From Hot Chicken to Honky Tonks: Living Your Best Life in Nashville

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Welcome to the Where Do Gays Retire.
Podcast where we help you inthe LGBTQ community find a safe and
affordable retirement place.Join Mark Goldstein as he interviews
others.
Who live in gay friendlyplaces around the globe.
Learn about the climate, costof living.
Health care, crime and safety,and more. Now here's your host, Mark

(00:24):
Goldstein. Have you everwondered what it's like to be living
in Nashville, Tennessee? Well,if you're afraid to ask, you'll find
out in just a few moments. Wehave our guest, Evan Thomas, and

(00:44):
he's going to be our expertand letting us know. So let me tell
you a little bit about Evan.Good morning. Or afternoon? I should
say Evan.
Yeah. Good afternoon, Mark.
So Evan is originally fromDothan, Alabama. Did I say that right?
You did. Nice job.

(01:06):
Thank you. And he graduatedfrom Auburn University in 2007 with
a degree in communication.After an internship with the Today
show, he moved to Nashville,Tennessee to begin post college life.
After six years in Nashville,he moved to Washington D.C. and back
to Auburn where he worked forhis first in house recruiter for

(01:29):
the College of Liberal Artsand as the development associate
for the College ofArchitecture, Design and construction.
In 2018, he returned toNashville to join his twin brother
Elliot in real estate. TheThomas twins team has now grown to
three agents, one adminassistant and a transaction coordinator.

(01:52):
They are a multi year awardwinning real estate team, the top
producing agents in theiroffice and in the top 10% of their
company. And the GreaterNashville Realtors Association. Whoa,
that's quite an accomplishmentthere. From 2019 to 2024, Evan served

(02:13):
as the president of theGreater Nashville Auburn Alumni Club,
winning club leader of theyear in 2019. In 2022, he was selected
for Auburn University'sinaugural class of 20 under 40 alumni
honorees and was appointed toserve on the Auburn Alumni Association
Board of directors. In 2023,he is an active member of the national

(02:38):
and Nashville chapter of theLGBTQ Real Estate Alliance.
Go.
In his free time. What freetime? Evan enjoys powerlifting, pottery,
karaoke, exploring Nashville'sexceptional and growing restaurant

(02:59):
scene. I'm with you there.Spending time with his Bernadoodle,
Bernese mountain dog and a doodle.
That's it. And a poodle. Yeah, poodle.
Right.
He's right behind me, layingdown, whimpering because I'm probably
not walking with him orscratching his belly. He's here for
moral support.
So he's a. He's a big guy, huh?

(03:19):
He is.
And that's Kota.
Yeah.
And. Yeah. And he sits around.Around a fire with wine and friends.
Here's Kota. If the camera. Great.
I want to see Kota.
Come here, buddy. Come here.Up, up, up, up.
Come on, Koda.
Come on, bubba. Come here.Let's see here. Come here.

(03:42):
Is Koda just a puppy, or is hereally big?
You will soon see he doesn'tknow what to do about being big.
Tough. Ah.
Oh, my goodness, that Kota.What a mush.
He's like, what is happening?
You know what? Thatpowerlifting comes in handy.

(04:02):
I've got 10. I've got tenniselbow, so that wasn't as easy as
I expected it to be, but I could.
I could imagine. Thank you forshowing us Koda.
I wish he was a little more.More open to being picked up and
shown off of the camera, but.But he's not like his daddy.
Just worked up a sweat.
A mild one.

(04:24):
All right, well, let's start.Okay. Let's talk about climate and
geography. So, Evan, can youdescribe Nashville's climate throughout
the year? How does it. How hotdoes it get in the summer? How cold
does the winters get?
Yeah, that's a great question.It's, you know, if you're wanting
four seasons, I thinkNashville is ideal for that. Granted,

(04:47):
the best seasons, in myopinion, spring and fall, they tend
to be a little bit shorter,unfortunately. I wish that we had
a longer fall and a longerspring. But I would say that our
summers tend to be pretty hot,between 85 to 100 degrees, humid,
with occasional thunderstorms.We have mild winters with temperatures
rarely dipping below freezingand occasional light snow or ice.

(05:09):
However, right now, is thatexceptional time?
Okay.
Yes.
Currently for the audience,it's January 21st, so we have this
freeze over the United Statesright now. So I'm sure. Yeah, even
Tennessee is getting itbecause the south is getting it.
Yeah. It's currently 24degrees and feels like 13. And I'm

(05:33):
getting text messages from myfamily members down in southeast
Alabama in Dothan, and theyactually have snow, which it's super
rare to get snow down there,so they're pretty thrilled. They.
It is so rare, so they kind oflook forward to it when it does happen.
But here, I would say weprobably have one to two, maybe three
big snows a year, but it meltsoff pretty quickly. It might linger

(05:55):
for a few days. Yeah, springand fall are very pleasant with moderate
temperatures and lowerhumidity. And then I would say, overall,
we've got hot, sticky summers,relatively mild winters, and it's
a good mix for people wholike, you know, warm weather year
round, but some distinctseasons. So that's for you check

(06:15):
that box for Nashville, Tennessee.
Got it, got it. So how aboutclimate change? Has climate change
impacted Nashville so far? Arethere noticeable shifts in weather
patterns or extreme weatherevents? Like, I know, you know, living
in Phoenix, Arizona over thepast few years we've gotten some

(06:36):
extreme summers. So 120degrees plus, which is pretty unbearable
at times. What's happening in Nashville?
That's a great question. And Ithink 15 years ago, probably 10 to
15 years ago, I probably havea different answer. But man, we have

(06:58):
had some pretty intenseweather here over the course of the
past, you know, six to sevenyears since I guess I've been back
here for about six years. Andin that time we've had a handful
of tornadoes. And so one inparticular that was very deadly and
pretty substantial comingthrough at the beginning of March

(07:19):
of 2020, literally like a weekor two before the pandemic. So that
one kind of sticks out a lotfor a lot of locals, I would say.
To give you a brief overviewof what you, how climate change has
impacted Nashville, I'd say wedo have warmer summers like you mentioned,
with more days over 90 degreesFahrenheit, milder winters with fewer

(07:41):
freezing days and less snow.So if you're one that, if you're,
if you're not for snow, thenthat should be a plus for Nashville.
But we do have heavierrainfall and more frequent flash
floods. Increased tornadoactivity, as I mentioned. It's like
particularly pretty severestorms that can sometimes do damage

(08:01):
like a small scale tornado.Longer growing seasons with potential
like agricultural benefits,but they also have their challenges.
So does the state or the citydo anything to mitigate climate change
at all? Are they, you know,preparing for extra flooding? Do

(08:23):
you know if they're doing anything?
Yeah, I did a little bit ofresearch on this in preparation.
They have some initiatives tomitigate climate change with a strong
focus on renewable energy,energy efficiency and sustainability
programs. Our cityspecifically has a climate action
plan which they hope willreduce emissions. However, our state

(08:44):
is a little more sluggish andslower to embrace like widespread
clean energy policies. So, youknow, know, state level initiatives
are still in the early stagescompared to a lot more, you know,
progressive regions. And Ithink that as we talk more about
Nashville, you'll find thatNashville is kind of a little more
colorful and progressive thanthe state at large. The state, I

(09:07):
hear it, we're a blue dot in avery red state.
I was just going to say a blue bubble.
Yes, exactly. And so yeah, we,there are some positive trends in
renewable growth energy.Growth energy Efficiency and electric
vehicle adoption. So it seemslike we're kind of headed in the
right direction, but it is alittle bit of a slower pace than

(09:28):
many would prefer.
Okay, geographically, whatmakes Nashville unique? Do natural
features like rivers or parksor green spaces stand out?
Yeah, I would say that we areunique in that we do have a major
river kind of that runsthrough the heart of our downtown.

(09:50):
That would be the CumberlandRiver. And so for many people who
have come to Nashville as atourist, you probably have seen that
once you hit, you know,downtown and Broadway, the Cumberland
is right there in the heart ofit. You know, the street itself kind
of dead ends there and turnsdown Second Avenue at the. At the
river. And that for manyyears, was kind of like a gathering
area for, you know, concertsand festivals and things. But as

(10:15):
the city has grown, they'vekind of moved the location for some
of these major festivals andevents and stuff to areas that can
accommodate, you know, morepeople. But with that, I'd say we
do have a lot of parks. We'vegot some great hiking out in at the
Percy Warner parks kind ofwest of Nashville. We do have within.
Within the city, a Centennialpark, which is a really great, large

(10:36):
park with a replica of theParthenon, which was built to celebrate
a major anniversary for thecity. One thing I'd like to chat
about later on in thisinterview is Nashville is called
Athens of the South. And sothat's why we have a replica of the
Parthenon in the heart of thecity, kind of near midtown. So, yeah,

(10:58):
Athens of the south, becauseat one point in time, we had most.
The most colleges anduniversities per capita than. Than
a lot of other, you know,major cities. And I. Maybe even in.
In the United States. But, youknow, that. That may have changed
since then. So I don't knowhow accurate that stat is, but as
I moved to Nashville in thesummer of 2006 and took a job with

(11:19):
the Gaylord Opryland Hotel asa banquet server on the General Jackson
showboat. That was one of thekind of fun facts that we learned
about the city and whenever wewere going through our training.
So. So, yeah, we've got amajor river, you know, that runs
through downtown that, youknow, access to that river kind of
opens up into lakes that arein the suburbs. You've got Percy

(11:42):
Priest Lake, Old Hickory Lake.Lots of boating and activities going
on out there. I would say it'srarer to see those boats come into
town. You know, I think thatthe. A lot of the activity on. On
the Cumberland, especiallydowntowns, tends to be like barges
and stuff. But I think thatwhat we're going to see here in the
next few years is a majorrevitalization or development around

(12:05):
our riverfront. And that islargely because a lot of commercial
development has begun downtownon the riverfront on the heels of
Oracle announcing that theirglobal headquarters will be here
in Nashville. So big, bigamount of money being poured into
that area and one of the goalsof that project, to my knowledge,

(12:26):
is to make our, you know,riverfront more accessible and, you
know, ripe for, you know,folks coming in from the suburbs
on their boats, parking theirboat, enjoying the city and then
kind of making their way back home.
You know, it's like, likehaving a river walk.
Yeah. Area like in a marina,you know, those types of things.

