I moved to East Nashville from New York eight years ago, in part in search of some change, in part to follow a certain gentleman (risky, yes, but there’s a happy ending — we’ve since married). Friends back home figured I’d struggle, leaving everything that was familiar and moving to a new place with a wholly different culture. I’m not sure how it would’ve been if I’d moved to another part of Nashville — or if I’d moved to a different city altogether — but the one thing I can say: I acclimated to East Nashville living quickly, easily, comfortably and happily. I lived in various neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, and I’ve never felt as attached to or excited about home. (In the specific, home for me is in the Riverside Village area, above.) And my sentiments aren’t all that unique around here.
That’s largely what’s behind the intent of East Nashville, With Love: to celebrate a place that’s given a lot to me and to lots of other people who live or come here.
East Nashville has its pluses and minuses, but it’s full of vibrant, creative people who’ve helped build a vibrant, creative neighborhood full of top-notch restaurants, unique shops, festivals and homes. Nothing East Nashvillians aren’t already well aware of. But the aim here is to chronicle those people, those places, and why they’re continually earning attention and admiration well outside our side of the Cumberland River.
After eight years, I still have a lot to learn about East Nashville and its people and places, and making this site came out of the desire to do so, too. If you’re reading, I hope you’ll help along the way.
East Nashville, With Love is a labor of love, and something of a personal new beginning. I’m a longtime music journalist, and after seven years at a certain large Nashville publication, I became a casualty of downsizing. Thankfully, East Nashville is many things, and one of those things is a perfect place for reinvention, inspiration and positive change. I remain an obsessive lover of music, and I’ll still write about that plenty — even here, some — but the soul-searching that comes after a big life change led me to a desire to focus on one of my other loves: home. So while I’ll strive to avoid making this site nauseatingly positive, it was born out of love, so I’d like to focus on the things that make this neighborhood great. Good thing there’s lots to talk about.
So there’s the welcome mat. I hope you’ll find some new and old friends here, and I hope you’ll introduce me to a few too. Keep in touch.
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