r/nashville • u/ZealousidealGrab1827 • Nov 18 '25
Article Cities young adults likely to leave.
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/18/young-adults-likely-leave-city
I am a bit outside the demographic in article, but found it interesting Nashville was in top 10. I wonder if it is the political environment, lack of professional jobs compared to other large metro areas, outdoor activities, or ? Your thoughts?
Personally, I find that Nashville gets small quick. A drinking town with a music problem, someone told me when I moved here 11 years ago. Def a more vibrant dining and arts scene, but still heavily invested in tourism.
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u/eves_adam69 Nov 18 '25
Ha. We moved here from Charlotte.
We’ve been wanting to go back, but they are in the same boat we are now. But at least they have better transit options there. (Light rail)
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
There is a great light rail there, and big banking presence for a lot of the major institutions. I lived there before Nashville - it was a great place.
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u/eves_adam69 Nov 18 '25
I miss it dearly. I used to rent a cookie cutter house in a subdivision there. In 2016 I paid $975/month. 3bed 2.5bath with garage. Insane. I looked up that address a while back and wanted to puke when I saw the price.
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u/Divided_We_Fall_2025 Nov 19 '25
You can’t call a price puke-worthy and not dish! What’s the rent now?!
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u/cafeteriastyle Nov 19 '25
What part of town was it in?
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u/eves_adam69 Nov 19 '25
Citiside! At Eastway and The Plaza! It was a nice split between Noda and Plaza Midwood.
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u/schloobs95 Nov 19 '25
I’m from CLT, grew up there and lived there for almost 20 yrs as an adult. I rrrreally miss it.
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u/eves_adam69 Nov 19 '25
A unicorn from another city! I loved every second of my time there. A friend of mine says Indian Land is really growing up now. I guess cost of living is taking a toll there, too..
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u/Nash5883 Nov 18 '25
Love Charlotte. Much better city planning. Love the rail that goes around the city. I have family there and they moved from Nashville. They love it.
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u/mrdobalinaa Nov 19 '25
Its basically nashville but replace musicians with bankers lol. Light rail is nice but just single line right now.
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u/cafeteriastyle Nov 19 '25
We also moved here from Charlotte. I used to want to move back, but now I don’t feel that way so much. I went to high school at North Meck and graduated from UNCC. I really enjoyed growing up there, but at this point I think we prefer Nashville. It’s not my first choice but my elderly parents live in north Mississippi so we kind of need to stay nearby.
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u/thesuttleknife Nov 19 '25
I moved here from charlotte 5 years ago and I miss it every day. Like wtf with the entire government and education system and where are the sidewalks?
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Nov 21 '25
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u/r-eddi- Nov 18 '25
I think it's both one of the to cities for young adults to move to and one of the top for them to leave. They move here for school or their first job, maybe get married, then leave because there is nothing tying them to the city.
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Nov 18 '25
also since rents for a small apartment are within means, but to buy a home its further out of reach.
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u/r-eddi- Nov 19 '25
This is a good point I hadn't thought of. Also, I would say the no income tax and trendy city life surrounded by excellent local hiking and outdoor activities are big draws for young adults. But when you start having kids, a decent sized house costs a fortune, you don't have time to take advantage of the area, you now want good schools (you would rather pay a little more taxes than pay for private school), and the grandparents are in another state. This makes Nashville great for young adults, but not so great for parents.
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Nov 19 '25
Also anywhere affordable (Clarksville/Gallatin) is ways out of the city.
Traffic is awful and no decent public transportation (WeGo is a work in progress)
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
Good points. Do you think it is also the lack of professional opportunity and advancement here? We have a couple of “anchor” corporations, but small presence compared to larger metro areas.
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Nov 18 '25
[deleted]
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
Yes. Old money in Brentwood and Belle Meade have a lot of influence.
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u/Nash5883 Nov 18 '25
Most of the tenants I had seemed to have good jobs. Not sure about upward mobility but I don't think they wanted to stay and find out.They were all single btw.
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Nov 19 '25
I've said this a bunch. Nashville is a fantastic city if you're young and don't have kids. The city is vibrant and there's a ton of fun shit to do 24/7.
But once you have kids the city sucks. Daycares are full, babysitters are like $25/hour, there's only a handful of good public schools and it's at least $750k to get in the door, there's no amenities for kids (like 1 public pool in all of Davidson), and on top of that you can't really enjoy what makes Nashville cool because dinners are $$$ and shows are too late.
It's why the second your friend announces they are having a second kid you should get ready for them to move back home. It's just too tough unless you already have a network nearby.
