Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is called Music City for a reason. Live music is everywhere: on the street, in cafes, accompanying your late-night drinks. Nashville is THE destination for country music hopefuls. Even If your career isn’t center stage, there are plenty of jobs to be had in Music City. A recent study by NerdWallet found that the top two employers in the city are healthcare and tech. Aside from Bridgestone Tires and Vanguard Industries, both of which have their headquarters in Nashville, there is quite the startup hub blossoming here, playing host to companies like Emma and Cicayda. With an extremely low unemployment rate of about 3%, it doesn’t take very long for new residents to find a job!

It can sound mean-spirited to put down the people who bring so much revenue to the city but not only is Nashville the go-to destination for music lovers, but it’s also acquired a new title: Bachville…Anyone who’s anyone is having their bachelor/bachelorette parties in Nashville. On any relatively warm night, you can find Broadway packed with veil-wearing parties all in matching “Bride Tribe” shirts, looking for a good time. Luckily, if you stay out of downtown you may never see them!

Nashville is a city of transplants: everyone is from everywhere. It may be the music scene or it could be the job opportunities, but there’s no doubt that Nashville has grown tremendously in the last 10 years. The city feel varies wildly depending on where you are. Overall, it has the feel of a college town. The city’s culture revolves heavily around the large university community and there are parts of town that definitely feel like a college town: bars with neon signs and half-price drinks, fans flooding the streets on game day, and a ton of late-night spots that are crowded until 2 AM. Outside of those areas you’ll either be in one of two places: tourist-center (downtown) or chill, true Nashville. Tourism plays a huge role in the city’s economy as well as the vibe. If you’re anywhere downtown in the warmer months, you will be inundated with people in town for Bachelor or Bachelorette parties. Then there’s the people in town for the music who flock to the Grand Ole Opry, Tootsie’s, or the Country Music Hall of fame. Then there are a ton of areas that just feel like Nashville. Not as crowded with tourists, they still have the friendly southern hospitality, great food, and even greater coffee and beer. A lot of locals really rely on their neighborhood because they dread getting in the car and trudging across the city for a night out.

Check out the Nashville calendar of events to get a deeper sense of what's happening here.

In Music City, the country music industry plays a huge part in Nashville’s economy. The Big Three record labels, as well as numerous independent labels, have offices in Nashville. It’s also the headquarters of Gibson guitars. This plays a huge role in the “gig culture” of the work scene here. A lot of people who are trying to make it big in music often piece together work from a variety of day jobs, while playing shows at night. Apart from music, top industries include healthcare, publishing, banking, automotive, and tech. Healthcare being the largest industry, Nashville is home to over 300 health care companies including Hospital Corporation of America (the largest private operator of hospitals in the US). Headquarters in the city also include Bridgestone Americas, Logan’s Roadhouse, and more, while Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and Nissan, amongst others, also maintain a large presence in the city. University life also plays a huge role in the workforce of Nashville, with Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, Belmont, Fisk and more all within city limits.