Memphis or Nashville

[kingchef]

Originally Posted by PlatReader

Everyone has their rationale..

but stating that "Memphis will always be tennesse's [sic] premier city: w/ or w/out the help of transplants "

seems not to say much to people outside the region- and it seems a bit insular and egoiste with no license to be so-

I mean, in my travels and having lived in multiple locations in and outside of the 'south', I have never heard anything from the mouths of residents in places such as Charlotte, Raleigh Durham, Atlanta, Dallas, St Louis, Indianapolis, Charleston, Tampa, or others, that support an assessment of Memphis being PREMIER anything.....heck I haven't even heard folks in the capital of TN proclaim or hold to that notion, and they are a part of the great State of Tennessee.

Other parts of the state, particularly eastern TN are fast becoming a more desirable place in which to live it seems...ask people even in Knoxville/Maryville area, or in the Tri Cities.

To describe Memphis as a "premier" city can be misleading and inadequate. Premier connotes 'first in rank', and connotes being 'top notch', 'choice', even 'prize winning'.

Memphis is certainly first in rank with population in the State...and a very very important city

To suggest that Memphis is somehow 'outstanding' or superior, seems to be a gross overstatement and blind embellishment given some established, relevant, and objective measures of fair comparison.

It is fair to say, based on my own unscientific experience and exposure, that the majority (well over 51%) of the Tennesseans (esp outside of Memphis) that I have known, currently know, or have casually met, don't particularly care for, like, or have good things to even say about Memphis.

Sorry, I can't make this stuff up. That's what I have been told, and that's what I hear, across the State of TN, particularly middle to east TN.

This sort of thing is not that unusual- for example, the residents of north AL around Huntsville, don't have a high opinion of Montgomery in south AL (which, I can fully fully see the reasoning in even THAT).

Memphis is an essential and contributing component to the State, but being 'premier' must be taken in context of fair comparison with many many other cities, not through a narrow prism of exclusively the midsouth. It should not be examined through such myopic, false ego.


Additionally, outsiders 'knowing where Memphis is located' (geographically in the US) is a 'straw man', and essentially meaningless. People across the country know where Detroit is as well.. and another city fraught with crime, Miami, FL.

i was born and reared in chicago, and i have visited extensively all of and/or lived in the cities listed above. my experiences have never centered on more than pleasant inquiry by friends or business associates who wanted information for vacation purposes. people from across the world, who are fulfilled in life, do not spend a good deal of time thinking about the inner workings of memphis. raliegh-durham, charlotte, charleston, dallas, houston, atlanta, st. louis, indianapolis, and tampa all have too much violent crime in their own backyards to be burdened w/ any of memphis' trouble. all of these cities, i dare say, take pride in viewing themselves as premier cities for technology, tourism, beauty, history, culture, etc. wheather they are is totally subjective. culture, history, and beauty do not come to mind when someone mentions indianapolis, tampa, or, for that matter, charlotte, north carolina. houston nor dallas get no points for typography---flat, dirty, brown, and bushes for trees. there, i think that is about as fair as you are about your characterizations of memphis. no real positives for the climate---unless you like that kind of climate. they have numerous skyscrapers, cloverleaf interchanges, and extensive sprawl, as do most major urban areas. read their city magazines and take note of the editoral bitching. horrible heat, humidity, and wind. charleston, atlanta, and raliegh-durham have pretty much the same problems---w/ the addition of hurricanes for the east coast cities. tampa---hurricanes, large impoverished population, crime---yet, they boast of their premier beaches, bay, sports team, gulf, seafood, and soforth. you will not convince them that they are not a premier city in the united states---even though they take a good deal of bashing, as does atlanta, miami, memphis, knoxville, nashville, st. louis, houston, dallas, and charlotte. like penis envy, much of the bashing is simply the human state and its desire.

