Local Life and Lore in Nashville

By Nicki Pendleton Wood, FrontDoor.com | Published: 2/17/2009

Nashville's entertainment industry and its surplus of New York and Los Angeles transplants has earned the city the nickname the Third Coast. Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau

GETTING AROUND
Because three interstates (I-24, I-65, I-40) pass through Nashville, there are always two ways to get somewhere: surface street and interstate. And of course the secret back ways. When you ask someone about their day, they're likely to start by describing which route they took. Here are some tips to help you navigate Nashville:

Why North is East. Parts of town often correspond to their position relative to the river. North Nashville is really west, but it's north of the river. East Nashville is really north, but it's east of the river.

Street personalities. Nashville is a "hub-and-spoke" city, and each "spoke" has its own character. West End is the clogged business corridor. Church Street has several gay-owned businesses and the funky Elliston Place strip. 21st Avenue is dominated by Vanderbilt Medical Center. 16th and 17th Avenues hold the largest concentration of music industry companies. Charlotte is the hospital corridor. Franklin Road/Eighth Avenue was the traditional home for country music stars, and further toward town, is the antique district. Rosa Parks borders historic Germantown and runs past Bicentennial Mall. Clarksville Highway has fantastic barbecue joints.

Don't call it a carpool. Maybe you're driving the "hookup" -- the local word for carpool. Not only has the phrase not fallen from use -- it's thrived even as newcomers arrive with another meaning for "hookup" fixed in their minds.

Why you'll need a hookup. There's a thriving carpool culture here for lots of reasons. The city is so geographically spread out that public transportation isn't very useful to large swathes of town. And nearly 13 percent of Nashville's school children attend private school and must furnish their own transportation.

Shifting street names. Pay attention while you drive -- the same street can change names unexpectedly. One minute you're driving down Harding Place and the next you're on Battery Lane. One minute you're on Hillsboro and the next you're on 21st Avenue. And Old Hickory Boulevard? If someone gives you directions involving Old Hickory, listen carefully, as it's a ring road that stretches some dozens of miles around the city.

Foreign street names. Ask someone before you try to pronounce Demonbreun or Lafayette. Especially if you actually know how to speak French.

Landmarks that no longer exist. They baffle transplants, but locals use them to navigate. "Turn where the Shoney's used to be, then go eight blocks. Park in the old Commerce Union parking garage." By the time you've lived in Nashville a while, you'll know what it looked like 20 years ago.

Epidemic of broken blinkers. Oh, and wherever you're driving, remember that Nashvillians don't use their blinkers, so watch the car in front of you.

NICKNAMES AND PHRASES TO KNOW

The Third Coast. One of Nashville's nicknames, based on the media and entertainment industry here, and the number of New York/Los Angeles transplants.

SoBro. Downtown's redevelopment has crept southward, and the area south of Broadway, "SoBro," is the place to be. The Hilton, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Shelby Street Bridge. Eateries include The Palm, Crema and Sole Mio. A concert, a stroll and a meal. It's no surprise that apartments are springing up nearby.

The Gulch. The railroad gulch formed by 11th and 12th Avenues has divested the last of the old industrial tenants and is now home to clubs, restaurants and a growing supply of housing.

"TV parking." One thing to instantly love about the Third Coast, compared to the real coasts: you can often pull the car up to your destination and find a parking space right there. That's how it always happens in TV shows, even if they're set in crowded cities, like Boston or New York. Sometimes called "rock star" parking.

Eatin' meat-n-three. You'll want to stop at a "meat-n-three," the local term for Southern cooking restaurants, which usually offer a choice among several meats and three vegetables. Most are only open for lunch.

Hot chicken, hot fish. Getting either takes some driving, but the spicy, crusty deliciousness is something you can't get many other places.

Driving to the Mountain. Monteagle Mountain, 90 miles southeast on I-24, is cooler in the summer and has a couple of resorts favored by old money.

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