Things that surprised me when I moved from New York to Nashville

If you couldn’t tell from my arrogance, I’m a New Yorker. I’m not talking suburban Jersey, Westchester, or Long Island. I’m talking about New York City – the five boroughs.

I spent my childhood at the Toys-R-Us in Times Square and having cute picnics in Prospect Park. I took public transit everywhere I needed to go.

I had to apply to high school… not college – HIGH SCHOOL!

I have spent my entire life in the best place on Earth, and while I love Nashville, my heart belongs to my home.

Nashville feels a lot safer than New York

I was born in Trinidad and Tobago, a teeny-tiny island nation in the Caribbean. I moved to NYC when I was 3 and lived in the East New York section of Brooklyn for almost my entire life.

If you’re not a native New Yorker, just think of Boyz n the Hood. My neighborhood was rough, but it was home.

I never heard crickets before coming to Nashville

New York has five boroughs. Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Brooklyn is by far the best borough, so I was beyond devastated when my mom decided we needed a change of scenery and moved me to Queens.

I went from living in an exciting neighborhood to living in a suburb. I heard crickets at night! It was literally hell. To be completely honest, Nashville is like living in a permanent bubble of sorts. It’s pretty quiet with the exclusion of weekends.

There are way less people

I went to a school with almost 5,000 kids and I had a 1.5-hour commute each day, but high school is where I met my best friend (and also a big reason why I came to Vandy). I could never walk down a hallway in my school without getting stuck in a mass of sardines.

My graduating class is bigger that Vandy’s freshman class.

And a surprising amount of trees

There are barely any trees in New York if you exclude public parks. On my first visit to Nashville, I was surprised at the air quality. It seems crazy, but I could definitely tell I was in a less polluted area.

It’s also a plus that trees make the campus pretty!

Parties are super lit!

Frat parties are a completely different demon that what I’m accustomed to in New York. My first frat party made me want to go home. I couldn’t dance to the blaring techno beat and I was tired of jumping up and down like if I was enjoying myself.

New York parties are ratchetly amazing – filled with grinding, lituations (lit situations), and a whole lot of regrettable mistakes. I can definitely say that frat parties – well Phi Psi parties have grown on me.

And everything is cheaper!

Literally everything is cheap in Nashville. From milk to concert tickets, my wallet screams in happiness. Demi Lovato concert tickets are $150 a piece in New York City. I paid $150 for 3 tickets in Nashville. If I travel 5 miles in NYC, it’s a $25-35 Uber, in Nashville that $15.

But microaggressions do exist

Being from NYC, I’m tolerant of a lot of things, but I am not tolerant of microaggressions. Little things generally don’t bother me, but when I get asked “where are you from?” and I have to repeatedly explain my ethnic background.

Even better, is when a Black Lives Matter topic comes up. I love Vandy, but it got to be a bit too much to handle at times.

People are really friendly 

Southern Hospitality is a real thing. New Yorkers walk fast and don’t respond to people. I was beyond shocked when people were saying “Good Morning” to me and offering to pay for my food. I was even more shocked when I would get greeted with a hug.

Politeness wasn’t in my nature.

There’s a lack of diversity

Vanderbilt claims to be diverse. In all honesty, most people I have met are White. This isn’t an issue, it just directly reflects the education system. Being a New Yorker means I spent my life around every culture imagined. It wasn’t rare to know a Japanese-Arabic kid who was born in Greece. At Vandy, such rare cultural stories aren’t known.

However, improvement is being made with organizations like the Caribbean Students Association and other ethnic groups.

Yes, Vandy is a culture shock – and so is Nashville, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.