Nah, I already have a name for the new blog. The plan is to get it up and running this weekend, since I don't have any homework to do or seeds to start or haybale of laundry to wash or children to watch or husbands to satisfy or cat feces odors to remove from chairs that are probably just going to end up on the street Monday morning, because is there any product that removes mystery shit smells when THERE IS NO VISIBLE SHIT to attack? Answer me that, dude.
Oh, and even before you go reading the rest of the post, go pay my sister a visit at her new blog. She's a better writer than I am, which sucks because I already quit piano when she got better than me and now there's really nothing left to quit.
But you probably -- and by "you" I mean the two remaining people who bother to check the old LP on a Friday after work hours, hi guys, howyadoin' -- would like to know the BIG SECRET to which I have been alluding for lo these, um, several days.
So here it is:
Sean has been offered, and has accepted, a position at Vanderbilt (which is in Nashville, Tennessee, case you didn't know, and I did not realize until I actually moved there that Princeton was in New Jersey, so there you go). We're going to Nashville, kids!
We have a year and a half to do all the prepwork, so I'm gonna need you to go ahead and just do the following things for me, mmmkay?
1. Tell me where you live/lived in/around Nashville and what you liked/loathed about it.
2. Totally be my friend when we move there. I will make you cupcakes and babysit your kids. Promise.
3. If you are in or around Philly, and you see me out in the world and recognize me, say hi! Please? PLEASE?
I'm not in Nashville or Philly, but I can at least say hi, how ya doing after a long week at work!
Posted by: cat, galloping | Friday, March 21, 2008 at 07:43 PM
I'm not in Nashville or Philly, but I can at least say hi, how ya doing after a long week at work! i guess no cupcakes for me?
Posted by: cat, galloping | Friday, March 21, 2008 at 07:43 PM
Delurking to say that Nashville is great. My sister went to Vandy for undergrad as well as nursing school and has never left. She's on adjunct faculty for the Nursing school. She's a single mom to a 2.5 year old, so my parents have moved up there as well.
My sister will be glad to be your friend (and your nurse practitioner). She has lived in the following places (other than on campus):
1. Hillsboro Village--she was there 15 years ago and it has since grown and gotten way more expensive. It's very close to campus (she walked to class while in nursing school) and there are great older houses all around that area (bungalows from the 30's and 40's). The fact that we could walk to Pancake Pantry was GREAT. I would imagine that now all the college kids would be a little annoying. From there she moved to:
2. Green Hills--again, this was 10 years ago and the area has since exploded. The Green Hills Mall has just added several "luxury" stores and the area around it is terribly congested traffic wise. Again, there are lots of older, hidden gems in the area. I don't think I would choose to live in this area now--it's got too pricey and there are far to many cooler places to live. My sister now lives in:
3. Belleview (Bellevue?) No way I would ever live out there if I had a choice. It's in West Nashville and lots of people live out there. It's a typical suburban area--all the trees were razed and lots of the same house were built with one tree planted in the front yard. I obviously don't know you, but from what I've read, this does not strike me as your kind of neighborhood.
I like older houses with character and a functioning bathroom. Some neighborhoods I would want to explore include Germantown and several areas in East Nashville. East Nashville has been undergoing gentrification for 10 years, and while there are still some areas I wouldn't want to hang around in during the middle of the day, there are some really neat areas.
Congratulations on the move!
Posted by: Mandee | Friday, March 21, 2008 at 08:22 PM
Jo, Have you tried Anti Icky Poo? It is the best for getting out the smells of the poop. You might have to buy it online, or at a local pet shop. I think that the big ones only carry Natures Miracle.
Congrats on the big news! I've never been to Nashville, but I hope you love it.
Posted by: Sarah | Friday, March 21, 2008 at 08:53 PM
Congrats Sean! That is awesome news. I have only been to Nashville to take BK to a specialist at one of the hospitals, but it is a pretty city, and has top of the line health care.
Posted by: Jill | Friday, March 21, 2008 at 10:34 PM
Mandee, your sister is totally living my dream! And thank you for the 'hood tips -- totally in line with what we saw. Although by this point I'm so used to college kids they don't bother me much anymore.
Posted by: Jo | Friday, March 21, 2008 at 10:57 PM
As one of the select readers visiting the ol' LP after hours on a Friday, it didn't seem right to read and bolt. So hiya. :)
And congrats on the Nashville news! How exciting. (I've got the Indigo Girls song "Nashville" playing in my head now, thankyouverymuch.) I've only driven through it, but FWIW I liked what I saw. And I say ya can't beat a groovin' music scene, regardless of the genre. And the whole college town thing. Always a plus.
So yay!
Posted by: Tine | Friday, March 21, 2008 at 11:45 PM
OK, I'm back to send a quick message to your sis via your blog. (Because hers won't let me comment or e-mail, and once again, I hate to read and run. And I'm sure she'll be visiting here eventually.)
So, Gretchen...
Longtime reader of Jo's here to say hello. What an exciting blog beginning...and it's very nice to "meet" you! I'll be back to check on you. In the meantime, enjoy the ride.
Posted by: Tine | Friday, March 21, 2008 at 11:55 PM
oh, you just want to be randomly recognized as much as i have ;)
and, um, congrats on moving to nashville. i'll miss you so much when you finally go, beeyotch.
or should i say, "malcontent jerkwad"?
