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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.
1. Outdoors. I would like to hike more, year round. I would like to be close to the mountains - Charlotte
2. Night life. I’m into going to breweries and lounges - Nashville
3.Diversity. I would like to be around a diverse crowds - Very popular, yet open-ended term. Pretty much anyone can find their niche' in either metro.
4. Job Market. I’m hoping to pivot out of finance into consulting or product management, eventually. I may even consider going to grad school - Charlotte for Finance, Nashville for Health Care. I call it a draw. Both job markets are smokin'.
5. Culture. I would like an area that’s not too cookie cutter and actually have some character to it - See #3
Cost of Living - Charlotte's noticeably less expensive in terms of housing. Still, Nashville is still considered relatively affordable.
Like others have said, you really aren't going to go wrong with either city/metro. They both have some of the highest qualities of life among metro areas in the country. I live in the Charlotte area and visit Nashville a lot. I prefer Charlotte, but love and would recommend both. Good luck in your decision.
Right now I’m in finance in the healthcare sector.
Nashville is going to give you a lot more local career opportunities for healthcare finance. Several giant hospital holding companies are located there. HCA is enormous. CHS is troubled but large.
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.
One thing about Nashville is that locals rarely go to lower Broadway. It's an absolute congested mess on the weekends.
Also, Nashville really has no true Beltway around the city. To me, that results in significantly worse traffic than a more spread out metro like Charlotte that does have a beltway.
That being said, Charlotte is definitely the better sports town if that matters to you.
How so? Both nave NFL and AAA baseball. Charlotte has NBA, Nashville has NHL. Nashville is getting MLS this year, Charlotte is getting MLS next year. Charlotte does have NASCAR, but Nashville has more college sports (5 NCAA and 2 NAIA schools) than Charlotte (3 NCAA schools).
How so? Both nave NFL and AAA baseball. Charlotte has NBA, Nashville has NHL. Nashville is getting MLS this year, Charlotte is getting MLS next year. Charlotte does have NASCAR, but Nashville has more college sports (5 NCAA and 2 NAIA schools) than Charlotte (2 NCAA schools).
Plus, it's worth noting that Nashville has been named "Best Sports City" last year and this year.
One thing about Nashville is that locals rarely go to lower Broadway. It's an absolute congested mess on the weekends.
Also, Nashville really has no true Beltway around the city. To me, that results in significantly worse traffic than a more spread out metro like Charlotte that does have a beltway.
Nashville is a much more spread out metro.
Nashville is a metro of over 7,000 sq. Miles with 2.1M people.
Charlotte is a metro of 3,198 sq. Miles with 2.5M people
All in all, not that big of a difference in terms of city, size and culture (having their own). Obviously, tourism (not just visitors), Nashville wins that category. Both are overcoming stereotypes where Charlotte is labeled a button-up banker town but that hasn't been true for years. Nashville labeled a hee-haw country music town. There is some truth to both but high growth is transforming both metros very quickly beyond those stereotypes
I'm an east coast person, just something about the east coast culture etc etc that suits me better. Although NC is obviously southern, there's a huge connection up and down the east coast that makes an interesting cultural mix with all the transplants and historical migration patterns up/down I-95.
My time in Nashville gave me a more of Midwest/Southern vibe (nothing wrong with that)….just prefer the East Coast/Southern mix given all the friends/families in cities/metros that spread from NYC/Philly/Bal/DC/VA/Carolinas/ATL to Florida (I-95/I-85).
Just depends on what you're looking for and prefer geographically and culturally. Both are booming right now so you'll have to deal with that madness.
How so? Both nave NFL and AAA baseball. Charlotte has NBA, Nashville has NHL. Nashville is getting MLS this year, Charlotte is getting MLS next year. Charlotte does have NASCAR, but Nashville has more college sports (5 NCAA and 2 NAIA schools) than Charlotte (2 NCAA schools).
Nashville has great support for the Preds, sure.
Charlotte has way higher NFL attendance.
Both are getting MLS, but Charlotte seems to be running hot out of the gate with deposits, while Nashville SC is still struggling with season ticket sales.
I'd hardly call NCAA schools a big factor in either city (who's going to Vandy games?). Both have postseason bowl games. Charlotte has the ACC championship.
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