Nashville

 

Vanderbilt's hometown has emerged in the past two decades as a vibrant, progressive, modern city -- dubbed variously as "Music City USA" and "Athens of the South."

As the city of education, Nashville boasts 14 colleges and universities, attracting some 30,000 students from the United States and around the world (about a third of them to Vanderbilt) and an impressive mix of public and private elementary, middle and high schools.

History and Statistics:

  • Nashville was settled in 1779
  • Became state capitol from 1812-1815, then permanently in 1843
  • Elevation 550 ft. (168 m.) at the lowest point; 1100 ft. (336 m.) at the highest point of the rim around the Nashville basin
  • Area: 533 square miles
  • Time: Central Standard, November-March; Central Daylight, April-October
  • MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) eight counties: Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson
  • Nashville Economic Market 10 counties: Nashville MSA plus Maury and Montgomery counties
  • Nashville/Davidson County has a metropolitan government; city limits extend to county line

Population

Nashville, Davidson County = 569,891; MSA = 1.23 million

Climate

Nashville typically enjoys a mild and pleasant climate with only a few days of the year having either very hot or very cold conditions. Most of the city's rain is confined to the spring months, but a shower throughout the year is not unusual. This chart will help you pack for your visit: 

Fall is a celebrated time throughout Tennessee. Visitors come from all over to see the annual changing of the leaves in mid-October. Days are warm and pleasant. Evenings require a sweater or light jacket. Since the weather is changeable, layered clothing is a good idea to accommodate sunny days and cooler nights. Winter is a great time to visit the city's many attractions decked out in their holiday finery. Nashville really shines throughout the winter. Although the climate is mild, winter temperatures do range from cool to cold. If a snowfall occurs, it is usually in January or February, and is seldom heavy. 

Business Climate

Major industries include Tourism, Printing and Publishing, Technology Manufacturing, Music Production, Higher Education, Finance, Insurance, Automobile Production and Health Care Management. 

  • Nashville was named one of the 15 best U.S. cities for work and family by Fortunemagazine.
  • Nashville ranks as the fifth most popular U.S. city for corporate relocations, by Expansion Management magazine.

  • Forbes magazine named Nashville as one of the 25 cities that are likely to have the country's highest job growth over the coming five years.

Hospitality Industry

  • 54,890 jobs are directly related to hospitality.
  • Nashville hosted more than 10 million visitors in 1999 resulting in over $2.7 billion in revenues for the city.
  • Nashville has 32,699 hotel rooms in the city.
  • Opryland Hotel is now the largest non-gaming hotel property in the United States, with 2,884 rooms and 288,000 square feet of exhibit space. Nashville's Convention Center features 118,675 square foot of exhibit space.

Transportation 

  • 16 airlines: AirCanada, American, American Connection, American Eagle, Comair, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Independence, Northwest, RegionsAir, Skyway, Southwest, United Express, US Airways, US Airways Express.
  • More than 392 daily airport arrivals and departures.
  • Convergence of three interstate highways, I-40, I-24 and I-65. I-440, an inner beltway now exists, and I-840, an outer beltway between I-40 and I-24 and I-24 and I-65, was recently completed.
  • Nashville Trolley Company services the downtown and the Music Valley Drive/Opryland Hotel area. 

Cost of Living

  • Nashville consistently ranks among the lowest for cost-of-living in comparable cities across the nation.
  • Overall cost of living is only 93.7% of the national average (100%).
  • All components (groceries, housing, utilities, etc.) of cost of living are typically below the national average.