My daughter is in Nashville this week, at the studio recording some things, and also doing some recon around town in preparation for moving up there.
What does she need to know about Nashville? She has some friends there, but I always like to get all the opinions that I can.
Any information is good. Weather, shopping, neighborhoods, the arts, employment - anything.
I guess I’d like to know about hotels & stuff for my future visits to her as well.
Thanks in advance. 
Gummo was filmed there. :eek:
Brentwood/Williamson County is where a lot of the music people live. Can be pricey but I lived there. It’s nice and doable and accessible. Stop by the Cross Corners on Franklin Rd for lunch and/or a beer. Great hangout/place to meet good people. Nashville is a nice place to live.
I’m not EVEN clicking on that. 
Eugene: I think she’s gonna love it.
Their science museum kicks serious ass.
I grew up there, and miss it all the time.
It’s not too small, it’s not too big; you can get to the country & be lost inside 30 minutes from downtown.
30 minutes from anywhere in Atlanta is still Atlanta.
Plenty of parks to explore, rivers and country to hike. My mom owned a travel agency for many years, and all of country music were her clients. I met dozens of stars, dated one’s daughter, and despise country music! Still, there’s a lot of music history to explore all over downtown.
While it’s a bit hokey to some, I still think the Parthenonis pretty cool.
There’s a tourist-y riverboatcruise if you like that sort of thing.
Best brunch in town? Loveless Cafe. I’ll be going there soon in memory of my high school friend Carol who worked there for over 30 years and have a great meal.
On the way back from Loveless, stop at Cheekwood. It’s a beautiful botanical gardens and museum.
Oddly there’s not a commemorative sign near the house where a kind 17yo lass took my innocence a mere 33 years ago…
I’ll have to nail one up when I go back in July!
Um, I think congrats are in order for the OP’s daughter! Sounds like a great opportunity. Hope she does well.
I have no advice for Nashville, other than it’s always sounded a lot like Pittsburgh (but with better weather) so I’m interested to hear what it’s like from others.
Nashville is great, I moved here fourteen years ago, and I love it. The weather is fine, it just gets hot and humid in the summer, then we have random winter weather events that terrify everyone in town.
Shopping depends on what you want, and what you want to spend. You can go to any regular mall in town and find normal items, or you can go to Green Hills mall and shop at Tiffany and soon Nordstrom’s.
Employment, I’d say the biggest industry in town is the health care industry. I happen to work IT in healthcare.
You can get all sorts of food, our main food that we’re known for is hot fried chicken, especially Prince’s. Best southern food can be found at the many meat and threes, and the above recommendation for the Loveless is no lie, it’s great food. Just a decent hike from downtown.
Arts, we have nice museums, and then there’s the music of course. Make sure you try to get into The Bluebird for a writer’s night or open mic night, you’ll get to hear a lot of great music.
I moved here about 11 years ago from Chicago. It was a bit of a culture shock, but it’s a nice, friendly, fun city. There is a lot of new development happening and gentrification going on, lots of new restaurants and bars/clubs.
A lot of musician types live in Brentwood/Franklin (if they can afford it) but parts of East Nashville are up and coming as well. She should talk to a realtor about what she’s looking for; or, alternatively, get an apartment in the Vanderbilt area (lots of affordable places) until she decides where to settle.
If she likes sports, we’ve got NFL, NHL and a nice AAA-baseball team. The music scene, as you would expect, is very good. And you don’t have to go far from the city to be out in the country.
Personally I live just east of the city; it’s a relatively inexpensive place to live and a good place to raise kids if those are in her plans for the future.
Thanks lindsay, as of now she’s approaching this as “just for fun” but if it gets bigger, that’s still fun, right? Here’s a video they did last year.
Thanks for the replies so far, that’s exactly the kinds of things she’s curious about.
Does anyone know much about a community called Madison in northeast Nashville? One of her musician friends lives there.
Hey, I just realized, maybe we could have some Dopefests when I come to visit her. 
There is bus service between Downtown Nashville & Murfreesboro.
Murfreesboro is quieter/cheaper/safer than Nashville, & has Middle Tennessee State University.
Give it a look.
Things she should know:
Has she read about its history and population? Does she know who this Nash character was, that got a city named after him? Does she know the name of the mayor, and when the city council meets? Does she know all the nicknames of the city? Can she find the local Farmer’s Market in case she needs fresh vegetables?
My contributions
It’s the capital of Tennessee.
A Kurdish guy I know told me that there were lots of Kurds living there.
When in Nashville, in need of BBQ, go to the Bar-Be-Cutie.
When in Nashville, in need of hamburgers, go to Fat Mo’s.
Bar-Be-Cutie is good, but I prefer Famous Dave’s.
Anyway, NinetyWt, I’m sitting in my office right now which is just about on the border of Goodlettsville and Madison, a bit northeast of the city. Madison has some decent neighborhoods but it’s not going to be a social hotspot. There is a mall (RiverGate) and plenty of strip malls and chain restaurants, and it’s a short drive to downtown Nashville. It’s definitely less expensive than the Brentwood or Green Hills areas of town though.
BBQ? Go to Jack’s. Fat Mo for burgers. Or Rotier’s.
Avoid Antioch–the crime rate is much worse than other areas.
I’m far from being a kid, and can’t speak to the music scene, but I love living in Middle Tennessee. There really is something here for everyone. If you like city, Nashville has plenty of it. If you like country life, you can have that while being within easy commuting distance to Nashville. Of course, there’s all kinds of music. There are plenty of good restaurants around - you don’t have to go to chain places. Lots of parks, museums,the symphony is well-supported (although the brand-new sy,phony hall was severely damamged in the May floods). Although this is very Bible Belt, people don’t seem to have a problem expressing their liberal side.
Like most places, it has it’s good and bad sides and people, but for the most part, Nashvillians are friendly and helpful.
Fat Mo’s for burgers, definitely.
StG
Blasphemer. Don’t make me take you to the Pit.
Admit your error, or ask forgiveness for your oversight, for one does not put Dave’s chain offerings above Bar-Be-Cutie’s unique and un-matched flavor and style.
Bosda has it right. Thus sayeth Ducati.
Yeah, and it’s sad too. I lived in Antioch/Hickory Hollow for a long time when I first moved to Nashville…I moved out for a couple of years and came back and I was shocked at how far downhill it had gone. Now it’s just scary. Hickory Hollow Mall now has the highest rate of car theft for the last two years. Just not a good area anymore.
For the price, Bar-B-Cutie is far, far better.