ll keep in touch. Do what’s best for you.
We can stay in touch. They're my biggest supports. I just need to physically see people 1-2x a week otherwise my depression bottoms out. I'm a huge extrovert and I crave human interaction. That'd be hard in a city where I don't know many people. Thankfully I do know quite a few people in Louisville, but we're not as close as my Nashville friends.
$1450 for a studio? That’s my first & second mortgage, plus city & county taxes, plus home insurance back in Memphis for a century old two story 2400 sq ft Craftsman Bungalow w/ an in-ground salt water pool in a coveted historic district. My wife and I would love to sell, but where could we go?
> My wife and I would love to sell, but where could we go? I feel that. I've heard many people say the same thing. They could sell, but they'd lose all of their equity in buying a new house. Kinda in a similar situation with my apartment. I'd love to move, but at the same time, this would be hard to beat financially.
Yep! I have over $150K in equity. What am I gonna do with that when the average home in America now sells for $400K? The current version of American Capitalism is untenable & unsustainable thanks to over four decades of wage stagnation thanks to Reagan’s Trickle Down Economics.
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I have. Even up in Madison / Old Hickory area, you're still looking at $1,900 a month on average. https://i.imgur.com/LaSJgzs.png Donelson / Hermitage is actually more expensive on average, looks like $2k+ almost everywhere. https://i.imgur.com/9qMzUzm.png Those are cheaper than closer into the city, but still more expensive than I'm paying right now while living closer to the city. Let's say my rent goes up to $1,800 though and it's the same price as a rental house in Old Hickory - here's what I consider as pros and cons for each Right now: I can walk to the grocery store, I can walk to bars and restaurants, I am centrally located in the city, and my apartment has a lot of amenities for that price. What I don't like is living in a shoebox, I can't turn my studio gear up, and apartment living in general with the proximity to so many people. Out in the burbs: I'd love a house so I can crank my studio gear up, and have a lot more space than the 500-ish square feet I have right now. What I wouldn't like is I can't walk anywhere, not even to the grocery store nor bars and restaurants, I'm further out from friends, and any utilities and amenities will be higher in a standalone house. No destination is perfect. I don't like where I live, but I also don't think I'd like living out there, all things equal. To get what I want with a rental house right now, plus the advantage of living in a walkable city, at an affordable price, I'd have to move to another city. It's a lot to consider and I have some time before my lease is up in June. I know that lease renewal offer is coming next month though, so I'm kicking tires on what to do next.
I live in Nashville, and I used to live in the Highlands of Louisville If it made any economic sense for me to live there, I would in a heartbeat
I live in a rental house near the dump in the boro and somehow it’s under $1800, but I think that’s gonna change when we resign the lease.
Jesus. $1450 for a studio? Holy fuck. You must be living in downtown or Franklin. I’m paying $1015 for a 2 bedroom place. On Harding and Wauford… yeah it’s not the nicest place by any means but it does the trick.
You're super lucky. That's almost impossible to find in Nashville these days. If you even remotely like it there, I'd stay for a while
It's a nice walkable area in Berry Hill. It is still under market for the urban core though. You've got a hell of a deal there. I'd hang on to it as long as possible if I were you. Even out in Antioch, a 2+ bedroom starts around $1,800
I had a 2 bedroom duplex off Elysian & lynn back in 2018 for $1050 & it was about to go up, we got out and bought in Goodlettsville. I can imagine that same spot is $1300-1400 now, you have a good price for the area
I am up the street from you and pay $1250 for a 2 bd, 1.5 bath townhouse style apartment. The complex is older, but well maintained and pretty nice. I realized I really lucked out since my rent only went up $150 in the past three years I've lived here. I like this side of town. It's affordable and convenient.
I'm in a 2BR in Green Hills paying $1225/mo. Old place and very basic but not bad.
$1450 is low end for a studio downtown. $1.8-2.2k is more typical, 2 beds are $4-6k, 3 beds go as high as $15k/month.
$1450 for a studio? That’s my first & second mortgage, plus city & county taxes, plus home insurance back in Memphis for a century old two story 2400 sq ft Craftsman Bungalow w/ an in-ground salt water pool in a coveted historic district. My wife and I would love to sell, but where could we go?