memphis has forged itself through united states history and through the history of tennessee. even though it is the youngest of the four largest cities, it long ago became the star in tennessee's headdress. people move to east tn, by and large, for the mountains, the right to carry guns, the rural scenery of the mountains, and the slower pace of retirement life: not for the city of knoxville, a larger version of maryville, and, certainly not for the air quality. i, nor others i know, neither seek nor need the approval of east tn. one good thing i can say about it is that it is in east tn, good. most of the natives of west tn---including memphians---are satisfied to live in the areas in which they were either born or to which they gravitated.

my father, who to this day resides in detriot---along w/ 5 million+ other residents---does quite well there, and he has never been a victim of crime. he considers detriot to be a premier city and boasts of its past and current accomplishments w/ pride. i would never try and tell him differently: no reason to do so. what is odd, all of my relatives in detriot, st. claire, and ann arbor **** and moan when their turn to visit relatives in tn comes about. we have tried the nashville thing, the gatlingburg chalet, and memphis. out of nine perfunctory visits, memphis has been the favorite pick five times. they are hard-nose notherners, who do not care for mountain culture---i happen to love mountains and creeks. different strokes i guess.

[PlatReader]

I'd take the 'quality of life' being more 'premier' in cities like Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte or Tampa Bay over the alleged 'premier status' of a Memphis, TN, anyday.


In fact drawing any 'comparative advantage' conclusion for Memphis, TN over a city like Charlotte seems laughable at the minimum, and preposterous at worst.

[trmihall01]

Living and working in both cities, I have to say each have it's different draws and pushes...lol. It really is a matter of personal preference. Take a week or two trip ( if you can ) and look at areas where you would consider living, take into account hobbies or things you enjoy doing outside work...etc. and good luck.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by kingchef

my father, who to this day resides in detriot---along w/ 5 million+ other residents---does quite well there, and he has never been a victim of crime. he considers detriot to be a premier city and boasts of its past and current accomplishments w/ pride. i would never try and tell him differently: no reason to do so. what is odd, all of my relatives in detriot, st. claire, and ann arbor **** and moan when their turn to visit relatives in tn comes about. we have tried the nashville thing, the gatlingburg chalet, and memphis. out of nine perfunctory visits, memphis has been the favorite pick five times. they are hard-nose notherners, who do not care for mountain culture---i happen to love mountains and creeks. different strokes i guess.

In all of my atlases it's spelled Detroit. And the mountain town is Gatlinburg, not gatlingburg.

I love Memphis and have said so on many occasions in this forum. I love Nashville, too, and I can understand why Nashville is overwhelmingly preferred as a tourist destination and why a LOT more people are choosing to move to Nashville over Memphis. It doesn't mean Nashville is necessarily better. But it's certainly more popular.

[kingchef]

Originally Posted by JMT

In all of my atlases it's spelled Detroit. And the mountain town is Gatlinburg, not gatlingburg.

I love Memphis and have said so on many occasions in this forum. I love Nashville, too, and I can understand why Nashville is overwhelmingly preferred as a tourist destination and why a LOT more people are choosing to move to Nashville over Memphis. It doesn't mean Nashville is necessarily better. But it's certainly more popular.

jmt, thank you for pointing out the typos, i assumed my spell-check would correct any mistakes. nonetheless, not to be totally dismissive, i hope intelligent people know of these places. i am impressed that you knew---and were able so to do---to go to an atlas to source these locations. reps for you.

your above comments regarding "overwhelmingly" are inaccurate and unsupported by tourism facts in general. i understand if this is stated as just opinion. country music, bluegrass, and country gospel genres are not "overwhelmingly" popular in the general music culture, and seemingly not the preference of those who post on this forum. tourist who like this kind of music go to the areas in which they find the music. i think, perhaps, bigger audiences are the norm in austin, tx, branson, mo, nashville, the hill country around knoxville, and some of the kentucky hill country. to each his own.

