We have lived in and around the Music City for the past 10 years.
I was excited about moving here in June 2014 and now I am happy to be leaving here in 2025.
This isn’t and wasn’t “home” to us. It was just another stop in the journey of our lives. I have come to realize that we are wanderers. We have never been able to live in any one place for a long time.
Did we hate it here? No, but it is time to go.
I still remember when we first arrived. We had lunch at a restaurant on Lower Broadway and I liked how alive it felt to be here. That feeling didn’t last and I can probably count on one hand how many more times we have ventured down to Lower Broadway after that. One of the common misconceptions is that Lower Broadway is the same as Music Row. It is not. Music Row is an entirely different area. Lower Broadway is a tourist attraction full of bars and places to have a party.
Nashville is definitely a party city and we came to realize that Nashville is the unofficial bachelorette party capital of the world. One of the most annoying things about Nashville is the “entertainment transportation” which are the party busses, pedal taverns and all of the other ridiculous forms of mobile drinking and yelling that goes on both day and night downtown. Another negative about working downtown is whenever there was a special event or another excuse for a party downtown that parking prices were jacked up for those of us who worked downtown every single day.
There is one thing to know about Nashville - this place is always under construction. It has changed dramatically in the 10 years we have lived in the area. It is not the same as it was.
Another thing about Nashville is that the traffic is awful. I know that is probably the same complaint for any large city but the design of highway system here is puzzling and something I would not wish on anyone to experience. It is very challenging to get around the Music City. There is no good transit in this city. None. When we first moved here we rented in Mt. Juliet east of Nashville and I took the train to/from work which I really liked. However, that is the ONLY train service which is really, really dumb. Nashville should really expand that service. There is much more congestion in other areas which would be benefited by train service.
As a sports fan, I became a fan of the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators since living here. The most amazing time here was when the Predators played in the Stanley Cup final in 2017. The years leading up to that were amazing to see here. Although it ended in disappointment, this area was completely crazy about the Predators. The last couple of seasons I have also become a fan of Vanderbilt basketball. I definitely have some fond sports memories here.
Food is also awesome here but we converted to vegan/vegetarian a few years ago so our choices have been limited. Some of our favorite places have been Pucketts, Five Points Pizza, AVO and Suki. Really, you can find about any type of food here. Usually the more spicy the better. Hot Chicken is the specialty but never my choice.
Celebrity sightings? Oddly enough, there hasn’t been much to speak of.
For the first six years in Nashville, I worked downtown during the week. Sometimes I would walk around different areas. One of my favorite lunch spots was in an area called “The Gulch”. It was also a good place to sit and enjoy the vibes of the city.
We did have some favorite places to visit like Cheekwood and the Nashville Zoo. The zoo has improved so much in the years we have lived here. It’s amazing to see how much it has grown into a first class zoo.
A house is not a home, neither is the place. We are taking our home with us as we look forward to our next adventure.
I haven’t hated living here, it’s just time to move on.