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I agree with Michael. Nashville destroy's Louisville on a national level. You got country music, two PROFESSIONAL sports teams, tons of tourist attractions...even better hospitals. To be fair, I don't know that much about Cincy, so I can't say much about them.
Tennessee overall is gaining good growth. Kentucky is getting...??? Not much. Clarksville is slated to take over Chattanooga and become the 4th largest city in the state. Kentucky could be a mirror image of Tennessee if they were actually progressive. Example: put more tourism in the mountain area of KY like Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
Cincy isn't bad at all. I love the place and enjoy going there. Even if many of the inner neighborhoods are a dump. Regardless, as a photographer and architecture buff, it's a pleasant getaway!
Louisville, like Cincy is a nice place. My uncle lives there and my wife and I were almost citizens. Still, it is not on the same level as Nashville in many ways. It's not about me, or anyone else from here, thinking we are bigger than what we really are. We are. And the facts do back that up. As for urbanity, yep, both cities kill Nashville and they should. They have been big cities far longer than Nashville has and have developed the infrastructure over time to support that. Recently though, growth has slowed and things aren't what they were thirty or fourty years ago. It's all part of the population centers changing and the trends of the US population moving further south. Louisville, and even Cincy, really fall on the borderline while Louisville has done argueably better over the last ten years or so.
I have always thought that Kentucky could be like Tennessee in regards to tourism and the mountains. As a native of the great state, I want that to happen but I just don't see it happening. There isn't a push in Frankfort for that. If anything happens, it unfortunatly has to happen on a local level which leaves it hard to find or hear about outside of the region they are in i.e. the "HillBilly Days" in Pikeville.
Of course, when you have the coal companies digging up the mountains, it may be harder in the future to make these attractive to outsiders.....
I've been to Nashville and was underwhelmed. Seriously from what I saw I don't get the buzz. Outside of downtown the place just seems not that city-fied (which is maybe what people like about it, dunno).
Well that's cool. To each their own and I don't expect everyone to like Nashville. If you come here expecting Chicago, Memphis, Cleveland, NYC, etc., you will be disappointed. The overwhelming majority though, has approved of Nashville and it's lifestyle(s) that it offers. Thus why it is home to some of the fastest growing counties in the country. And also the new home of many established national and worldwide companies.
Did you venture outside of downtown really at all with someone who knows the city? If so, then I would wager a bet your mind would've changed.
I would not be suprised if someday that Clarksville and Nashville are in one metro area. They are only 40 miles apart.
If they ever run Higheay 840's northern loop then that may happen sooner than later. The project has been "suspended" for some time now. Right now though, Nashville's biggest growth is pushing it northeast, east, south, and southwest. The Highland Rim really makes it hard for Nashville to expand north as Clarksville expands south. Time will tell though......
Did you venture outside of downtown really at all with someone who knows the city? If so, then I would wager a bet your mind would've changed.
Yes actually we did. We went to the Vanderbilt/Parthenon area, stopped in the Ellingston Place Sandwich shop, then drove south to Bellemeade and that big park up in the hills (forget the name). We also stopped at those gardens or aboreteum there, which was very nice.
We also drove east of town to tour the Hermitage and took a spin around the Opryland Hotel.
And we took a drive to that neighborhood directly below the Capital, which was being worked on. I think there was an old Catholic church there, with a historical marker about a connection to Cardinal Strich of Chicago (we are native Chicagoans, and this was quite a suprise as Cardinal Strich was the head of the Chicago Archdiocese, well known to my fathers generation). There was some neat adaptive re-use of an old industrial building into condos and apartments there.
I guess I was expecting more older neighborhoods like one sees in Louisville and Lexington, but I suspect I might have missed them. I did like the downtown though, with that arcade and the hilly streets and the action along Broadway and the Ryman (we were there during Fan Fair).
I think if you didn't find things to see and do in Nashville, you had a bad tour guide. I have been going to Nashville my entire life and never run out of things to do there.
Yes actually we did. We went to the Vanderbilt/Parthenon area, stopped in the Ellingston Place Sandwich shop, then drove south to Bellemeade and that big park up in the hills (forget the name). We also stopped at those gardens or aboreteum there, which was very nice.