your slight-of-hand in changing the topic dicussion of tourism to nashville relocation is duly noted. in-migration to shelby county from davidson county is a positive gain for shelby over davidson. both davidson county and nashville continue to lose significant numbers of residents to rutherford, williamson, and wilson counties in middle tn. the metropolitan government website for nashville, tn does not support one of the nashville cheerleader's reported posted population figures of 630,000+ residents. the nashville website reports a 2009 population of 546,000+ residents. this number is significantly lower than unofficial or past projected numbers, which were placed at as much as 125,000 above the 546,000 number.

currently, memphis is undergoing a population revision, due to an estimated undercount of immigrants in 2000. the undercount, as reported by the census bureau, is reported to be no less than 25% of its year 2000 immigrant population. at that time, that number was placed at 47,000 residents. it will be interesting to see what these numbers yield for the downtown, inner city, and first suburban rings of memphis. from the information i have read, their has been some serious debate in essentially building a "new" and "refocused" downtown business district outside of nashville, as population shifts are so seriously guided towards rutherford county. when one considers these facts and the reasons for them, one hardly concludes that nashville is a contender for any serious consideration for location. murfreesboro, smyrna, hendersonville---maybe: nashville city is pretty much burned out, as is common with other older cities.

[vivelafrance]

I won't argue which city is better, but after the last post, these are the estimates from the U.S. CENSUS.
http://www.census.gov/popest/estbygeo.html
Nashville
2000 - 545,524 2007 - 590,807 Gain of +45,000

Memphis
2000 - 690, 571 2007 - 674,028 Loss of 16,500

Nashville city is not burned out. More people move to Nashvile AND its suburbs than Memphis and its suburbs. That's why Nashville is the largest metropolitan area in the state and has been for about 15 years. I'm not saying that makes it better than Memphis. Different people will find good qualities in both cities. But the facts do state Nashville is more "popular" than Memphis.

The focus to build a new downtown business outside of Nashville is incorrect. That project is Maytown Center and is located in the city limits of Nashville. The downtown Nashville area is still thriving. There is a new skyscraper...the fourth tallest in the city being built as we speak. There are plans for a new tallest building and many high rise condos have just opened in the gulch.

[PlatReader]

Originally Posted by vivelafrance

I won't argue which city is better, but after the last post, these are the estimates from the U.S. CENSUS.
Population Estimates
Nashville
2000 - 545,524 2007 - 590,807 Gain of +45,000

Memphis
2000 - 690, 571 2007 - 674,028 Loss of 16,500

Nashville city is not burned out. More people move to Nashvile AND its suburbs than Memphis and its suburbs. That's why Nashville is the largest metropolitan area in the state and has been for about 15 years. I'm not saying that makes it better than Memphis. Different people will find good qualities in both cities. But the facts do state Nashville is more "popular" than Memphis.

The focus to build a new downtown business outside of Nashville is incorrect. That project is Maytown Center and is located in the city limits of Nashville. The downtown Nashville area is still thriving. There is a new skyscraper...the fourth tallest in the city being built as we speak. There are plans for a new tallest building and many high rise condos have just opened in the gulch.

Clearly Nashville is 'more popular' than Memphis, TN.

If you want to get an unofficial but revealing 'earfull' on the two cities, ask any professional and resident of ATLANTA, who travels to the two cities for their jobs. I have listened closely.

By no means are ATLANTANS experts on anything really, but business and social perspectives are always interesting to hear (from non-residents of either municipality)

[ColliervilleMom]

I make the best of where I am, and I am finding a lot of great things about Memphis, but if I were you, I'd be packing my bags right now. I just spent the last weekend in Nashville, the land is so much nicer (views, hills, trees, terrain), nicer schools, infinitely better shopping, healthier restaurant choices, and fun nightlife. My husband and I felt much safer downtown at night. Good luck with your decision.

[worried4kids]

Well, seeing as how I have kids, I'd move to Nashville. Schools and services for kids with disabilites are better there. I just like Nashville too. It's prettier, I don't know, it's just a feeling.

[BlueAnais]

I would move to Nashville in a second!