(12:48):
You know, that's what Iunderstand will be, you know, a byproduct
of all this. And so it'll bereally interesting to see, you know,
how that changes our city andmakes it more efficient and easier
to kind of get around andenjoy that resource.
That sounds great. Yeah, doessound great. Let's, let's talk a
little bit about cost ofliving. Being a real estate person,

(13:12):
this is.
My wheelhouse, I guess.
What's the current medianprice for a two bedroom, two bath
single family home inNashville and are there more single
family homes or condos? Tellus a little bit about the.
Yeah, so, you know, I got intoreal estate in 2018. That's when

(13:33):
I got licensed. My brotherkind of has a four year lead on me,
so I moved here and hitched mywagon to his and I haven't looked
back. And I would say in thesix years that I've been in this
business, six plus I have,we've seen a lot more condo development,
we've seen a lot more densityoccur in our city. Upon, you know.

(13:58):
Well, while living in Auburnand kind of watching Nashville's
real estate scene and its realestate market like take off, you'd
see a lot of like infill. SoNashville, I don't think was. They
didn't expect or feel that thecity probably was poised for the
type of growth that we'veexperienced. And so what you had

(14:18):
is you had a lot of, you know,deployment, you know, deferred maintenance
and neglect on, on homes thatsit on larger lots. And in order
for us to become a more densecity, one that could grow at the
pace in which we were, youknow, they, you started seeing builders

(14:39):
and developers and the citykind of probably made it more conducive
for, for developers to do thisthrough some zoning changes, but
you started seeing a rise inthis kind of architectural, kind
of approach of, you know,building higher and taller. So you
had building and builders anddevelopers coming in and raising

(15:00):
neglected older homes onlarger lots and then building two
homes on one lot, you know,and going up. So that particular
style of home here is what wecall an hpr, which stands for horizontal
property regime. And so youcan have an attached HPR or a detached
hpr. A lot of people that arecoming in from out of town are looking
at that and probably thinkinglike, oh, that's a townhome. Well,

(15:22):
not necessarily. You know,townhomes tend to be more than two
or. And some people probablywould say, oh, that's a duplex. And
you know, the way that Icompare a duplex to this type of
product is, you know, a duplextends to be owned by typically like,
you know, one person and thenyou've got maybe tenants or an owner
occupied one side and a tenanton the other. And so an hpr, you

(15:45):
own, you know, your particularunit individually, unless you bought
by both, and then you will,you will have shared common elements.
And sometimes that meanshaving to work with your neighbor
around, you know, going in ona fence together if it's attached,
you know, if you have dogs,things like that. But it comes with
its, its hurdles sometimes.But it can be ideal for those that

(16:06):
kind of want to be, you know,in the heart of the city, in the
middle of the action withmeant, you know, less yard maintenance
and things like that.
So it sounds like a condo.
Yeah, it is kind of like acondo. You know, we do have varying
styles of condos here, but Iwould say, you know, with the growth
of the city has come a lotmore like mid to high rise condo

(16:27):
buildings. I just actuallytoured one last week called the Paramount,
which will be Nashville'stallest luxury high rise condo building
in, in this, I saw apresentation on it. Rather. It's
not. It's being built rightnow and it has, it is the building
that has been home to ourDOWNT ymca. So that amenity or, or,
you know, facility will be apart of this development. But yeah,

(16:50):
60 stories high and will bepretty expensive too. Yeah, yeah.
It'll definitely change theskyline of Nashville a little bit,
you know.
Yeah, all kinds of condosstarting at a million.
Yeah, yeah. I think each oneis probably at minimum or at its
lowest price, I believe is, Isa million plus.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I would. Yeah.

(17:12):
Some of those will be certainfloors, I think will be designated
as apartment rentals. And thenothers, the luxury condos will be,
you know, available forpurchase. It'll be a nice kind of
owner's. Owner's floor, Iguess for to. With some amenities
and stuff. But. But yeah,we've got a lot of condos. I think
another thing to mention thatis, that is kind of altered Nashville's

(17:36):
kind of housing scene. I thinkthis is a, has been a challenge in
a lot of other know, majormarkets too is the, the short term
rental, you know, and so therehave been condo developments that
have been built typically witha more commercial like zoning that
have been built specificallyfor short term rentals. And this

(17:59):
one, these typ. Thesebuildings typically are available
for those that are notintending to occupy it. So a non
owner occupied short termrental property, those are rarer.
So they have kind of like ahigher value and dollar amount. And
so that also has kind ofcomplicated the cost of condos, you

(18:22):
know, here in the city becauseit drives the price a little bit
higher. But they're adifferent product because they are
more of an investmentopportunity for folks.
And so it's like an Airbnb, so.
Yeah, yeah, exactly, it is anAirbnb. Yeah. But short term rentals,
you know, are for people thatwant to rent out, you know, their
homes on Airbnb or vrbo. Soyeah, that's been a major thing here

(18:43):
as this has become a hugetourist destination, you know, for
the entire country, butespecially here in the South. And
so yeah, that's a very loadedanswer there. But we've got single,
lots of single family homes.You know, I think what makes Nashville
really unique is that you canhave an urban experience with some

(19:05):
really great like walkability.You can go out to the suburbs and,
and you can find a home that'seither really close to or, and or
on a lake. You can go out tothe suburbs and be, you know, on
these sprawling estates withlots of acreage. You know, you've
got areas that are probablymore wooded. So if you wanted to
kind of be in, you know, anarea that's, you know, has more foliage

(19:29):
and more, you know, forest orwoods or whatever, you've got that.
You know, I don't. It's just avery, very wide range of options
here in middle Tennessee interms of housing. And so I think
it, it makes it a reallyunique place because of that.
Evan, what would be. Give mean example. Median home price for
a two bedroom, two bath,single family home.

(19:51):
Yeah, I pulled some stats foryou for this and as of January of
25. The median price for a twobedroom, two bathroom single family
home in Nashville is generallyaround 350,000 to 450,000. So.
Pretty reasonable.
Yeah, it kind of depends onthe neighborhood and its proximity
to the city. We've seen apretty steady increase over the last

(20:15):
few years due to our city'sgrowth and so, and popularity. So
other factors are kind oflimited housing inventory and increased
demand. So consequently, youknow, I remember it's just, it is
harder for first timehomeowners to. To buy kind of in
this area. And I. You made thecomment that it sounds pretty reasonable

(20:38):
and I think it's all relativeto like what you're used to and where
you're from, you know. A lot of.
A lot.
Yeah. A lot of the locals feellike the prices here are just wild
and absurd. And because wedon't have a lot of other major metropolitan
cities, you know, really closeto us, that tends to be the sentiment
for a lot, for a lot of theneighboring, neighboring states.

(20:59):
You know, as far as, as far ascity size and popularity and growth,
you know, Nashville isemerging as one of the premier southern
big cities, you know, and solarger than that would be Atlanta,
you know, and othercompetitors would be Charlotte, you
know, and Austin. So, youknow, it's. It is kind of relative.

(21:21):
You know, I think that itdepends on where you're coming from
and what you're used to.
Yes, absolutely. What do youknow what the population is?
Let me see. I pulled thatinformation. Let me see here for
you. I don't know that I havethat one in that section. And if
I did, it's not.
Sorry for the surprise question.
It's okay. I can pull it uppretty quickly thanks to our friend

(21:43):
chat GPT. As I mentioned, Ishould probably know this for real
estate purposes, but it'sconstantly evolving and changing.
Yeah, it changes all.
Let's see, what is Nashville'scurrent population? All right, as

(22:04):
of the most Recent estimatesin 2023, the population of Nashville
is approximately 715,000.However, when you include the surrounding
metropolitan area, this islike Nashville, which is in Davidson
County. Then you've gotMurphysboro and you've also got.
Have you have a Williamsoncounty, which includes Franklin.