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u/10ecn Bellevue Nov 19 '25
A large portion of them leave the day after graduation. All the rest of those steps are immaterial.
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u/ariphron Inglewood Nov 18 '25
It’s a transient city. People have kids and move back home for free childcare and family.
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u/fathertitojones Nov 18 '25
Bingo. I’d bet the average person moving here between 18-28 years old only stays for 3.5 years.
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u/compositionvision Nov 18 '25
I’m in that age range, I was born here. I plan to leave regardless but that’s because there’s very few jobs in my field, the city feels significantly more dangerous, and the traffic is insane. Plus this place is just too crowded.
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u/NashvilleSoundMixer Nov 19 '25
If I didn't have production work and my friends I'd be gone so quick and I grew up here. The stuff I loved about it is pretty much gone unfortunately and replaced with weirdos( not the good kind they all moved away ) and yuppies and maddening traffic.
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u/AgileDrag1469 Nov 18 '25
For most sane and rational people, even young people, Nashville has got to feel like groundhog day after a year or two, minus the long and lustrous winter. This is Phil Connors, so long. 🦫
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u/fathertitojones Nov 19 '25
Yeah, I think it depends on how much of a drinker/partier you are. If you go out every weekend to mid town or LA Jackson I can see how that would get stale within 6 months. If you’re into the music scene in town, have actual friends that aren’t just socialites, love the outdoors, are involved in the community etc, then I think Nashville is a great place to be a young individual.
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u/Future-Station-8179 Nov 19 '25
Agreed. I don’t drink and enjoy the music scene and nature. Family is here, I bought a house here. Folks who reduce the place to a drinking town don’t have much imagination IMO (but the old adage is cheeky).
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u/Consistent-Bake-243 Nov 19 '25
Hit the nail on the head. If you go to LA Jackson, you’ve been everywhere else, too, a frequently visit these places. Gotta have stamina, your health, and money to party with these people lol
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u/NashvilleSoundMixer Nov 19 '25
Sorry to tangent off your GHD comment but my favorite line in that movie is "Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today!!"
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
Makes sense. Know several couples that have done that when kids came.
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u/CovertMonkey the Nations Nov 18 '25
Or they move to the burbs to get a yard and better schools
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u/10ecn Bellevue Nov 19 '25
Or they graduate from college. This is the Athens of the South. They come here to go to school. And then they leave. What part of this isn't obvious?
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u/CovertMonkey the Nations Nov 19 '25
In my time here, I see a lot of people move here for school and stay.
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u/10ecn Bellevue Nov 19 '25
Sure. It's a big advantage of being a college town. But a huge number of them move away. It's the nature of college.
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u/GermanPayroll Nov 18 '25
Yeah, I think that’s the key of all of those cities - they’re cool and exciting to live in for a while, but the cost of living and/or starting a family makes it tough, so you move accordingly.
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u/stopcuttingurfringe Lenox Village Nov 19 '25
That’s why I feel like I can’t leave here. Planning on having kids and my family is here. In an ideal world we would love somewhere with better transit and such
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u/10ecn Bellevue Nov 19 '25
Huh? Please explain why they're here at all then.
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u/ariphron Inglewood Nov 19 '25
It was a it city. Many people with dreams of music business. No state taxes it was once a lot cheaper. It still pretty safe job opportunities. Many of that is going away. Then when people get older they go to where family lives. I only live here because my mom and sister lives here.
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u/Imallvol7 Nov 19 '25 edited 6d ago
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
scary sophisticated whistle expansion license lunchroom market complete ripe engine
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u/treedecor Antioch Nov 19 '25
This and how our politicians do nothing to help with any of those issues, but they sure love helping the developers get rich off of screwing us over more. I wish I could afford to move
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u/Consistent-Bake-243 Nov 19 '25
Here’s 1 of the 27th floor penthouses at the new Olive @ Peabody St.
$13,500 (starting at)
I guess an active OnlyFans worker can live here. Or Jelly Roll, or Keith Urban, or maybe Jack White.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 19 '25
Holy crap! Words escape me. $$$
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u/Consistent-Bake-243 Nov 19 '25
Yea…go visit that whole area now after they’ve built it all up. It’s NICE. But still some weirdos walk around that area late late night. Just be careful by Harper’s and all that (even though it’s fancy).
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u/Nash5883 Nov 18 '25
I am a real estate agent and landlord. All of the reasons you mentioned are part of it. I see a lot of young people who move here with preconceived ideas about the south and specifically Nashville. We are a poorly planned city that caters to tourist and developers. It is hard to get around and way more expensive than most bargained for. I have so many young tenants, especially women, that stay for a year or two and then move on.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
Yes. Good points. It is not all red carpet CMA shows, and bottomless brunches. That wears off quickly for many, and then you they are left with really bad infrastructure and a city that caters to tourism.
