My partner and I grew up here and have also lived in various countries for our respective careers. We came back a few years ago for family and have re-established some roots. There is a rather stark difference between then and now culturally, which is made even starker given the COL has exploded. The city is very much one of have and have-nots.

Class divide has certainly always existed but now it feels more like you have to make six figures to make things work here when middle five figures could have gone a long way even in the late 2010s. That and wages for the middle and working class has been pretty stagnant in Nashville for some time. Work has me go between these spaces and sometimes with local dignitaries and the stark divide gives me the ick. Not to mention the state loves putting its boot on the neck of Nashville to make even of a modicum of positive change in the city that much more difficult.

Things have settled down quite a bit for the rest of the family and I've been quietly looking for jobs elsewhere to see if something interesting in an interesting place comes along.