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I'm a Richmonder and admittedly have not gone to Nashville but I can relay a few facts.
1. Being close to another big city helps but definitely casts a big shadow. You can ask other decent cities like baltimore and providence. Richmond is less than 2 hours away from a 5.7 mil metro Capitol. How some can mention Louisville and Memphis as a comparison baffles me.
Historic river cities around the same size with a nice amount of their historic urban fabric intact. The comparisons are pretty apt, especially Louisville.
Okay, we are all able to have contrasting opinions. After all, everybody doesnt even like New York, with its esteem and all. Every city isnt for everyone...
But its a FACT that internationally, Richmond has the bigger reputation. It is a Gamma world city, and since neither Nashville or Memphis have ever been considered world cities, this point isnt debatable. As far as shopping and retail, it is a FACT that Richmond offers the most shopping per capita in the COUNTRY. And luxury shopping to rival Green Hills? Stony Point, Short Pump, Carytown. Either of those themselves equal or surpass Green Hills. Somebody wants recognition? Richmond is FAR more known on a historical scale, and because of its prestige in banking and the like, wins in the modern day too. Lets be real: when someone hears of Nashville, you automically think country AND country music. Many people dont even realize that Nashville is Tennessee's capital. Of course, I've been there, so I know what Nashville is about. But for this debate, I am of the mind that Richmond is in a seperate league, and there is facts to support that thought...
Maybe Nashville has a slight edge culturally, I think I said that in a post yesterday. But you would expect a city that is THREE times Richmond's size to offer three times the fun, but in actuality there is no large ditance between the two. So to the guy who asked me do I want to go there, yes I do :-)...in education, again I believe they are equal. VCU offers some of the best training programs in nursing anywhere.
My bottom line point is that with both these cities outweighing Richmond the way they do, they dont back it up in any aspect besides population and geography. And there are facts to back that up....
Not sure I would put VCU on the Vanderbilt level because of a nursing program. And don't sleep on Belmont. It's an excellent school. And although Nashville is known for their country music, recording artists of all types are making music there, and TONS of famous people live there. As for entertainment....Nashville has a lot to offer IMO. They have two pro teams, and SEC sports as well. Not to mention the outdoor life (lakes, etc.). I think you're way underselling Nashville.
You forgot about Young Buck, Haystak, and Starlito! Can't downplay our gritty hip hop.
To add to that...Kool Daddy Fresh, KingPin Pistol, and All Star. As I previously stated, Nashville isn't only in the Country Music game. Country, rock, and underground rap have been on the scene for some time in Nashville. That in itself shows that Nashville is far more diverse than it gets credit for. Nashville is on the serious come up. IMO it takes the cake of these three cities.
You all are right, there is no right or wrong here. I believe Richmond is the best city of its size in the nation, and that its greater than alota larger cities as well. I already gave my reasons, so I wont beat that dead horse. But if a team of geographers and scholars in the UK dont find any cause to rank the larger city of Nashville ahead of Richmond as world city status, people who research and study global population trends, economic shifts, and the like for a living, how is Nashville more recognized internationally? An international group prepares those reports...
As I also said before, I genuinely like Nashville. I love Memphis. I think that Nashville chumps Memphis easily, and other cities as well, I just dont think it measures up to Richmond. I get the population argument. But if thats the point in determing how we evaluate cities, then the thought would go to saying that every city larger than Nashville is a "better" city, while every city thats smaller is "lesser". And I dont think that is true. Neither city has the true urban flair that Richmond has. Nashville is growing up in front of us. It has its own vibe, and I loved downtown, but it does seem more suburbia. Richmond feels like its Nashville's size. Downtown is more frenetic and the city at large is busier...
Memphis will always have a fairly large music scene. It just isnt an epicenter anymore, and of course Richmond isnt either. And nay one of the rappers or other artists Memphis has been/is putting out are particularly big, none are considered heavyweights of their genre. This again speaks more to me of a city with so much of a larger population, but that doesnt translate into presnt day. In CURRENT American music, Memphis is no bigger than Richmond, and if it is, certainly not by the margin it should be...
You confused me with this:
" Neither city has the true urban flair that Richmond has. Nashville is growing up in front of us. It has its own vibe, and I loved downtown, but it does seem more suburbia. Richmond feels like its Nashville's size. Downtown is more frenetic and the city at large is busier..."
So I'm confused. Nashville feels like a suburb to you. Yet Richmond feels like Nashville because it's so busy? So either that makes Richmond feel like a suburb, as you described Nashville. Or it makes Nashville urban, since Richmond being as busy as Nashville makes Richmond Urban. I just confused myself trying to decipher what you just said. Obviously you haven't driven in Nashville traffic lately...Metro Nashville will probably have 2million people by the 2020 census. It has that southern feel, it always will. But Nashville is becoming VERY urban.
If only for pure sentimental reasons, I go with Memphis. It's a great town in it's own sort of way, but you do have to be able to get it to like it.
Memphis certainly has its issues, but I really do like the place. It's got an authenticity and sense of place that's all its own. In some ways, I suppose one could say that its lack of breakneck growth over the past couple of decades like some of its Southern peer cities has allowed it to preserve its vibe and identity. Memphis wants what they have (greater growth and progress), and some of them would love to have the cultural foundation and identity that Memphis possesses.
If only for pure sentimental reasons, I go with Memphis. It's a great town in it's own sort of way, but you do have to be able to get it to like it.
