NASHVILLE Music City USA

Population: 1,959,495 (metro area)

Transportation: Nashville International Airport

Healthcare: Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the Southeast’s largest clinical training center and an international leader in biomedical research. The Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) network is among the leading providers in an area renowned for the quality and diversity of its medical services.

Culture: The Frist Center for the Visual Arts, the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum, and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center are major cultural attractions in a city with its own resident ballet, opera, and symphony companies.

Sports: Nashville is home to the NFL’s Titans, the NHL’s Predators, and the new Nashville SC, a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise that began play in 2020. The Vanderbilt University baseball team is one of the nation’s best collegiate programs.

Tennessee’s state capital and largest metropolitan area, Nashville, is famous worldwide as “Music City USA” and is considered the home of country music. The Grand Ole Opry started there in the historic Ryman Auditorium, although it has now moved to the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center just outside of town. There’s still plenty of action in the downtown area along the Cumberland River, including trendy restaurants and eclectic music clubs. Nearby is the main campus of Vanderbilt University and its top-ranked medical, law, and education postgraduate programs. In fact, Nashville is one of the South’s fastest-growing cities with new upscale residential communities and major business headquarters.

Memphis is located on the banks of the Mississippi River in West Tennessee and is a thriving Mid-South center of business. FedEx is the region’s largest private employer and has its global air hub just outside of the city. The National Civil Rights Museum is found in downtown Memphis and the historic blues music clubs along Beale Street give the city its signature sound.

Population: 1,348,000 (metro area)

Transportation: Memphis International Airport

Healthcare: The Baptist Memorial Health Care and Methodist Healthcare networks are among the largest providers in an area that also includes St. Francis Hospital Memphis, a regional VA Medical Center, and the famous St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Culture: The Brooks Museum and the Belz Museum are noteworthy visual arts centers, while the Pink Palace Museum and Planetarium feature science and history exhibits. A year-round schedule of Memphis music, art, and film festivals is highlighted by the annual World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.

Graceland: The 14-acre site about nine miles from downtown Memphis was Elvis Presley’s home, and hundreds of thousands of visitors make the pilgrimage there every year to tour the mansion, gardens, and museum.