Nashville

[palmbeachgirl80]

:lol: I grew up on Long Island, NY and moved to Palm Beach, Florida for college (rough life, i know! lol) After graduation, i stayed down here in palm beach. nice weather, great friends, etc. But now i feel like a change. My friend is moving to Nashville for Grad School and she wants me and another friend to come. I've never been so i know nothing about it. Anyone from there? wheres a good place to live? Is there places to go out? whats the age range of people? it sounds fun and i am always up for adventure...

[Heroic1]

she wants me and another friend to come. I've never been so i know nothing about it.

Wait...she wants you to move there or just come for a visit?? The way you worded your post I can't tell which.
I would definitely visit before deciding to move.
I've only been to Nashville once for a conference, so I didn't get out much.

[palmbeachgirl80]

sorry i meant to say that she wanted me to move for a year or so....we are definitely going to go visit for memorial day weekend to check it out before making any major decisions...

[cynthiabduke]

As (I think) the only person on this board who actually lives in Nashville, I guess I'm the ultimate voice of authority. I definitely think you should visit before you move here. Judging from the places you've lived before, this would be a whole new ball of wax. Nashville is a big town, but it does not have that big city feel--you may or may not like that. Personally, I like the feeling of a big city, but that may be because I've lived in this place my whole life and I'm ready for a change.

You will find Nashville to be much more conservative than the places you've lived--this is without a doubt the Bible Belt. There is a FABULOUS music scene though...so many local bands. If you like taking the time to search out good indie rock music, this is a great place to be. If you want a club scene though, this may not be the best place. There are some really great restaurants in town and some excellent dive bars. The universities (and there are a lot more than you think) keep an element of youth to the city.

A few questions for you:
Where is your friend going to school? This will have everything to do with meeting new people.
What are you used to as far as living expenses? This town is not cheap just because it's in the South--it's no NYC of course, but a lot of people who are new to town expect it to be cheaper.

Tell me more about what you expect and where you might be living, and I can tell you what the neighborhoods are like and what nightspots to visit when you come down.

[palmbeachgirl80]

thanks cynthia...you could be a help to me! :-)

my friend got into the masters Nursing program at Vanderbilt, so I'm assuming she is gong to want to live near there. I'm not really into the big club scene but i do like to go out and have fun....grab drinks with friends and maybe dance a bit to a fun song....
the people both in LI and Palm Beach are a bit stuck up and conceited and it seems to me (could be just an assumption) that Nashville is a bit more laid back and hopefully with a little bit nicer people.
I'm not too worried about cost of living...i'm used to things being a bit pricey so its not like it will be a shock to me.
I've learned to love country music, so i'm pretty excited about being in that environment....
like i said i am pretty easy to please and i think a change would be nice. i'm not super happy with my job now, so i have no attachments.....how is the job market out there? i'm looking for something in event plannning so hopefully i will be able to find something i enjoy.
Thanks so much for your help!!

[cynthiabduke]

My roommate is in the masters program for nursing at Vanderbilt! She started back in the fall. Tell your friend that it's a great program--my roomie loves it.

We actually live pretty close to campus, so I can speak to any of the neighborhoods around there. We live in a condo in Green Hills which is sort of a posh kind of neighborhood with families and young singles alike--with big houses and little condos. I would definitely recommend it. Other nice neighborhoods in the area are the Belmont area (where I went to school) and the West End/Vanderbilt area. Belmont is a little bit more "hippy" and earthy with a lot of musicians living there (including Ben Folds and his family). West End/Vanderbilt has a lot of apartments and condos due to the University. There are always a couple of places for rent in this area on nashville.craigslist.org if you want to look. If you're curious about a listing, I can tell you what the area is like.

Like any city, Nashville has its snobby people, but they're mostly undergrad students at Vandy! (sort of kidding about that) The grad school there has much more down-to-earth folks. As a whole, Nashville is pretty friendly, and the bar scene is not a big fashion show. The bar scene is really about the music here. If you're in to country music (which I am not), you should visit Demonbreun Street for a night on the town. The Tin Roof usually has live country-type acts. There are also other bars on that street to check out. There are more laid back nightspots in Green Hills (the Greenhouse Bar, a personal favorite) and Hillsboro Village (Jackson's, The Villager--a local's hangout). Mid-town has Virago (a more upscale sushi and martini kind of place) and SouthStreets (a biker bar). The Gulch near downtown is a developing area with loft apartments and the most NYC-like bar in town: Bar Twenty3. I could go on and on if you want...Just let me know.