We also drove east of town to tour the Hermitage and took a spin around the Opryland Hotel.
And we took a drive to that neighborhood directly below the Capital, which was being worked on. I think there was an old Catholic church there, with a historical marker about a connection to Cardinal Strich of Chicago (we are native Chicagoans, and this was quite a suprise as Cardinal Strich was the head of the Chicago Archdiocese, well known to my fathers generation). There was some neat adaptive re-use of an old industrial building into condos and apartments there.
I guess I was expecting more older neighborhoods like one sees in Louisville and Lexington, but I suspect I might have missed them. I did like the downtown though, with that arcade and the hilly streets and the action along Broadway and the Ryman (we were there during Fan Fair).
[+] Rat
You passed by the Werthan Mills condo project. That's the old factory that is now condos. It's a really cool addaptive re-use of that structure.
Nashville in the 1950's and 60's destroyed a bunch of its historical, or "old" structures because they were all housing crime and disease. They did this in many cities of the south, sans Birmingham and Memphis, unfortunaly. Atlanta is in the same boat with us. Nashville isn't Louisville, that much is certain. Lexington, I lived there for over five years and those people preserve like crazy up there. I loved that, but the overall feel of sprawl and just a massive suburb started to wear on me after a while. Still a lovely, classy city!!
Chicago, I love that place. Going back on Labor day and can hardly wait!
[quote=MichaelBNA;10077473]Nashville in the 1950's and 60's destroyed a bunch of its historical, or "old" structures because they were all housing crime and disease. [quote]
Alot of buildings here were done that way to create parking lots
As for urbanity, yep, both cities kill Nashville and they should. They have been big cities far longer than Nashville has and have developed the infrastructure over time to support that. Recently though, growth has slowed and things aren't what they were thirty or fourty years ago. It's all part of the population centers changing and the trends of the US population moving further south. Louisville, and even Cincy, really fall on the borderline while Louisville has done argueably better over the last ten years or so.
Well said. I understand how people might prefer that a city have a good, historic urban built environment. I do as well and to each their own. But I do think it gets a bit obnoxious when people start judging cities entirely based on a historic factor that cannot be re-written rather than what these cities are currently doing.
I've seen cities like Nashville, Atlanta and Charlotte lambasted by people for their sprawl and growth during auto-centric decades and then go on to exalt rustbelt cities that are currently doing little of note but have gorgeous, older built environments (and please note that I don't mean this as a slight to either Louisville or Cincy both of which are making interesting strides, IMO). It seems that often posters on boards like this one like to snub their noses up at the "New South" cities and little care if any is given to the progressive-minded folks who are rapidly infilling these cities, luring businesses and residents and genuinely trying to correct some of the mistakes of the last half century.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JefferyT
I guess I was expecting more older neighborhoods like one sees in Louisville and Lexington, but I suspect I might have missed them. I did like the downtown though, with that arcade and the hilly streets and the action along Broadway and the Ryman (we were there during Fan Fair).
[+] Rat
In case you visit again, the older neighborhoods in Nashville's core that might appeal to you are East Nashville, Inglewood, Germantown/Salemtown, Sylvan Park, Hillsboro Village, Waverly-Belmont/12South and Richland-West End (which it sounds like you passed-by en route to Belle Meade but probably didn't explore). Belle Meade and Green Hills have some of the nice old money homes but are more suburban in nature. Nashville does not have street after street of very old housing stock like the older rustbelt cities.
Never been to Cincinnati, but I can't see me liking it more than Nashville. I love Nashville!
If you ever find your way up there you will like it I imagine. I love that Cincinnati is much more dense downtown and feels as though its more alive. There's a lot going on down by the river with The Banks project going on. The architecture is beautiful, the area around town is great, and the amusement park to the north is awesome.
After visiting Cinci a few times I felt that Nashville was lacking and over priced. But since I lived in Bowling Green, it was hard to make the three hour journey and have enough time to have some fun.
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I understand how people might prefer that a city have a good, historic urban built environment. I do as well and to each their own. But I do think it gets a bit obnoxious when people start judging cities entirely based on a historic factor that cannot be re-written rather than what these cities are currently doing. 