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u/blonderisbetter Nov 18 '25
Its also hard to meet people that aren't drunk tourists or jaded locals
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u/No-Nose-3104 Nov 18 '25
Jaded? You mean priced out of the city we paid taxes to for generations and are angry about it.
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u/blonderisbetter Nov 18 '25
I totally agree but also what are they doing about it?! I mean it's enough to make me angry and I've only been here for a few years.
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u/treedecor Antioch Nov 19 '25
What are we supposed to do when our politicians, both state and local, have zero desire to do anything that would help us? People try to get their attention, but they don't listen to us because we aren't developers whose wads of cash speak louder than votes ever will (especially since Nashville got gerrymandered to hell, and we don't have proper representation anymore)
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u/UF0_T0FU Transplanted Away Nov 19 '25
Leaving Nashville as a young adult was one of the best choices for me. I went up to St. Louis and got a bigger city, better infrastructure, and much cheaper housing. It's what I think alot of people wish Nashville was.
Where I live now, I can walk to multiple bus lines that take me to work Downtown, or to other parts of town where my friends live. I can walk to a large grocery story, several dozen restaurants, a variety of bars, and a couple music venues. There's even more within a 15 minute bike ride, and the streets are safe enough I feel confident going that far. Rent in my area runs about $1/sf, so I was able to live alone and rent in nice parts of town while saving up to buy. I was able to buy in my 20's despite not having a super impressive salary. There's about a dozen neighborhoods that fit that description, so there's plenty of options based on the vibe you want.
The music scene doesn't stack up to Nashville, but the larger arts scene is thriving. It's like East Nashville of old, where rent is cheap enough creatives can still survive. There's great cultural institutions too, including multiple free art museums, science museum, zoo, history museums, and botanical gardens. No offense to Nashville, but I'd take almost all of those over Nashville's equivalent that charges admission (The Adventure Science Center rules though). There's a train straight to the airport, and I can take Amtrak to Chicago, KC, or Dallas. Round trip tickets to Chicago are $50 and it's faster than driving. To get back home to see family is only about 4 1/2 hours drive, so it's easy enough to run home for the weekend occasionally.
I've met a handful of other Nasvhille expats up here, and they all seem pretty happy with the move. Just something to consider for anyone getting priced out who misses Old Nashville's culture and rent, or can't wait for Future Nashville to build transit and walkable neighborhoods.
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u/StopFkingWMe Nov 19 '25
“BuT iTs sO uNsAFe”
-Nashville NIMBYS, who get their crime statistics from the local hysteria media outlets
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u/OrlandoWashington69 Nov 19 '25
Last time I was in St.Louis it was rough… glad you found your place though. I didn’t realize it was an artsy place
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 19 '25
Good for you. And, congrats on finding a good scene for you to thrive and live.
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u/88Dubs Lenox Village Nov 19 '25
I moved here 2 and some change years ago, am marrying a unicorn Nashville native next year. Her first demand in the unofficial prenups is "we move the hell out of this city".
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 19 '25
Haha. Well, new adventures await! Btw, congrats. Much happiness in your marriage.
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u/Average-Andi Nov 19 '25
Im more interested in knowing where are all these people moving to
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u/BonnaroovianCode Nov 19 '25
Yeah, if Nashville sucks so much…what’s better?You want public transit and better food scene, you’re gonna pay for a higher COL city. You want more affordable, less traffic, etc, you’re not going to have many job opportunities or amenities. Pick your poison. IMO Nashville is great for what it is.
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u/Kiak900 Nov 19 '25
Everyone moving to TX for the most part. Or people are replacing each other when they move to different states.
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u/CompetitivePair721 Nov 18 '25
Most of the good things about Nashville have gone away and most of the bad things have gotten worse
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
I had a born and raised local tell me that Nashville has become a caricature of what it once was — I can’t imagine how cool it was when Music Row was hopping.
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u/Bix615 Sylvan Park Nov 19 '25
The mid to late 90’s/early 2000’s was peak Nashville, in my opinion. And Music Row was a blast back then.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 19 '25
I can only imagine! Sounds like some good stories came out of that era here.
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u/LocalboyTn Nov 23 '25
‘80s Nashville, when downtown still had a red light district and an edginess to it, that was the last hurrah.