(22:26):
All this meant all of these,you know, that together cumulatively
referred to as themetropolitan metropolitan area. Yeah,
the population is around 2 million.
Wow, that's big.
Yeah, so it's grown a lot andcontinues to grow. But yeah, it's
a pretty big city. You know,especially again, it feels smaller
if you're Coming from largercities. But if you're from, it's

(22:49):
all relative. Right. I'velived in D.C. and New York City and
so Nashville to, to me feels,feels a little bit small. But you
know, having moved back toAuburn to work for three and a half
years it there I landed at.This is a nice size city for someone
who kind of wants the best ofboth worlds.
Sure, sure. Can you break downutility costs, you know, and costs

(23:13):
for groceries? Like is itreasonable, you know, to the national
average or is it a littlebelow or a little above?
So yeah, I would say onaverage utility costs will be about
250 to $450 per month. Andthat's combining your electricity,
gas, water and trash. Thetotal can be higher if you have a

(23:33):
larger home or higher likeenergy usage. But you know, as far
as electricity goes, theaverage monthly electrical electricity
bill for a two bedroom home orapartment can range from like 100
to $200 per month, dependingon the size of the home and seasonal
usage and stuff. And also yourefficiency, your appliance efficiency
and stuff. As far as gas goes,I would say gas is, I, I for example

(23:57):
had to have a gas line runfrom the street to my home. And so
I would say that gas, I don'tquite know what the statistic is
here, but I would say that gasis hit or miss here. You know, the
utility exists for those whoneed it and you kind of have to.
If it's run across yourstreet, it can be a little bit cheaper
to access. But for the homesthat use natural gas for heating

(24:19):
or cooking, I'd say theaverage monthly gas bill tends to
range from like 40 to $100 permonth. Water and sewer cost typically
around 40 to $70 per month.And then trash collection, it's typically
available. It's part of our,you know, I don't pay for trash collection.
The city picks it up. But ifyou are in a, in an apartment or

(24:40):
so renting or renting a home.No, the home would actually be, it'd
be picked up to per the city.But anyways that's about 15 to $30.
And then Internet tends to bebetween 60 to 100. So kind of gives
you a little bit of a, of aidea of, of what, what the utilities
look like. And that would befor like a two bedroom home.
Right. Okay. All right. Sothat would pretty much cover everything

(25:07):
we need to know about car costof living and the overall, the overall
cost of living in Nashville. Iguess it compares. It's probably,
I mean it's all. Again, it'sall relative. But if it probably
compares to other major citiesin the south, yeah, I would say it's.

(25:28):
It's overall cost of living isprobably above the national average,
but it's still more affordablecompared to cities like New York,
Louisiana, San Francisco, sayhousing is probably the biggest expense,
but it's more affordable thanother major cities in the south like
Atlanta and Miami. So kind ofa little bit in the middle there,
you know.

(25:49):
Gotcha. Let's. Let's talkabout the LGBTQ community.
Let's do it.
Yeah, you're involved theretoo. So how. How vibrant and visible
is the LGBTQ, LGBTQ +community in Nashville? And are there
specific neighborhoods, Gayborhoods.
Yeah.
Or popular places withrestaurants and bars.

(26:10):
Yeah. So, you know, becauseI've lived here and then moved away
and then come back, I feellike my sentiment toward Nashville
scene is probably morefavorable now than it. Than it once
was. You know, I came out inNew York City, you know, after college.
I was not out in college inAlabama there in a major state school.
You know, just the culture andclimate wasn't enough for me to kind

(26:35):
of take that step. But my lastsemester there at Auburn, I did that
internship up in New York Cityand kind of finally got to kind of
step out anonymously.
That's where I'm from.
Oh, love it. Gosh. I mean, Ialways feel like I've got unfinished
business there, but I just. Idon't know if my life will ever take
me back. I can just maybe getaway for maybe. I've often thought

(26:56):
maybe if. If this careercontinues on its trajectory for me,
that I could probably kind ofstep away for like a month and a
slower season and move back toNew York City just for, you know,
like a month or so. Butunfortunately, the month that I would
probably be able to go liveback in New York City would probably
be one of the more brutal andcoldest, coldest time of year.

(27:19):
Okay. Yeah.
But you think that's what realestate slows. You know, it slow.
Slows down here, but justthink about strolling through Rockefeller
center with the Christmas treeand chestnuts roasting on the open
fire and seeing all thedepartment stores lit up.
So great. So great. I lovevisiting the city during that time
of year, so I'm not opposed toit for sure. But yeah, getting back

(27:42):
to Nashville, you know, havinglived in D.C. and New York City and
then also traveling a lot forwork pretty prior to my return back
to Nashville, I feel like Ihad an opportunity to experience
a lot of different cities andtheir gayborhoods and the gay scene.
And so I would say that I'dprobably, if I could give it like

(28:03):
a rating between one to ten, Iwould probably say, like probably
eight to eight and a half.Yeah. And I think a lot of that has
to do with, you know, we are ablue dot in a red state. And so if
there is to be, we are kind ofas gay as it gets in Tennessee, you
know, and a lot of that has todo too, with the culture of the city.
And it's, it's a, it's a big,you know, music town. So obviously

(28:27):
creatives, the entertainmentindustry, you've got, you know, for
a long time, Nashville was abig publishing center. Mecca was
also a big healthcare meccahere too. A lot of healthcare companies
here. So anyways, all that tosay it has become a growing hub for
the. The LGBTQ community inthe southeastern United States. It's.

(28:47):
Jeff. Gay bars.
We do. And now much. I thinkthis is a trend internationally.
We see them closing, you know,a lot, and a handful of them have
closed over the course of thepast 10 to 15 years for a long. Yeah,
those apps, I think too, thatbecause it's become a generally more

(29:07):
accepted thing too. You know,you have a lot of venues and bars
and restaurants and spacesthat are very, you know, queer friendly.
And so it kind of minimizesthe need for there to be kind of
like a niche bar, like gay barfor the community, which is kind
of sad because I still, Istill think that we need both.
We need. Because I feel safe there.

(29:28):
Yeah, absolutely, Absolutely.And I completely agree with you there.
So with that being said, thereare some neighborhoods that tend
to be more prominent for, youknow, gay residents and homeowners.
I would say we don't reallyhave a true gayborhood.
But I thought you were goingto say homo owners. Homo owners.

(29:48):
Yeah, that too. I use that.That joke and that pun more than
you'd expect. But I would sayEast Nashville would probably be
the closest thing to agayborhood. You just see a lot of
pride flags in a lot ofhistoric homes in that, in that neighborhood,
you got some great walkabilityto. To a lot of different queer friendly
restaurants. And in recentyears, a few years ago, one of the

(30:11):
gay bars that used to be in.Closer to downtown, like on Church
street, ironically, is where alot of the gay bars used to be here
in Nashville. It's kind ofironic, right? Given the role that
church has played and the hurtand harm to LGBTQ people. You know,
it's. It's kind of funny tosay, you know. Yeah. Are you guys

(30:32):
going to church tonight?Right. Some wild things have happened
on at church, you know, formany years. But no, all that to say
there, there still are a few.A few of the more prominent ones
are still there, but there'sone in particular called Canvas Lounge.
Sadly, the. The bar's founderand owner passed away a few weeks
ago. And I think his passingbrought a more kind of a celebration

(31:01):
of life and put a spotlight onhow important that bar has become
in our community. And soCanvas Lounge moved a few years ago,
largely due to, you know,increasing costs and rent and stuff.
It moved to East Nashville.And so now in East Nashville, you
have one of the most iconiclesbian bars in the country called

(31:22):
the Lipstick Lounge. And theyhave like karaoke every night. They
actually are expanding andbuilding off of the back end of their
parking lot. And that additionwill be called chapstick. It's going
to be a sports bar at thelesbian bar. So we've got Chapstick
and the Lipstick Lounge. Yeah,yeah. So you've got that bar and
then you've got Canvas kind ofwithin walking distance. It's, it's,

(31:46):
you know, handful of blocks,but in the neighborhood. And then
you also have a lot of queerowned restaurants and you have a
lot of homeowners that, thatare proud of their, you know, community
and have pride flags in theiryards. In East Nashville, they have
a very, you know, uniquecommunity event every year called

(32:07):
the Tomato Arts Festival,where people, you know, decorate
their houses and their yardsaround the Tomato. And it's just
a very festive and fun andunique community over there in East.
But you've got some otherones, like 12 south, you've got the
Gulch Music Row. You know,those are probably a few others that

(32:27):
are popular for LGBTQ folk.But, you know, those particular areas
tend to be closer to down,like to the heart of the city and
downtown, which has, you know,great access to three of the major
gay bars here in the city. Andthat's. Well, I take that back to
Tribe and Play Dance bars. Soif you've been to Chicago, like to

(32:50):
sidetracks, you know, I wouldequate Tribe to sidetracks. And it's
kind of like a video bar. Theygot a pool table in there. It's probably
a little more casual playDance bars are huge, like Drag Queen
bar. You know, we've had a lotof the drag queen queens. They're
actually salaried and theycall them Playmates and we've had

(33:11):
a handful of. Of drag queensfrom Nashville go on to RuPaul's
Drag Race and have becomenationally known drag queens. Like
Brooklyn Heights, for example.She's from Canada, but she kind of.
That name. Yeah, Brooklyn Heights.
There is a Brooklyn Heights in Brooklyn.
New York, by the way. Yeah.Yeah. So we've, I think, you know,
we've had three or four, maybefive different queens from. From

(33:34):
Nashville go on to RuPaul'sDraft Drag Race and are doing really
well. So it's been a great. Ithink that that fact says a lot about
Nashville's LGBTQ same. Andthe gay bars and the quality. I mean,
those. These queens probablywouldn't be cutting their teeth here
without a community and venuesand bars that support their art,

(33:58):
you know, and so I think it'sjust an interesting snapshot. It's
like, if you take a look attheir success and where they've come
from, it says a lot about thecommunity. So, yeah, Church street,
we also have a really cool. Iwould. That's why I said 3. It's
not really a bar, but we havethe Nashville Drag Bus or. Or the
drag bus actually here inNashville. The owners of Tribe and

(34:21):
Play created this. So here inNashville, you know, it's become
kind of like the. The bachelorup capital of the world. Right. I
don't know, we're probablycompeting, obviously, with Vegas
on that and some other cities,but it's. It has become a supremely
popular destination forbachelorette parties. And so with

(34:42):
that, our city has had thisemergence of what we call transportainment.
And locals would probably deemit, like, a little bit of a nuisance
because it is. So it can bereally frustrating to be stuck in
traffic behind some of thesefolks. But it's like, you've got.
You have buses, open airbuses. They've now kind of put some.

