Can Nashville Compete

[ATLBrain]

Another candidate I would like to offer as the city that most closely parallels Nashville is Austin, TX. Anyone agree?

Amen, Brutha!

[ilektronik]

I honestly don't know what a highschool has to do with this. Stick to the topic folks or either Rural King or I will call out Mr. Suspension. I don't want any city bashing in this thread or anywhere else on this forum. Unfortunately I've already seen some of from both Charlotte & Nashville folk.

The topic is "Can Nashville Compete" and was prefexed with Charlotte and Jacksonville as examples of competing cities. How does expressing one's experience in both cities constitute "city bashing" ? I don't recall reading in the rules that expressing one's experience was frowned upon here.

[Rural King]

^ Umm stereotyping everyone you saw in Nashville as cowboy boot and hat wearing folks isn't the greatest debating point about the competativeness of Nashville to anyone else. Kind of un-related to the topic don't ya think?

Don't think by me not posting in the thread to all this I'm not watching and keeping tabs when I check in. So everybody needs run a tight ship, or as monsoon has already pointed out, moderation will follow.

[Dale]

what am I exaggerating about? I was in Nashville for a day and saw more cowboy boots than i've seen in my whole life.

as for people in charlotte goes, i work at Wachovia and all I know of Charlotte are the people in my neighborhood and the people I work with. My entire dept consists of NY'ers (mostly upstate NY). The four neighbors immediately surrounding me are from Boston, Long Island, Buffalo, and Philly. I can very honestly say that I've met more northerners down here than north carolinians.

'...all I saw were cowboy boots and hats.' Oh, well. I guess it's a statistical possibility.

[Lexy]

'...all I saw were cowboy boots and hats.' Oh, well. I guess it's a statistical possibility.

10 dollars says that most of those "people" he saw were not even form Nashville too. We here in Nashville are no longer about Country music and Honky Tonks.

[Nashvillain]

10 dollars says that most of those "people" he saw were not even form Nashville too. We here in Nashville are no longer about Country music and Honky Tonks.

I am. YeeeeeeHaawww! and such.

[Dale]

Well, let's let Nashville's newfound sophistication be our little secret.

Meanwhile, Country Music hasn't hurt Nashville one little bit. Seriously, my wife and I hosted a Japanese exchange student a few years back. And the young lady was quite the Lee Ann Rimes fan.

[monsoon]

Country music is to Nashville what NASCAR is to Charlotte. I think they are a huge benefit to their respective cities. Anyone that would try to label them as bad doesn't understand understand the direct and indirect benefits they bring the the economies. There are many cities in this country, that would love for these industries to re-locate there.

[it's just dave]

Cowboy hats and boots. I don't recall Nashville, in its 200+ year history ever being about cowboy hats and boots. Oh, I know what you guys mean, our enviable, billion dollar tourism industry. Yeah, so? Just don't mess up our deposits.

And as monsoon said, we have a nice forum here. Leave us be.

[Dale]

Country music is to Nashville what NASCAR is to Charlotte. I think they are a huge benefit to their respective cities. Anyone that would try to label them as bad doesn't understand understand the direct and indirect benefits they bring the the economies. There are many cities in this country, that would love for these industries to re-locate there.

And besides that, there is simply little that is 'yokel' anymore about Country Music, NASCAR, or even 'rasslin'. They have, each one of them, become de rigeure.

[Rural King]

Music has been a vital industry for both Nashville and Memphis, and are key to their characters. I mean would Memphis or Nashville be as recognized (or probably as successful) places if it was not for Country and the Blues, not to mention the whole mini-genre that is/was Elvis. I think most locals like that aspect of either city and want to retain those distinctions.

[Dale]

Music has been a vital industry for both Nashville and Memphis, and are key to their characters. I mean would Memphis or Nashville be as recognized (or probably as successful) places if it was not for Country and the Blues, not to mention the whole mini-genre that is/was Elvis. I think most locals like that aspect of either city and want to retain those distinctions.

That's what I'm saying. I mean, it's not like folks want to come to Nashville so they can say they've had a breve latte in another city.

[GaTechGuy]

That's what I'm saying. I mean, it's not like folks want to come to Nashville so they can say they've had a breve latte in another city.

Well said.

