Five Lesser-Known Things Every New Resident Learns After Moving to Nashville
As an action-packed city with great people, great food, beautiful scenery, endless places to explore, and of course, an incredible music scene, Nashville is an easy place to love, and why everyone and their cousin seems to be moving here. As with any new city, there’s a lot of fun and endearing things to learn – that are both obvious and not so obvious. Here are five lesser-known things we quickly learned after moving to Music City that will be helpful to any new Nashvillian or visitor.
1. How to Pronounce “Demonbreun”
Demonbreun Street cuts straight through the heart of downtown Nashville, from the Gulch to the riverfront, and is definitely a major talking point in our town. Want to know if someone’s a local? Ask them how to pronounce this street name, and you’ll know quickly! It’s not “Demon-broo-en,” as we first guessed, but “Dee-mun-bree-yun,” which is actually easy to grasp once you’ve said it a few times. When you’re downtown, pivot one block south of Broadway to Demonbreun, and there’s no doubt you’ll have a chance to show off your new local knowledge.
2. Nashville Severe Weather is Your New Best Friend
When it comes to weather, Nashville has it all – sunshine, humidity, rain, thunderstorms, snow, ice, straight-line winds, and yes, unfortunately, tornadoes. The weather in Middle Tennessee can be very sporadic, and spring months can bring extremely severe weather, which you’ll become all-too-familiar with! When we first moved, we were told to follow Nashville Severe Weather on Twitter, (now X, as everyone knows). I can say hands down that this is one of the most helpful tips I have ever received moving here. I depend on this incredible group of guys for honest, straightforward weather reports – including YouTube live streams during the most severe weather – mixed with comfort and light-hearted humor. The humor is what really gets me, because while the weather here can be scary and anxiety-inducing at times, this group knows exactly what to say to lighten the mood. They tweet incredible updates. They make you laugh. They are more accurate and detailed than the local news. If I wasn’t following them, I would have missed the absolutely breathtaking Northern Lights that were on display in Nashville a few months ago (a core memory for me now!). Bottom line, if you live in Davidson or Williamson country – or anywhere around Nashville for that matter – follow them RIGHT AWAY! You’ll be grateful you did.
3. The Delicate Art of Dodging Potholes
Definitely not the most glamorous aspect of Nashville, but a fact of life here – especially in Spring – is the pothole situation. The more severe the winter, the more severe the potholes. In springtime you might very well find yourself dodging a comical amount potholes all the way up and down the interstate – almost like you’re in a video game – complete with gridlock traffic and cars off to the side of the road due to the damage caused to their tires. Definitely a downside, but this Nashville quirk is something every driver needs to be aware of! Now whenever you hear Morgan Wallen singing “Now I’m dodging potholes in my sunburnt Silverado,” you’ll really know where the inspo came from!
4. Destination Destin
If you aren’t making a yearly summer pilgrimage to Destin, Florida, do you really live in Nashville? To be honest, before moving here, I had never heard of Destin. But after the first few months, the topic of Destin seemed to come up everywhere we went, with 30A bumper stickers slapped on the back of every other car. We made the trip to see what the fuss was all about, and now I can absolutely see why it is such an incredible hotspot – along with all of 30A! A seven hour drive directly south of Nashville, you’ll find turquoise waters, sugar white sand, and plenty of things to do on the beautiful coastline. Be sure to check out my list of Destin tips of what to do (and not do!) when you make your trip. It’s the perfect beach getaway!
5. There’s History at Every Turn
If you’re a history buff, then Nashville (and Tennessee, for that matter) is definitely the place for you. It’s rare to not see an iconic metal historic marker outlining the history behind a site, person and/or event that took place or lived near the site. With over 2,000 historic markers in the state, you never know what history you’ll come across even when taking a leisurely drive on a country road. About 30 minutes south of Nashville is the picturesque town of Franklin, which has museums, history and landmarks from its historic past during the Civil War. In addition to the historic sites, cemeteries dating as far back as the 1700s are dotted around Nashville. Don’t be surprised if you see small family cemeteries fenced off in the middle of new neighborhood developments and on golf courses, as they respectfully keep them intact. While at first I was spooked by this, I have grown to love and embrace the cemeteries as a cherished part of our state’s history where past residents have been laid to rest.
There you have it! While we undoubtedly have learned so much in our years of living in Nashville, these five points stick out to me as common, yet lesser-known things that anyone moving here will learn. Do you have any more Nashville facts I should share? Send me an email at oursouthernjourney@gmail.com, I would love to hear from you about your own experiences!