(35:04):
There's been some regulation.They've kind of required some. Some.
Some of these to be closed in.But, Mark, I kid you not. Some of
the wildest things people comeup with, like, there's one called
Hell on Wheels. It's kind oflike a vehicle that you're, like,
partying on. They've got,like, loud music. It's kind of like
a, you know, music playing.You're allowed to bring your own
beverages on board, and itjust drives you down the strip on

(35:26):
Broadway and around downtown,and you're just like, watching. Yeah,
there's one that has, like, ahot tub, like, in it, you know, and
you're like. And so the gaycommunity are here. Or the owners
of Tribe and Play decided tocome up with their own concept. And
so it is a. It is a bus thathas been outfitted. It has, like,
some poles in the middle. It'sgot, like, a back area where the

(35:48):
drag queens change theirclothes and the. You ride around
town drinking, you know, thebeverages that you've brought with
yourself, and you're beingentertained by drag queens on the
bus as you ride around town.
That's great. Yeah, I love that.
The drag bus.
And you know what?Bachelorette parties. Bachelorettes.
They just love the gay community.

(36:09):
They do. You know, it's. It'sbeen. It's. It's. It has its pros
and cons, you know, I know.You know, it's like we love our allies,
but sometimes it gets toomuch. It can be a lot. Yeah.
And.
And they're taking up spacethat. Yeah, that. That are our queer

(36:29):
brothers and sisters andfamily are. That. It's much needed.
I don't know. I don't want toget too far.
Yeah. Same thing happens herein Palm Springs.
Yeah. Yeah. And so. And. Andthey come into those spaces sometimes
without the education or theempathy or. I don't know. It just

(36:50):
has its. Its pros and cons.I'll just leave it at that.
I hear you. Does. DoesNashville have a Pride parade?
We do. We have a really bigPride. And I. In preparation for
this interview. It's just sofunny to think how far things have
come with our Pride Festival.You know, it's. I alluded earlier
to the fact that we used tohave festivals and stuff downtown,

(37:12):
like at Riverfront, you know,and one of those that I recall is
the. Our Pride, it used to bedowntown, like, kind of at Riverfront,
and it then moved to next to,like, the Capitol and this big green
space. And since then, it'snow moved to another area of town,
kind of closer to Germantown.But that's just because it's grown

(37:33):
tremendously. It. Our Pride isone of our city's largest annual
events. It's held every June,and it's hot as hell, like, every
year, you know, And I guess asfar as climate change is confirmed,
you know, pride is a testamentto that because almost it can be
quite unbearable.

(37:54):
Yeah.
You know, I think Atlantamoved theirs to October for that
reason, you know, and thatit's been in. In the fall for. For
many years down there inAtlanta. I don't know if or when
that would happen for us, butit currently is in June. It takes
place and yeah, like I said,outside of Germantown, kind of between

(38:14):
downtown and Germantown, itfeatures, we bring in some huge,
you know, performers. Ibelieve it was last year or the year
prior. Jill Biden came andspoke, you know, to the, to the crowd
at Pride. We do have a huge,massive parade that goes through
downtown. And yeah, it's,it's, it's become quite the, quite

(38:36):
the event through the years.Vent lots of vendors. They have a
VIP experience too. That hassome perks. You know, we typically.
There is, there are some ventsthat are precursors to our Pride.
But yeah, it's, it's, it'squite the, the event. And I believe
the Pride board hired a localqueer owned company called Good Neighbors

(38:58):
that operates out of EastNashville. They put a lot of the
biggest festivals here inmiddle Tennessee and have also take.
They have been hired to do,you know, prides in a lot of other
cities as well, likeLouisville. I say Louisville. Louisville.
Louisville.
Louisville. Yeah. Yeah. Soit's, it's, it's become quite, quite

(39:19):
the thing. Yeah, I don't thinkit's quite to Atlanta yet, but we're,
we're well on our way. Youknow, having been a part of DC's
pride and been to Atlanta'smany times, you know, it's, it's.
I'm really impressed with howfar it's come.
Yeah, that sounds like it.Does Nashville have any community
centers specifically forseniors or lgbtq?

(39:39):
Yeah, that's a great question.We have a handful. I did some research
for this because I'm not quitein that community yet, but I feel
like it'll be here before, youknow, before.
Before you know it, before Iknow it, it caught up to me.
Yeah, I don't. I get it. I getit. So it's good for me to know that
these exist. In my research,there appears to be a few. A few

(40:01):
resources for LGBTQ seniors.SAGE Nashville is one of them is
services and advocacy for. ForLGBT elders. They work to improve
the lives of older LGBTQadults by offering advocacy, social
opportunities and resources.They hold social events, health workshops,
and other initiativesspecifically aimed at, you know,
helping LGBTQ seniors navigateaging and the unique challenges that

(40:25):
they may face. Aging with.Pride is a social program for LGBTQ
seniors organized by SAGENashville. It provides spaces for
older adults to come together,share experiences, and build a supportive
social network. And then asfar as LGBTQ senior housing, it doesn't
have a dedicated seniorhousing facility. There are some
ongoing discussions andinitiatives to address this, but

(40:48):
in the meantime, advocacyorganizations like SAGE and Local
community groups, they offerguidance on navigating housing and
resources that are LGBTQfriendly. So, yeah, you know, I think
they have it covered. Yeah, Ithink so. I mean, we've got something,
you know, I think to, youknow, Nashville, because of Nashville's

(41:10):
recent and, you know, quickgrowth, I would say maybe the need
for some of those resourcesand the support for some of those
haven't been as pressing. Butas our city grows and more people,
you know, want to live hereand move here, you see a little,
the needle moving some. So Iwas relieved to read that there are

(41:31):
some options that exist andwhat we'll get into a little bit
later, there is a moreaccomplished effort and support and
community in the healthcaresector, which, you know, can be really
important too. And so, andthat has been probably a little more.

(41:52):
The awareness around that hasprobably been more ample in my, in
my opinion than.
So that's a good segue.
Yeah.
Into the next topic, healthcare. So, yeah, let's, let's get
into the healthcare scene. Soare the hospitals close to where
you live or are there manyhospitals that one could go to? If.

(42:14):
Yeah, that's a great question.You know, I mentioned earlier that
Nashville is kind of like ahealthcare mecca. You know, HCA is,
you know, headquartered herein Nashville, and you also have a
lot of, you know, healthcarecompanies that exist here as well,
some of which are working totry to fix our broken healthcare
system and especially some ofthe challenges that exist in rural

(42:38):
areas and rural medicine. Butall that to say, as far as Nashville
is concerned, we do have some,a handful of pretty, you know, major
hospitals, I would sayprobably at the center is Vanderbilt
University Medical Center. Imean, Vanderbilt University is kind
of, you know, the closestthing to Ivy League that we have
here in the South. And withthat comes some really great, you

(43:01):
know, benefits as far ashealthcare is concerned. So it's
located near downtownNashville. It's the largest and most
prominent hospital in thecity. It's widely regarded as one
of the top medical centers inthe region and is affiliated with,
you know, the VanderbiltUniversity School of Medicine. The
School of Medicine, orVanderbilt University Medical center,
is a teaching hospital andit's a leader in research and specialty

(43:23):
care. It offers a wide rangeof services, including trauma care,
cardiology, cancer treatment,transplant surgery, and pediatric
care. At the Monroe CarrollJunior Children's Hospital, it's
also a major center foremergency care and routine care.
But because it's a teachinghospital and a high volume center,
there may be, like, longerwait times, especially during peak

(43:45):
hours. Other hospitals in thearea area are St. Thomas Health.
There are, it's a network ofhospitals in Nashville. So you've
got the St. Thomas MidtownHospital, St. Thomas West Hospital,
St. Thomas Rutherford. It's inMurfreesboro, the midtown location.
I'm sorry, St. Thomas Midtown,which is in West Nashville. It's
like the most central of allthose and they offer comprehensive

(44:08):
emergency services, surgicalprocedures and specialty care. It
also has a well regarded heartand vascular, vascular center. And
then you have tristar Healthwhich is HCA healthcare. They have
several hospitals in theNashville area including TriStar
Centennial Medical Center.It's located in Midtown. It's well
regarded for emergencyservices, cardiology and general

(44:29):
surgery. They're also wellknown for orthopedics, women's health
and neonatal care. They, theiremergency rooms are typically pretty
efficient but the wait timescan vary obviously depending, depending
on the time of day and patientvolume. So you know, we've got healthcare
covered here in Nashville.
It's sounds like it. So arethey, I guess there's so many hospitals

(44:55):
that wherever you live they'reprobably minutes away.
Yeah, exactly. If you're inthe suburbs, they're going to be
some options that are prettyclose and that's, you know, Nashville.
There are also some otherhospitals, you know, out in neighboring,
you know, neighboring town,counties and towns and suburbs. But,
but yeah, Nashville is, is,is, has got a lot covered. So you

(45:17):
know, and we can get into thisa little bit later. But a few of
these hospitals and medicalcenters or programs have LGBTQ specific
kind of health initiatives.
Important.
Yeah. And so, yeah, excited tokind of share a little bit more about
that whenever the time comes.
Yeah. For hiv, aids, prep, allthat, all that stuff.