Posted by: Kateri | Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 12:39 AM
Hey from Nashville! I'm a Vandy grad myself, although many moons ago. If I told you the year I would have to kill you. The area around Vanderbilt is very happening and from what I can tell from reading LP 'lo these many years, you'd love it. I live in Bellevue, the place where a poster above said not to move, ha! And she accurately describes a large portion of Bellevue, just not my part of Bellevue. You are going to LOVE living here. Seriously.
Posted by: Gina | Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 01:05 AM
Kateri, I freely admit that your celebrity is the number one reason I am begging for shout-outs. Yes. I am a big dork. It's so true. (No! I am not being sarcastic!)
Posted by: Jo | Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Congratulations! We've been to Nashville maybe two handfuls of times, and have loved it each and every time. Can't say much about anything except the Franklin area, which is where our friends live, but the mountains are beautiful and the people are wonderful. Keep us posted!
Posted by: Emily | Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 02:01 PM
so do you always have the indigo girls song 'nashville' in your head? because i do. thanks for the plug. i'm sad you're moving further away from me.
Posted by: gretchenosis | Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 02:25 PM
I've never even visited Nashville, but it seems like such a neat place. I'm likely thinking of the Johnny Cash connection more than anything, but that's good enough for me. Shame about the warm weather, but hey ho.
Moves are always exciting, especially if they are to places with a buzz about them. Best of luck.
Posted by: MsPrufrock | Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 04:26 PM
From Nashville, don't live there anymore though. By all means e-mail me if you think I can help.
What Mandee said -- East Nashville (other side of the river, where the Titans stadium is) is an area that is exploding creatively-speaking, undergoing gentrification in a real way, but is more affordable than a lot of the other hipster neighborhoods (i.e. Hillsboro Village). No idea what school district is like there though. Check out the Radio Cafe.
Best honky-tonk on Lower Broad: Robert's Western World.
Downtown in general has undergone a major creative renaissance, with the Country Music Hall of Fame, Frist art museum, new symphony hall, new library, Predators stadium. Go and have fun!
Posted by: Shelley | Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 02:54 PM
I know a very fabulous woman who is selling a very fabulous house in Nashville. Other than that, I got nothing, since we are Midwestern through and through.
Posted by: Brooke | Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 03:30 PM
Well, I'm here in the Nashville area right this minute visiting my family. They're really nice people, BTW and my (girl) cousin has a daughter almost EXACTLY Sophia's age. I hope you get to meet each other. My Brazilian aunt and uncle come and go because they drive a truck together for a living...
Anyway, I don't know much about the area, but I'm sure it's great and... best of all, I'll be able to see you again when I come visit family (as I had already told you off blog).
Congratulations again!
Posted by: Lilian | Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 06:23 PM
Awesome, congrats!! I wrote a comment a long time ago about Nashville, and would be happy to chat it up some more. Of course, my parents are now moving to DC for dad's job... but hey! my sister is still there and so is my best friend of a gajillion years, who knows just about everything there is to know right now. My sister's godparents are also the #1 real estate agents in the city, so let me know if you want their names and numbers. Um... Nashville may be a big place but everyone knows someone who knows somebody else (cool, but also a friendly "warning"!) East Nashville is really getting renovated, but you might also want to check out the Sylvan Park area. Lots of vintage bungalows getting refurbed, and the prices may still be good--also, more local to the downtown area. If city-living is your thing, there are a couple of high-rise apartment buildings going up downtown. Nashville did *not* experience the downturn in the real estate market that most other places did. There is a Whole Foods market, and several other small independent stores (not sure about co-ops, but check localharvest.org maybe?), but beware... the area where the Whole Foods is located is smack in the middle of a very trendy shopping area (anthropologie, west elm, etc). Lots of fancy dress there the last time I went, which can be so very Green Hills (where it is located). Franklin is LOVELY but the commute to Vandy would be easily 25 minutes with no traffic. By car, of course, since public transportation is almost non-existent. email me for sure for anything you need! Good luck!
Posted by: Mandalei | Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 07:16 PM
oh... right. I lived in an area called Hillwood with my parents for about 15 years--it's over past St Thomas Hospital and across from Belle Meade. Do a search for local blogs--there are some pretty active ones, too.
Posted by: Mandalei | Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 07:19 PM
HOLY CRAP!
I was raised in Nashville, and left it for college and jobs (lived in Oregon and then New Jersey) and now I'm back in Nashville!
I'll tell you anything you want to know. I want to meet you.
My Mom works at Vanderbilt as a nurse (27+ years).
I know a lot of people in the Vandy/Belmont community.
E-mail me and I'll send you my phone number.
WOO HOO!
Posted by: Micaela | Monday, March 24, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Well, well - I posted to you about Nashville when you asked a month (two?) ago -- and coincedntally, we are moving as well - leaving CA in 2 weeks. We're moving to Franklin, though I am still sad about missing out on the cool neighborhoods and old houses around Hillsboro Village, but we were seduced by the fantabulist schools (as we are hoping we'll go from 2 to 3 sometime in the next year-ish) and the 2 acres the house we are buying sits on. Give me a shout and I'll keep you posted on how the transition goes...
Posted by: Aimee | Monday, March 24, 2008 at 04:42 PM
Ugh. That is all.
Posted by: Meira | Monday, March 24, 2008 at 05:38 PM