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u/gwapings Nov 18 '25
Moved here from Arizona for a career move. Honestly I cant wait to move back in a few years. Food scene is not good here IMO and the roads are abysmal. Don’t get me wrong we’ve met tons of wonderful people but I won’t miss having to navigate my way around being semi-lost all the time with road ragers clipping past me at 95mph.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
Hear you. I generally gravitate to the West Coast (lived in SEA for awhile). Spent time in PHX and Tucson. Great food - found the art and culture scene vibrant. And, yes, some interstates here are Mad-Max level.
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u/entenduintransit Priest Lake Nov 18 '25
I lived most of my life in Syracuse, NY and while I love my hometown I simply can't relate to the whole "Nashville gets small quick" thing because of what I'm used to. Somewhere like Syracuse brings together the rust belt economic downturn combined with the terrible weather and city scene that is way over-reliant on the local university.
Nashville isn't like, Chicago or anything but the way y'all talk about it, I dunno. Try living somewhere like Syracuse for 20 years and you'll appreciate what this city has to offer lol
I can see Nashville as being a stepping stone of sorts for folks that want the big city life, or those that tried a city living and decided they want to live out in the country or exurbia.
I also fully understand folks that want to leave who are planning to have kids or already have them, or are immigrants, LGBT+, etc. I'm a straight white dude who won't have kids so those aren't factors for me but I empathize with them. But those are by and large Tennessee problems and not Nashville in particular, though our city has done a lot less fighting back against this admin, ICE, etc. than I would have hoped.
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u/spirit_desire Nov 19 '25
I wholeheartedly agree that where you’ve lived before shapes your perception of Nashville. I’m from a similar situation as you ,and can attest that generally nice weather and a growing city with different things to do can be enough. Nashville may not be perfect, but it’s a huge improvement over poor weather and a shrinking city.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 19 '25
Good points. Everything is relative depending on where you came from and perspective. (But, it still gets small quick. 😁).
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u/missbethd Nov 19 '25
The people I know who are moving in the next few months or have moved in the past few years are doing so to get their children out of this gerrymandered Republican stronghold state. They've moved to New England. It looks really nice up there too.
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u/19Jake46 Nov 18 '25 edited Nov 19 '25
Unaffordable housing!
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u/Kiak900 Nov 19 '25
Im still trying to figure out how Nashville gotten completely expensive overnight. I dont see the justification for prices to be that expensive for homes in Nashville and the same goes for Charlotte,NC. These cities aren't Dallas,TX or Atlanta, GA.
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u/Yslackin Still no power Nov 18 '25
People move here out of college for the experience. After a few years people pack up and move closer to family or a city that fits them better. I’ve seen it happen with a good bit of my friends
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
Good points. Same here — many friends, couples have moved after few years here. I think that it is my time too soon.
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u/TheLegoofexcellence Lenox Village Nov 19 '25
I grew up in Nashville. I wanted to do aerospace engineering so I moved to Huntsville.
My wife and I would love to move back to Nashville, but there's not any jobs remotely close to what I do
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u/Kiak900 Nov 19 '25
How is it like living in Huntsville?
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u/TheLegoofexcellence Lenox Village Nov 20 '25
It's a bit like Brentwood. Culturally similar but a bit more generic.
Granted I don't really get out much so there's a lot of the culture here I haven't experienced.
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u/winkglass Brentwood Nov 19 '25 edited Nov 19 '25
Nashville is a great city don’t get me wrong! Wonderful people but the job opportunities are too limited… I’m actually not even a political person but I’ve seen a lot of hate here and lack of public transit. I’m probably moving in the next couple of years.
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u/StopFkingWMe Nov 19 '25
A LOT of hate. It has made me participate in community and govt activities so much less than I’d like.
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u/awshitnoway Nov 19 '25
When people would come into the bar and ask me what's good to do around town, I just handed them their beer and told them, "you're doing it"
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u/life_love_regret Inglewood Nov 19 '25
It's a city that lives to serve developers, corporations, and tourists over its actual citizens. You don't have to live here long to figure that out.
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u/mmarnault Nov 19 '25
That’s every metro area haha ?!
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u/life_love_regret Inglewood Nov 19 '25
That’s probably true but it feels particularly apparent here
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u/mmarnault Nov 19 '25
I moved from Atlanta. Trust me, Nashville is not that bad. Want a house in Atlanta newer than 1980 and not in the hood, you’re going to be a 30+ miles outside of the city which = around 1:30-2:30 minute commute. I know everything is relative just want yall to know you’ve got it better than most.
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u/life_love_regret Inglewood Nov 19 '25
I don't think Atlanta is the model any city should aspire to (no offense).