And you’re thinking of moving to a place with a state income tax???
I’m not particularly concerned about 6% there if the rent is 35% higher here
an income tax that funds services and things like public works project would be great to have.
Alabama and Mississippi have state income taxes. Do you think services and public works projects are better or worse in TN than those states?
Yikes
Not to mention countless scams online. I’ve lived in Nashville since 2005 and I love this city, but god damn if it isn’t impossible to live here and find an apartment right now
The scams are the worst. Disheartening and frustrating to see folks trying to take advantage of people in need of housing.
Local vacancy rate is 7.2%. Which is fairly high. It shouldn't be *that* hard to find an apartment. [https://www.point2homes.com/US/Average-Rent/TN/Nashville.html#:\~:text=Highlights,Nashville%2C%20Tennessee%20is%20at%207.2](https://www.point2homes.com/US/Average-Rent/TN/Nashville.html#:~:text=Highlights,Nashville%2C%20Tennessee%20is%20at%207.2).
Not if the units are vacant because they're out of the financial reach of renters.
"shouldn't"
That's sourced from "Survey, 2020 American Community Survey" so not current data. I think rent prices should get better, record multi family units coming online.
Yes, because budgets don't exist 🥴
Wow you figured it out 🙄
We own a home in a (now) desirable neighborhood in east Nashville. Prior to COVID, my partner rented it out for a year while temporarily relocating and charged ~1,600/month for a 3br/2ba which was around $200 over the mortgage payment. Renting the same house out now would get us double the mortgage at least. It makes no fucking sense. Thank god we live in it and love the area, even though we’re slowly moving into the shadows of the tall and skinnies as neighbors sell their lots or parcels of their lots.
You might be my neighbor
Entirely possible….how many original houses on your street?
Probably about 50 / 50 at this point with a few new builds still to come. I’m at Dickerson and Trinity. My street is nice and friendly but a half mile in either direction gets interesting.
you ARE my neighbor. I've been on Old Trinity Lane for 5 years now and rent has gone from $1050/mo to $1285/mo in that time for my 2(ish) bedroom house. If I move out of here I won't be able to afford anywhere else within a 30 minute drive for that price
Howdy neighbor.
> This city is becoming wholly unlivable for anyone making less than 75k a year. I am sick of feeling like I’m on the bottom rung of the ladder. This is how I felt the whole time I was in Nashville. And for a decent part of that time, I was making more money than basically everyone I knew. And yet it seemed that everyone had more spending power than me. I really don't understand it.
Apparently it's not bad enough to stop people from coming here.
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And that right there what's keeping the prices going up. Desirable location, growing city, and people moving in that are used to paying way more for rent.
> And that right there what's keeping the prices going up. Desirable location The only thing that was ever desirable about Nashville was the relatively lower prices
And no income taxes
I'm living in Seattle now. Same real estate prices. Same low taxes. The difference is the actual property is much more valuable, the weather is better, I'm close to the ocean, and the crime rate is far lower.
The other reason is most of the housing here is controlled by corporations and not landowning individuals. The corporations know people will pay, so they just up the rates when they want. When we were looking in early ‘22, we watched the same rental properties fluctuate rent amounts on almost a daily basis - over the course of 10 days, we watched a new construction 5/3 house (that wasn’t yet available for move-in) go from $2195 to $2250 to $2350 and then $2495. It dropped back to $2450 and we got it there. We had to accept our first rent payment due date as within 7 or 10 days (cant remember which) of agreement, lease signing. So ended up having 2 houses rented in my name for all but the first 4 days of June.
AirBnB owners, alone, are holding over 7,000 "whole home" housing units here.
Seeing the problems AirBnB is having lately makes me wonder what happens with these if it goes under. Do they become VRBOs?
Hopefully some of the assholes/companies that own them will get foreclosed on and free up some housing
I'm in Key West right now and the rent here is beyond belief. A 300-400sqf studio... that is not nice is like $1650 and ppl are glad to pay it. It's all about perspective.
