Places similar to Nashville

[Faith2187]

Originally Posted by Diff1

To the OP you should say that you don't think Richmond is for you instead of name calling, how is it backwards?? My honest opinion is that RVA is not similar to Nashville anyways.

I don't know if it is backwards are not but that was the term my dad used to describe it but he would not go into details. He's been there for business a few times the last couple of years. Like me he enjoyed Nashville. He said that Charlotte was similar to nashville(he's been there a few times too). I wasn't saying it was backwards because I believe it is, just using the term my dad used to describe it. Truthfully it was at the top of my list until he said that.

I would actually prefer Richmond if it were transplant friendly and was tied more to the south than to the east(I don't like the east coast) mainly because of its location-it doesn't seem like it would get as humid in the summers, and is close enough to my sisters who live in nyc and dc, and philly where my dad lives. From descriptions it seems like metro Richmond would be an affordable warmer semi-southern place, but that it isn't transplant friendly, as friendly as Nashville or like the schools would be good outside of henrico county.

Charlotte seems like it would be good but it doesn't seem as inexpensive as Nashville and my sister told me last night that a friend of hers says that the night life and dating scene for blacks in that area is subpar and that the dating scene in Charlotte in general(for all races of women) is pretty crappy. Haven't done much research on the schools yet.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Faith2187

Charlotte seems like it would be good but it doesn't seem as inexpensive as Nashville and my sister told me last night that a friend of hers says that the night life and dating scene for blacks in that area is subpar and that the dating scene in Charlotte in general(for all races of women) is pretty crappy.

I'd bet that Charlotte does better than Nashville here though since Charlotte attracts more Blacks. But both are more family-friendly cities although Nashville probably has an edge with young singles due to all the colleges and universities there.

[Faith2187]

Originally Posted by spencer114

Politically all of the places listed are more backwards than Richmond. Richmond is much more understated though. It doesn't scream upwardly mobile because the aesthetic is much more traditional (new stuff looks like it has been here for generations). I get why it isn't appealing to everyone. The city is always ranked very high for AA achievement but there is a very visible part of that community that is floundering. That's what's visible when driving though the core. The burbs (and the Fan) are filled with middle class black families.

All that aside and back to your question...

Depends on what "like Nahsville" means to you. I personally don't think that any city in the SE is like Nashville. Charlotte may look the most like the Nashville CBD but aside from that they are vastly different. Raleigh is nothing like Nashvilke. Durham is tiny but cool. Austin is dry and goofy. Have you considered Atlanta?

The things I enjoyed about Nashville:

-super friendly(everyone I ran into was overly friendly)
-beautiful scenery(the green, the hills, the built up area around Vanderbilt, Belmont, etc)
-the parks and attractions and malls were actually up to par in fashion in comparison to Cincinnati and even right here in ugly progressive philly(beyond Kop which imo is overrated)
-integrated and diverse enough to feel like the city was tolerant and accepting
-entertainment-mostly music.
-inexpensive even in nice areas. Don't have to live in areas with subpar schools to get affordable homes.
-transplant friendly-there were plenty of transplants and people were willing to extend their hands and be friends. In philly it is very cliquish people who have lived here most of there lives who don't care about transplants.
-good place to raise a family to me
-no ghettos lol. Even the places where it was noticeable that people weren't doing well or were poor I never felt unsafe or like I would get shot up the way it is in Philly and Chicago.

Things I did not like about Nashville:
-food. It was honestly just okay. I feel the same about philly. To this day Chicago and nyc still are better with food to me.
-felt sort of small at times-I don't necessarily need a big city but something slightly larger would have been great just wanted slightly more to do especially in areas around the gulch.
-nightlife wasn't the best-wasn't as many bars(again I'm unfairly comparing it to Chicago)
-job market was horrible for me-not many opportunities for people in my field
-summers were way too hot for me.
-I didn't have a problem dating in this city(in fact a couple of months after I broke it off with my fiancé I did meet plenty of men but a lot of black women I met complained that the scene was bad and now thinking back on it there wasn't as much dating opportunities as one may be looking for-but again wasn't a huge problem for me.

So all of that established when I say a city like Nashville what I mean are the positives that I listed above. However I would like an area with the positives of Nashville, better food, slightly better nightlife, slightly less humid hot summers, good job market for business/marketing and a decent dating scene(I'm 28 btw).

I don't think Austin or Tulsa would work for me because I want to see more black faces lol.

[Faith2187]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

I'd bet that Charlotte does better than Nashville here though since Charlotte attracts more Blacks. But both are more family-friendly cities although Nashville probably has an edge with young singles due to all the colleges and universities there.

Yep, honestly if not for the bad memories of my moms strange behavior and her later suicide and the job market for my field I would just move back. Sadly I am trying to find a city that is similar.

People have said that Charlotte is somewhat close but different. In what ways is it different?

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Faith2187

Yep, honestly if not for the bad memories of my moms strange behavior and her later suicide and the job market for my field I would just move back. Sadly I am trying to find a city that is similar.

People have said that Charlotte is somewhat close but different. In what ways is it different?

Charlotte is a little larger, has a larger Black population, doesn't have the music legacy/culture of Nashville nor the sizable collection of colleges and universities, is more business-driven, is in a more progressive state as evidenced by things like transit, etc.