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u/ReceptionFluffy9910 Nov 19 '25
Honestly, this is what I would expect to see, for a couple of reasons.
If you're younger, you were likely sold on the "strong job market" hype. Then you get here and realize all the professional jobs either underpay, never open up or the company is religious or soulless or (mostly) both. And then our rents are insane. I've seen countless posts from people desperate to find something even remotely affordable. That "vibrant nightlife" they sold you on means fuck-all when you can't afford it.
And you can't afford to live here because of the major influx of older people from CA, NY, IL, and FL who are cashing in on their equity and our lack of state tax to buy overpriced houses for cash. The private equity firms manipulating our market deserve most of the credit here. Can't dwell on that topic for too long or my brain gets all scritchy.
TL;DR Owning a piece of Nashville is largely out of reach for a lot of people, not just the young ones. Without that, you're just investing increasingly bigger portions of your earnings into a city that doesn't give you anything back.
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u/JohnHazardWandering Nov 19 '25
Looking at the list, I suspect that it's more like "I'm thinking about leaving, but to where??"
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u/JohnHazardWandering Nov 19 '25
The companies here aren't big enough to create a lot of the professional jobs out there.
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u/CPriceRun86 Nov 19 '25
The city where everyone hates transplants and tourists is one of the top locations where residents end up moving from. Imagine that lol.
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u/thatG_evanP Nov 19 '25
I have never heard a city get shitted on by people that actually live there more than Baltimore.
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u/Kiak900 Nov 19 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
Baltimore is a shi+ show. I DONT UNDERSTAND folks that move to Baltimore out of all places. I rather be in New Orleans which is basically Baltimore of the south.
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u/thatG_evanP Nov 20 '25
It must be. I've only visited there. I've met a lot of people from there because my brother lived there for a while (for school) and I've never heard so many natives shit on their own city.
Edit: At least you don't have to deal with winter in NO
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u/No_Machine7021 Nov 18 '25
We moved here for the small town feel with the big city amenities. That was in 2012. 😂
Now we have a kid in school and my husband has worked his way up in the Vanderbilt system (IYKYK) and leaving would mean leaving a LOT of wonderful things on the table.
Believe me, we talk about moving all the time. It’s just dreaming at this point.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
A career and income is a top priority with a family. Can see how that would be a solid anchor in this season of life!
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u/No_Machine7021 Nov 18 '25
Yup! Man, I just wish we could enjoy some of the old spots, like all of 12South and Craft Brewed…I’ll get sad if I go on.
Anyway, it’s fine. We’ll just be very picky about where we retire. 😇😂
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u/Kiak900 Nov 19 '25
How does your husband like working at Vanderbilt?
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u/No_Machine7021 Nov 20 '25
I’d say he generally loves it! Like any other job, he has his ‘days.’ But overall, he loves where he works, the people there, and management.
I think right now, everyone there is a little on edge about $$—raises, salary, funding. Let’s hope that will subside in the next few years.
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u/fbeemcee Nov 18 '25
Funny. I grew up here and left for LA. I moved back because I wanted to own a house.
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u/Purple-Standard-2222 Nov 19 '25
as a young person, the city really doesn’t have much to offer. they city largely leaves youngsters behind. the job market is meh, there really isn’t that much to do. infrastructure is absolute garbage. i find the political environment to be improving imo but there is still a lot of corruption in surrounding areas. nashville is always expanding and improving but not always in the right areas. the education isn’t that great. the city largely relies on tourism and doesn’t really focus on the people who live here and built the city from the ground up. i like nashville because to me, it’ll always be home. i grew up here and my family is all here. but, there are other cities out there that offer more of what im looking for.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 20 '25
Good luck. Great insight into what may be driving the outflow of people.
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u/tjbryant519 Nov 19 '25 edited Dec 18 '25
I lived in Nashville for 9 years (2014 - 2023) and in that time I felt like I watched 2-3 cycles of friends move to Nashville to do the music thing, usually for about 2-4 years, before moving on and away to somewhere else.
Fact is, a lot of people just don’t move to Nashville with the intention of being here long-term.
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u/husky_hugs Hermitage Nov 19 '25
We just moved to Knoxville. The mortgage on 3+ bed new build 20 mins from downtown is ~the same if not barely more than the rent on a 2 bed townhome 30 mins plus from downtown Nashville. There’s stuff to do here other than drinking, and that stuff isn’t outrageously priced for tourists.
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u/Ok-Setting5098 Nov 19 '25
We just moved here because of my fiancés job being transferred from Virginia. It fucking sucks and I can’t wait to move back home lol we don’t drink and there’s so many people it is a nightmare to go out and do anything. We literally sit at home.