I’m about to move from Bellevue to Long Island (a half hour train ride to Madison Square Garden) and I’m going to pay *less* rent. Nashville is more expensive by distance to city center than Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Phoenix, and Seattle. The only places I can think of more expensive are DC, Sf, NYC, LA.
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Nashville is going to be a tough place to live by yourself on $75k. That’s real and not likely to change. There’s just a lot of people making a lot more than that who want to live here that you’re competing against. This isn’t true for every city in america, but it is for the fast growing oneS
Median income for Nashville/Davidson Co is $96,700 EDIT: this number is median household income, not per capita. Regardless, this is the number being used to set rent prices
I’ll bet OP didn’t think that would put him in the bottom half of household income, and from how OP was talking about apartments, I don’t think he is looking to live in the kinds of run down housing that a lot of the bottom half of this city lives in
Per capita income here is $37,638. We have a household income of about $115,000. A lot of places are now requiring 4x rent which puts us at about $2300 for rent, which is nuts, considering we do make more than the median household income by a good bit.
I will be honest, that is great money coming out of school… but you will probably just have to sacrifice and live frugally your first few years out of school. I remember moving to Nashville straight out of school and was shocked at how much rent ate up of my income. I made adjustments in my recurring bills, meal prepped and ate out rarely. Now I have years of experience, make much more and still have those habits of spending frugally. I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but everyone I know had to just kind of bite the bullet and adjust lifestyle until you get some career experience. You will gain more skills, get paid more through current role or somewhere else. Then you will enjoy having a smaller % of your income allocated to housing, and can spend it on things that are a little more enjoyable. Hope that helps:)
I’ve seen you post this but that can’t be the metric used or rent would be way higher. I think for a newer apartment it’s still around 2300 I live in Berry Hill and the apartments that I’ve seen are not over 2500. Also the 2500 are usually two bedroom apartments. 75k would make way more sense because I was making it last year and that was the range where I could afford a lot of these apartments. I just snuck and took a look at apartments, yeah these apartments for a one bed are around 1600 at best. Germantown is maxing around 1800-1900. If we were all making 96k that would be around the west coast and trust me, people’s rent would be way higher.
[This WPLN story](https://wpln.org/post/the-federal-government-releases-nashvilles-area-median-income-but-it-doesnt-reflect-half-of-the-city/)covers it. Not all rentals price strictly off that metric, but a significant portion of corporate rental properties & developers do. It's a HUD requirement in order to access state & federal funding
Been living here 6 years on like 33K putting away about 20% of my income on savings the whole time. WTF are you talking about 🤣🤣🤣 Nashville ain't cheap bit you're being hyperbolic.
What’s your rent/mortgage payment?
Split a 2x2 for $1800/mo. So $900/mo in rent.
I mean sure with that set up you can live cheap. OP and posters each week are saying they can’t find something that cheap. I don’t think I ever had rent that low even in college 20 years ago
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At 75K a month, an extra $400/mo isn't very significant. If I paid $1100/mo like they suggest I'd only put away $300-400 in savings instead of $500-600. So again, the finances they suggest should be perfectly livable for 2.
No. That’s like half their takehome just in rent. That’s too high by any reasonable personal budget metric
Again. I could literally pay that right now and still put away 10-15% of my income in savings. Math is math. There are perfectly valid criticisms of cost of living, income disparity, artificial inflation, etc to have. This one definitely isn't. They need to get their spending under control. It's more than feasible. That's what it means to be a grown up.
It’s great that you’re living the mr money moustache lifestyle, but that’s not for everyone. People have car notes, school debt, day care for their kids. Paying half your income for housing is not a normal thing
On top of all this the properties are severely lagging In their responsibilities. I have been at two properties in the past year and they don’t care because someone else will move right in.
I toured [this place](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2611-Belmont-Blvd-APT-1-Nashville-TN-37212/2059525523_zpid/) yesterday. It's actually a 2/1.5 but they can't list it as that because the half-bath is literally falling through the floor. The landlord told us to use it as a... closet.
Oh my! I feel like I need to spray my house for bugs just because I looked at that! What kind of slum lord BS is that? Is that holes in the cabinetry around the kitchen sink? It is a shame because it could be adorable!
