10/10

I've been in Nashville for a week or so, long enough to know that I like it. I woke up this morning mentally listing the things I like about Smashville and the things I miss about where I used to live. I thought I would share.

10 THINGS I LIKE ABOUT LIVING IN NASHVILLE

1. Hills. West Tennessee is flat. I mean really flat. You can't find a decent slope until you get to the bluffs on the Mississippi River. When I lived in Knoxville, I got used to the hills in the city. It just seemed to add variety to the landscape. I didn't realize how much I missed that until I moved here.

2. Restaurants. Nashville has a bizillion places to eat and I don't mean Applebee's and O'Charley's. I ate at a place called The Grape last week. You would never find a place like that in the backwater where I used to live.

3. The new house. It's comfortable, roomy, on top of a hill and has a huge back yard for the dogs. I really like it.

4. The Predators/Titans. I already liked them before I moved here, but now going to a game is a 15 minute drive as opposed to a 2 hour road trip. Last week we were sitting around and just decided "Hey, let's go to a hockey game." Gotta like it.

5. The Girl . I know she feels better here. All of the history in Nashville will be OUR history. She doesn't have to worry about the stuff I shared with the ex-wife. I know her stress level is down.

6. The airport. I'm 10 minutes from anywhere. It's the same thing as number 4. Instead of a 2 hour drive just to get on the plane, we can throw our shit in a bag and go.

7. The Tennessean . I know, a newspaper is hardly reason to move, but it contains REAL news, not just obituaries and wedding announcements. This place feels like the real world.

8. The malls. I hate to shop, really I hate it. But, if you gotta go, at least your choices here are more varied than Sears and J.C. Penny's.

9. The work. No, I don't have a job yet. I'm not worried. There are umpteen hospitals here and I have no fear of finding work. I've been putting it off until after Thanksgiving and Las Vegas. No point in getting work only to say "I know I've only been here for a week, but I need four days off." The place I used to live had two hospitals and zero choice. You either worked for the evil empire or you worked at the hospital that continuously struggled. Christmas is coming, so my old job will soon start talking about "slow time" and "cutting back on hours." It was always a pain in the ass to know you wouldn't be making enough money right at the time of year that you knew you needed it more.

10. Broadway and Printer's Ally. Party spots in Nashville. I don't go out that much, but at least now I have the option of going to real bars and hot spots and not just "Bubba's Bar and Grill."



So, I'm thinking about the things I like about Nashville this morning and the companion to that is the things I miss about where I used to live. So here are the 10 things I miss about my old town and house.

1. NOTHING. Sorry, it's anticlimactic I know. Deal