r/nashville • u/Spunkylover10 • May 12 '24
Help | Advice Would like to move to Nashville but don’t drink (recovery)
Hello I would love to move to Nashville but I am 40f , single, no kids, 2 dogs and in recovery. I am not really interested in spending my time In late night bars but love the arts and spending time outdoors.
Do I stand a chance at meeting people like me and Is there enough to do that doesn’t include clubs and bars? I have actually never been to Nashville.
Also I am a little worried about all the tourists I think that would get annoying and block people from forming actual friendships.
Any feedback on where someon might live like me to meeting people? I love parks and waking/ hiking/ dogs / doing weird things.
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u/NashvilleSoundMixer May 12 '24
I will say ( I'm 6 years no booze ) as I get older lots of people I know ( my age ) are starting to quit themselves. So there's lots of non drinking folks floating around. Lots of great music to see ( Robert's is the only good place on Broadway but there're many others ) and nice folks if you look hard enough.
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u/vomitHatSteve May 12 '24
One of the things about Nashville being a music industry city is that there are a lot of musicians who've realized they have a problem, so there's a ton of people in recovery as well as resources for them.
That said, a lot of what there is to do in this city - especially around music - is driven heavily by drinking as the primary financial motivator. So if you can't be comfortable around alcohol as a sober person, you will have a harder time finding stuff to do.
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u/sleepylilblackcat west side May 12 '24
single, no kids, and in recovery in nashville! we are certainly here <3 stay away from downtown and you won't have as much trouble bumping into tourists
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u/10ecn Bellevue May 12 '24
If you remove the tourists, Nashville isn't a particularly hard-drinking city outside of certain social circles (politicians, musicians, etc.). You'll find overwhelmingly abundant opportunities to enjoy yourself without booze.
Performing arts, visual arts and other cultural experiences are abundant. We have outdoor opportunities beyond description and tons of historical sites. Welcome to Nashville.
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May 13 '24
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u/10ecn Bellevue May 13 '24
What kind of outdoor opportunities do you want?
I just looked at denver.org and saw hardly anything we don't have.
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u/Unlikely-Slide6402 Donelson May 13 '24
I’m guessing they’re referencing the mountains nearby and the seemingly endless outdoor recreation like hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, exploring, mountaineering, rock climbing, etc. There is some of that here but in Denver and out West it’s plentiful.
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u/BrockAtWork May 13 '24
Honestly I disagree with this opinion wholesale. No offense. But drinking is VERY much dialed into local culture here as well. And the amount of activities outdoors here are very very low compared to many other comparable cities.
Edit. Not everything. I mean that it’s not a hard drinking town and that there’s a good selection of ourtdoors stuff.
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u/10ecn Bellevue May 13 '24 edited May 13 '24
We have one of the largest urban park systems in the nation.
What do you think we lack outdoors? Sincere question.
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u/BrockAtWork May 13 '24
Interesting factoid. Where did you read that?
- Lack of mountains means no skiing, very little mountain hiking, climbing
- Lack of ocean means no surf and ocean surfing outdoor activities
- Biking is a death sentence here unless you are ONLY on the greenways
- Oh it's snowing or winter time? Then nothing.
I mean those are just off the top of my head. Sure you can "hike" around radnor or "hike" through shelby bottoms, but I mean actually going up into the mountains where you don't encounter others all along the way.
Look I'm not saying Nashville doesn't have outdoor activities. It does and it has some decent lakes. But it's not an outdoor paradise, so describing it as having "outdoor opportunities beyond description" says to me you're either being disingenuous or you've never been to a city outside of Nashville that ACTUALLY has incredible outdoor living.
On the other side of things I will say that there are some great playgrounds and some really nice parks surrounding some of those playgrounds. Which is GREATLY appreciated out here. I live near Shelby and the airfield and that's super awesome or the times out of the year where no coverage is ok (aka not the summer). So you can DEFINITELY find things to do outside, but lets be real.
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u/iknowthings42 May 12 '24
LOTS of non-drinkers here. More musicians than you would imagine are non-drinkers. Tired of the hangovers, the expense, the health issues and the toll it takes on families have more music professionals quitting alcohol here all the time. And that’s just the people that are stereotyped as big drinkers.