(45:39):
Absolutely.
Okay. And for your, in yourexperience, is it. Do you have a
long wait to see a doctor, aprimary care doctor or a specialist?
You know, fortunately I don't.I haven't had to be.
You're lucky.
I know the time I'm. Morehealth issues are emerging for me
so I, I will be able to speakwith from experience on this. You

(46:05):
know it. Specialists can be abit of a challenge. I, in the spirit
of transparency, I'm workingto rid myself of a.2. Two years ago
of a diagnosis. Two years agoI was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
And so let's just chalk thatup to some less, less free time we
alluded to earlier and anunhealthy work life. Life balance.

(46:28):
I mean this real estate markettook off for a while and I just,
you know, did not take care ofmyself. In, in a way that put my
help forward. So all that tosay, as this diagnosis has come into
play and other appointmentshave been needed with specialists,
I have found that there is,There can be a decent wage. Yeah,
I would say access to primarycare doctors is relatively good in

(46:51):
Nashville. A lot of healthcarepractices are accepting new patients,
but as far as specialist goes,you may face a longer wait time for
appointments, especially ifit's a well established provider
in a busy part of the city.For non urgent appointments, the
wait time to see a primarycare physician or a specialist can
vary. Routine checkups. It'snot common to wait two to three weeks

(47:13):
to secure an appointment. Somedoctors offices offer same day or
next day appointments forurgent concerns, but those are more
available with urgent carecenters. And we have a lot of those
through those different. Someof which are like, through Vanderbilt,
others that are independent.But we do have a wide range of specialists
in Nashville because ofVanderbilt and St. Thomas, and they

(47:35):
attract a lot of leadingspecialists, especially in regards
to like cancer care,neurology, cardiology, or orthopedics
and women's health. So yeah,it is for, for areas like cardiology
and neurology, you may have towait several weeks for, you know,
for an initial consultation.But yeah, I said overall, I would

(47:59):
say overall, Nashville is, ispretty well equipped in terms of
specialty care and referralsfrom primary care physicians.
Getting back to the LGBTQfriendly portion of healthcare.
Yeah.
Are there specificinstitutions that cater to the LGBTQ
community?

(48:20):
Yeah, I would say kind of oneof the earlier, the early adoptees
of LGBTQ care was probably,you know, Vanderbilt University Medical
Center. Others like St. ThomasHealth and Pride Health are known
for their, like, inclusivecare and their dedication to, like,
meeting the needs of thecommunity, especially for transgender

(48:42):
individuals and those livingwith HIV and aids. Other community
health organizations like theTennessee Equality Project and Nashville
Cares and the OASIS center,they offer really great advocacy
and resources and support forthose that are seeking LGBTQ affirmative
health care. I think one ofthe most affirming and comfortable

(49:05):
medical experiences that Ihave, like, ever had in my lifetime
is through a clinic calledMusic City Prep. And it is a. Just
a prep clinic. And they have,since I think created a, under the
same roof, a clinic for likeprimary care physicians to operate.

(49:29):
And so it was, it was wild tosee the difference in how I felt
in terms of like, comfort and,and the type of language that they
use and like, you know,growing up in the south and going
into doctors and especially inmy 20s, as I was navigating kind
of coming out and had varyingdegrees of comfort.
And it's hard to tell yourdoctor. It's hard to tell your doctor

(49:52):
I'm gay. Yeah, you know, youshouldn't. It depends. Definitely
depends upon where you live.But even for me, living in New York
City, I kind of found it alittle bit challenging to come out
to my doctor and say, hey, I'mgay, because you never know what
they're gonna think.

(50:13):
Absolutely. Yeah. So MusicCity Prep Clinic has just been a
game changer for the longesttime. I think that they were able
to provide prep for free tomost everyone that came in. I think
some changes in legislatureand funding have minim. Has limited
their ability to do that foreveryone, but I still think that,

(50:33):
to my knowledge, they're ableto do that effectively. And whenever
I first inquired about prepwas when I was living back in Alabama,
and the conversation that Ihad with my doctor was really peculiar.
And did they even know whatprep was?
They did. It was super rare,you know, and they felt that, you

(50:58):
know, at the time, mylifestyle didn't necessarily warrant
the need for it. And, youknow, it was wild. Right? It was
wild because they. You know,there are cities like, you.
Know, they know what yourlifestyle is.
Right, Right. For me, I alwaysfelt like, you know, why would I

(51:21):
not create a blanket ofsecurity and safety around that if
I have the option? Right.
And I think you want to be proactive.
Proactive. Right. And so Ithink that now there are. I. I think
the tone has changed a lotthrough, you know, the healthcare
system, but I would hope atleast. But especially with resources

(51:44):
like Music City Prep, it'sjust. It's become such a blessing
to kind of have that. Thatresource available in our community.
And they. They. You see themout at all at our. At Pride, they're
always so festive. They'llhire, like, drag queens dressed like
nurses to, like, spreadawareness and things. And now Music

(52:04):
City Prep has. Has become astaple in our. In the LGBTQ community.
So, yeah, that's. That.
That's. Check that. Checkhealth care off.
Exactly.
All right, perfect.
Yeah.
Let. Let's. Let's talk abouttransportation, walkability, and
bike ability. So tell me abouthow Nashville is set up. I know they

(52:26):
have different neighborhoods.Are some of the neighborhoods walkable?
Yes, some of them are. I mean,it really does vary from neighborhood
to neighborhood. Some of themore walkable neighborhoods include.
Include, like, DowntownNashville, East Nashville, 12 South
Midtown.
All the gay areas.
Yeah, all the gay areas. Theless walkable areas are probably

(52:49):
those that are kind of on theoutskirts of the urban core, like
suburban areas like Bellevue,Hermitage and Antioch, they are more
like car dependent. A lot ofthose lack, you know, dense development
and extensive pedestrianfriendly infrastructure like sidewalks
and stuff. Yeah. So. But goingback to some of those other neighborhoods,
you know, it. They have. Thecity is, is expanding its infrastructure

(53:13):
to become more walkable andour mayor is quite progressive and.
But like I said, it reallydoes just depend on whatever neighborhood
you're in. It's hit or miss.
I think they probably all thegay neighborhoods are walkable.
Yeah. Yeah.
Because the gays don't want tobe bothered.
Exactly. Thankful.
Thank.
Thankful for. For. For rideshare services too. You know, you

(53:35):
can. Yeah. Hop in an Uber and,and get to where you need to go and
then kind of walk, you know,around a neighborhood that is quite
supportive and affirming withdifferent options for restaurants
and bars and then catch thatride back home.
So you can. Let's say I livedowntown. I can go to East Nashville
by Uber pretty easily.
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.

(53:57):
What. How about publictransportation? Are there any trains
or light rails or.
Yeah, that's a great question.Sadly, whenever I moved back to Nashville
around 2018, I remember therebeing kind of this big referendum
and this big push for masstransit in Nashville and a lot of
research and money went intodetermining the feasibility of this

(54:19):
and I believe some progresswas made. But sadly that particular
their mayor wound up having toresign. And with that, you know,
I think it came to ascreeching halt. There also was a
lot of lobbying against itthere since there seems to be a lot
of kind of mixed opinions on.On whether or not, you know, public

(54:41):
transportation, mass transitis, is the best use of, you know,
local government dollars.
So do they have anything?
We do, yeah, they do have agreat bus system. The primary provider
of public transportation hereis the Wego Public Transit. It operates,
operates buses and a limitedcommuter rail service.

(55:04):
So they do have some commuter rail.
Yeah, but it's old school kindof train. Yeah. And it comes and
it kind of heads out to thesuburbs and comes back into downtown.
They should put the drag queen bus.
That's my kind ofentertainment. Yeah. The WEGO Public
Transit. It operates like anetwork of buses that serve Nashville

(55:25):
and the surroundingmetropolitan area. They're affordable,
they offer a good variety ofroutes, but they're not as frequent
or as fast as those in largercities. It's typically like the frequency
in downtown and busyneighborhoods. The buses run pretty
regularly, but in less denselypopulated areas or during all peak
hours, it's. Yeah. LessFrequent, less frequently, a longer

(55:46):
wait. I remember there was aseason of my life in my, in my late
20s where, you know, I'd beenlaid off a couple times due to buyouts
and mergers amid the recessionand my car, you know, stopped working
for a season. I had to rely onthe bus system. And I was shocked
at how hard and long it tookfor me to get from one point to the

(56:09):
other. And so I like to think,I mean, that was probably around
2008 or 9. So, you know, I,I'd like to think that with the growth
of the city, things haveimproved a lot on that front. But
yeah, it. The bus system iswhat we have now. And the Music City
star is the commuter rail thatconnects Nashville with suburbs like

(56:32):
Lebanon, Mount Juliet,Hermitage and other towns to the
east. It could be a usefuloption for, for like those that are
coming in from the suburbs.But it only runs. Yeah, it only runs
during like weekday peak hoursand it's also very limited in the
number of stops. So it's justdefinitely not as flexible as buses.