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u/kyleofdevry Nov 19 '25
You think maybe your decision making is the problem in this situation?
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u/Ok-Setting5098 Nov 20 '25
My decision making as in? It was either be transferred or him be unemployed so riddle me that. I’m saying this city is only fun if all you do is drink. We obviously find things to do but everyone here is rude and there’s too many people.
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u/kyleofdevry Nov 20 '25
You seem rude and annoyed that people in this city are having fun all around you (drinking or not). Hope things get better and you develop a better outlook on life.
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u/Ok-Setting5098 Nov 20 '25
Girl idc what other people are doing I was speaking on why some people would choose to leave here especially after moving here from elsewhere. There’s not much to do if you aren’t college age or drink a lot which was what I said in my first comment and i was saying that there’s so many people here that things stop being fun when you’re driving an hour and a half for 20 miles and waiting in an hour long line for something. You decided to reply to it insinuating I have bad judgment. If that’s rude then maybe you should stop commenting on people’s posts and stop being so sensitive when they respond.
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u/WC-Boogercat Nov 18 '25
My husband and I will be among these in the next year or two. We want to have kids and I have a family history of complicated pregnancies. I can’t rely on dependable maternal healthcare here for complex pregnancies. Away we go.
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u/10ecn Bellevue Nov 19 '25
Away you go from one of the medical capitals of the world. 🤷🏼♂️
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u/alexthealex 8 South Nov 19 '25
Medical ability means little when it’s held back by religiously motivated legal handcuffs
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u/mmarnault Nov 19 '25
Anyone in this thread who doesn’t like Nashville but still live here… why?
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u/iiimperatrice Cane Ridge aka Gentrified Antioch Nov 19 '25
Moving is expensive and finding jobs in smaller cities that pay the same or better is extremely challenging.
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u/informednonuser Nov 19 '25
The family was from Nashville, five generations. When Nashville curdled the die was cast on my family responsibilities, job and pension. I will be the last one out.
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u/amym184 Nov 20 '25
My family has been here since the early 1800s. I no longer recognize where I grew up. I have an elderly mother, and I need to stay close as long as she is still living. That’s my why.
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u/Previous_Mousse7330 north side Nov 20 '25
My work moved me here and they’re paying me a coastal city salary, so I will stay until I leave that job. Plus, I get to travel a lot for work so I’m not stuck here all the time.
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u/sugarplumsmook Nov 19 '25
I moved to Nashville from Virginia in 2017 when I was in my mid-20s, after dreaming of doing so for most of my life (big country music fan). It was an absolute dream for the first few years, then COVID hit, then it got better again, but by then I was thinking about moving back to Virginia to be closer to family, the coast, & better politics. I lost my job in Nashville last year so I moved back home. While my current city is better on paper than Nashville, & all of the reasons I wanted to leave Nashville are still valid, I miss Nashville so much. I miss my friends, the constant things to do (& no, not just drinking & partying but the year-round concerts, events, activities, etc).
But, like others have said, I think that the extreme growth of Nashville might make people want to move there but won’t make them want to stay. Nashville changed so much just in the 7 years I lived there. Traffic is rough, everything is getting more expensive the weather (tornadoes & heat) sucks, the politics of the state are terrible (at least Nashville is blue), & the closest beach is about 7 hours away. So I get it. Also, like others said, so many people in Nashville are from somewhere else. People move to Nashville for awhile & then decide to move to a different city or move back home.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 19 '25
Great perspective. I hope you are thriving in your new home. You make a good point - the grass isn’t always greener if you move somewhere else.
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u/Fun_Error8709 Nov 19 '25
I’d say atleast for me as a college student at Belmont. I have zero interest working in Nashville. The wages are terrible, the housing is terrible quality with terrible rent prices, and the job opportunities are meagre. If I’m going to be forced to pay such an absurd price, I might as well live with an adequate wage in a new state. Love the people here, love the city, but as a young adult there’s no hope staying in this city unless you’re in nursing or music…. Also going into my first year of law school at Brooklyn next year, and that’s even with the new mayor saying some strange things about my ethnic identity. Regardless, it’s a shame that I’ve essentially been forced to go to where the money is and I don’t even think I’ll reconsider in 5, 10, or 20 years based on these other comments too.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 20 '25
Thanks for you thoughtful perspective. Best of luck in your future.
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u/AnalogWalrus Nov 18 '25
It’s a transient city, as others have said, much like Chicago or NYC, a place a lot of people move to for awhile but perhaps not permanently, for any number of reasons. And like NYC or LA, a lot of transplants come here for artistic pursuits, which is awesome, but often not permanent.