I love Memphis. And to this day I think Memphis has the best rap in the country...just me. As for that, it's sentimental for me too. In the 90's when I was coming up, that's all you heard in my CD player. To this day I think the 90s Memphis underground Rap was before its time. And to this day, I still think its better than half this mainstream junk. Playa Fly, old school 3-6, DJ Sqeaky/Project Playas/Tom Skeemask, Tommy Wright III, Skinny Pimp, 8 Ball&MJG. Man I could go on for days. I'm sorry, for all I know you might not even like that stuff. But you just took me down memory lane. Trust me, I feel Memphis, and if I were still in my 20s I would choose Memphis real quick like. Had some epic moments in the M. But I'm getting older with kids and another on the way. I would have to go Nashville for now.
Memphis certainly has its issues, but I really do like the place. It's got an authenticity and sense of place that's all its own. In some ways, I suppose one could say that its lack of breakneck growth over the past couple of decades like some of its Southern peer cities has allowed it to preserve its vibe and identity. Memphis wants what they have (greater growth and progress), and some of them would love to have the cultural foundation and identity that Memphis possesses.
I'm a Richmonder and admittedly have not gone to Nashville but I can relay a few facts.
1. Being close to another big city helps but definitely casts a big shadow. You can ask other decent cities like baltimore and providence. Richmond is less than 2 hours away from a 5.7 mil metro Capitol. How some can mention Louisville and Memphis as a comparison baffles me.
2. The Nashville metro is about 40% larger than Richmond by population and GDP. Im not sure how this portrayed as an apples to apples comparison.
3. Nashville has a better name recognition but the fact that Richmond is a gamma world city is nothing to scoff at.
Which is better, No clue, but the fact that Richmond can be compared is good enough to be praised.
Riding the coat tails of another city does what? Discredits your entire argument as to what your city's status is. I'm in Knoxville and I can be in Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville in 3 hours. Birmingham and Cincinatti in 4. So I guess that makes Knoxville a better town than Nashville, Memphis, and Richmond? I think not. It's still just a small college town (Knoxville). But I hope you see what I'm getting at.
I think what you folks are leaving out is how tiny Nashville's sphere of influence is. It is the only major city in a 3-4 hr radius, no matter which direction you travel. Its smack dab stands by itself, yet it still doesnt extend into 2 million people for the metro. It seems most of you discredit or outright overlook that Richmond is the southern terminus of the very well-trafficked I-95 pipeline. Where Richmond is located, you can get from Philadelphia ans southern Jersey to the Triangle within four hours. Not to mention that just like Baltimore, Richmond will always be in Washington's shadow. When you have so many major cities and metros near you, some of the consequences you face is that they pull the major draws. Nashville stands by itself. Richmond doesnt, but still only takes up 16% of its metro populous, and pretty much reigns over everything between the DC and Hampton Roads and Charlottesville metros, and nearly the NC border.....
The subject of sports, while it is better in Nashville, isnt a good way to base your argument. There are several cities easily more prominent than Nashville with two or FEWER major league teams, ie Kansas City, Portland, Baltimore, etc...Nashville's location is the reason why it has two major league teams. The nearest big cities to Nashville (Memphis? Knoxville? Birmingham?) either wouldnt be able to support one, or just dont deserve one. Washington is a massive metropolis that dominates the sports fields of Virginia and Maryland...
College basketball is huge in Richmond, and has been since the 90s. That is the equalizer to the SEC comment. Vanderbilt just got hot from a sports consideration. Richmond has theatres galore, in far more abundance than similar sized cities, and I challenge why Nashville doesnt have 2 or 3 times as many. Nashville has more skyscrapers, but they are not taller as a median, and its skyline isnt any more impressive than Richmond.
I'lk give way on tourism; Nashville is a tourism giant. But Richmond has a VERY active street scene. Have any of you been to Carytown? Downtown? Shockoe Bottom? Vendors, boutiques, fine dining, clubs/bars in abundance. Richmond definitely weighs up there. And again, with DC and so many other major cities near, music in Richmond gets overlooked. I admit Nashville is stronger there, but Richmond has a vivrant indie/underground music scene, and have put out our fair share of national artists as well. Nashville is Hollywood to country music: the out put is largely from there, but how many of these nationally known artists are actually from there? From a per capita glance, not any more than Richmond, so its a tie there. And Starlito and young Buck, while they have a following, really have no fan base outside of the south, further illustrating my point...
So the name recognition game is out of the window. Many cities are known worldwide for a variety of reasons. Atlantic City, Myrtle Beach, etc are, but that "name recognition" doesnt make those cities more prominent. Come with a better one...
I dont believe most of you all have tried to enjoy Richmond, and maybe the same can be said of me for Nashville. You all seem to take Richmond's size and discredit that it may also have the ability to have top-tier amenities.
Man, Richmond can't even compare to Knoxville in the sports area, much less Nashville. And you're correct we couldn't support a pro team because we have a 100k football stadium we pack every saturday. Then it's off to Nashville on Sundays to see the Titans. Richmond plays some good hoops. But it's a blip on the map to SEC sports. Vandy might not be the strongest in all sports, but a large portion of Nashville supports the Vols. And you can't underestimate the power of the SEC in all sports. Nashville has 2 pro teams along with direct access to the best college football, best college baseball, and one of the best college basketball conferences in the country. I'm not sure how one could even imagine comparing the two cities in that category.
As for music, let's not even go there. In fact it would be easier for you to simply name some folks who are from Richmond in that category. Nashville has historically produced talented musicians. Not just country musicians. Nice try.
Look, Richmond is a nice town... A real nice town. And in your eyes it's obviously better than Nashville, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But In reality Nashville trumps Richmond with a great deal of ease. The scary thing is, Nashville is no where near what it's gonna be years down the road.
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