Things you have to explain to out-of-towners (Memphis, Knoxville: to live in, health)

[artemis]

Originally Posted by sucrose

A sarcastic comment directed at an individual is "in kind?"

I think she was just kidding around with you.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by artemis

I think she was just kidding around with you.

I was, jeez. That's what the "smiley face" was for.

[Drake744]

Okay, I'm gonna go the nashvols route and do this one by one also.

Originally Posted by JMT

1. There are two kinds of locals: those who live in East Nashville and those who snobbishly refuse to "cross the bridge."
   Like nashvols said, this sounds like it's written by someone who came here from somewhere else, bought into the East Nashville hype, and now thinks they're holier than thou for being there. EN is fine (which is something most locals never thought they'd say), but it's still an area that appeals to transplants more than locals...in my experience.
   
   We love to put eggs on stuff.
   I didn't know this was a Nashville thing but yes eggs are good.
   
   Broadway is not Nashville.
   This would be like saying The Strip isn't Las Vegas or Bourbon Street isn't New Orleans. Broadway is many things: overpriced, largely redundant, a tourist trap. But it's also a very unique place that helps Nashville's downtown scene stand out from lots of other cities, and in turn it's very much Nashville. I get what they're trying to say, but like it or not, Broadway is Nashville.
   
   Speaking of Broadway, you'll rarely spot a local on Lower Broad.
   "Rarely" is a bit of a reach, but I'd agree that most locals would prefer to go out in other parts of town unless they're already on Broad for a game/concert/etc.
   
   ... unless it's 3am.
   Well, I used to be in this boat.
   
   In recent years, Nashville has become a transplant city like so many others.
   Yes, and the key words being "like so many others". I don't know why people seem to think that Nashville stands out in this regard over other places. There are tons of cities with transplants these days.
   
   Jorts are not just for rednecks.
   I don't know who they're for, but they're terrible.
   
   Bushwackers are perfect for all seasons.
   True. Is this a Nashville-related thing? But true either way.
   
   The popularity of the hit ABC show Nashville -- and the additional boom of vacationers it's brought to our fair city -- may mean we can't actually get into the Bluebird Café anymore.
   Bummer.
   
   Hot chicken is called hot for a reason.
   I understand hot chicken is nationally popular right now because this country is in a phase of loving and commercializing hot and spicy food, but I guess if we're known for one type of food, we could do a lot worse. I like hot chicken but I can't go too high.
   
   Grits are absolutely a vegetable, and don't you try to convince us otherwise.
   I have no opinion on grits. They're okay I guess. I don't hate them and I'll eat them if they're available but I don't think I've ever said to myself "damn, I really want some grits!"
   
   Cowboy hats are for Texas -- and tourists.
   True. I've never really understood how cowboy hats became a Nashville thing. Tourist stereotypes I guess.
   
   Gluten-free? That's something those hippie coastal towns do.
   Dadgum hippies and their nutritional choices!!
   
   Any born-and-bred Tennessean who tells you he/she doesn't own at least one pair of cowboy boots is (likely) lying.
   This is just false.
   
   No one from these parts would ever wait in line under the boiling sun for breakfast at Pancake Pantry.
   Accurate for me at least.
   
   We know our city is amazing, but we have a sense of humor, too.
   I don't know how these two are related, but "amazing" is in the eye of the beholder I guess. Everyone has a different view of what would make their city amazing.
   
   You'd think we'd get tired of all the music pulsating through our town, but we really don't.
   I do get tired of country music but I understand that it's part of our culture, so to each their own.
   
   Nashville is a legit city, and among the biggest in the whole of the United States.
   The Nashville hubris is out in full force now. We're apparently "legit", "amazing" and one of the biggest in the US. The last part of that is simply inaccurate. We aren't even the biggest city in Tennessee. To some, this city may be legit and amazing, but to others they may not even like it at all. Again, to each their own.
   
   Music Row is not a tourist destination.
   No it's not, although many tourists probably think Music Row is Lower Broad.
   
