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Three for me. Unfortunately people don’t realize this until after they move. Visiting a place is very different from living there and some of the things your willing to tolerate as an outsider become tiresome and annoying when you’re forced to deal with it on a daily/weekly/yearly basis.
yeah living in Orlando =/= visiting in Orlando. It was a terrible decision that lowered our QOL when we relocated there. Now our QOL is much higher in New England.
Also, one thing to clear up about density. Almost every thread about Nashville brings up Nashville’s population/sq mile and says that shows Nashville is super spread out. That’s actually super misleading, I would guess most people posting that info aren’t very familiar with Nashville. Nashville has such low density because one entire quadrant of the county has tons of limestone and isn’t easily buildable. So the Northwest quadrant has a very low population which strongly skews the population density on paper. When you come to Nashville, it actually isn’t more spread out/less dense than similar Sunbelt cities.
Unbuildable land aside, it isn't like if you took Nashville's density in the developable areas, the city would have a respectably high density. Only about ~12.5% of Nashvillians live in a tract of ~5k or higher. To your point, that is on par with the typical southern city, and wouldn't be dramatically different if whether we count the quadrant you're talking about or not...
Unbuildable land aside, it isn't like if you took Nashville's density in the developable areas, the city would have a respectably high density. Only about ~12.5% of Nashvillians live in a tract of ~5k or higher. To your point, that is on par with the typical southern city, and wouldn't be dramatically different if whether we count the quadrant you're talking about or not...
You also have to consider Nashville has thousands of acres of park land, lakes, rivers, streams etc. But your points are well taken. Nashville is a special case concerning the density argument, which non-residents typically do not understand. I can tell by some of the comments made previously. This is why it is harder to attract some businesses/retail to the area because developers still use the outdated population density/income argument which falls flat without considering cultural dimensions and driving/travel patterns. Nashville's sphere of influence is large, which despite metro population, acts as a super regional destination.
Outdoors: Both have good access to the mountains, but I'll give Charlotte the win here for easier access to the beach.
Nightlife: Nashville. Charlotte has breweries, but Nashville has Broadway.
Diversity: Charlotte's probably a little more diverse.
Job market: Both are great places to be in right now. Charlotte has the edge in finance, but Nashville has the more diverse economy.
Culture: Nashville. If have to knock Charlotte for one thing, it's about as cookie-cutter as it gets. That being said, Charlotte is definitely the better sports town if that matters to you.
As someone who lives in Nashville, you do realize locals avoid Broadway like THE PLAGUE these days, right? It's an overcrowded, tacky area overrun by bachelorette parties & drunk tourists. The proliferation of "country star" bars is the worst thing to happen to Broadway in the 5 years I've lived here.
I personally think Charlotte is the better pick. Asheville is a mere 90 minutes away, which has some amazing hiking and more breweries per capita than any other city in the U.S. except Portland, ME, and if you go a little further west, you'll be in the Smokies. It's 3+ hours to the Smokies from Nashville. You are also only a little over 2 hours to the beaches in the Wilmington, NC area. Nashville is 7.5 hours from the closest beach.
Nashville is definitely the "trendier" pick, but as a local, I personally think Nashville is overrated. I loved it for the first 2-2.5 years I lived here, but am not a fan of the changes that have occurred in the last two-ish years. Maybe that's a reflection of the fact that my priorities have shifted as I've gotten older? Don't know, but I personally would choose Charlotte, and it sounds like it would be a better fit for the OP as well.
Last edited by SprtsJunkie88; 01-06-2020 at 10:58 AM..
You also have to consider Nashville has thousands of acres of park land, lakes, rivers, streams etc. But your points are well taken. Nashville is a special case concerning the density argument, which non-residents typically do not understand. I can tell by some of the comments made previously. This is why it is harder to attract some businesses/retail to the area because developers still use the outdated population density/income argument which falls flat without considering cultural dimensions and driving/travel patterns. Nashville's sphere of influence is large, which despite metro population, acts as a super regional destination.
As someone who lives in Nashville, you do realize locals avoid Broadway like THE PLAGUE these days, right? It's an overcrowded, tacky area overrun by bachelorette parties & drunk tourists. The proliferation of "country star" bars is the worst thing to happen to Broadway in the 5 years I've lived here.
I personally think Charlotte is the better pick. Asheville is a mere 90 minutes away, which has some amazing hiking and more breweries per capita than any other city in the U.S. except Portland, ME, and if you go a little further west, you'll be in the Smokies. It's 3+ hours to the Smokies from Nashville. You are also only a little over 2 hours to the beaches in the Wilmington, NC area. Nashville is 7.5 hours from the closest beach.
Nashville is definitely the "trendier" pick, but as a local, I personally think Nashville is overrated. I loved it for the first 2-2.5 years I lived here, but am not a fan of the changes that have occurred in the last two-ish years. Maybe that's a reflection of the fact that my priorities have shifted as I've gotten older? Don't know, but I personally would choose Charlotte, and it sounds like it would be a better fit for the OP as well.
+1. You basically just wrote everything I feel about Nashville. Charlotte is really booming and there are so many new restaurants, bars and coffeeshops popping up all over. I was shocked at the growth and the amount of East Coast transplants there. The nice thing about Charlotte is you are not bombarded by drunk and screaming tourists and you can actually enjoy the downtown without all the hassles of sharing it with 10000s of tourists. I agree with you about Broadway
I went there one time and that was the last. Outside of musicians, no locals I meet have any desire to go down there.
I think based on your personal preferences probably Nashville. Charlotte tends to be the far more popular city to relocate among blacks it's become a mini Atlanta in that aspect along with DFW and Houston, but Nashville is definitely more popular among other demographic groups.
I think based on your personal preferences probably Nashville. Charlotte tends to be the far more popular city to relocate among blacks it's become a mini Atlanta in that aspect along with DFW and Houston, but Nashville is definitely more popular among other demographic groups.
Not mini suggesting that either place is smaller than Atlanta as both have significantly larger populations. I mean mini in terms of their status' as black cultural meccas, Atlanta and places like DC still reign supreme in that, but Charlotte, Houston and DFW are all starting to become somewhat black mecca destination cities.
Not mini suggesting that either place is smaller than Atlanta as both have significantly larger populations. I mean mini in terms of their status' as black cultural meccas, Atlanta and places like DC still reign supreme in that, but Charlotte, Houston and DFW are all starting to become somewhat black mecca destination cities.
I wouldn't even describe them as that. They are attracting a good number of Black transplants and I'd just leave it at that, especially since they are attracting significant numbers of non-Blacks as well. The whole "Black mecca" label is a legacy status more than anything.
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