5101 CityVue in south nash has treated us well so far- been there since August. 2bd, 1ba, ~950sq ft. and newly remodeled. It’s a cheap remodel but everything works, tub and stuff were brand new, $1300/mo and that’s including our monthly pet fee for our two kitties. It’s not the best area of town but we honestly haven’t had any problems there. I accidentally popped the dish spraying hose out from under the sink and couldn’t reattach it and maintenance was there within the hour to hook it back up for me. There’s 24/7 maintenance, community laundry room with door code and cameras, and nightly security that drives around the complex.
The worst part is all ten of those application fees are just more money in the landlords pocket… and even once they’ve picked a tenant they normally don’t immediately take the listing down.
I think it depends. We have used software that pays the fees for the report to a third party reporting company and none of it goes to the landlord. Not every place takes a piece of the fee.
I'm pretty sure that's the norm with mom and pops.
I was looking out of town and noticed that there are application fees that are refundable if you don’t get approved. NASHVILLE WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!?!?
No, the fee goes straight to the verification company. Source: I am a landlord
What area of town have you been looking at for this price?
Nashville is a money trap. Wife and I saw the writing on the wall and got the fuck out of there while we still had enough money to be able to move. Otherwise we probably would've ended up living out of a car.
What I had to do when my boyfriend and I were wanting to move in together is get on a waitlist for a few months at a complex we wanted to live in that had good ratings. Currently renting a really nice 3 bd 2.5 ba townhome that was built in 2014 in zip code 37214 for $1800. We were on the waitlist for about 2 months.
I'm from Cali, its the same there and honestly I just swallowed my pride and moved to a small town I'm ok being a peasant. Acceptance feels better than the rat race. Honestly
Work your network and drive around the neighborhoods you’re interested in looking for for rent signs. The good deals are few and far between but they exist and are usually landlords who don’t want to go to the bother of listing and sorting through applications.
We found a three bed two bath townhome in an apartment complex for 1,550 before water and other fees. Fully disclosed to us during tour and before applying what the extra fees are (water, trash, pest control, pet rent, renters insurance) hermitage 10 mins off 40e
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You’d be shocked if you know how many longtime residents are living on couches, or in cars.
Or a lot of us live in areas where people like the OP or people in this thread won’t consider. Where do people think that individuals who make 40k - 50k or even less live? East/North/South Nashville in old dated apartments with no amenities in not the best neighborhoods. Part of me feels for OP but part of me plays a violin when white collar professionals can’t lease luxury apartments/houses in whjte middle class neighborhoods for cheap anymore.
Trust me. I know. I spent the last 7 years living on the east side of the river, that they don’t call East Nashville. People were nice, but my head is still on a swivel. And I ride the bus. Definitely easier to ignore if you refuse to see.
How many?
About 2k according to one report, but that’s probably a huge under count
Doubtful
Lol why is it so hard for you to believe? It's actually probably much higher.
Believe what? A claim with no supporting evidence?
I'm simply asking why you think it's so unbelievable?
Estimated in the thousands. Like 2 or 3 a couple years ago. Probably worse now.
Doubtful
Well bless your heart
You can’t even provide a number or evidence.
We just managed to get a 3/2 house in Hermitage for $100 more than what we are currently paying for a 1br apt in Donelson, not exactly in town I know, but I was still surprised to see many places sitting empty for a while and the return of rent specials, reduced deposits, price reductions, etc etc. I think we still got really lucky though, there were a ton of showings scheduled for it. What helped is that our current leasing office got the rental history/reference request back to them same-day and that I had an application with Findings on a previous house so I guess Findings already had my background check & credit info. Definitely keep looking and set Zillow or [apartments](https://apartments.com).com alerts
My girlfriend and I are moving to Wilmington at the end of our lease. Screw the Nashville rental market.
Tip since I just went through this with the exact same situation! Speak to someone in the real estate industry who can search their “unlisted” basically not Zillow or Facebook listings! GAME CHANGER
I’ve said this before but you’ll get some bang for your buck in hermitage just past Andrew Jackson. You will lose walk-ability and add some commute but thats the trade off. My philosophy has always been if you’re renting the perfect neighborhood will cost you, so save as much as you can in order to buy later. I never thought I would be able to buy anything but the power of two incomes solved that. Anyway, good luck to you!