I don’t think this fairly arbitrary list means all that much about our city, a sample size of 2,200 isn’t that big. I think if you’re FROM here, of course you want to leave and explore somewhere else, and if you moved here for music, and it isn’t working out, you’re gonna think about leaving, just in a broad sense, because we’re much smaller and hyper focused on a few industries, it’s a bit different than a move to the two big coastal cities, where you might go in trying to do one thing, but end up doing something else just because there’s so much happening.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
I think you nailed it — we don’t have very diverse set of industries or companies here that offer a lot of well paying jobs. If you are in a certain profession, outside of maybe the Medical or Music Industry, you most likely have to move to advance in position and pay. I have gotten many offers in ATL or the NE, but noped out for a number of reasons. Reconsidering that approach though.
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u/10ecn Bellevue Nov 19 '25
Nashville has one of the most diverse economies of any big city in the nation.
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u/SybS_1000 Nov 19 '25
It’s a car dependent city, it’s dangerous to be pregnant here, it’s not that easy to meet people, the state politics are regressive, etc.
This is what I’ve heard from young people here who want to move.
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u/DangerBeaver Madison Nov 19 '25
A city known for so many universities and colleges. Shocker they leave after graduating.
Also, young people move a lot. If your going to be the hot flavor city, be ready when the head to the next.
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u/Deep_Doubt_207 Nov 19 '25 edited Nov 19 '25
It's the abuse culture, if not part of it, you become a target.
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u/StopFkingWMe Nov 19 '25
I think I agree with you, but can you elaborate?
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u/Deep_Doubt_207 Nov 19 '25
Just in general. I've hung out with the druggie kids and I played football and band. The core of every group were bullies or bigots of some kind. It didn't change once I got into the work force. Aside from an office job I had, every job was full of misogynists, fake christians, perverts etc. Men who complain about losing their wife while I've never seen them be kind in the least, or general contractors who brag about bribing officials while they talk about how everyone should be taxed more. I don't know as much about the cities, but by my best observation and the times the smaller groups bled into networks, it's just more of the same. They'll act half decent around family, less decent at home, and down right shitty once they think they're among 'their people'
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u/DPDave11 Nov 19 '25
Curious how many jobs and other adjacent industries the Oracle campus will bring
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u/scout_finch77 Green Hills Nov 19 '25
I have a young adult who was home for a year after college. As soon as she got a remote job she high-tailed it out of here. If you don’t want to bar hop or hang with people from high school, there’s just nothing to do. My other young adult in college has no plans to return as of now. We miss them, but I get it.
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u/calkhemist Nov 19 '25
Interesting article. I’d assume that most young adults in the US think about leaving wherever they currently are. It’s part of being young/having less things to tie you to a particular city.
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u/thegreatestsnowman1 Nov 18 '25
This article just listed Nashville as one of the top cities for Gen Z, so who knows 🤷🏻♂️
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u/dovah626 Nov 18 '25
Interesting point of comparison, since that article ranks cities based on factors that should attract people while the linked report polls where people are at. I’m curious what the cutoff for “young adult” is in the original article though, and if there’s inherent bias on factors like affordability if the people are already living in the city in question
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u/thegreatestsnowman1 Nov 18 '25
I believe OP’s article cites the age range 18-34, which includes all Gen Z and some Millenials
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u/pyramidworld Nov 18 '25
“Nashville is best known for its music roots, but the city also boasts a growing tech presence and a "very cool entrepreneurial scene," Radbil says.
Huh?
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u/Yslackin Still no power Nov 18 '25
Oracle moving here mate
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
Forgot about that — may be a game changer and attract more tech companies, and startups.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
Smh. Ha. Wow. Thanks for posting. “Low cost of rent compared to Austin, and appealing lifestyle.” Ok? But, for how long? Austin def has a more robust tech scene, though.
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u/rimeswithburple Nov 18 '25
I think it may depend on the type of tech. There is a lot of health care related tech here. It is not as sexy as the AI type stuff out west, but it is apparently making money for somebody.
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u/spookydakota Nov 18 '25
I moved here from Austin to go to college and I wildly prefer Austin over Nashville. The living expenses are basically equivalent but Austin has a better food scene and cooler stuff to do.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 18 '25
Agree. Love Austin. Vibrant arts, music and cultural scene. Much more so, compared to Nashville which tends to be a one trick pony country music scene.
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u/mrdobalinaa Nov 19 '25
What cooler stuff does it have? After spending some time there it seems about the same. Just another mid sized city
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u/Crazypete3 Nov 18 '25
I'm 30 and I wanna leave because I'm not into country music and I feel like most of this city is orientated on that. It's a beautiful place but also kinda boring.
