What is Nashville really like? What's your experience been like? (Louisville: transplants, leasing)

[oakland2nashville]

Originally Posted by NashMike

You came from Oakland and you think Nashville crime is bad ?????????? wow thats funny

Yes. Apparently the media has brainwashed you. Oakland's crime is isolated to a few spots. (Deep East, Acorn)

I lived in the temescuel area of North Oakland.

Nashville is the same way.

Both cities have their fare share.

[Nella44]

Originally Posted by oakland2nashville

the only con i can think of is bad public tranposrtation and crime

How bad is the public transportation? There are buses yes? Do they run 24/7? I'm moving to Nashville from NYC. I expect life will be harder than having an underground subway every 5 blocks, but I do not drive and will be fully reliant on public transit.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Nella44

How bad is the public transportation? There are buses yes? Do they run 24/7? I'm moving to Nashville from NYC. I expect life will be harder than having an underground subway every 5 blocks, but I do not drive and will be fully reliant on public transit.

From an NYC perspective, it will probably just seem totally inadequate.

There are buses, and the core/inner city coverage is decent. However, one major issue is that there are very few crosstown routes. Most everything runs to a central hub downtown.

Buses are not 24/7. However, this city isn't 24/7. There are a few places open overnight. A few. Generally most things close by 9 or 10 pm, depending on the time of year. The exceptions would primarily be a handful of grocery stores, pharmacies, bars (till 3am), convenience stores, and restaurants. I would stress that it is not very common. Most bus routes stop running around 8-10 pm. If absolutely necessary, you can call a cab -- but it will be quite a bit more expensive.

In all honesty, Nashville is a very car-dependent city. Living here without a car will be difficult...there's no question about that. It can be done...but it won't be easy. At times, you might feel isolated or "stuck" where you are.

The suburbs have very little public transit coverage period, outside of a few commuter lines (you guessed it, they only run during rush hour). Two of the larger suburbs, Franklin and Murfreesboro, each have their own small public transit circulators (buses/trollies), but they don't connect to the Nashville bus service.



I would strongly suggest that you live within 3-5 miles from downtown if you plan on relying solely on public transit. I would also suggest living within a few blocks of a major bus route. Here is the list of Nashville MTA bus routes/schedules/maps:

Welcome to the Nashville MTA!



This is a system map of all the bus routes:

http://www.nashvillemta.org/news/pub146.pdf

That should give you an idea of where the best coverage is.


I would at least be open to the idea of driving if you choose to live here...even if you still primarily want to use public transit. I fear that otherwise you will find yourself regularly inconvenienced.

Also...do you know where your work location will be? I really hope you say downtown, or somewhere close to it. Study the bus route maps. We can help give you some neighborhood ideas that might be able to work.

[Beat02]

Originally Posted by bnsilly

I looked at your previous posts to get an idea of what part of the country you are from, and noticed you seem to ask a general type of question for many different parts of the country...found it kind of strange...are you just generally curious about different cities or do you move alot?

Probably just looking for an ideal place to live, like the rest of us.


Summers are brutally humid-hot in Middle Tennessee. That's probably the worst thing.

[Nella44]

Thanks for all the information Nashvols. Nashville is northern Tennessee right? I intended to live as close to downtown as I can get. Do you happen to know where I can find a map of all the districts so I can see exactly where they are located? I've searched but didn't find anything.

[Nella44]

Is Nashville really full of country western people? Cowboy hats and southern accents? lol

[N.Cal]

Originally Posted by Nella44

Thanks for all the information Nashvols. Nashville is northern Tennessee right? I intended to live as close to downtown as I can get. Do you happen to know where I can find a map of all the districts so I can see exactly where they are located? I've searched but didn't find anything.

http://www.nestinginnashville.com/wp...rhoods_Map.png

I moved from San Francisco and most of my co-workers from SF, Washington, D.C. and NYC decided NOT to move after visiting. Not wanting to buy a car and the lack of public transportation was one of the big reasons. I went from taking the cable car or walking to work to driving every day, which I hate. I live close enough to walk, but don't really want to walk home alone after dark as there are some not so great parts of downtown between work and home (and I live in the North Gulch close to downtown).

And no, not everyone wears cowboy hats and boots. Mostly tourists, from what I've seen.

[Nella44]

It's not that I don't want to buy a car, I don't understand how people can afford cars- they're thousands & thousands & thousands of dollars then all they do is fall apart & cost hundreds & hundreds in repairs non-stop, from what I've seen.

What are the locals like in Nashville?

If I live downtown the bus is reliable yes? Is it more dangerous than NYC? Because I walk all over random boroughs at 11, 2am, 4am, even through hoods & it's pretty safe here. Lots of people out so it's harder to get away with anything. Towns that are dead at night are what freak me out. No witnesses. I just want to live around nice people for a change. When I fled Hurricane Sandy & had to stay in Chicago I was blown away at how nice people were & it made me want to get out.

[BirdieBelle]

I think Chicago would be a better fit for you.

[Nella44]

It's way too cold in Chicago And I want to live in a smaller town. And I really want to hear those southern accents! And my dad is really excited because it's his favorite city.