The job market is interesting. The three biggest businesses here are banking, publishing (my field), and music. For event planning, I'd check with the non-profits I suppose. Although, Vanderbilt has a pretty big even planning group, I think. Some non-profits to check with are Cheekwood (art museum and botanical gardens), the Frist Center for the Visual Arts (big art museum), and other stuff like that...Sorry I don't know more about it. You could always check with the record labels, too. But getting any kind of job in the music business usually involves several years of being someone's assistant. Although ClearChannel has big offices here that could have something for you.

Here are some websites that could be helpful:
www.nashville.citysearch.com
www.nashvillescene.com
www.tennessean.com
www.nashvillerage.com
www.grimeys.com (my favorite record shop)

I am happy to help with anything. Just let me know!

[palmbeachgirl80]

Gosh thank you so much! You are a big help! i'm definitely going to check out those sites and we are planning a visit memorial day weekend so we can scope the scene. My friends parents are planning on buying her a townhouse to live in (they sort of do the whole real estate investment thing). I wonder if there are any townhouses in the areas which you were mentioning.
I'm glad i got at least some feel for the city. She is really excited to be in the Nursing program, so it'll be a great change (although she is from Alabama, so she is probably used to the area more than i am) My biggest concern, which may sound lame is that it is land-locked. i've always lived near the beach, so it'll be hard for me to not be. what do you all do about that?? Thanks again! *jenny*

[cynthiabduke]

Townhouses: Yes, there are plenty--a fair number of new ones, too.

Well, being landlocked never seemed to be that much of a problem. People do treck down to the Florida panhandle pretty regularly. But there are also plenty of lakes around here--within a 30 minute drive of town. Plus, the mountains aren't too far to the east.

[Jedi of Zen]

I've lived in Nashville on and off for a few years. I would imagine you'd probably be disappointed after having lived in places like New York or Palm Beach. Nashville is isn't ENTIRELY bad, but it's just not all it's cracked up to be. As cynthiabduke pointed out, it's very conservative. My sister and I both worked in the music scene, and honestly I don't think it's all that great either, unless you are really into country and mainstream Christian. If you like that, and if you're looking for the whole big-city-thing-on-a-smaller-scale, then it might be your cup of tea. Oh, and as for the Vandy kids, personally I along with most everyone I know have found them to be immensely snobby and...well, quite frankly pretty stupid. (I hate to step on anyone's toes, but that's just my honest opinion.)

[cynthiabduke]

You're absolutely right about the Vandy kids, Jedi--except I really think it's concentrated in the undergrads. I know (and this may be a special niche) a lot of graduate students there who are paying their own way through school with loans and grants and are very down-to-earth and friendly.

Christian music and country music are the main thing in Nashville as far as the music BUSINESS goes, but I feel like the music scene has got a lot of good stuff going. Like I said, you've got to be willing to seek out the indie rock scene since it gets smothered in the publicity of "the business."

So yeah...you may be dissappointed if you're looking for someplace as exotic as Palm Beach, but if you're up for a true change of pace, it could be fun for a year or two.

[Jedi of Zen]

I know (and this may be a special niche) a lot of graduate students there who are paying their own way through school with loans and grants and are very down-to-earth and friendly.


I never had the chance meet any Vandy grad students. I can see how they would probably be a different "breed", so to speak. Maybe they always hiding from the undergrads, not wanting to be associated with them, and that's why I never met any of them, lol.


Like I said, you've got to be willing to seek out the indie rock scene since it gets smothered in the publicity of "the business."



I'm not into "indie rock" per se all that much, but I agree. Actually I had some friends in Nashville who were local DJs and used to spin a lot at The End...I miss going to those shows a lot. Especially since there is absolutely ZERO nightlife where I live now.

I also got the chance to meet a lot of VERY talented musicians who just never were able to make it in Nashville because all anyone in "the biz" seemed to give a rat's ass about is mainstream country. It was just really disheartening to see so many good musicians basically get totally ignored by the industry. Hence, I became jaded, disillusioned, and bitter :)

[palmbeachgirl80]

well since i am not huge into the music scene, and not looking to make a permanent move for life- it seems nashville could be a fun change of scene for a while. I usually get along with most people, so i dont think my friends and I (the two other girls i'm moving with) would have too much trouble meeting people. thank you both for the help and if you are ever looking to move to Palm Beach or NY....i'm your go-to girl! :)

[*K10*]

PalmBeachGirl - will you check out my post here

http://www.quarterlifecrisis.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9407

when you have time!? :)

[palmbeachgirl80]

K10-
I totally agree with your post about the whole sex and the city thing (which i am a huge fan of!) Thats kind of what i feel about relocating. I am about to turn 25 and i feel like staying where i am is doing me no good. i love my area, and i love my friends, but i think i need to go explore and see what is out there. Thanks for pointing out your thread. it definitely made me think about things!