Nashville vs. SoCal

If you've just moved towns or regions it's natural to do a certain amount of comparing of the old and new locations.  I've been trying to avoid doing too much of that but I can't avoid it at times.  A lot of the differences we've seen between Nashville/middle Tennessee and Newport Beach/SoCal are what we expected, but some of it has been a surprise.  Most of it is good but there is the occasional adjustment annoyance or surprise...

*  Nashville traffic is generally what I had hoped for - much lighter than SoCal.  Rush hour on the interstates here is like off-hour driving on the freeways there.  But, the 18-wheelers are much more of a problem here than in SoCal.  Because of the fact that three major interstate highways cross in Nashville, there is a great deal of through truck traffic.  And, since Nashville's interstate junctions are "Y" shaped (i.e. forks, not clover-leafs with exiting traffic to the right and through traffic to the left) it requires the trucks to spread across all lanes of the interstate, resulting in much interesting slalom behavior on the part of faster traffic (both cars and other trucks). 

*  Nashvillians - at least many of them - seem to view the posted speed limit as actually being more than just suggestive or advisory.  Southern Californians on the other hand view the posted speed limit as more of a guideline as to the minimum acceptable speed.  Unfortunately, many of the locals who drive the posted limit (or just a smidge slower - can't be too careful) like to drive in the fast lane or second lane.  It's not uncommon at all to find three cars across on the interstate going almost exactly the same speed - voluntarily!  In SoCal this would happen only if the speed was less than 5 MPH in the middle of rush hour.  This phenomenon has resulted in many opportunities for me to reflect on the fact that I consciously chose to move here partially to downshift my life.  Hard to remember if you are running a few minutes late for a meeting.

*  In Nashville, we have HOV lanes, which are the same as what we called car pool lanes in SoCal.  However, driver behavior is very different.  In SoCal, the combination of high fines, consistent enforcement, and restricted access to most car pool lanes means that most of the time you will not see cars with single occupants using the car pool lanes as high speed bypass lanes.  It happens, but not that often.  Here, it's not obvious that there is any enforcement of the HOV lanes so it is very common to see most of the cars in the HOV lanes holding a single occupant.  Very annoying.

*  People in Nashville are everything that we had expected and hoped for.  Open, friendly, polite - as one new acquaintance described: a great combination of southern and mid-west styles and manners and values.  Not that our friends in SoCal aren't great folks - but here if you stand in a line at the grocery store you've had multiple friendly conversations with the people in front of you and behind you before you get through the line.  That just doesn't happen regularly in SoCal (or Boston, where we were before SoCal).  It makes daily life just so much more pleasant when people are friendly and talkative. 

*  I'm surprised (pleasantly) at the ethnic diversity here.  It's not got the range or depth that existed in SoCal by any means, but it is much more diverse than I anticipated.  That's also generally a positive addition to the overall lifestyle.

*  The country music industry is an ever present aspect of life.  It was funny going around with realtors looking at property as on constant element to every trip around the area was the commentary on which country music/entertainment figures lived near or in any given area that we were driving by or looking in.  It's not just the big stars either.  It's also well known sidemen, songwriters, and other less visible figures in the business. 

*  It is definitely easier to find a good pulled pork sandwich here than anywhere in SoCal.  Thank goodness for that. 

Comments

[Jason Duncan]

It is funny you mention the speed limit here in Nashville. I find that the speed limit is followed more similiarly to what you describe of S. Cal. (as can be seen in teh stretch of I-65 South near the Wedgewood exit.)

Interesting post..it is nice to see the differences in culture across the board...