Is Nashville a good city for single women, compared to Seattle? (Memphis: crime, job market)

[wardaddy]

Hi SeaSwan. I registered here just to post to you after some of the snarky comments from unhappy people posting here who I have no idea whether they live here or not.

I'm a 52 year old father of five children from ages 3-22 and the first two being girls in college age here and I was heartened by what you seek in your life.

I'm a southerner and lived all over the world but the last 14 here in Nashville and here is my perspective based on my daughter's experiences and my own observations.

Nashville proper is quite liberal....70% voted for Obama and the congressional district routinely votes for Democrats. It's a lot like it's sister city Austin Texas just less western....maybe a little less eccentric. It's on a river, plenty of lakes, music industry, a major tech field...healthcare management and it's hilly and unlike Austin..close to actual mountains. The surrounding 5-7 counties are more conservative, richer and more family oriented but span a broad socio economic pattern and topography. Where I live in bucolic..rural Williamson county.

I find it amusing that whilst folks here understand you are looking for a "normal" man with ambition to fall in love with and reproduce....this is our nature usually afterall...that some here deride social conservatism. Nashville proper is not very socially conservative but the metro area is a reverse image..more conservative like the rest of the state sans Memphis.

Just a thought...has it dawned on anyone that a socially conservative man is more likely to perhaps want to marry and settle down and be responsibile about it? Our culture is chock full of the images of trashy girls and sorry men who run around either being Clockwork Orange type thugs or girlymen wearing Chuck Taylors into their 40s with emo angst.

If you really want what you say I would look for a traditional man and there are many here. There might be a reason you've had that issue in an ultra liberal environment like Seattle area.

This notion about race here is a canard. The only racial issue is much like anywhere...black ghettos are an issue for anyone who ventures in but here it's a fairly small problem unlike say Memphis or New Orleans.


I don't think anyone here who would care if you are Asian or mixed or whatever heritage or not. It's off the radar unless one has an attitude to make it so.

Good luck. I hope you find the man of your dreams wherever you go. God bless. My girls are half Brasilian and have dated a gamut of guys here from pickup truck boys to the dreaded emo Peter Pans looking to be the next Kings of Leon or Jack White. I'm sure you could find something that suits you.

And most importantly...I know this from experience...people are more hospitable here and non southerners who move here usually pick it up too...the word ya'll is a siren call hard to resist using.

[Tuffys Mom]

Such a difference of opinion! A tale my Daddy used to tell: A fellow was moving to a new town. He stopped at a store and asked an older gentleman sitting outside what kind of folks live thereabouts. The older gentleman asked the traveler how he found the folks in the town he was from. The traveler replied, "Oh, they are just a bunch of s.o.b.s, not friendly at all, etc etc. The older gentleman nodded wisely and said, "Well, you'll find the folks around here just about the same." The traveler harrumped and went on his way. Soon, another traveler stopped by and told a similar tale, he was moving and wanted to know how the folks were around this town. The older gentleman asked the same question, "How did you find the folks from where you are from?" The new traveler smiled and replied "Oh, they are a great bunch of people, very friendly, nice folks, I really hate to leave them." The older gentleman smiled as well, and said, "Well, you'll find folks here just the same. I think you'll do just great in our town."

Moral of the story: You pretty much get what you expect, be it good or bad.

[Tuffys Mom]

In reply to Wardaddy, Bravo! Well said!

[CarolineQ]

I don't live in Nashville (though I'm considering it), but I lived in Seattle for a while. It's a nice place, but very expensive. Unless you have a lot of money saved up for living expenses, moving there without a job is not something I would advise. I paid about 1400 dollars a month for a 575 square ft. apartment that honestly wasn't that nice.

Making friends in Seattle isn't easy. People are generally friendly, but it's a surface kind of friendly. The friends I did end up making there were mostly other transplants. (None of whom wound up staying--we've all left Seattle.) Lest you think it's just me, try googling "Seattle freeze."

Maybe you could try visiting each place for a week or so to determine if either is right for you.

[nighthouse66]

wardaddy, you are awesome. just reading this thread as i have been reading good things about nashville and am from the south originally, and am single and in my thirties too. you sound like one hep dad!

[El Passeaux]

Originally Posted by Pimpy

Come on down. You'll find that the job and meat markets are much better here than in Seattle. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life dating dirty hippie bums that spend their days hanging out in coffee shops or playing grunge music in their parents' garages?

This from the region who hates being sterotyped.

[wardaddy]

tuffy and nighthouse

thank ya'll

to the Canadian C/W fella...I have two Canadian pals here...both married southern girls and seem pretty happy...good luck.

[Seaswan]

Originally Posted by wardaddy

Hi SeaSwan. I registered here just to post to you after some of the snarky comments from unhappy people posting here who I have no idea whether they live here or not.

Nashville proper is quite liberal....70% voted for Obama and the congressional district routinely votes for Democrats. It's a lot like it's sister city Austin Texas just less western....maybe a little less eccentric. It's on a river, plenty of lakes, music industry, a major tech field...healthcare management and it's hilly and unlike Austin..close to actual mountains. The surrounding 5-7 counties are more conservative, richer and more family oriented but span a broad socio economic pattern and topography. Where I live in bucolic..rural Williamson county.

Wardaddy, thank you so much for spending time writing back.

I'm surprised to learn Nashville voted for Obama. That's a good sign...There is nothing wrong with social conservatism. I consider myself socially conservative as well. I believe you can be open minded in political or any other field but stay conservative in your personal life at the same time. However, most of the time, social conservatism is associated with political conservatism, racial conservatism, etc., which is the stereotype for southerners. Intelligence requires open-mindedness, so if you are close minded there is no way you can be "smart", that simple. The kind of people I want to meet are smart but serious, know where they are going in life...

"sorry men who run around either being Clockwork Orange type thugs or girlymen wearing Chuck Taylors into their 40s with emo angst." oh yes I have met them all I have had some unbelievable dating experience that afterwards I just want to say to the guy "OMG are you kidding me? Is this a joke?" I don't have a problem with people doing that when they are young or they are still at the experimenting period of their lives, what's funny is that how some people can keep doing it forever, into their 30s, 40s, 50s. I have met both boys and girls performing this art after 20 years of experience...I get bored after a while.

Sounds like you have a great family, God bless you and your family!

Nashville really sounds like a great place

[Jmadison2]

Originally Posted by Pimpy

Come on down. You'll find that the job and meat markets are much better here than in Seattle. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life dating dirty hippie bums that spend their days hanging out in coffee shops or playing grunge music in their parents' garages?

Vrs. what? Wannabe country stars and a huge african american population coming in at around 30%? Bible thumpers? LOL!

With such a high Af-Am number the crime rate has got to be off the charts as well.

Let's face it, neither are top tier target locations, unless of course you are a Microsoft type, a real country music talent, etc. They have the niches they are famous for, of course.

As for the OP's question, well, you "could" find Mr. Right in almost anytown USA.

[Jmadison2]

Originally Posted by wardaddy

This notion about race here is a canard. The only racial issue is much like anywhere...black ghettos are an issue for anyone who ventures in but here it's a fairly small problem unlike say Memphis or New Orleans.

Is it really? At a 30% black population per 2000 census (probably higher now) how can there not be a *huge* race issue present? Especially in an old Confederate state?