If you’re a longtime listener of the SoBros Power Hour, then you already know what a grumpy old man I am when it comes to the growth of Nashville. I love living near a city that friends and family want to come visit and have a good time in, but man, I’d be lying if I said things hadn’t gotten so crowded downtown that I just don’t even really fool with it anymore. In seeing that a lot of other genuine unicorns (that’s what we call real locals here) feel the same way, I feel like there is a sort of neglected feeling among those who have called the Music City home for decades. That’s what I wasn’t really all that surprised to see that US News slid Nashville on down their ‘best places to live’ list for 2023 (courtesy of the Nashville Business Journal).
The reasons for this included rising housing costs, traffic, and lack of walkability. Yeah, I get it. It’s interesting to see this happen because it sure seems like the rest of the country is catching up to what us local curmudgeons have been saying for awhile now – the city’s growing faster than its infrastructure can keep up. So far, it doesn’t seem like remedying this is at top of mind of our city’s leaders.
Instead, they’re doubling down. We’re going to build a shiny new stadium for the Tennessee Titans, and with that comes a myriad of entertainment possibilities. But, if you think it’s stopping there, well…I’m not sure what to tell you. There have already been rumblings coming out about the city putting an entirely new entertainment district over there adjacent to where the stadium is going to be. Is it going to be fun? Sure! Am I going to partake in the activities once or twice a year? Probably! But, that doesn’t change the growing angst that some of us old timers are feeling with all of this shit. Now, we’re not the only ones saying it anymore.
So, as far as the identity of real Nashville goes – what’s it going to be? Are they going to keep sacrificing what the city is as a place to live in order to appease those who see this city as simply a place to have fun for a few days? Or, am I in the minority here in thinking “hey, maybe all of this growth isn’t quite best for the longterm health of the city until we iron out some of these integral issues?” I’m not trying to be a stick in the mud and say don’t do it at all…just…y’know….maybe address some of these issues first.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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