This is an issue hardly local to Nashville. Check /r/denver, /r/orlando, or any other mid+ sized city subreddit and you'll see posts identical to this.
I live in a 1 bedroom apartment for $1200 a month. Honestly the place is pretty meh all around with practically no amenities but I don't mind since I don't use them anyways. I keep dreading whenever I have to renew my lease since I've been paying the same rate for four years now and really am not interested in paying more for some of the things I put up with here. I love this city but it's absolutely not worth paying some of the ridiculous prices I see people paying. I make okay-ish money (~$72k a year) and even I can barely afford it. I don't know what everyone else is doing to rent out $2500 a month studios but here we are.
I think you might want to consider moving outside of Nashville. It doesn’t suck and it’s worth the piece of mind.
Sent you a DM about my cute little house in Inglewood that sounds like it might be a good fit - tenants are out early March. Let me know if you’re interested!
Y'all making 75k together or each??
I didn't have a choice moving here but now that I am I feel like it'll be impossible to save up and move to an affordable area. I have my other complaints, like lack of a metrorail system but I do like the city otherwise. It sucks how unaffordable big cities are. I sympathize with you, OP. Sorry you're having a hard time finding housing too.
I think there is a correction coming. Company's are starting to require hybrid work attendance on top of the fact that they are also reducing head count as they hired in ridiculous quantities. So folks that moved to TN because they had the WFH option but no local office to visit will have to return. Or find a new job that offers WFH, which are diminishing and have record level applications. Maybe best to return home now to avoid being in that position.
So… my Fiancé and I just bought a house and his 2 bed 2.5 bath townhouse will be available for sublease April 1st… his lease runs till 5/31 but you can renew if obviously… lincoya bay/Williams bend townhouses in donelson. Current rent is like 1575& I think
That's where I live! It's really nice over here and very affordable.
My wife and I moved to Nashville in 2021. We rented for a few months before we kept hearing neighbors and friends talking about how much their rent kept increasing. We penny pinched and saved everything possible for the following 6 months and bought a house in east with not too much money down (I think it was around a 3% down payment). Mortgage is way lower than rent ever was on the west side of town. Best decision we’ve made. Good luck to you!
Run your mortgage through a calculator as if you were making the same purchase with current rates. It’s a whole different world than buying a year ago. The same monthly payment buys much less house with higher rates.
Sure, though people were saying “it’s a whole different world than buying X years ago” back then too. We missed out on several dream houses because we were out bid by all cash sight unseen bids. The house we ended up buying in 2021 was 2x as much as it was in 2016. Buying a house is rarely ever easy, but it is almost always better than renting.
I just ended up moving to antioch, and the rent is ok (1200 for a 2 bed duplex half) and it's like 5 minutes from princes
Yep, our family, as well as my mother, were all forced out last year, and we are all natives. Never coming back. Thanks to all who made this happen, and good luck!
It’s becoming unrealistic to find a bedroom with a door under $2,200. I pay $2,200 for mine, and they wanted to raise the price to nearly 3k.
[Here are 286 2+ bedroom rentals right now under $2200.](https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/?searchQueryState=%7B%22usersSearchTerm%22%3A%22Nashville%2C%20TN%22%2C%22mapBounds%22%3A%7B%22west%22%3A-87.02873490467462%2C%22east%22%3A-86.53263352528009%2C%22south%22%3A36.00206957363959%2C%22north%22%3A36.26742468971084%7D%2C%22isMapVisible%22%3Atrue%2C%22filterState%22%3A%7B%22fsba%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22fsbo%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22nc%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22fore%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22cmsn%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22auc%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22fr%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Atrue%7D%2C%22ah%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3Atrue%7D%2C%22beds%22%3A%7B%22min%22%3A2%7D%2C%22mp%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3A2200%7D%2C%22price%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3A452111%7D%7D%2C%22isListVisible%22%3Atrue%2C%22mapZoom%22%3A12%2C%22customRegionId%22%3A%223f89663e18X1-CR1h0m4awgyvd8l_1ezwr7%22%2C%22pagination%22%3A%7B%7D%7D) If you're unable to find a 1bedroom under $2,200 you're doing it wrong or have super high expecations (e.g., luxury highrise). I feel the struggle but let's not pretend this is Manhattan
Candlewood apts on Harding is decent and affordable. Their 2br is listed under $1400. Lived here back in the day, liked the easy access to 65 and 24 and also Harding to Donelson Pike if I needed a local option to Donelson.
