Nashville and Knoxville

[Abeja]

Hi everybody,

I'm looking into programs in Nashville and Knoxville and have never visited either city there. Anybody know what they're like to live in? I'm in Austin now, and I love the scale and pace here. Diversity is important to me, walkable neighborhoods, affordability. I love the progressive culture in Austin, and the international community. I have a feeling those will be less dominant in Tennessee but I don't have any first hand knowledge on it. Can anyone speak to any of those points?

Thank you~

[aginath]

You're likely to find useful information in the threads that have already been started on each city.

[awshoaf]

I think you'll find that Nashville and Austin have a lot in common. Diverse population (few people are Nashville natives), college town (Vanderbilt, Belmont, MTSU, and others), music/art scene is huge (I work in music industry). Still plenty of southern charm, though.

Pockets of the city are very pedestrian and bike friendly.

Message me if you need any more info.

Hi everybody,

I'm looking into programs in Nashville and Knoxville and have never visited either city there. Anybody know what they're like to live in? I'm in Austin now, and I love the scale and pace here. Diversity is important to me, walkable neighborhoods, affordability. I love the progressive culture in Austin, and the international community. I have a feeling those will be less dominant in Tennessee but I don't have any first hand knowledge on it. Can anyone speak to any of those points?

Thank you~

[eeo1]

I have been both places, but have spent more time in Nashville. I think Knoxville is essentially a college town, whereas Nashville has a lot more to offer. I lived in Nashville while doing an internship and LOVED it!!! Good luck!

[The Wanderer]

Hi everybody,

I'm looking into programs in Nashville and Knoxville and have never visited either city there. Anybody know what they're like to live in? I'm in Austin now, and I love the scale and pace here. Diversity is important to me, walkable neighborhoods, affordability. I love the progressive culture in Austin, and the international community. I have a feeling those will be less dominant in Tennessee but I don't have any first hand knowledge on it. Can anyone speak to any of those points?

Thank you~

I did my undergraduate degree at UT-Austin and my masters degree at UT-Knoxville, so I might be of some help here. Admittedly, I'm biased because I *loved* Austin (and still do). I don't think you'll ever find a city with all the same quirks and charms, so don't get your hopes up too high in that regard. But Knoxville is a pretty cool city too, in my experience. As far as scale and pace, I'd say it's very, very similar to Austin. Even the layout of the town is somewhat similar (a campus that's bordered by a main "strip/drag" on one side and a really cool, clean, and walkable downtown area on another, the huge football stadiums and football culture that turn the whole town a shade of orange on game days, and a nice, scenic river/lake bordering the downtown area). When I first moved to Knoxville I was struck by how similar it was to Austin in that respect. If you're interested in walkability, I would definitely suggest living close to campus though. Knoxville is a driving city on the whole. But the campus/downtown areas are quite pretty and definitely walkable, if you're not averse to lots of hills. Affordability is off the charts in Knoxville too. Much cheaper even than Austin. Granted, I lived pretty far west of campus, but I had a three-bedroom rental house that cost less that $600 a month. Seriously.

On the other hand, if you're looking for diversity and "progressive culture," I'm not sure Knoxville could be even in the same conversation as Austin. UTK is a flagship university, so there is a bit of international diversity around campus, but nothing like Austin, and the rest of the city is what I would consider pretty solidly southern. It's not a bad thing at all, because it's an extremely friendly city with all the southern charms you might expect, but some of my academic colleagues (and professors!) were uncomfortable with how homogeneous the city is. In any case, I would say it's a place worth checking out if you can afford the visit (it's about a three-hour drive from Nashville, so you could ostensibly check out both cities in one trip). I was instantly sold on how green and hilly the place is and by how relaxed the pace was and how kind the people were, both at UTK and in Knoxville in general. Good luck!

[AurantiacaStella]

I'm finishing my undergrad degree at UT-Knoxville. Although i would not have expected it when I first arrived here, I will really miss Knoxville. Parts of the campus are really beautiful, and as the post above me says, the campus and downtown areas are definitely walkable. I know lots of people who bike to campus as well, although depending where you live it may take some time to find a safe route. I know faculty and students who live in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood. I would definitely recommend that you drive around that neighborhood if you do happen to visit Knoxville. That would be a place within bike-able, but not necessarily walk-able distance to campus, but it is definitely in walk-able distance to downtown. As a grad student, I would not recommend living on campus or very close to campus, as you'd have to deal with the significant noise level that accompanies drunken undergrads. While Knoxville would be no comparison to Austin, there is actually a growing progressive/artsy crowd. I know many undergraduates who are involved in this scene, although I cannot speak to how many grad students are involved.

Sorry I can't help with Nashville. I have heard great things about their downtown area and live music.

[Abeja]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies everybody- this is very helpful!

Best of luck~

[warpspeed]

I also applied to Vandy, anxiously awaiting the response.

I grew up 6 hours from Nashville and visited often when I was in high school for music concerts/shows. I hadn't gone back until the past September when I visited Vandy. My sister in law went to UT for her masters and I can say that upon visiting nashville this last time, it is getting more of an Austin feel to it. Increasingly local business and environmental consciousness, good food and of course local music. I would say Nashville is moving towards Austin and actually is a wonderful place to live. I can't speak for Knoxville, but I don't think it'll be TOO much of a culture shock. Just remember, there really is no place like Austin.