To describe what the past five years of my life in Nashville have been like in one word: chaotic. I, like many other moved to Music City with a song in my heart and a lyric on the tip of my tongue - hopeful that my dreams of becoming successful in the Music industry would be met during my tenure. I drove into town adventurous and eager to succeed. I believed in myself and the hope of the future.
I enrolled at Belmont University in the heart of Nashville to study Music Business and A/V Production. Although I enjoyed my courses in learning the trade of the Music Business I was met with a lot of bureaucratic hiccups and financial aid problems, which I didn't expect from a small school. I don't mean to disparage Belmont in anyway as I value my education and time there and it afforded me the opportunity to learn more about music, business and the craft of songwriting. Most importantly I acquired a passion for Intellectual Properties and Music Publishing Rights - something I hope to utilize in the future either in the form of my own company or the form of a law degree.
That being said, if I had to do it over I might not have invested in a $100,000 degree, which leaves me riddled with student loans and like all new grads - little opportunity to find a job to pay them back with profit. I've learned a lot about college and money in the past five years - I would have gone to UNC-CH or another state school and then invested in a graduate degree. Or I should have attended two years at a community college and then transferred into Belmont.
Nashville was a train wreck in many ways or should I say car wreck. Nashville is the worst driving town. Trust me I've driven in forty-five states and in major cities like NYC and Boston. Boston is a bad city to navigate with all it's one way streets and poor signing, however the drivers are polite and frankly you can walk everywhere in Boston or take the bus so it's not that big of a deal. Nashville is notorious for drivers not paying attention. They are either two extremes: rude, filled with road rage and ready to gun you down, or apathetic and non-observant of the rules of the road. Turn signals are never used, people speed monstrously, Changing lanes without checking to see if a car is in the other lane and backing up without looking in the rear view mirror.
Okay so that seems a bit harsh - but if you disagree try driving in Nashville on a regular basis - I'd take L.A. or Atlanta any day. In my five years in the city I was in six accidents - none of which were my fault - all from negligent drivers. I'm not talking fender benders - no I'm talking head on collision. A lady changed lanes without looked and ran into me head long. She complained that she didn't want to wait for the police because she had to leave for Hawaii in two days - sorry but I'm stranded without transportation and have to go to the hospital - Hawaii packing can wait! After six thousand dollars of repair work - my car was stolen and although no more car payment - no wheels either. My mom's car was then totaled by a reckless driver near Vanderbilt. She turned left when we were already halfway through the intersection and we had the right away. Because Tennessee has a no-fault clause on any accidents (unless you back into someone) - the driver ended up not having to pay anything to fix our car and since we only had liability (b/c car paid for) - no wheels.
Sorry if I'm babbling, but I've got to get this off my chest! It was a nightmare! At every turn there was another catastrophe. And frankly I was doing everything I could to make the situation work - I was active, positive, friendly, etc... and more drama than a soap opera ensued. That's why I decided upon graduation from Belmont it was time to move - and take a hint that I could do better elsewhere.
Nashville:
The Good:
- Restaurants: Nashville has some of the best restaurants anywhere in the Nation - a mix of southern and national cuisine that can wet any palette. Here is a list of my favorite restaurants:
- Demos: Best Steak Dinner in town and for a meal under $12 a person and neat atmosphere you can't beat this famed Nashville Eatery.
- San Antonio Taco Co: One thing Nashville has is plenty of good Mexican Restaurants - and I love Mexican food - it is apparent in my college ten you could say. Sat Co offers a great atmosphere for college kids, tourists and natives alike. It has cheap Tex-Mex with fresh ingredients and one of the nicest staffs in Nashville. Their queso is so could you have to go through withdrawal - once you've moved away - SATCO is a serious addiction!
- Las Palmas - authentic Mexican food @ a great price - Nashville chain
- Cheeseburger Charley's: Nashville Chain with great atmosphere akin to a 1950s diner and prices that fit any budget.
- Logan's: Nashville based chain with terrific atmosphere (peanuts all over the floor however) and decent prices on steaks and chicken. Best yeast rolls ever! (Too bad I'm gluten intolerant now and can no longer eat them.
Music: Nashville really is a music city with tons of venues for any type of musical genre. Country surprisingly is often not the main showcase for area shows - but rather local rock bands. Downtown Broadway is for Honkytonks and talented cover bands or soulful singer songwriters. The Sommet Center is a large venue with big-name bands. The Ryman is the Mother-Church of Music and plays hosts to the Grand Ole Opry (in the winter) and a variety of artists ranging from Babyface to Jason MRAZ to James Taylor. TPAC is also a terrific venue - focusing on plays, musicals, comedy acts (Jerry Seinfeld came there a few years ago) and talented singer songwriters.
Scenery: Nashville is not the prettiest city in the world, but the countryside surrounding it is BEAUTIFUL! Take a drive on the Natchez Trace over to Franklin or stop by Radnor Lake for a peaceful jaunt in the woods.
FRIST Center for Visual Arts: An amazing museum with an unusual focus: having no permanent art collection - only travelling shows. And the exhibits they have rival those in NY and San Francisco. For example recent exhibitions include: Rodin, Monet to Matisse, Renaissance/Medieval Collection, Impressionism, and Georgia O'Keefe. I was a volunteer in the Member Office and I loved my time at the FRIST - it's one thing I do really miss about Nashville.
Nashville Humane Association: I was a register Cat volunteer - I'd spend at least ten hours per week volunteering with the Cats (grooming, playing with them, attention for cats) and working on Cat adoptions. They were my stress relievers!
The Bad:
Car accidents
-Rude people with an attitude: you'll find this everywhere to some degree, but in Nashville it's surly redneck meets obnoxious Yankee
-Crime: lots of crime in Nashville - 2 stolen cell phones, three stolen wallets and a stolen car - all while living in the most expensive neighborhood in the city and one of the safest (and yes I locked my doors).
-Belmont issues: It's not Belmont it's college issues with financial aid screw-ups, bad advising, etc...but it irks you when you pay them $2500 per class and they act like they are doing you a favor!
-Traffic/Poor Drivers
-Cost of Housing for what you get: Nashville is overpriced - we enjoyed our apartment's location, but the landlord was horrible and compared to other cities it is expensive in TN. You could get a nice apartment for the same size and same price in downtown Seattle, which is considered an expensive place to live and is a lot nicer than parts of Nashville. Atlanta's Buckhead rents are cheaper than Nashville. I guess I'm spoiled growing up in ITB Raleigh, but I got sick of paying all my money and being treated like DIRT.
- There is more, but I think the above issues are the main things.
***Okay Enough with that - I moved on and I have found that moving away from Nashville though a hard choice in the sense I didn't want to break my dreams of making it in the Music Industry - was the best choice possible. God has opened my eyes and taken away the worry, which I constantly endured in that city and I feel I'm going to have a better shot at my dreams outside of Music City.
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