Watkins Park

My elder daughter attended high school at MLK Academic Magnet, which sits across 17th from Watkins Park. Let me give you the real low-down here.

First, on paper this neighborhood looks close to Vanderbilt, but it might as well be a world away. Two of Nashville's busiest streets are between Watkins Park and Vandy, making getting from one to the other difficult. And Vanderbilt is middle- to upper-middle-class, while Watkins Park is a low-income neighborhood.

The right street in this area could be great. Some gorgeous new town homes are springing up in the Watkins Park area. But a lot of the houses are older buildings, and the owners of some of those have seen fit to install metal bars on the windows.

I felt perfectly safe walking around alone here during the daytime, but many people expressed concern when I tried to do so at night. Twice during my daughter’s four years here, I received an automated call from the school saying that the school had been in lockdown that day because police were seeking someone dangerous in the area.

Some parents would wonder why I let my teen attend school here. The answer: MLK is one of the top academic schools in the _nation._ MLK consistently shows up in the top 30 on U.S. News and World Report’s annual Top 100 list, and it receives high rankings on other lists as well. And MLK is a public school; it’s like getting a private school education for free!

Head Middle School, up the street from MLK, is also excellent. The actual park named Watkins Park, with it’s little library branch, is a perfectly safe place for the students to congregate after school. And I never had any qualms about letting my daughter walk with friends down to the Sonic or the Subway on Charlotte when she stayed after school for band practice.

Traffic on the streets around the schools is atrocious before and after school. Magnet school students come from all over the city, which means running school buses for them is impossible. Parents have the choice of dropping off their kids in person, or letting them ride the city bus. Many parents opt for dropping off, hence the traffic tangle.

Metro Transit Authority (the city bus system) does offer special rates—and sometimes free vouchers— for students, and many take advantage of this. Given that, of course the public transportation here is great. At least five city bus lines run through or near this area.

If you are someone who is looking for lower priced homes and homes that can be rented or owned with a small amount of money, you will want to check out Watkins Park. The area is located near Vanderbilt University as well as being close to downtown Nashville. The area is great for those individuals who are looking to start out on their own with a limited amount of money. There are numerous shops and restaurants that you can choose from when you live in the Watkins Park area.

Since the area is close to Vanderbilt University, you can expect the area to be up kept and taken care of. The area is close to a number of parks which can keep you and the kids busy when looking at some free time on your hands. One of the many areas of Nashville that is safe as well as being kept clean.

The Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital is not to far away as well as Baptist Hospital. Either of these hospitals is great for visiting when you have an emergency and when you need to have your child looked at in a hurry.

The Vanderbilt University is home to numerous college students who are all going to school for one degree or another. The Belmont University is not to far away as well and this is a great place to go to school for music. Many of the country music stars went to Belmont University to earn a degree or to take part in music lessons which progresses their careers even further into the music industry.

Watkins Park is bordered by Charlotte Avenue, Interstates 40 and 65, and Herman Street. The population is mostly under age 40, and about 69 percent of the residents are under the poverty level. The homes are mostly lowered priced, with average price being around $69,000.

It is near Vanderbilt University, and the medical community that centers around Baptist Hospital and Vanderbilt Hospital.

It is close to all the restaurants and events of downtown, Elliston Place, and the Vanderbilt area.

Some good place nearby to eat are Davinci's Pizza, Ken's Sushi, Sitar Indian restaurant, and Virago, a neat sushi restaurant.