People ask me this question probably five times a week: "Rachel, if you were moving here, where would YOU live?" If I were moving to Middle Tennessee, I wouldn’t start by asking, “What’s the best city?” I’d ask: “Which city actually fits the way I want to live?” Because Franklin, Mount Juliet, Columbia, and Nashville can all be great places to live, but they offer very different lifestyles. Here’s where I’d look, depending on what mattered most to me.

If you've driven along the Cumberland River lately, you've probably noticed it: cranes, construction fencing, and a skyline that looks different than it did even a year ago. That's Nashville's East Bank and it's not just a new football stadium. It's the largest redevelopment project in the city's history, and it's reshaping what "living in Nashville" is going to look like for the next decade. If you're considering a move to Middle Tennessee, this is the kind of growth stor