(56:52):
Can you ride a bike withoutgetting run over?
Oh, oh, the bikes. Yes.Actually, I would say, you know,
as far as publictransportation and the lack of mass
transit, we. There has been alot of effort putting in, put into
making Nashville a more bikefriendly city. Yeah, it is. It has

(57:16):
a long way to go. But they'veexpanded bike lanes in certain areas,
especially like in downtownand East Nashville and the Gulch.
There's also a growing numberof like protected bike lanes. And,
and for those that aren'tquite sure what a protected bike
lane is, it's a bike lane thatis like physically separated from

(57:36):
the car traffic.
I like that.
Yeah, so we do have a lot ofgreenways and trails that are, you
know, that have, you know,biking options. They're a good bit
of ways from car traffic andit's less about, you know, biking
for like commuting purposes orgetting to work or from. That's just

(58:01):
more for like leisurelyphysical activity biking. But our,
our network of greenways, theyexpand each year. And the Shelby
Bottoms Greenway in EastNashville, the Music City Bikeway,
it's a planned network of bikefriendly streets. It's still under
development, but we also havethe Harpeth River Greenway, which
connects, you know, parts ofwest, the west side of Nashville
to the river. So yeah, I wouldsay, like, if you're wanting to bike,

(58:24):
Nashville is improving and hassome great options for you. They
have a great bike sharingprogram called Bcycle, gives you
the option to Rent bikes forshort trips. Of course, you know,
you now have scooters thatare. Can be popular as well. But

(58:46):
I don't know if theretirement. I don't know if the retirees.
Oh, are you okay? Nice. Yeah.
Not quite a scooter, but, youknow, you can pedal, but when you
get tired pedaling at my age,you need.
Some little oomph, especiallyon those hills. I get it. Yeah.
Y. Oh, yeah. Just throttle.
Yeah. I completely agree. So,yeah, I would say, you know, it has.

(59:09):
We do have a pretty activecycling community. They have, like,
a Nashville, like, back biketo work day, and they have organized
rides for enthusiasts of. Ofvarying skill levels and stuff. So
there's also a number of,like, bike shops and cycling clubs
in the city. So, yeah,biking's your thing. Nashville's
got you covered. I would say.
Good. Check. Check that. Okay.A little lacking in public transportation.

(59:35):
Walkability is great mostareas, and bike ability is on the
rise.
Pretty good. Yeah. Yeah, I'dsay so, too.
Okay. All right, let's getinto arts, culture, and dining. So
this is a big thing in Nashville.
I would say this is probablywhere we shine. You know, it's like.
It's.
It's a part you're known for.

(59:56):
Yeah, it's part of our. Our,like, identity. It is the heartbeat
of our city. It's, I think,why it's become such a popular, you
know, tourist destination, andit's been that way for a long time.
You know, we have a very, veryrich musical heritage here. That
legacy is. Is deeply woveninto the fabric of our city and.

(01:00:20):
And even beyond. Even thoughit is, like, you know, music city
and the country music capital.There is a lot of rich history, too,
within some of our, you know,historic African American neighborhoods.
You know, we do have. It'sactually the neighborhood of which
I own a home and reside inthat is historically, has traditionally

(01:00:43):
been a historically blackneighborhood with some of the nation's,
you know, Premier HBCUs. Sohistorically Black colleges, universities.
So you've got Meharry, whichis like a medical school, Fisk University.
And, you know, the FiskJubilee Singers have such a. An amazing,
you know, unique history. It'sa singing group out of Fisk University,

(01:01:04):
and you also have one of thelargest hbcu, like, state schools
here in this zip code andneighborhood as well, Tennessee State
University. And so all threeof those are in this. In north Nashville.
And I say not north ofNashville because it is kind of north
of Nashville, but northNashville. North Nashville, kind
of the neighborhood. Yeah. Andyou know, this particular area continues

(01:01:25):
to grow, but I think becauseof its rich legacy and history, it's,
it hasn't grown, grown asquickly because they, there are a
lot of people that are veryprotective of, of that, you know,
legacy and that and thathistory, and they don't want to see
a lot of that erased with fastexpansion and growth. So. Yeah, but

(01:01:46):
all that to say it, our veryrich musical heritage. You've got
the Country Music hall of Famehere. You know, the honky tonks down
all on, you know, it's, it'swild. It's like you come to Nashville
and you pop into a honky tonkon Broadway and the locals can only
stand so much of it, right? Wecan, we only. I saved the, I saved

(01:02:08):
my trips to downtown for whenfriends are coming into town and
they want to go down there.
But what's a honky tonk?
The Honky tonk. A honky tonkis a bar typically in the heart of
downtown and Broad on Broadwayin Nashville. And they got cold beer
and live music. You know, it'sa song.
Honky tonk woman.

(01:02:29):
Yeah, yeah, it's honky tonks.There are so many in downtown Nashville.
That's where the bulk of themare. But in addition to our, you
know, music, we have a verythriving arts and cultural scene
here too, and a very, veryvibrant dining culture. I mean, like

(01:02:50):
prior to Nashville's emergenceis like a major US City. I would
say our restaurant scene waspretty good, but it's just out of
this world now. You've got alot of award winning chefs, you know,
James Beard nominated, youknow, chefs and restaurateurs who

(01:03:10):
have won awards. And majorculinary cities like, you know, New
York City, Chicago, Louisiana.They are opening up restaurants here
in Nashville. And so it is.The bar has been raised tremendously
over the course of the past 10to 15 years. And sadly because of
that, you see some of these,like, historic Nashville restaurants

(01:03:32):
that have been around for awhile. Some of them have to close
their doors. You know, thecompetition has become fierce. But
also as far as culinary goes,you know, Nashville has kind of established
itself for, for being the, thebirthplace of Nashville hot chicken.
So we've got a few of thosestaple hot chicken restaurants here

(01:03:55):
that you have to try the OGones before you move, move on to
the, to the newer hipperoptions just because it's just, it
feels weird to, to forceforego the history there. But man,
hot chicken has become, youknow, a thing. But I don't know how
much you want to go into, youknow, the music side of things. But,

(01:04:15):
you know, country music now,you know, we are the heart of country
music. You see that reflectedin the Grand Ole Opry, which the
Grand Ole Opry moved out to,you know, kind of the outskirts of
town and Donaldson and closeto the. The Opryland Hotel many,
many years ago. But the GrandOld Opry is out there. The Ramen

(01:04:37):
Auditorium is in the heart ofdowntown. It is like the mother church
for. It's like one of thesevenues that bands aspire to perform
in. And it's just a reallyspecial venue. They have the country
music hall of Fame downtown.Yeah, it.
And then we have quite the scene.
Yeah, you asked about thehonky tonks. There's dozens of them

(01:04:58):
downtown. They host, like,country, blues, rock, Americana,
artists performing day andnight. And some of the more popular
ones are like, Tootsie'sOrchid Lounge, Robert's Western World.
And there are some newer onesthat are really popular, like the
stage and Honky Tonk Central.And, you know, as Nashville has just
continued to just grow andthrive, there are. Are prominent

(01:05:23):
country music artists that arelooking to get a piece of that pie.
And so you have those staplehonky tonks, but now you have all
these venues that are. Thatare owned and named after famous
people, famous country artists.
Yeah, probably restaurants as well.
Yep, there are restaurants andbars. And then, of course, because
it's downtown, you've gotrooftop amenities, and, you know,
it's.
It's.

(01:05:43):
It's wild to see how far andhow many new spots are downtown,
you know, that are tied tocountry music. But yeah, it's.
How about museums? Do they have.
Yeah, we do have probablymusic museums. Yeah, we have. We
do have the music museums,like the country music hall of Fame.
We. We actually. Let's seehere. We have the country music hall
of Fame, the Frist Art Museum.It's. It's downtown. It's in a really

(01:06:08):
beautiful art deco building.It's our primary contemporary and
classical art museum. Theyhave rotating exhibitions from, like,
modern art to traditional art,and they host lectures and have performances
and some educational programs.You have the National Museum of African
American Music. It's alsolocated downtown. It tells the story
of African American influenceon American music. And they also

(01:06:34):
kind of explored varyinggenres like jazz, blues, gospel,
and hip hop. And it'sdedicated to honoring, like, the
cultural contributions ofAfrican American artists and shape.
I would love to see that.
Yeah, it's. It's. It's reallycool. It's located outside of this
really, or adjacent to thisreally fancy, cool kind of development
called Fifth and Broad, wherethere is like a. It's like a mall

(01:06:56):
food court. It's called theAssembly Food Hall. But instead of
it being a lot of chains, it'sall a lot of Nashville, you know,
restaurants that have alocation that are kind of local.
So that's really neat. And.But you have the Apple Store, and
then you have this huge glasswall down on Broad, and then you
have the. The National Museumof African American Music, but we
also have the Johnny CashMuseum. And so, yeah, those are the

(01:07:19):
museums. And then we've got asurprisingly a handful of art galleries
around town. You've got theArts Company. It's in the downtown
arts district. They focus oncontemporary art and host local and
regional artists. And then youhave the Cheekwood Estate and Gardens,
which it's kind of out nearBelmead. It's home to an art gallery.