[BnaBreaker]

When I was in Nashville all I saw were cowboy hats and boots. I don't know where all those piercings and black clothes wearing people were lol

Umm, ever heard of a tourist? Oh thats right. You are from Charlotte so you probably haven't. I'm kidding. About the last part anyway. Seriously though, I think your admittance to having stereotyped, judged and formed opinions about an entire mass of a million and a half people based on the outward appearance of a couple tourists in one corner of the city does a whole hell of alot more to portray you in a negative light than it does Nashville. Just something to think about.

By the way, since when did being from the northern US mean that one automatically is not the 'khaki wearing' type?

[Rural King]

So getting back on topic.......

Remember we don't want this to degrade into folks coming in here and debating the merits of cowboy hats and boots or how Charlotte has tourism, etc. So lets get back to talking about more relevant issues to the topic, or I can just start moderating when things get out of hand and well see who all enjoys that.

[ilektronik]

^ Umm stereotyping everyone you saw in Nashville as cowboy boot and hat wearing folks isn't the greatest debating point about the competativeness of Nashville to anyone else. Kind of un-related to the topic don't ya think?

Don't think by me not posting in the thread to all this I'm not watching and keeping tabs when I check in. So everybody needs run a tight ship, or as monsoon has already pointed out, moderation will follow.

so you are implying that it is impossible for me to have seen mostly cowboy hats and boots during my stay in Nashville?? Your definition of moderation borders on sensorship.

Umm, ever heard of a tourist? Oh thats right. You are from Charlotte so you probably haven't. I'm kidding. About the last part anyway. Seriously though, I think your admittance to having stereotyped, judged and formed opinions about an entire mass of a million and a half people based on the outward appearance of a couple tourists in one corner of the city does a whole hell of alot more to portray you in a negative light than it does Nashville. Just something to think about.

By the way, since when did being from the northern US mean that one automatically is not the 'khaki wearing' type?

I never implied that wearing cowboy hats and boots is a bad thing. I was simply commenting on the one poster's assertion that people in Nashville are more "eclectic" than people in Charlotte with a counter point that this was not one person's experience (my own). Perhaps there is some inferiority complex at play here?

Admin note: Either you are clueless or just want to start senseless fights. Either way you are suspended for 15 days. If there is anymore bickering like this I will send more to join him in suspension land. We don't want fights between Nashville & CLT forumers. You guys know what forum you can go to if that is your only interest for posting here, and I suggest that you do. Please stick to the topic.

[Kyle]

Nashville could compete with our other big cities around us (namely Charlotte) if we had another decent office tower. However, most of our skyscrapers are condos. Nothing wrong with that, we just need the jobs back DT too though, or we will just see people go back to Franklin, Brentwood, and others to work. After all, we're bringing people back to DT to try and get them out of cars, not go back to the 'burbs.

[Rural King]

^ I think the "Sig" will help in that regards. Its not an office tower, but will add the type of iconic and imposing tower to the skyline that will change it dramatically, and in thus doing so the image folks get when they come to the city. It will be a few years before that tower becomes a reality, but when it does I think it will be a great benefit to the skyline and for the image of the city.

TN Moderator Note: We are not here to censor anyone. We are here to prevent threads from getting off topic and spiraling into argumentative discussions between forumers (usually between regions or cities) about unrelated matters and talking points. Healthy discussion and criticism is all perfectly fine, and I think most folks know what is acceptable and what is not. If anyone ever has any issues about posts or where a thread is heading just PM me. Thats why mods are here, we want to head off trouble before it starts.

[smeagolsfree]

The height of a building is not as important a thing. I was in Phoenix a while back and I think the Bat tower is taller that anything there although they have more density in the CBD. Most of the high rises there are in the CBD and another core a couple of miles from the CBD. So, all of the taller buildings in Phoenix are within just a few miles of each other.There is a restriction on the building heights from what I understand. I am not 100% sure but I did speak to a person that lived there and that was what they understood. And Phoenix is a lot bigger that Nashville and Charlotte. So is Phoenix able to compete? I think so.

The diversity of the economy or the number of Universities really could be what a city has to compete with. As for Nashville, we have a very diverse economy and a number of great schools here. I am not that familiar with Charlotte or any other cities of that size as I should be but, we are doing very well for ourselves here. Only time will tell.

[BnaBreaker]

All good points smeagolsfree.

