What It's Like Living in Crieve Hall, Nashville
Just south of Downtown Nashville sits a quiet, wooded neighborhood with winding streets and midcentury ranch-style homes perched atop hilly lawns. An archetypical residential area, Crieve Hall is truly one of Nashville’s best-kept secrets, and residents love their little slice of seclusion just a few miles from the center of town.
Nestled between 8th Avenue South and Brentwood, Crieve Hall is on the periphery of major road Franklin Pike; unless travelers turn off that thoroughfare, they’ll miss the neighborhood completely.
As Nashville booms in the economic, cultural, and population sectors, residents increasingly value peace, quiet, and neighborhoods off the beaten path. The rise of short-term rentals and hotels have eroded community in some urban areas, and locals are moving toward more truly homey locations. Crieve Hall is one such neighborhood.
Here are a few of the main draws Crieve Hall offers homebuyers.
Bang for Your Buck
Laura and Andrew Herman just purchased their first home in Crieve Hall after years of living in Ridgeway, Colorado, outside Telluride. Andrew is a teacher at a Nashville public school in neighboring 12 South and Laura is a speech language pathologist. Both Nashville natives, the couple decided to settle in Crieve Hall for numerous reasons, among them the reasonable pricing and significant lot sizes.
With a median sale price in the high $300s, Crieve Hall is a strong competitor in the face of more commercially developed and culturally booming neighbors like 12 South where the homes and yards are smaller and the median price hovers in the $800s.
“Ultimately, if we wanted to rent a house anywhere this close to the city we would definitely be paying this amount,” Andrew says, “so why not buy and be able to make it your own?”
View homes for sale in Crieve Hall
A True Residential Feel
Not unlike other suburban Nashville neighborhoods, Crieve Hall is purely residential. A quick survey of the neighborhood on a map will yield zero commercial offerings, but this works to the advantage, rather than the detriment of the area. Especially as Nashville explodes with growth, residents are desperate for the city’s last enclaves of quiet lanes, wooded streets, bounding lawns, and familiar neighbors.
A mere five-minute drive down Franklin Road to the 8th Avenue South neighborhood will bring all the food and drink options residents can ask for, and there are plenty of old, local haunts in nearby Woodbine.
“What I like about it is that people actually live here,” says Andrew, “It’s like West Meade in that sense. You’re not surrounded by lines of people taking pictures of murals—you truly are just in suburban Nashville.” It’s true, with essentially no commercial presence in the area, the landscape is dotted with meticulously well-kept homes and the occasional elementary school or baseball field.
Natural Beauty
Perhaps the biggest draw in the area is Travellers Rest. A historic home built in 1799, this mansion and its grounds are now host to a museum and event spaces that highlight the natural beauty of the area with massive magnolia trees, preserved wooded areas, and original structures.
Speaking of natural preservation, locals also love Radnor Lake State Natural Area. While this treasured greenspace is technically in Oak Hill, the park borders Crieve Hall, and residents can’t get enough of the 1,300-acre sanctuary. Miles of walking trails and steep hikes make for an earthy paradise.
In Crieve Hall you’re not surrounded by lines of people taking pictures of murals—you truly are just in suburban Nashville.
Easy City Access
When it comes to the more traditional 9-5 commute into town, Crieve Hall is a local’s dream.
“I love that we can hop on Harding Pike and be five minutes from Downtown, and see the skyline,” Laura tells neighborhoods.com, “but then come back into the neighborhood through the trees and feel like we’re way outside the city.” With such easy access to major thoroughfares, residents of this quiet neighborhood can zip around town in no time and then escape to the serenity of their community.
Crieve Hall is seven miles from the center of the city, but when residents factor in the realities of urban sprawl, the city feel is much closer. Major restaurants, businesses, healthcare providers, and big-box stores are a 10-minute drive. As is true with many suburban communities, half of the commute is spent winding out of the neighborhood itself and wading through stop signs at the end of every lane.
The Bottom Line
The decision to settle in a suburb as opposed to the urban core is as unique as the individual purchasing his or her home. Of course, the quiet bedroom community feel isn’t for everyone, but the strong community ties that Crieve Hall fosters are a general reflection of the resident’s shared values.
“Our first day living here, our neighbor brought us a plate of fresh baked cookies,” says Andrew, “It’s just that type of community environment that I don’t think you get in those ‘hot spots.’“ Laura adds, “I love it—everyone is so friendly and welcoming.”