What It's Like Living in Hillsboro Village, Nashville
While Nashville neighborhoods like East Nashville, Germantown and The Nations are emerging as cultural touchstones, it’s easy to overlook tried and true pillars of the city that have been robust centers of housing and commerce for decades. One such pillar is Hillsboro Village, an urban neighborhood just a few miles from the heart of Downtown.
A Neighborhood That Defies Category
The shopping and dining district most commonly associated with Hillsboro Village really begins when Hillsboro Road, which runs through Green Hills, turns into 21st Avenue. The neighborhood is near Belmont University, Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital, and Music Row, making it one of Nashville’s most eclectic neighborhoods at the intersection of the city’s two largest industries—music and medicine.
Much like its neighbor, 12 South, Hillsboro Village was once a streetcar community, and 21st Avenue became the center of commerce it is today in the early 20th century after the arrival of a grocer and pharmacy. Since then, a hospital and two universities on either side of the shopping district have drawn residents and customers to the area with no signs of slowing down. New mixed-use construction projects seek to ensure residential and economic health for the area as it grows.
Why Nashvillians Call It Home
View homes for sale in Hillsboro Village
The wide swath of residents who live in Hillsboro Village is reflected in the range of real estate prices and home types. With homes dating from 1902 to the present and a median sale price in the high $400s, Hillsboro Village offers everything from condominiums, lofts, and townhomes in the mid $100s to larger, historic homes for over $1 million.
Most properties fall somewhere closer to the median price range, but the beauty of the neighborhood is that it’s not necessarily cost-prohibitive. For that reason, professionals just entering the workforce choose to invest in the area alongside established Nashvillians looking to purchase large homes in the city.
Surrounding schools like Eakin Elementary and West End Middle School are some of the best in town, and they’re within walking distance of the neighborhood’s most densely populated residential areas.
The Changing Face of Local Business
21st Avenue has experienced its fair share of loss in recent years with construction that has changed the face of the street and a series of abrupt closings that rocked native Nashvillians, including Jackson’s Bar and Bistro, Bosco’s Restaurant and Brewery, and BookManBookWoman.
The shuttering of neighborhood businesses is the byproduct of the formerly sleepy, college-centric area transforming to meet the needs of the new Nashville. With the heartache comes some excitement, though, and new chain businesses and renovations aim to keep the historic neighborhood relevant.
Make no mistake though, the old guard still stands in spots like “community living room,” The Villager Tavern, Nashville’s iconic dart bar founded in 1973. It might be one of the last places on earth where patrons can play darts for free, smoke cigarettes inside, and drink beer from a dog bowl. That’s right: On a customer’s birthday the tavern will serve him or her beer from an ancient, grimey dog bowl—free of charge. The college character of Hillsboro Village dies hard.
Historic movie house The Belcourt Theater is beloved by local students and professionals alike as Nashville’s greatest purveyor of independent film and cinematic retrospectives. Originally opened in 1925, the historic structure has been a silent movie house and home to the Grand Ole Opry over the course of its long life. The theater’s $5 million renovation in 2016 solidified its place as a Hillsboro Village institution that will serve the community for many years to come.