[sleepy]

Your comment made me think. Does Charlotte parallel Nashville more than any other city in America? Hmmm.... Maybe. Another candidate I would like to offer as the city that most closely parallels Nashville is Austin, TX. Anyone agree?

I disagree about Austin.

Aside from the music and the fact that they are both state capitals, I think the similarity ends there.

[it's just dave]

Enlighten us, please. The comparisons seem to crop up often here and there.

[TennBear]

I have lived in Austin and have been around Nashville on and off for more years than most of you have been alive. The best way to discribe Austin is that it was a completely laid out, grided town, designed as the capital of Texas. Until the '80's, it was a very small city with a very large university and a state government. During this time period a number of people that loved the area and wanted to be able to stay after college started changing the city. The city started creating jobs and using the university and its large educated workforce to attract major expansions from IT type companies. It was able to land research and planning for microchips. Dell was started and the growth continued. There are a couple of real dividing lines in the city. the river and I-35. The interstate is in many ways the most important. East of the inerstate is where the Hispanic and Black population by and large live. It is a very segregated city and one that has haves and have nots. The university is over 50,000 students and the community college has another 30,000. Many of these are the same students. Hey, take a crib course that transfers at the community college or the flunk out course at the university. The city has large new buildings lining Congress and some very nicely preserved buildings between Congress and I-35. Many of these along 6th St. where the music bars are. Even so, it feels small because of the fact that the only real N/S throughways are I-35 and the MoPac.

Nashville grew up over time, it has grit that Austin doesn't have. It has the feel of a much bigger city with several interstates coming into town from six directions. It was not planned and for the visitor can be very confusing and easy to get lost in, but that adds to the old city feeling. Nashville's downtown and downtown districts are not as compact nor as clean. There is more of a mixture, melting pot. Nashville has many more colleges, but none of them have the same amount of impact on the city. None are as large or as strong a presence. Vanderbilt doesn't have the love held for it in the community that UT does for Austin.

I would compare Knoxville to Austin far more than I would Nashville. The schools have the same kind of perense in their communities and aside from the fact that Knoxville is much older and grittier, they have comparisons if you count in the presence of Oak Ridge.

[it's just dave]

Austin's one of those cities I've always wanted to visit, but haven't, so I never really understood the reasons comparisons were made. I only knew they were. Must have been a media thing. That was good information TB, thank you.

I do understand the college/univeristy mismatch. UT seems to be force in the city, (as TN in Knox) and even with our numerous colleges and universities, they are smaller and more area-centric.

Street grid? What the heck is street grid? lol I was looking at an old map of Nashville and the plans then were of a very gridded city. But that was 200 years ago and encompassed only what is now the immediate downtown area. After that, where the buffalo roamed, we paved it.

[monsoon]

I don't think a city needs lots of towers to be economically viable. When comparing to Charlotte, keep in mind that our downtown is dominated by Bank of America and Wachovia (aka, First Union). It is the nature of big national banks to build signature towers and these two companies are responsible for almost everything you see in Charlotte that is more than 25 stories tall. (plus a couple of smaller banks). The other big business in downtown is Duke Energy and they reside in a rather non-descript unpainted concrete building at the corner of downtown. Of the fortune 500 companies HQ'd here, these 3 are the only ones who have decided to locate in downtown and that is because they have always been there.

Almost every other business that has chosen to re-locate to Charlotte has shunned the downtown area. That includes IBM which built a huge campus in the north part of the city, Microsoft which chose twice to locate in the suburbs despite being offered incentives to build in downtown, and the new HQ for Lowes Home Improvement stores which is also building a campus setting away from downtown.

So from an economic perspective I don't think Nashville is any different from Charlotte. Charlotte is fortunate from a skyscraper perspective that Banks are willing to build towers and has benefited from that fact over the past 30 years. But beyond that, the vast majority of the development here resenbles that in Nashville based on what I have heard here. Lowes for example is more than 20 miles out.

I will add there has been a great deal of residential development lately in our downtown and I am not sure how this might play out. There is a national movement for some people to want to live in a more urban setting and Charlotte is definately seeing that, but I also think part of this is being driven by a real estate bubble since the prices have gotten to the point to where just a small majority can afford to buy most of these places. When the bubble pops its hard to say what will happen. I don't know how this compares to Nashville but I don't think it has much to do with economic competition.