Nashville Is A Very Nice City, However.... (Murfreesboro, Hendersonville: relocating, tornadoes)

[oldmanbob]

Try Knoxville.

[UNT_Eagle]

Originally Posted by ShiningStar

Hey UNT_Eagle! We lived in Carrollton (near Josey & Trinity Mills) for two years and in Flower Mound for six. Small world!

That's funny. I grew up around Josey Ln. and Peters Colony area!

[mandy1]

Hi-didn't read all of the answers to your posts but.....
Although there is ALOT of country music in Nashville (hello that's what we are world famous for!!) There are plenty of other venues-PLENTY-if you know where to go, as a tourist you wouldn't of course (fuel for one is even downtown!)
I for one do NOT want to live in anything that remotly resembles Atlanta-too many people, too MUCH diversity, and WAY to much traffic.
LAstly-you went to larry's-that funny, what a hole in the wall place for a tourist..but as a regular there..uhh-black people are in there ALL of the time. Along with other races..that is odd someone there spoke to you in that mannor. I was there early saturday night and there were two black gentlemen there. (AWESOME SINGERS by the way!) They seemed to be the life of the party.

[RangerDuke08]

Mr. 2007 I really liked your post, I'm sorry to hear you might not have had the best time of your life but every city has it's ups and downs and hey if it ain't broken don't fix it! I'm from Denver, CO originally and currently live in Fort Collins, CO (named the #1 best city this year by Money magazine) and I can tell you why I moved up the road to Fort Collins, when I was growing up Denver and it's suburbs was a lot different, more a cowboyish town you may say, then I moved around quite a lot when I was 12-19 as a military brat (domestic and abroad) and finished college in Santa Barbara, CA (one of the most gorgeous place and most expensive places in the world) and then finally at age 24 came back to Colorado, I'm currently 27. If there is one thing that is constant it is change that is for sure, but as our country is growing enormously, so have most cities gained "uncontained" growth which equates to suburbia sprawls and sorta a lack of a regional culture.

Denver is like one of those places like Atlanta where everyone is from "out-of-town". Currently where I live is fastly changing too 1990 census 110,000 people, 2010 census over 200,000 people and 2016 census over 300,000 people. It's called uncontained growth and when you talk about the South, you should visit places like Raleigh, NC Charlotte, NC, Charleston, SC as well and see how the uncontained growth and Northern transplants have changed much of the regional culture where you don't necessary feel that regional "southern" culture anymore. Nothing against "northerners" but it seems if for one, there are transients in every major city but many "northerners" like to go to places and expect the city to be the same as New York or Philly or D.C. and the truth is, when you see a lot of Northerners flocking South, and out West as well you know that places like New York though with a lot of diversity, culture and job opportunities ain't really ain't one of the best place to live with people rushing everywhere, where no one says hi to one another, and the stress of city life. When you went into those country bars and tried to learn to line dance, you were an outsider trying to get the feel of that "regional culture" and when the cowboy rubbed shoulder with you and bought you a drink he was being "hospitable", you sure don't get that many places anymore. It's strange I know, I went down South once and this guy took out a napkin to draw me a map, out West or up North people would wonder "why are you butting into my business" but when I learned all he was trying to do was "provide", I wished more people would learn to be like that. With that said, I have high hopes for Tennessee, I'm not moving to Nashville, but to Knoxville but will sure spend many weekends in Nashville.

[#Littledog]

Originally Posted by kilted

OK, here's my take on Nashville.

First a bit about me, I'm 38 years old, white, male, gay, liberal as hell, and a punk complete with mohawk and scars from years of acting crazy in the pit. I grew up and have lived most of my adult life in Nashville and I can't think of anywhere else I would rather live.

When I moved to Seattle everyone told me how diverse of a city it is, compared to Nashville it is like living in a marshmallow factory. Nashville has large Hispanic, African American, African, Middle Eastern (if I am not mistaken the largest population of ethnic Kurds outside of Kurdistan is in Nashville), Asian, and Hindu communities along with a large number of European immigrants as well. Add to this the diversity of thought here, yeah, there are lots of red neck conservatives in Nashville and having to be able to back up my opinions makes me a better liberal. In Seattle most people were only liberal because they thought they should be even though they didn't know why.

