What don't you like about Nashville? (Portland: how much, house, transfer)

[TXRyan23]

Moderator cut: quoted post deleted

Nashville's crime rate is the lowest now then it has been since 1989.

That said, Nashville has several great things about it. I won't mention those since it's the " what don't you like about Nashville " thread.

What I don't like about Nashville:

1. Public Schools

It's a shame when you have a nice city like Nashville and our public schools have fallen into such degradation that the state has to take it over. Gangs, Guns, Drugs, and poor test scores. High School sporting events being canceled, Metal detectors in some schools ( Atleast for some sporting events. )

2. Gangs/Graffiti

I've lived in Nashville now for almost 10 years and have to say that gangs and graffiti have grown 500% or so it would seem. We have too much gang related violence for a southern city and it seems you can't go anywhere in the city without seeing graffiti. It's so bad that you can now see it in the most affluent areas of Brentwood and Green Hills.

3. Rednecks/Good Ole Boys

Nashville is probably one of the more " progressive " southern towns I've been to/lived in. However, Even with the level of diversity that Nashville has this city is still run with a " good ole boy " network. In most cases it's not what you know or what kind of qualifications you have rather then who you know and what you stand for. Nashville itself is a liberal city however, when you get to the suburbs ( Sumner, Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford, Cheatham, Robertson, Maury counties ) It gets very conservative and people aren't as willing to deal with what's different.

4. Police/Government Setup

This one may not be as big a problem with some people as it is with me, Some people may not even see it as a problem. However, I don't care for the city of Nashville running Davidson County. I also think the crime rates would go down in Davidson County as a whole if Metro Police patroled The actual city of Nashville and the City/State recertified the Davidson County Sheriff's Office as a law enforement agency and allowed them to patrol areas like Antioch, Madison, Hermitage, and all rural areas.

That's all I have for now.

[BNB]

Originally Posted by Steve_TN

I agree BNB! The bikeability (is that even a word?) on Hilton Head is the best i have ever seen!

Hi ya Steve, I think it is a word....or at least it is now.

[Steve_TN]

Originally Posted by BNB

Hi ya Steve, I think it is a word....or at least it is now.

It's kind of a fun word....bikeability.

[Jzer21]

The sprawl of the city is an annoyance to me. Also, despite the large number of residents who have moved downtown, the downtown area still is lacking in many respects. I still have to drive out of downtown to buy most things.

[gabbyknashville]

Originally Posted by rossc

I bike 10-20 miles a day. I won't give it up, but I feel like it's just a matter of time before something happens. The drivers here seem to think that those of us who choose to ride a bike should stop, hand them a big mac and light their cigarette as they drive past us with the horn blowing. I've never seen so many people so passionately against exercise.

I have yet to figure out why Nashville bike riders are so bitter. It has to do with the fact that Nashville is sprawling and we are not used to sharing the road with bike riders. It is not personal, and often it is a regional thing. For example, around Vanderbilt and Belmont, there are great sidewalks and bike paths so you know to be aware. People in this area are more active and very aware of their environment and tend to be more green friendly. We will eventually get with the program but please do not make us out to all be white trash who smoke and eat fast food.

Furthermore, zip code 37205 in Nashville is listed in Forbes magazine as being in the top ten wealthiest areas of the country. The original wealth in Nashville was in east Nashville where there remains beautiful old homes that are being remodelled. Unfortunately, east Nashville became extremely rundown and it will take awhile to bring it back around.

To answer the original question, the only things I do not like about Nashville is that we do not have a beach. Otherwise you will find great diversity since 90% of Nashvillians are transplants.

Good Luck

[Raven1723]

Having just moved here from NYC......

I think the hardest adjustment has been the lack of public transport. Expect to have to drive virtually everywhere (that being said, everything is a relatively short drive depending on where you're living). But everything is spread out.

Eat as much Chinese food before you get here. There is no decent chinese food here.

Also, don't be fooled by everyone telling you that things are cheaper here. We pay more for groceries, food out, clothing and everything else here than we ever did in NYC, in part due to the 9.25% sales tax.

There is a lot that I like about Nashville but here's the bad stuff.....

[BP300]

The drivers.

In my humble opinion, Nashville has the worst drivers that I have ever seen. People here love to tailgate, and it is the reason why you see so many 3-4 car pile-ups. I firmly believe that government also needs to pass a law requiring drivers to use head sets, because everyone during rush hour loves to use their cell phone.

[mtjulietmama]

Lack of sidewalks and parks. No one here thinks it's weird to drive 15 minutes to take a walk.

I hear a lot more derisive comments about ethnic groups than when I lived in DC.

There aren't a lot of good schools in the area.

[allydriver]

1.Too many churches and not enough good ethnic restaurant's.
2.Over the top phoniness masquerading as "southern hospitality".
3.Apathy, just OK is good enough.
4.More homeless than pigeons in the downtown area.
5.The riverfront that seems to be ignored.
6.A surplus of dumb, slow white people (I'm white).
7. Urban sprawl
8. Low wages

[MontanaGuy]

I live in East Nashville and as someone else mentioned there seem to be alot of people who appear to either be homeless or living in very poor circumstances. A few weeks ago I saw one of the strangest guys I've ever seen in my life. He was at a bus stop on Gallatin Rd. and by the looks of him I would say that he was unemployed, elderly and probably broke. Nevertheless he had dyed his hair black and combed it into an Elvis style hairdo complete with an Elvis style of clothing except that it looked like he'd been wearing it everyday for a long time. Because this city has thousands of musicians and only a tiny fraction of a percent actually make a good living at it I suspect there's alot of musicians who have a led a difficult life trying to make it big or at least make a decent living at it even though they may be very talented. I'm a guitar player which is one of the reasons I moved here and I played for a living for about ten years but that was in the Pacific Northwest and Canada where you can actually make a living although you're not likely to get rich. I find similarities in cities like Nashville, Las Vegas and Hollywood where young people flock to by the thousands only to find that their dreams have a very unhappy ending and life can be extremely difficult.