Nashville in a Nutshell for a Young Professional

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by SNGW

You have to look at the nature of the colleges. First, look at MTSU. It’s suit-case college. Undergraduates there tend to go home on the weekend or go to house parties. You can drive through Murfreesboro and not find a huge strip of college bars—despite MTSU being the biggest university in the state. MTSU students don’t really come to Nashville all that much, or have a meaningful impact on the culture of the area.

Next up is TSU, a historically black college in downtown Nashville. TSU is basically like MTSU for local black students. It just doesn’t have a meaningful impact on the culture of Nashville.

In all fairness, Vanderbilt does have a impact on it’s own little area of Nashville. It’s no surprise that most of the trendy areas in Nashville are basically a stones throw from Vanderbilt. I thought about mentioning Vandy, but I felt the hospitals aspect of Nashville covered it--i.e., Vanderbilt hospital is the largest private employer in the city. But I should include it.

All that being said, Nashville is no way an educational mecca of the South or the United States, despite its attempts to market itself otherwise. The remaining colleges are either small religious-oriented colleges or simply community colleges. Every city has these.

Five cities in the South alone have a higher % of college graduates than Nashville. They are:
Raleigh, NC
Austin, TX
Atlanta, GA
Lexington, KY
Charlotte, NC

Nashville comes in behind Omaha, NE and Anchorage, Alaska. Whoop-dee-doo.

See: America's smartest cities - Aug. 31, 2006

In regard to Nashville's lack of diversity, it speaks for itself. Like I said, it's most exclusive country club didn't allow blacks or Jews until recently. People can't say a thing about this because they know it's true.

You'll find many of Nashville's "high society" social events are hosted at former plantations in the area. Why not just host them in a nice hotel or concert hall downtown (like they do in most cities)?

On more than one occasion, one of my friends couldn't take her roommate to the more popular bars in the area. Her roommate was a gay guy and didn't want to be harassed.

In my own experience, I found that once you got many Nashvillians alone behind closed doors they said some profoundly close-minded stuff--especially when they've been drinking. In it's extreme form, it was black jokes or rants about gays and mexicans. But it often took the form of simple close-mindedness--i.e., one girl didn't want to date a guy because he was jewish. Moderator cut: expletive deleted What a hick.

Granted, you can find this stuff in every city, but after living here for years, this is more the norm, than the exception.

IMHO, it's in really poor taste and indicative to Nashville's culture: that is, it's not openly hostile to non-Christian/non-whites, but not really interested in accepting them either.

Again, if you fit this mold, you will probably enjoy Nashville. If you're interested in raising a family, Nashville does have quite a bit to offer. But if you're an open-minded young professional, you may want to give it second thought.

1. Going back to the '70's I remember going to concerts at MTSU and their students would come to ours at Vanderbilt. I used to meet girls from MTSU at places like Friday's and the Gold Rush.

2. TSU is not downtown. It has a satellite facility downtown which used to be UT-Nashville. The state made a deal with TSU to close down UT and turn over the downtown site to them, in return for TSU agreeing to recruit more students of all ethnicities, Caucasians included. I believe they are now around 8,000 enrollment, which is larger by far than VU when I was there, and the second largest in Nashville proper. And they offer the PhD in some disciplines, which is more than you can say for MTSU. I was amazed at the results of a building program they have experienced and was reasonably impressed with their EE curriculum, looking at the course offerings. To imply this is not a significant resource for professionals in Nashville is ridiculous, and makes me wonder about all your assertions.

3. "Nashville is no way an educational mecca of the South" You're kidding, right? The second most prestigious university in the South/Southwest after Duke? You have to go all the way out to Caltech to meet or exceed its rank. The #1 private university in Texas (Rice) is half the size of VU and has no affiliated medical center, although that will probably change with a proposed merger. The second largest private university in Nashville (Belmont) is almost as large as Rice, not quite, but is growing much faster, and you ignore this private Univ. in your comments, and another one, Cumberland U. in Lebanon. They are not religiously affiliated nowadays -- check for yourself. And people in the northern parts of the region are not far from Austin Peay state. And black professionals, like MD's might feel somewhat slighted that you ignore Meharry and Fisk -- not religiously affiliated, mind you.

4. I went to the web page you supply. If you say Nashville as behind Omaha is laughable, I say Boston behind Atlanta is a joke. Try again.

5. I believe you refer to Belle Meade Country Club. I CAN say something about this, and you need not look down your nose. What do you mean by recently? 20 years? 40 years? Like all such clubs in the South and other parts of the country, they had no rules about who could or could not join but obviously extended invitations to prospective members and historically this included white Christians exclusively. So what. Clubs were like this all over the country. There are some black organizations in Houston where I, a Caucasian, would not be particularly welcome and we're talking 2008, amazingly. There is a congressman from Memphis who is not allowed to join the Congressional Black Caucus because of his white skin. So much for "progress". Any more digs at Nashville from a "progressive" viewpoint? The race industry is the biggest progressive joke/scam on the planet.

6. You seem to take some satisfaction in your little slightings of Nashville. You intend to minimize for the reader the impacted area of Vanderbilt, "it's own little area" within a stone's throw or maybe 100 yards, right? Are these the words you would use if you plopped down Vanderbilt in the middle of, say, Cincinnati, or Hartford?

7. Another complaint of yours: " You'll find many of Nashville's "high society" social events are hosted at former plantations in the area." --I mean really, I'm stupified. Texans would be ecstatic over having just one antebellum mansion of the caliber of those many that middle TN is blessed with having. Not to minimize some other historical rural sites like ranch houses, missions or haciendas. I mean, savor the history my friend, unless the negativity is just too much to get past.

[gabbyknashville]

wow...I don't know where to begin with the horrible unsolicited post. First of all, I agree with everything said by Goovamos and being one of a handful of Nashville natives, I speak from years of experience. Nashville is not perfect but you are apparently a very angry and ignorant person to say the things you posted. My very best friends in the world are openly gay men and we go EVERYWHERE in Nashville together without fear of harrassment and have NEVER had anyone be rude to us. We do have less tolerance for rude, angry and ignorant people who want to prescribe to how we should live. Furthermore, if it were not for the $$$ from the Jewish community and the Belle Meade socialites, we would not have our children's hospital, symphony, Frist Museum of Art, etc. The list is never ending. From now on...please do not post regarding what you have no clue about.

[Linda Herezo]

I have been living in Nashville since 2011 and I absolutely agree with you regarding the racial issue. I suffer this problem with my children and I feel it is very unfair. I was born in Central America, I have two teenagers that speak English with no accent and do not know anything else but America. I have been living in the states for the past 30 years and keep my accent. My skin complextion and my accent seem to bother people here. I do not understand how they grew up singing, Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world
Red& yellow,black & white
they're precious in his sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world

It is sad, but I am planning to stay and they will have to get use to my presence here until I decide to move again!