Nashville, TN, Offers Something for Everyone
The region welcomes newcomers with charm, amenities and job opportunities.
Nashville, TN, a city on the rise within one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, is the cultural melting pot of the South.
Known as Music City for good reason, live music is the lifeblood of this region, attracting talented musicians and enthusiastic fans from all over the globe. In addition, the creative force within the city and region extends beyond music into visual and performing arts and is as diverse as the region’s population, which includes cultures from around the world.
Even so, newcomers find it easy to fit in with others who moved to the region for the same reasons – a new job, a fresh start or a chance to pursue a dream.
Those are the reasons Erika Sanchez and her family moved from Southern California to Spring Hill in 2020.
“We picked Spring Hill on a Google map, packed up, and five weeks later, drove across the country,” she says. And she’s never looked back.
Neither had jobs lined up, just faith.
Economic opportunity is a big draw for the region. Nashville is home to several global companies and a growing tech sector. The unemployment rate is low (2.1% in April 2023), and the average salary is higher than the national average, making it a great place to begin a job search.
“We prayed about it for months and felt God telling us to take a leap of faith and go,” she says. “We decided it was going to work. It took my husband just five weeks to find a job.”
Sanchez says moving to Spring Hill and the Nashville Region was “like having a weight lifted off our shoulders.”
Young professionals, musicians, creatives, entrepreneurs and military personnel can all find a niche in this dynamic region, which extends beyond the bustling city limits and encompasses the neighboring counties of Cheatham, Dickson, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson.
Finding a Niche in Nashville, TN
“These are my people,” Sanchez says. “It felt like home from the beginning. There are genuinely good people here. We love the nature all around us, the green parks and the waterfalls.”
Sanchez spread the word to her family about the quality of life in the region, and soon, her younger brother moved to the area from New York, and her sister joined them with their mother.
Kristina Matthews, Sanchez’s sister, opened Oasis Health Center in Spring Hill. Sanchez does marketing for the company and is active in the local chamber of commerce. She also homeschools her children and says finding an active home school community was a significant plus.
“We take field trips everywhere as part of our homeschool program and as a family,” she says. “We visit the Frist Art Museum and Cheekwood in Nashville and the Polk Home in Columbia and enjoy events like the [Iroquois] Steeplechase.”
Jordan Ledford also saw something in the region and steered his company to choose Nashville for expansion.
“Nashville is exactly what our family was looking for,” says Ledford, CEO of Smart, a global savings and investments technology provider. Founded in the UK, Smart operates in the U.S., Europe, Australia and the Middle East.
Nashville, TN, is a Perfect Fit
Originally from Miami, Ledford has lived in major cities including Atlanta, Philadelphia, and most recently, Chicago. When it was time to choose a base for Smart, Ledford and his wife both liked the pace of the South and spent time in 2020 checking out the Nashville Region. They liked the look of the landscape, the cultural and recreational assets.
“We were blown away by the beauty of the area,” he says. “It is one of the most beautiful places we have ever lived. In driving around, we saw that not only does the area offer a booming metropolis and an easily accessible airport, but in 20 minutes, you could be out in the country enjoying outdoor activities.”
The Ledfords and their two young children moved to the region in September 2020.
Ledford is committed to the region’s growth and joined the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Partnership 2030 initiative, a strategy to maintain and grow the region’s economy by creating jobs, building a talented workforce and promoting a high quality of life.
Like Sanchez, Ledford wants to spread the word about the region. As a British American Business Council member, he serves on a steering committee to attract more UK investment to the area.
“Nashville is a world-class city, a shining beacon on the hill. I wanted to get involved with this effort to grow the city and keep it great,” he says.
Making Nashville, TN, Home
Shohreh Darae is part of Nashville’s Kurdish community, the largest in North America, with a population of more than 15,000.
Darae, director of education and talent development for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, immigrated with her mother, father and younger brother to Nashville from Eastern Kurdistan (Western Iran) in 1999, along with many other Kurds in search of a better life and more opportunities.
The Kurdish population’s growth in the region is in part thanks to organizations like Catholic Charities and other nonprofits.
“I have had a particularly strong bond to our community here and its people ever since,” Darae says. “Our Kurdish community is our family now.”
And she’s bonded to the Nashville Region.
“There’s a place for everyone here in Nashville,” she says. “The economic opportunities, the welcoming nature and diversity of people, and the amazing food scene are just some of the things that make Nashville home for me.”
Darae says she particularly enjoys Nolensville Road, with its Kurdish bakeries, Kurdish markets and restaurants. The area is a prime example of why she loves and feels comfortable in Nashville.
“I think it’s important for people in our city to know the impact the Kurdish community has made, and will continue to make, to Nashville,” she says. “We are teachers, police officers, librarians, nurses, mechanics and more. We make our city go. We set down roots here, raise families and build careers. While we will always be proud Kurds, we are also proud Nashvillians. This city has given a lot to us, and we strive to give back every day.”
Get to Know Nashville, TN
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