Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Voted Nashville. Many young people have moved there, decent cost of living, awesome nightlife.
Avoid St. Louis. One of the only cities with a higher murder rate than Baltimore (where I live), and one of the only cities I've been to that I have actually disliked. Downtown is a desolate ghost town with abandoned high rises and hundreds of homeless beggars. There are some decent neighborhoods, but they don't offer anything NOLA and Nashville don't.
Somewhat of a hard question to answer, as all three have various merits. With my personal bias, I'd favor New Orleans and Nashville somewhat over St. Louis, but hard to really go wrong with any of them as a university city.
Entertainment: New Orleans>Nashville>>STL
Walkability: New Orleans>STL>Nashville
Economy: Nashville>>>STL>>New Orleans
Progressive: New Orleans>STL>>Nashville
Concentration of educated people: STL & New Orleans basically tied; Nashville somewhat weaker
Concentration of educated people: STL & New Orleans basically tied; Nashville somewhat weaker
Nope. It goes Saint Louis then Nashville then New Orleans. It should be noted that Nashville also has a much larger immigrant community than either Saint Louis or New Orleans, and it's likely that most of those immigrants are not college educated.
Nashville-Davidson County
HS graduates - 87.5%
college graduates - 38.2%
foreign born - 12.2%
language other than English - 16.4%
New Orleans-Orleans Parish
HS graduates - 85.7%
college graduates - 36.2%
foreign born - 5.9%
language other than English - 8.9%
Saint Louis County
HS graduates - 93.0%
college graduates - 42.4%
foreign born - 6.9%
language other than English - 8.6%
Easily New Orleans or Nashville. If fun and culture is more important, go to NOLA, if you're more worried about finding a career after, go to Nashville.
if you're more worried about finding a career after, go to Nashville.
I wouldn't be so quick to jump on the Nashville band wagon. It depends on the job and pay expectations. Cost of living like housing and taxes should be considered as well as traffic and commuting times. Nashville is known as a growing city but it's also known for low wages in certain fields.
Nope. It goes Saint Louis then Nashville then New Orleans. It should be noted that Nashville also has a much larger immigrant community than either Saint Louis or New Orleans, and it's likely that most of those immigrants are not college educated.
Nashville-Davidson County
HS graduates - 87.5%
college graduates - 38.2%
foreign born - 12.2%
language other than English - 16.4%
New Orleans-Orleans Parish
HS graduates - 85.7%
college graduates - 36.2%
foreign born - 5.9%
language other than English - 8.9%
Saint Louis County
HS graduates - 93.0%
college graduates - 42.4%
foreign born - 6.9%
language other than English - 8.6%
St. Louis city and county are two separate jurisdictions, and thus their statistical indicators are different. The city is one of a few in the US (like Baltimore) that is not part of any county. There is a large disadvantaged population in northern parts of St. Louis city, but this is a small part of the surrounding metropolitan area. St. Louis county includes a huge array of suburbs, and while it varies a great deal, overall it has well above average educational and income levels. The county has more than three times as many residents as the city.
Entertainment options (bars, concerts, festivals, etc.): Nashville and St Louis and New Orleans have a lot of entertainment in general. A tie-breaker for me personally would be live music. Nashville would be the choice for that.
Interesting, fairly walkable neighborhoods: Nashville has a lot of walkable and becoming-walkable neighborhoods. New Orleans has some incredibly beautiful and original neighborhoods with great character, but safety is a concern.
Job opportunities/economic strength: Nashville for sure here. Growing/booming much more than the other two cities.
Concentration of educated young people: Nashville for this, but St Louis is close. I think Nashville gets the edge though because it is the "hot/it" city in the US right now, while St Louis is a rust belt city but still has a lot of educated, younger folk.
Diversity and progressive culture: I'd have to pick Nashville again here. New Orleans has the 24/7 alcohol and bar scene, and a decent LBGT scene, but beyond that not progressive. St Louis is close but I still give the edge to Nashville here due to its booming status and its celebrities/entertainment mecca makes it somewhat progressive in some areas.
I wouldn't be so quick to jump on the Nashville band wagon. It depends on the job and pay expectations. Cost of living like housing and taxes should be considered as well as traffic and commuting times. Nashville is known as a growing city but it's also known for low wages in certain fields.
New Orleans has low wages in every field and isn't growing as much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc
Here are my picks:
Entertainment options (bars, concerts, festivals, etc.): Nashville and St Louis and New Orleans have a lot of entertainment in general. A tie-breaker for me personally would be live music. Nashville would be the choice for that.
Interesting, fairly walkable neighborhoods: Nashville has a lot of walkable and becoming-walkable neighborhoods. New Orleans has some incredibly beautiful and original neighborhoods with great character, but safety is a concern.
Job opportunities/economic strength: Nashville for sure here. Growing/booming much more than the other two cities.
Concentration of educated young people: Nashville for this, but St Louis is close. I think Nashville gets the edge though because it is the "hot/it" city in the US right now, while St Louis is a rust belt city but still has a lot of educated, younger folk.
Diversity and progressive culture: I'd have to pick Nashville again here. New Orleans has the 24/7 alcohol and bar scene, and a decent LBGT scene, but beyond that not progressive. St Louis is close but I still give the edge to Nashville here due to its booming status and its celebrities/entertainment mecca makes it somewhat progressive in some areas.
Nashville would be my pick out of these three...
How is Nashville more progressive than New Orleans? New Orleans is much more of an entertainment city as well.
New Orleans has low wages in every field and isn't growing as much.
How is Nashville more progressive than New Orleans? New Orleans is much more of an entertainment city as well.
I think all three have the low wage thing. The history of the union may push up certain occupations like city bus drivers and construction workers pay in St. Louis. I've heard of some bartenders in Nashville cranking out some serious cash that is on the higher end of bartending nationally. I know St. Louis had a much higher minimum wage until the state of Missouri shot it down. Since then I noticed many businesses are still starting at 10 to 11 an hour to flip burgers. Much of that is due to a labor shortage. I am not sure what the graduation retention rate from Vanderbilt in the Nashville area but it has improved at Washington University in St. Louis a little. The outward migration patterns for St Louis proves that many young people are relocating to NYC and Chicago after graduation to start their careers and higher starting salaries. Nashville has virtually no out migration to the big cities but some to Atlanta.
Some people think growth means a city is progressive. Others think having a Chinese transgendered mayor in and of itself is progressive. I think it's a combination. I don't think a progressive city would have turned down a transit referendum like Nashville did. But there again, Nashville's plan was sloppy at best. I don't know that I would have voted for it. St. Louis passed theirs last year with a 2 billion dollar expansion plan on the board without a thought because there was a proven need for a n/s LRT route. On the same ballot in St. Louis was public funding for a soccer stadium that was shot down because they only wanted to get funding from the city and not the county. Nashville passed their soccer stadium without public vote and now has a team that St. Louis doesn't have.
St Louis is a lot more established city. It doesn't brag on increasing airline traffic at its airport because it's a city that has seen ups and downs in business. Nashville is the new kid on the block that wants to be a major player on the national scene. Nashville and Tennessee knows how to promote and sell Nashville. Missouri hates St. Louis and will never admit that St. Louis is the economic engine for the state of Missouri. St Louis has a lot of potential. When it figures out how it plans to grow it could easily become a 4 to 5 million metro. It has the infrastructure to be a big city that Nashville doesn't.
As far as what city you prefer should depend upon where you are on your journey. Look at the corporate base of the three cities. Look at the options that each city offers while you are continuing your education and make a decision. New Orleans, St. Louis and Nashville are all great options but offer some differences that needs to be considered.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