Nashville does have a large country music community, of course, but there is also a thriving indie scene, a great punk scene, the best Rockabilly scene anywhere, Nashville is THE place for gospel music, and there is a ton of blues and classical and hippy jam band crap too. Jazz is in somewhat short supply but other than that we have got pretty much anything you could want. The thing is that you have to get out of the tourist areas to find it (and by the way, I love going to Tootsies and the other ****** Tonks on Lower Broad), and if you only experience Nashville as a tourist you will never have a clue what life is like here.

Go to Green Hills or Belle Meade for pretentious uppity shopping, head out to East Nashville for a bit of gentrified bohemia, See some amazing art at the Frist or at the Parthenon, or at any number of other galleries and museums around town. Have a drink surrounded by skinheads (non-racist), punks, *****s, rockabilly kids, and old time locals at FooBar. Try and decide between great sushi or Turkish or Chinese or southern home cooking or Indian or soul food or Persian or Ethiopian or Mexican foods at any number of amazing restaurants around town. Nashville may not have everything, but it has so much that you will forget about what it might be missing.

Let me explain a fairly typical night for me, a couple of weeks ago I met my boyfriend at the Jewish deli where he works, we left there and went to our favorite sushi place where we listened to the owners (they have almost adopted our punk asses) sing karaoke in Chinese. Why in Chinese? because they are from Shanghai. When we left we walked across the street and wound up talking to some of our friends who are bike punks (they find old bicycles and use them to build some pretty damn astounding machines) and travel around in a gang together. We then went to a punk show where we drank beer and ciders and listened to a few great local bands. Oh yeah, a lot of this time we were holding hands or had our arms around each other or were kissing. We even had a red neck in an old pick up truck honk and give us a thumbs up.

Not what you would expect from Nashville? Most of us who live here enjoy this type of thing on a daily basis.

Great post! I'd like to hear more about your perspectives on Nashville!

[alligatorboy]

Originally Posted by mr2007

I just spent the weekend in Nashville. I stayed at a very nice downtown hotel, hung out on 2nd Ave, visited The Hermitage, ate at Demo's and some other restaurants, caught a lot of live music - you name it, I tried to experience it.

I think that based on what I saw, the Nashville-Davidson Metro area is a very nice region and a perfectly acceptable area for anyone seeking a good quality of life in the United States. I would say that Nashville is probably a Top 15 or Top 20 American city in my view.

However...... for anyone relocating to Nashville, please understand this (especially if you don't currently live in the South):

Given that I was born in New York State and raised near Detroit, Michigan, I found Nashville to be a somewhat typical southern city. I am sure it is no surprise to anyone that the culture in Nashville is very much "country music" focused. So, if you don't have at least some appreciation of country music or perhaps even southern blues music, I think you would have a hard time being fulfilled by the social activities available in Nashville. I am pretty open-minded and although I really don't prefer to listen to country music, I am willing to step outside the box and try new things. For example, I took some line dancing lessons at Wild Horse saturday night. But to me, that scene is quintescentially Nashville. I'm sure there is Indie Rock and R&B and other scenes in other pockets of Nashville, but the primary scene in Nashville is country -- bottom line. To not understand that fact about Nashville is to do so at your own peril -- if you don't like the country scene.

Although I personally enjoyed my weekend in Nashville, I did make the mistake of comparing it to the Atlanta area. Nashville is not Atlanta and that may very well be a fact that Nashvillians are very proud of! However, if your intent in considering a move to Nashville is that it's similar to Atlanta, you would be mistaken. The Atlanta area is a much more socially and culturally diverse, more cosmopolitan and more of an international or what some call a "world class" city than Nashville is in my view. The designation of "world class" doesn't mean that Atlanta is better than Nashville -- "better" is such a subjective word anyway. But if you are expecting "another Atlanta" by moving to Nashville, again you would be mistaken. To me Nashville is very similar to many other mid sized regional hub cities such as Columbus OH, Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Birmingham, Oklahoma City, St. Louis or Kansas City -- although I think Nashville is slightly better than all of those cities. However, Nashville is not at what I would call a mega-diverse, international, & world class level city like Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco or Miami.