(01:07:42):
They have permanentcollections and rotating exhibits.
They're also renowned fortheir botanical gardens and seasonal
exhibits such as the ChihulyGlass Art in the Garden. So I've
seen that. That's really cool.Yeah. And then the Nashville's Fifth
Avenue of the Arts is. It's adistance district in downtown Nashville
where we have a bunch ofgalleries and cultural venues, and
they have, like, art walksthere. And we also have some. Like

(01:08:04):
Wedgwood, Houston has somegreat art gallery spaces. And it's
like an emerging area, aneighborhood here close to the heart
of the city, near downtown.That's where the new Soho House has
gone. And, you know, lots ofrestaurants where I think Apple Music
is located. And their officeis over there in Redford, Houston.
So we have other emergingneighborhoods, too, with art scenes.

(01:08:26):
East Nashville is kind of likethe. The Brooklyn of New York City.
It's kind of like the bohemia.So there's a lot of art stuff going
on in the east as well. Andthen you've got the theater and the
performing arts. And so theTennessee Performing Arts Center,
I think that they're going tobe building a new location, but they're
currently housed in downtownNashville, and they are home to.

(01:08:47):
To Nashville's, like, thrivingtheater scene. They have a lot of
touring Broadway shows,concerts and performances, some by
local companies like theNational Repertory Theater. It's
also a venue for some of ourballet and opera performances. One
of the things that I don't seeon this list, too, is the Nashville,
like our Symphony center, theSchmerhorn. And then you also have

(01:09:09):
the Nashville Children'sTheater. It's more for Family friendly
performances. Theirprogramming is and productions are
aimed at like, youngeraudiences with the focus on arts,
education and theater, artsfor kids. And then we have the Belcourt
Theater, which is our kind oflike, local, like, cinema house.
It's very historic and theyshow a mix of like, independent films,

(01:09:31):
classic films anddocumentaries. It's very cozy, artsy
space kind of in the heart oflike Hillsborough Village, close
to Vanderbilt. So yeah,there's so much more that I could
allude to that's not in thatlist of stuff that I shared. So,
you know, if, if arts andentertainment is important to you

(01:09:51):
and you want to submergeyourself in, in that and in retirement,
then I think Nashville shouldbe at the top of your list.
Sounds like it. Sounds likeit. That was. That was awesome.
Yeah.
All right, another check.Check down now to crime and safety.
With big cities comes alongusually crime. So how safe do you

(01:10:16):
feel in Nashville? Are therespecific areas that are, you know,
less safe than others? Do youfeel comfortable if you had a dog,
would you feel comfortabletaking your dog out at 2 in the morning
or.
Yeah, I, you know, as arealtor who operates, you know, with
a code of ethics, I, I kind ofam, am conditioned to steer folks

(01:10:39):
to do their own research.Right. And, and to encourage folks
to kind of check out crimemaps and things. So crime is going
to vary from neighborhood toneighborhood, but you have crime
that occurs in some of the,the more prominent, like, wealthy
areas. Things happen, canhappen anywhere. Right. So with that

(01:11:00):
being said, it largely doesdepend on, you know, where you live
and what part of the cityyou're in. But there are a lot of
vibrant and safe neighborhoodsout there. There is a lot of petty
crime that exists kind of inthe urban core, you know, Pickpocket.
Yeah, well, weirdly enough,like car break ins.

(01:11:20):
Yeah.
Like teenagers have,especially here in the past few weeks
because I'm part of some ofthese neighborhood pages on like,
Facebook and stuff have justgone on these sprees of like, busting
out windows and like, youknow, stealing stuff or maybe not
even stealing anything, butwith the intent to steal something

(01:11:41):
if there's nothing of value.They don't take anything. But the
hard part with, with that typeof crime, it's just, you know, our,
our police department is. Arein the weeds tackling more pressing
matters. And so it feels likeit's hard. Yeah, it's hard for, for

(01:12:04):
them to get a major hold on.On. On things like that. It just
kind of feels like it takesfor it to become kind of a Larger
issue for it to. To receiveattention. Yeah. And so all that
to say, I would say mostpeople feel safe in downtown and
more urban areas, especiallywhere the like walkability and lights

(01:12:26):
and cameras are. But there aresome, I would say you should always,
regardless of where you are,practice caution, you know.
Right.
And whenever you go into, whenyou're walking anywhere, especially
like at night stuff. So someof our, the factors that kind of
influence safety here inNashville, I would say, is tourism.

(01:12:48):
So with that, they do have astrong police presence around downtown.
And like Sobro, which is anaccurate, which is like a little
nickname for south of Broadwayand the Gulch, like Broadway the
Gulch downtown, you know,Sobro, they have a lot of tourists,
so the police tend to a littlemore present in those areas. But
with that there does become,you know, pickpocketing and like

(01:13:11):
drunken behavior, you know,lots of public intoxications that
are happening downtown in someof these, you know, honky tons I
could imagine. Yeah. And likescuffles, you know, like fights and
people getting thrown out ofbars. I mean, it's kind of like,
you know, in New Orleans, downin the French Quarter, on Bourbon
street, you know, it's likeanytime you have an alcohol fueled
environment where folks arepart guardian, inevitably you're

(01:13:32):
going to have some issues.There also is some, like economic
disparities. So there are someareas where poverty is more prevalent
and those neighborhoodssometimes obviously have some higher.
They experience some highercrime rates, you know, especially
Tennessee open carry. Ibelieve so. Yes. I need to double
check that. I don't. I am nota gun owner, so I.

(01:13:55):
Neither am I.
So Nashville is an open carrycity, meaning that under Tennessee
state law, residents andvisitors who meet eligibility requirements
can openly carry firearms.However, there are restrictions on
where firearms can be carriedand private businesses have the discretion
to prohibit firearms on theirpremises. So if you, if you plan
to carry openly in Nashville,make sure you're aware of those locations.

(01:14:17):
So always good to know. Allright, Evan, so in wrapping up, we
learned a lot from you today.In wrapping up, if someone in the
LGBTQ+ community isconsidering retiring to Nashville,
what advice would you givethem? And why might Nashville be

(01:14:37):
an excellent place for LGBTQ + retirees?
Yeah, I'm going to kind ofgive a little heartfelt kind of note
here and then kind of hit onkind of a recap of some of what we've
discussed, kind of like anoverview of this whole kind of conversation.
And then I'm going to add afew different. A few kind of unique

(01:14:59):
Plugs to, I think, you know,what would make for, make Nashville,
you know, a really greatoption. And some of these resources
are probably available inother cities. So it is a plug to
just for the organization asmuch as it is like a plug for our
city because it offers such aresource. So all that to say Nashville

(01:15:21):
is increasingly becoming anLGBTQ plus friendly city. I think
that it is a great one now,but it stands to become even greater.
I hopefully we can keep, youknow, conservative efforts that exist
on a statewide level at bayhere locally because our, our city

(01:15:44):
government is made up verydifferently. The makeup of its, of,
of, of of that entity, itlooks very different compared to,
you know, our state electedofficials. Right. So consequently
I feel more comfortable andconfident that it will remain and
continue to become a bettercity for LGBTQ folks. Our community

(01:16:07):
already is strong. There are alot of social opportunities and the
cost of living I think ispretty reasonable compared to other
large cities. It offers ablend of like Southern charm. So
if you're someone who hasmoved away from the south because
at the.
Time, bless your heart, right?
Bless your heart. ThatSouthern shade saying, right. I think
if you're someone who has,comes from the south and you had

(01:16:31):
to leave it out of necessityfor your own well being, but yet
you're eager to be back in theSouth, I think Nashville is a great
middle ground solution, youknow, for you. I think a lot of that
too hinges on how importantcertain things are. So like, if a
strong culinary scene, stronglike cultural and art scene is important

(01:16:52):
to you, then Nashville isgoing to score more points. We have
some great outdoor recreationopportunity, pretty good supporting
of network for aging in place,especially in terms of health care.
So I think it would make anexcellent choice. But it all depends
on what you're looking for,you know, for in that season of life.
I think one of the hardestthings if you're looking to relocate

(01:17:16):
can be building community. Youknow, I think historically the, the
south has kind of got areputation for being a hard place
to make new friends. Folks puton that kind of Southern kind of
facade. But in terms of likebreak, I lived in Florida. Yeah.

