Nashville is New York City’s 7^th Borough? Huh?
Let me explain.   I call Nashville the 7^th borough as a joke. It all harkens back to the New York Times and its sometimes ridiculous over-hyping of trends and cities. In the 2010s, coincidentally around the same time I moved to Nashville, the New York Times (and other mainstream, national publications) discovered Nashville. I christened Nashville “the 7^th Borough” because the national media was over-hyping the city’s hipness factor and food scene.

Wait. New York has five boroughs. What’s the 6th Borough?
Philadelphia.   (Or some may argue that it is Beacon or Hoboken or Jersey City, but I’m sticking with Philly). In 2005, the New York Times declared Philadelphia the “Next Borough,” and henceforth, I referred to Philadelphia as the 6^th Borough. It makes sense – Amtrak can get you from the Philadelphia 30^th Street Station to Penn Station in about an hour and fifteen minutes, which is not much longer than commutes for people living in the far reaches of the outer boroughs. Philly is a town where people move to have a cheaper cost of living, but still be in an East Coast city, near to the NYC megalopolis.

A New Small Plates, Locally Sourced Restaurant Just Opened Up in East Nashville, Is It Time to Promote Nashville to the 6^th Borough?
No, Nashville can never be the 6^th Borough. I agree that it is a new “it” city, where many young(ish) professionals from the coasts are relocating for a seemingly lower cost of living along with a “Portlandia”-type life of hip restaurants and artisanal foods. However, it is geographically, ethnically, culturally, and politically too far from New York City to ever compete with it.

The hype surrounding Nashville would have you believe it is like a 7^th borough. It is true that we have decent cultural institutions, a good music scene, a growing “foody” scene, and a liberal mayor. But be skeptical of the hype. Our public transportation system is abysmal, and although some micro-neighborhoods are walkable, large portions of the city do not have sidewalks. Nashville is a blue speck in a red state, which you will be reminded of every time you hear the local NPR station talk about what our state legislature is doing. Housing prices in Music City are getting out of hand, and soon it is possible that young musicians (not to mention other low-income households) won’t be able to live here. Come this summer, Nashvillians will finally be able to buy wine in grocery stores – but still not on Sundays. I repeat. We cannot buy wine on Sundays.

I don’t mean to be negative about Nashville. I like my new hometown, and I’m fairly certain this is my forever city. I just think that we need to poke fun at how over-hyped Nashville is becoming. Up next will be my analysis of New York Times articles on Nashville. Stay tuned.