Overall, Nashville is a great, uniquely American and uniquely southern city. It's not quite ready for world class status, but it might be next on the list to get upgraded. It's hard not to enjoy Nashville if you have an open mind, but just understand what the true character of the city is before you move.

Last note: On my last night in Nashville, a guy in a bar called Larry's came up to me and said in a southern drawl "I wanna buy you a drink, homeboy. You being a black guy and all and comin' up in here to hang out with us in a place like this, I gotta lot of respect for you, brother!" I actually didn't take offense to this comment because A) I am not quick to take offense like some, and B) we were all drinking so you have to put things in context. However, I am sure he wasn't the only one thinking that -- he was the only one to say it. That was the first time anyone has ever said anything like that to me at a bar or club.... and I am in my mid-30's. No one in any of the other cities I've visited have ever come out and said something like that to me. That comment -- rightly or wrongly -- led me to believe that Nashville may still have to issues with "diversity" in certain entertainment venues (not all, just some). I don't want to turn an isolated incident into a blanket indictment of Nashville (and I won't do that), but it was just a very unique experience for me and something that will probably always come to mind whenever I think of Nashville.

BTW - I do like the fact that country music is moving into some new territory with the whole Big & Rich, Muzik Mafia and Cowboy Troy / Hick Hop phenomenon. I can't tell you how many times I heard the "Hick Chicks" song this weekend. I had never heard it before this weekend, but I liked it!

I'm glad you posted this. I learned a lot about Nashville. You were right about Nashville not being anything like Atlanta. I usually think of Atlanta being the NYC of the Deep South.

[CaliCouple]

I've lived in Chicago, Los Angeles and will move to Nashville very soon. We bought a home in the small community of White House and can't wait to move in. My sincere hope is that Nashville changes little, but I suspect it's a bit late for that. When I spoke to my lifelong Nashville Aunt Suzie on the phone, I told her I'd been there a week and heard the first honest southern accent of our trip.

When my wife and I visited last fall, I described Middle TN as a "Cleveland with a Souther n Accent". (I grew up in Cleveland...it's meant as a compliment...one my California wife would understand having enjoyed Ohio hospitality numerous times).

She loved the fact that men opened doors for women. She loved the politeness that only takes a moment, that we miss so much in the hub bub of Southern California. She loved that the immigrants we met had bothered to learn English. She loved the slower pace of traffic in Sumner Cty. In fact, looking around, I was probably the slowest motorist as I was enjoying the scenery...sorry if you were behind the Impala rental. Many was the time a pickup backed up on my bumper as I enjoyed the homes, the split rail fences, the cattle, the horses et al.

[#Littledog]

Originally Posted by CaliCouple

I've lived in Chicago, Los Angeles and will move to Nashville very soon. We bought a home in the small community of White House and can't wait to move in. My sincere hope is that Nashville changes little, but I suspect it's a bit late for that. When I spoke to my lifelong Nashville Aunt Suzie on the phone, I told her I'd been there a week and heard the first honest southern accent of our trip.

When my wife and I visited last fall, I described Middle TN as a "Cleveland with a Souther n Accent". (I grew up in Cleveland...it's meant as a compliment...one my California wife would understand having enjoyed Ohio hospitality numerous times).

She loved the fact that men opened doors for women. She loved the politeness that only takes a moment, that we miss so much in the hub bub of Southern California. She loved that the immigrants we met had bothered to learn English. She loved the slower pace of traffic in Sumner Cty. In fact, looking around, I was probably the slowest motorist as I was enjoying the scenery...sorry if you were behind the Impala rental. Many was the time a pickup backed up on my bumper as I enjoyed the homes, the split rail fences, the cattle, the horses et al.

I concur 100%. We made a trip last summer and I was touched with how NICE everyone was. We're from Milwaukee, people are quite friendly here but nothing like what I experienced in Nashville. The thing I noticed the most was the men were so kind and respectful. I love that they would stop what they were doing from up to 20 feet away just to open a door, smile and say hello. My husband who is very gentlemanly even noticed and was like, wow, I need to step it up! When we were walking around Old Hickory Lake one evening, a very nice couple saw our two young children and gave them spontaneous fishing lessons! I really couldn't believe it. Everyone we met was sincere and genuine.