   We may get hitched younger than most, but we don't marry our kin.
   Okay
   
   We are unwaveringly loyal.
   Probably true for a lot of people.
   
   Even Nashvillians are suckers for a killer rooftop view.
   Maybe in 10 years when we have a cool skyline I'll fall into this category.

[N.Cal]

Music Row is not a tourist destination.

I was over on MR this morning and bright and early at 9:30 AM there was one of the little buses (Tommy's Tours or something) full of tourists stopped outside someplace on 16th.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Drake744

Okay, I'm gonna go the nashvols route and do this one by one also.

P.S. - the skyline is going to look really different in about 3-5 years.

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

[/b]

I was over on MR this morning and bright and early at 9:30 AM there was one of the little buses (Tommy's Tours or something) full of tourists stopped outside someplace on 16th.

The bus had to stop somewhere near the roundabout?

[N.Cal]

Originally Posted by GWoodle

The bus had to stop somewhere near the roundabout?

Not even close to the roundabout. Closer to Edgehill.

[krush40]

From an outsider who spent the weekend in Nashville for the first time (so definitely take everything with a grain of salt):

Originally Posted by JMT

1. Broadway: I'm 31 and I felt old. Ended up at George Jones' around the corner where you could actually order a drink and find a place to sit.
2. Hot chicken is called hot for a reason. Hattie B's was good. Fried chicken in CA is typically pretty flavorless. Other places we ate it was soggy because it was just fried chicken with hot sauce poured on top which made it not so good.
3. Grits are absolutely a vegetable, and don't you try to convince us otherwise. Shrimp and Grits from Mack & Kate's in Franklin was delicious

Things I would add:

• Turn lanes have dashed lines and aren't very long. Definitely took me a while to get used to that.
• Signs on highways are really long and list multiple cities/roads. Pay more attention the the exit number and life will be much easier.
• The roads/bridges into the downtown areas have a green arrow or a red x letting you know which direction the lane goes. The lanes can switch directions during rush hour. This was definitely confusing at first.
• We got there early so we didn't have to wait long, but Biscuit Love is worth the wait. I don't think I've had breakfast in CA where I didn't have to add salt/pepper/tabasco etc. This place packs in the flavor.


All and all we had a great weekend, even if it was a little on the colder side.

[Drake744]

Originally Posted by krush40

From an outsider who spent the weekend in Nashville for the first time (so definitely take everything with a grain of salt):




Things I would add:

• Turn lanes have dashed lines and aren't very long. Definitely took me a while to get used to that.
• Signs on highways are really long and list multiple cities/roads. Pay more attention the the exit number and life will be much easier.
• The roads/bridges into the downtown areas have a green arrow or a red x letting you know which direction the lane goes. The lanes can switch directions during rush hour. This was definitely confusing at first.
• We got there early so we didn't have to wait long, but Biscuit Love is worth the wait. I don't think I've had breakfast in CA where I didn't have to add salt/pepper/tabasco etc. This place packs in the flavor.


All and all we had a great weekend, even if it was a little on the colder side.

Plenty of locals have trouble with this. I drive home on a road leaving downtown where this happens, and I almost never drive in the left green arrow lane (going east in the afternoon there is one red lane and two green lanes) at a certain point before an oncoming intersection because people sit there in the middle lane under a red X acting like it's a left turn lane, when in reality the people in that lane have a green arrow going right at them. I fear I'll run head-on into that person on one bad day. (This is Hermitage Ave going east and crossing the Fairfield Ave/Willow St intersection).

[artemis]

Originally Posted by Drake744

Plenty of locals have trouble with this. I drive home on a road leaving downtown where this happens, and I almost never drive in the left green arrow lane (going east in the afternoon there is one red lane and two green lanes) at a certain point before an oncoming intersection because people sit there in the middle lane under a red X acting like it's a left turn lane, when in reality the people in that lane have a green arrow going right at them. I fear I'll run head-on into that person on one bad day. (This is Hermitage Ave going east and crossing the Fairfield Ave/Willow St intersection).

My husband works near there. That's a very dangerous intersection, lots of wrecks.