Nashville, the capital of the state of Tennessee, may only be the 24th most populous city in the US but it makes a big impression. Its name is synonymous with country music, but it is also provides a wide variety of entertainment to residents and tourists alike. In addition, there is the culinary scene, and a little further out there are the famous Appalachian Mountains. Least but not least, the city has a lot to offer young people with aspirations, with its many colleges and universities and top employers, and also families wishing to settle down. Here we present 10 great reasons for moving to Nashville.
1. The Home of Country Music
Nashville is synonymous with country music, with several important record labels based here and entertainment venues dedicated to the music, including the famous Grand Ole Opry, home of the longest-running live radio show in the world. The city even spawned its own subgenre, “The Nashviille Sound,” with sophisticated string arrangements and backing choruses featuring strongly. But don’t be alarmed if you don’t like country music: if you decided to move here you could simply enjoy the renown and the lucrative tourism that it attracts!
2. A Taste of The South
Tennessee may not be the ‘Deep’ South but its capital takes its culinary scene very seriously indeed. Most importantly, perhaps, is a certain dish called ‘Nashville hot chicken,’ in which the meat is marinated, fried, and coated with a spicy sauce that includes cayenne pepper. The marinade sometimes includes buttermilk and the recipes and cooking techniques are often carefully guarded secrets. You can join Nashville’s residents in their appreciation of the local restaurants—Travel + Leisure magazine ranked the city the 13th “snobbiest” in America!
3. They Call It ‘Music City’
While Nashville’s reputation as the home of country music tends to dominate people’s perceptions of it, in fact the city is also host to a range of other genres. Fans of gospel music might like to know that it has a long tradition in the city, and the Johnny Cash Museum is also in town, housing the largest collection of memorabilia in the world about the ‘Man in Black.’ For something a little different, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra performs at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Other great venues for enjoying music include Analog at Hutton Hotel, Robert’s Western World, and Gray’s on Main.
4. The Great Outdoors
Nashville is well-placed geographically to enjoy a subtropical climate, with hot summers and mild winters. The heat is never too unbearable and any snow that falls is never a great problem. Spring weather can be a little unpredictable in Tennessee, but just think that the rain is vital for all the beautiful plants that grow around and about. If you and your family get tired of the city’s attractive green spaces—for instance Centennial Park and Shelby Park—you can always head east to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited in the US, and enjoy some good hiking.
5. Festivals
Music isn’t the only entertainment in town. The annual Nashville Film Festival is one of the US’s largest and also the longest running one in the South, showcasing a wide spectrum in terms of both subject matter and country of origin. Nashville’s Oktoberfest—taking place, naturally, in the Germantown neighborhood— has been established for a few decades now, and raises money for local non-profit organizations. The Tennessee State Fair takes place in the middle of September. As can be seen, residents of Music City have no shortage of events to look forward to.
6. Sport
Sports fans considering moving to Nashville shouldn’t despair—the city has no fewer than five professional sports teams. The Nashville Predators and the Tennessee Titans play in the National Hockey League and the National Football League, respectively, and Nashville SC will start in Major League Soccer next year. The Nashville Sounds play minor league baseball and have repeatedly had the best attendance in this format of the sport. Golf is popular here, with the Nashville Golf Open on the developmental tour for the PGA Tour. The possibilities for sports enthusiasts are clearly numerous in this city!
7. A Cosmopolitan City
It’s not surprising that a city famous for embracing music of various descriptions has a cosmopolitan outlook. It became the first Southern city to desegregate public establishments, and local resident Oprah Winfrey became America’s first female African-American news anchor. Nashville also has the US’s largest population of Kurdish people, and there are many restaurants where their traditional food can be enjoyed. The city’s healthy job market and comparatively low cost of living has encouraged influxes of incoming residents, adding to the varied and vibrant cultural atmosphere.
8. Education
We wouldn’t want you to think that Nashville is all play and no work! The city offers many opportunities for you and your family to get a good education, and has been called the “Athens of the South” on account of all its learning establishments—it even has the world’s only full-size replica of the Parthenon! Two of the largest colleges are Vanderbilt University, which is a private research university set up just after the civil war, and Tennessee State University, which was a historically black institution. Many other colleges in town, not to mention some private schools, are affiliated to Christian denominations.
9. Employment
If you move to Nashville you will want to know what the employment prospects are like. Well, if you have a budding career in music you are probably already confident you can make it here! Others may be interested in the city’s automotive industry, for example, which has been thanks to Nissan basing its operations in the area. The Fortune 500 companies headquartered in town are Tractor Supply Company, Community Health Systems, Dollar General, and Hospital Corporation of America, and many more have offices in the area. The unemployment rate in Nashville is currently 3.3%, below the national average of 3.7%.
10. Neighborhoods
Finally, if you’re considering moving to Nashville, one of the first things you’ll want to know is where the best neighborhoods are—and you’ll be pleased to discover there are many of these. Downtown and SoBro, in the center of all the action, have apartments at a range of prices. Hillsboro Village is a bustling community close to a couple of major universities, while Germantown has some quality modern dwellings. The Gulch neighborhood has undergone a lot of regeneration recently and 12 South is another good area with increasing property prices. For sheer class—and expense—you can’t do better than Belle Meade with its large and traditional properties, and then there is always the suburb of Brentwood to the south of the city.
It is plain to see that there are many good reasons for moving to Nashville. Not only would you be guaranteed plenty of entertainment options of various descriptions, and you would surely enjoy the good weather. Most importantly for many, good places for settling down can be found both for adventurous single people and for families. Renting a place to live in Nashville is good value compared to many places in the country, and if you can’t afford a place for all your things you could consider renting a self-storage unit. Nashville has been hot for a while now, growing faster than most metro areas in the US, and although the expansion rate has begun to slow, the city still looks like a great prospect for anyone who wants to move here.