[CafeScoop]

I agree with everything you said but mostly about the city I moved from. I lived in Chattanooga for 12 yrs. Raised my kids there but just too slow for me. I am originally from port huron mi and it was too cold and too slow. I visited nashville several times and found it to be quite more diverse and fast. However compared to chicago, we live in the stone age. LOL

Originally Posted by goodbyehollywood

I don't understand-- at all-- why people come to the South expecting the great diversity found in "world class" cities and then being disappointed when they don't find it. I, personally, have lived in three of these world class cities and I can attest firsthand that all that diversity comes from transplants flocking there in droves. And once they flock there, they generally don't assimilate, but seek out, and socialize with, other transplants who came from the same place they did.

The South is not a melting pot and never has been. Why does anyone think that it is? People have roots in the South, roots that go long and strong and deep. Their relatives have lived there for multiple centuries and dozens of generations. Southerners will ask you right off about "your people," because they think you might have forebears or friends in common... and you more than likely do. Southerners stay in the South. If they want change, they'll leave and go somewhere more to their liking. They know that they're out of step with the Southern way of life.

The South is slooooow to change. Things move at a much more leisurely clip in the South; that's presumably why people are coming here by the busload, right? To slooooow down, smell the roses and experience simpler, slower-paced living?

Personally, I like diversity. I seek it out and I find that it enriches life immeasurably. But I am one person, and I have been a transplanted Southerner living elsewhere for decades. TN doesn't claim to be a hotbed of diversity, so why, why do people come here expecting to find that it is? Why do they expect TN to be in step with them, when they're the newcomers?

Diversity does, indeed, sweeten the pot, but not everyone wants their pot sweetened... or sweetened by the same amount. To each his own. Isn't that what makes America America? I would hope it's what makes Tennessee Tennessee.

[jay vanvolkinburg]

I am currently a police officer in Ithaca, NY (home of Cornell University) and will be retiring from police work in the Spring or Summer of 2010. I recently received my registered nurse license and have been working per diem in a local hospital on a med-surg floor.

My wife and I were thinking about relocating to the Nashville area with our two children, one 13 and one 6, upon retirement. I plan on obtaining a job with a local hospital as a registered nurse. My wife, who is a 911 dispatcher, doesn't know what types of jobs she would pursue there.

I have read several postings about living in Nashville, some very positive about the area and some that are really negative, and I have some questions of my own.

If someone has the time to post, please let me know which neighborhoods have the most affordable housing (100,000-130,000 range), best secondary school systems, and are safe (Nashville has a pretty high statistical crime rate!). Besides Vanderbilt Hospital, what other hospitals should I be looking at for employment. Also, does any one know the starting salaries for registered nurses with 2 years of pier diem nursing experience?

Finally, I don't want to feel like an "outsider" for a long period of time if my family and I were to move to Nashville. My wife and I want to be part of a community/neighborhood that knows and interacts with each other. More importantly, I don't want my children subjected to bullying because they're from the north and we don't have any southern roots.

We just got back from a short vacation in Nashville. We stayed at the Downtown Sheraton, ate at Demo's, walked around the Vanderbilt campus, and hit the clubs. The city was a lot of fun. We did not, however, venture out into the surrounding neighborhoods (Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, or any of the others that I have seen posted).

My wife and I like how manageable the city is; i.e. it did not seem to be a place that houses over 500,000 people. The pace was more relaxed and I had to keep slowing my rental car down so that I didn't appear to be the most aggressive driver on the roads. The homeless individuals, although visible, are not as aggressive as they are in the Northeast. The locals that we ran into and asked how they like Nashville only had positive things to say about living there....except for a lady transplanted to Nashville from New Jersey. Besides the traffic problems that seem to exist trying to commute from areas south of the city, what are some of the negative aspects of living in Nashville? Also, what are the areas of Nashville that we absolutely don't want to consider in our housing search?

Thanks, Jay