(01:17:39):
In terms of like breakingthrough that social kind of barrier
and making really trueconnection, I can say the south can
be somewhat kind of hard. Youknow, especially a lot of people
from the south have never leftthe south. And so they probably have
a pretty large, large networkof people in their, in their circles
that they've known for areally long time. And so it can sometimes
feel like a challenge to, tomake to, to make really great friends

(01:18:01):
like later in life as an adultin, in the South. But I think the
thing that works well forNashville is it can be a pretty transient
city. And with that we have alot of people that are new here that
aren't necessarily from here.They're looking for community as
well. So if, if that's whatit, if you're, that's what your concern
is, I think that from my ownlived experience I can. There are

(01:18:22):
a couple of differentrecommendations that I would have
for being able to like, buildcommunity and filling your time with
like life giving activities.And for me, when I lived in D.C.
i joined the Gay Men's Courseof Washington and I was like 29 years
old. I think I turned 31 whileI was in that group. And I remember

(01:18:46):
really liking DC Especiallybecause it's such a big gay city,
you know, especially for youngadults. But I did feel like it took
me a while. It is a verytransit city as well. It took me
a while to feel like I, I hadfound my people, you know, and, and
had community. And that reallydidn't feel like that fell into place

(01:19:07):
until I joined this group.And, and that opportunity offered
me a few different benefits.One of those is I was able to do
something that I love and thatwas to sing in a choral environment.
Because I had spent a lot ofmy youth and, and you know, young
adult years doing that throughchurch and through choir. I'm going

(01:19:27):
to start through college. Soit was the first time after college,
after coming out, where, whereto whenever that I was able to a
single, in a choralenvironment with it was an audition
group, so you had to have somedegree of like, skill and talent
to be able to get in. But withthat, you know, the level of, of
excellence and performancewas, was greater too, but the community

(01:19:50):
was just so welcoming and itwas the gayest thing I'd ever done
outside of other activities.Wink, wink. But I'm just saying in
terms of being public,politically gay and like being unapologetic
about seeking community withan organization, that was the first
time I'd kind of stepped outand done and done that. And so I

(01:20:11):
speak to this because an LGBTQchoir has, you know, community members
of all different ages and youdon't age out of that. And, and,
and, and it can be very lifegiving to be a part of an organization
like that. So with that beingsaid, we do have one here in Nashville.

(01:20:32):
I'm not a member of it, butit's called Nashville and Harmony.
I have Friends that are a partof it. It's a prominent non profit
organization that has become akey part of our Nashville of our
LGBTQ community. And it's justdedicated to creating a more inclusive
and supportive environmentthrough the power of music and community
engagement. And so they'reknown for its work in fostering unity
and visibility, offering aunique platform for LGBTQ individuals

(01:20:53):
and allies to come together incelebration of music and shared values.
Just a really special groupand you can, you know, look them
up online to find out moreinformation if that's something that
interests you. They'recelebrating a big anniversary this
year. Don't quote me on this,but maybe it's 25 years. I think
they just had a big 25 yearcelebration like at the Ryman Auditorium.
Could be wrong on that. But ifyou are retiring in Nashville, Nashville

(01:21:16):
and Harmony offers anopportunity to enrich your life through
music, social connection andthe shared goal of like creating
a more inclusive andcompassionate society. So I would
say that's one opportunity foryou. And then the second one that
is really unique is I said Iwould allude to this earlier in our
interview is Nashville iscalled Athens of the South. And that

(01:21:40):
nickname kind of captures ourcity's unique connection to intellectual
pursuits, arts, higherlearning and cultural refinement.
Like higher education is sucha big part of the city's identity.
And our Vanderbilt Universityobviously is one of the biggest and

(01:22:00):
well known institutions whenit comes to Nashville, Tennessee.
And so with that being said, Ithink that as a retiree, there is
a really unique opportunity,you know, to please plug into what
universities offer. So givenmy ties to Auburn University, you
mentioned that in my bio. It'slike I'm very well aware of a lot

(01:22:23):
of the opportunities thatexist, you know, to that community
by way of the university. Andthe same benefits and resources exist
here too because of how manyuniversities are in and institutions
are in Nashville. I have apartner that is 26 years older than
I am and he is actuallyretired. We are in a long distance

(01:22:43):
relationship, but he lives inAuburn, Alabama. And yeah, I have,
I introduced him to anorganization before he retired as
he was easing into retirementin Auburn called, it's a, it's called
Ollie, but it's, it's anacronym that stands for the Osher
Lifelong Learning Institute.And I would highly encourage you

(01:23:04):
to look into Olli O L L I tosee if it's available to you in your
city or a city that is, thatyou're considering for retirement.
It is an amazing resource forlike retirees. And older adults,
especially in the Nashvillearea, that are looking for intellectual
stimulation, socialengagement, and personal growth.

(01:23:25):
It is a. It's part of anational network of Osher lifelong
learning institutes. This isparticularly the Vanderbilt University,
one that provides educationalprogram programs specifically designed
for people age 50 and older,but with, like, no exams or grades.
It's almost like your auditingclasses. Yeah, but it's, it's. Its
emphasis is really focused onfostering a love of learning in a

(01:23:47):
relaxed and supportiveenvironment. And so my partner signs
up for classes each semester.A lot of times some of these courses
are taught by retired collegeprofessors or even active college
professors, but they rangefrom academic, you know, academic
categories like history.Uniquely enough. My partner's history

(01:24:10):
teacher moved to Auburn andkind of started teaching history
at Auburn University rightaround the time my partner was in
college. And this was in the70s, and he was very young professor
at the time. Right. Maybe liketwo years into teaching. But he became
one of the most iconic historyprofessors on Auburn's campus and
one of the most iconicprofessors at Auburn. Like, just

(01:24:33):
so revered and well loved byso many students. And he has since
retired, but now he teacheshistory classes at Olli. And so my
partner, like, is getting totake, you know, world history courses
on certain regions and stufffrom his own, you know, this loved,
beloved professor who heactually had classes with when he

(01:24:55):
was a college student. So it'slike this really cool full circle
moment, but it can be moreacademically minded or centered or
it could be more hobbycentered. Like, my partner has taken
classes on songwriting. He'staken two semesters now of a film
course where they assess film.And the instructor is someone who
used to work in the industryin LA and speaks to different, you

(01:25:18):
know, themes and production,you know, elements and stuff. And
film. He's taken a sound bathcourse. I mean, the list goes on.
So many different things thatare available. So I don't know if
this is something that any ofyour other, you know, guests have
chatted about in thisparticular resource, but I hope that
I've been able to provide yourlisteners with something that they

(01:25:40):
may not be aware of, and thatis certainly, yeah, that is very
useful and available in a lotof different college towns throughout
the country.
You certainly have. Well,thank you. And I want to ask you
also, before we wrap up,totally, where could our listeners
find you? Like, if. If theywere to come to Nashville and looking

(01:26:01):
for a house, where could wefind you? You know, on the web, email,
on social media.
Yeah. So by the time thisairs, hopefully Our revamp on our
website will have taken place.I have to do that myself. But that
website would be the Thomastwins team. Sorry. Thomastwinsteam.com

(01:26:23):
so t h o M A S T W I N s t am.com if you're looking to follow
us on social media, we are onInstagram as the Real Housesof Nashville.
And that is with an underscoreafter each word. So the underscore
real Housesore Nashville. Andwe're also on Facebook as the Thomas

(01:26:49):
Twins team here in Nashville.But yeah, we, we love the chance
to kind of help any of youthat are considering Nashville as
a retirement town. We havehelped several retirees move and
settle here in Nashville or,you know, people that are retired
looking to move back to be, ormove to Nashville to be closer to
family. We've helped a lot offirst time home buyers, but we have

(01:27:10):
also helped a lot of otherclients in varying seasons of their
life. So it would be an honorand a privilege to assist you with
your home search here. Or ifyou're looking to sell and move to
some of these other citiesthat Mark and his podcast have exposed
you to, then we can help youdo that too. But yeah, that's where
you can find me and shoot me amessage and let me know that you've

(01:27:34):
how you found us and that ifit's by way of this podcast, please
let me know.
It's very possible that theywill find you through this podcast.
Yeah, I love to hear it. I,you know, I am 40 years old this,
this year. So as I look towardthe future, I think, you know, I
may want to retire in the next20 to 25 years. You know, this, this

(01:27:57):
is a pretty, pretty tiringhustle, this world of real estate.
It's so rewarding and so haschanged my life for the better, but
it can also require a lot ofyou. So with each, with each time,
each time I approach a newseason of burnout, I question at
what age do I, am I going tobe ready to hang this hat up?

(01:28:17):
Yeah. And life takes you ondifferent journeys along the way,
so you never know.
I mean, yeah, it's a moving, amoving target.
It is, it is so awesome withthat. Thank you so much, Evan. Really
appreciate all of the inputyou've given us. You've been an amazing

(01:28:40):
resource for letting us knowwhat it's like living in Nashville.
Well, thank you so much forhaving me, Mark. I hope that I can
speak to the uniqueness andthe vibrancy of this great city and
I would say come visit beforeyou make a decision to, to, to move

(01:29:02):
here and or consider it as atop contender. And if you do, let
me know. Maybe I can meet upwith you while you're here in the
city and kind of speak more tohow great this place is. But, yeah,
we need more people and theLGBT community, you, community here
who care about the communityand want to be a part of. Of improving
it. So keep us on your list.

(01:29:25):
Thank you. And yeah, it makesme want to visit. Definitely.
Come on.
I want to check out. I have toexperience a honky tonk.
Yeah, come on, let's do it.I'll take you.
All right, thanks.
All right. You're welcome.
I appreciate it.
Take care.
You take care. Bye. Bye.
Bye. Thank you for listeningto the Where Do Gays Retire? Podcast.

(01:29:48):
If you enjoyed today'sepisode, please subscribe to our
podcast and consider making a.
Donation by clicking thecoffee cup on any page@www.wheredogaysretire.com.
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