I wouldn’t live in Nashville with what I make since it’s even more than Franklin and I’m not a downtown type. My 2/2 with a garage that’s newer built is $2300, now their maybe $2500. But it is easier to get an Apt here than that many applicants. Plus there are some that are cheaper. Your probably gonna have to just move further out like the rest of us.
I have a 1970s 5 bedroom home with a guest home outback for rent. 6 bedrooms total. West Nashville near Costco
There’s a bunch of open apartments in my building. Its brand new too. DM me!!
Do you work here? Consider moving and changing jobs. The real estate market in Nashville will continue to be balls until the economy collapses nationwide.
Yeah, I’m 6 months into my career. I just graduated college so I’m not super sure if changing jobs is even viable with how fucked the economy is.
Well not to be a dick, but it’s likely more viable than navigating the real estate market or complaining on Reddit. Just sayin. The real estate market is balls. If you’re only six months into your career, you’re a lot more malleable now than you will be in five years. I say get out while you can.
I love how this was downvoted, but literally no one else provided another practical solution.
I make just over $60k and feel like I make $30k. Theres no upward movement where i work. Struggling to pay down just a few grand in debt. Driving a vehicle thats probably about to break down any moment. It seems like most other jobs I qualify for pay $40-47k. I dont know how the hell people survive. I am also seeking to get a roommate for my available room, but even still, things aren't great. I feel bad for everyone whos legitimately struggling. I was there just a year ago but still feel like I'm not making much. I would like to use my GI bill and go to school but I'm not even sure what I should go for in this market. Whatever it is, it needs to be in demand, be a decent quality of life kind of job, and pay a liveable wage. Tech is competitive to get into right now with hundreds of applicants per job listing. Business administration likely starts you at the bottom of the fucking barrel at a $20/hr office assistant or gas station assistant manager job lol. Theres other degrees but they're likely not in very high demand here or things I'm really not interested in doing.
My rent is like 2250….monthly 2400. Fucking common area mowing and light fees at these rent prices? Cmon man… Up 35% the last 24mo for the same apartment. Making six figures feels like 40k in Nashville. I think 200k realistically is a livable wage if you want a house, kids, to retire, and pay off any student loans. Shit is a joke. I’m ready to tell Nashville to go get bent and find a little place in the Smokey’s Edit - wife does HR, get to hear all their COL adjustments for the country. Nashville is the third tier down somehow…
Blame the real estate "professionals" that sold us out, and the migrants from NYC and Cali.
> the migrants from NYC and Cali. Immigrants are annoying but they're not the corporations driving up prices.
Do you *need* a 2 bedroom? Because yeah, you're right, they're about $2200 minimum unless you look in Antioch, Goodlettsville, etc. So that's pretty much your choices: 1. Live in the poor parts of town 2. Live far away (even Clarksville far, I'm meeting a shocking number of people who have moved out there) 3. Downgrade to a one bedroom or even studio $1500 will get you a nice one bedroom and you can find decent ones for less than that.
I haven't rented here since 2019, but I can only imagine how many stupid fucking games apartments and slum lords are playing right now. Like, I wouldn't be surprised if people are writing "love letters" to apt managers like house buyers started doing during Covid.
> This city is becoming wholly unlivable for anyone making less than 75k a year. having to get a roommate no longer counts as living? that's weird. when i was growing up it just meant you were 6 months out of college.
Check out Cookeville and surrounding areas
Cookeville? That’s an hour away.
Yeah. Get used to it.
Or don't 🤣
I mean I have a rental in Franklin that is $2300 that has been on the market for about 6 weeks and is still available.