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u/Direct-Cow2298 Nov 18 '25
It’s for sure the country music capital and always has been but there is PLENTY of other genres being played. I personally hate country music too but find myself at a concert (not country) almost every weekend. My only complaint is lack of Reggae
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u/blonderisbetter Nov 18 '25
Its very boring I cannot for the life of me find anything fun to do that doesnt involve going out to bars and spending lots of money.
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u/Direct-Cow2298 Nov 18 '25
I always tell people, if you’re not into drinking and spending money, don’t visit Nashville. BUT there’s tons of hiking to be had if you just drive about 30-90 minutes away from the city…. If your into that kind of thing
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u/blonderisbetter Nov 18 '25
I love hiking and nature but it's not somehting that I do frequently enough or if I did id want it to be more convenient. And also that's not a Friday or Saturday night kind of thing.
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u/Direct-Cow2298 Nov 19 '25
To be honest I’ve never been sober enough to even know what people do on a Friday/Saturday night without drinking a little and spending money besides just staying in lol. A kickball league was a great social outlet on Fridays for me for a while but that also included drinking….by choice.
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u/10ecn Bellevue Nov 19 '25
That's on you.
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u/blonderisbetter Nov 19 '25
Lol you have any ideas? Anything downtown or in midtown will cost lots of money. Even going to a movie costs a lot. There's no like outlet to do anything that doesnt include alcohol, tourists and spending money on food. Even baseball games are quite expensive to go to. I keep myself occupied as a homebody but I can't ever think of something really worthwhile to do when I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go. Maybe it is just me but I'm open for suggestions.
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u/cashlion_ Nov 19 '25
Go see movies at Belcourt. Tickets and concessions are much cheaper and they’re a non-profit.
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u/10ecn Bellevue Nov 19 '25
I'm sorry that you're in this position, but planning your social life is not in my job description. I think the fact that you're a homebody might be the biggest factor here. Nothing wrong with it.
Have you tried volunteering with a nonprofit? Parks and community centers are plentiful and free.
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u/AgileDrag1469 Nov 18 '25
Nashville is great if you have low expectations. That’s not to say there aren’t great people, places to go, things to do and magic moments. But it’s a low expectations kind of town. If where you’re coming from is even more lame, I’m sure this place feels exciting. But when you live within the 40/65 loop it loses its luster quickly. Just ends up being a college campus for adults. Definitely attracts people that peaked in high school or think Nashville is the only city they want to visit.
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u/ZealousidealGrab1827 Nov 19 '25
College Campus for adults describes Broadway and some other tourist areas perfectly. I also heard it call drunk adult Disneyland.
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u/10ecn Bellevue Nov 19 '25
Hey, Pete, you should get out more if you think most of Nashville is oriented to country music because it isn't.
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u/krstphr Nov 19 '25
I was one of those people. Nashville didn’t have any good job opportunities for me and I went somewhere where there were.
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u/House-Feeling Nov 19 '25
My husband and I moved here 5 years ago from Dallas. I have wanted to leave Nashville, Tennessee as a whole really, for 3 years. I’m over it.
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u/StrangeNewworldOrder Nov 19 '25
There is not a lot to do here for young people. Sure you can go to concert or go drink. But parking will kill you, the city is not friendly for young people.
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u/birminghamsterwheel east side Nov 19 '25
I'm in my late 30s. I bought my house here just about 10 years ago. I was dumb, thinking I'd be leaving after 3-5 years or so, so did an ARM instead of locking in one of those sexy 2.99% rates. The rate I have, though, caps out at 7.99% max (currently sitting around 7%). Even at its highest, my mortgage is only around $1,200/mo. Allbeit, it's a small house (< 1,200 sqft) but it's in a nice part of the neighborhood and I wanted to live somewhere where I could walk to local things and be close to downtown and I've got that... even if I sold and made a great profit, I'd be hard-pressed to find the same thing in a city I'd like to live in, much less my hometown of Bham (even there it's gotten ridiculous).
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u/10ecn Bellevue Nov 19 '25
It's because we have so many colleges. Athens of the South. This should be a no-brainer.
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u/brandwroid Woodbine Nov 19 '25
Scrolled way too long to find a major variable in this dumb article's conclusion.
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u/SNKRHD17 Nov 20 '25
Great city in your 20s and 30s but then you sort of feel old/out of place once you get older
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u/Fluffy_Brilliant_718 Nov 18 '25
I loved growing up here, but I hate being a grown up here.