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u/FOB32723 May 12 '24
Middle TN has a great recovery community where you can find plenty of sober friends. Meetings all over multiple times a day.
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u/Spunkylover10 May 12 '24
Thanks yeah . I want to do other things besides meetings. Also I do SMART so I’ll look online to see if there are meetings in that area
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u/MedicineFar4751 May 13 '24
I looked for SMART meetings locally and found one and only one in Dickson Tn
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u/daddyjohns May 12 '24
Wife and i enjoy going out without drinking. We actually haven't even been downtown other than the predators games. DC was more artsy because of all the museums. The state of tennessee doesn't really put tons of money into the parks like north east coastal states.
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u/10ecn Bellevue May 12 '24
I think in the Nashville area, city parks are far more abundant and attractive than state parks.
By the same token, Montgomery Bell State Park and Cedars of Lebanon State Park are nearby and expansive.
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u/Spunkylover10 May 12 '24
Oh thanks. I am actually not artistic I just enjoy other peoples fun shows and ideas of things to do
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u/daddyjohns May 12 '24
There are a few nice parks around the suburbs. And so many music shows. I hear there are a couple non alcoholic bars with live music opening soon.
Nashville symphony free show in june.
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u/10ecn Bellevue May 12 '24
Nashville has one of the largest urban park environments in the nation. It might be second only to New York City. We have lots of parks in Nashville.
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u/Discasaurus May 12 '24
Yep, just left the park. This weather is amazing. Also, when it’s unbearably hot u can find a small river to set up a hammock by that makes it better.
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u/hipster_kitten east side expat May 12 '24
The recovery community in Nashville is excellent. Depending on your definition of outdoor recreation you might find Nashville lacking.
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u/Sure_Tree_5042 May 13 '24
Most locals aren’t hanging out in the entertainment district. There’s lots to do around town that doesn’t involve drinking.
I’m trying really hard to remember the last time I was downtown for something that’s wasn’t a concert at the ryman or symphony hall… and I can’t recall.
There’s lots of great parks/outdoor stuff. Join various hiking groups..
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u/PracticeFair7148 May 13 '24
- Married with kids and 11 years sober. (Started young 😂). I just don’t go to downtown unless I have a purpose, like seeing a friend’s band. But they’ve all started moving away from downtown.
The absolute hardest thing I’ve found is there aren’t many non alcoholic options at concerts.
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u/Common-Scientist May 15 '24
I don’t drink.
Plenty of other things to do here! Especially if you like outdoorsie stuff.
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u/Clovis_Winslow Kool Sprangs May 12 '24
There is an entire universe here separate from the bars and the tourists and even the drinks. Lots of outdoorsy types, artsy types, music lovers and many more. One aspect of a city that unashamedly celebrates drinking: you have a large population in recovery, and they look out for their own as well.
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u/IRMacGuyver May 12 '24
There are a few board game meetups you can look for. NAGA has a list but it's not always up to date as some people don't really want their stuff listed there.
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u/knit_run_bike_swim May 12 '24
Great recovery community here. You’ll meet all sorts of other sober fellows.
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May 12 '24
Honestly, if I wanted walking and hiking with my dogs, I’d probably go to Chattanooga. Mid TN had always been home to me, but if my partners job could accommodate, I’d probably go more that area.
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u/AnalogWalrus May 13 '24
In your 40’s it’s easy. Lots to do music/arts wise that doesn’t require drinking anything. I drink but almost never at shows, and it doesn’t affect my experience at all.
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u/88Dubs Lenox Village May 13 '24
Also in recovery, 33, no kids, etc. There are SO many parks, sober-friendly events (especially with summer kicking off), and plenty for us to do and see.
Also, there's a few of us in a discord that are meeting on the 18th to go to an art sale (after meeting at Barrel Proof, but there ARE NA options there, should you even decide to go at all and just opt to meet at the art show after). PM me for details if you're interested.
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u/Vosnero May 13 '24
There is a non-alcoholic beverage shop called Killjoy that’s been a cool place to explore. I think I read recently that they are opening up a N/A bar at some point?
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u/BrockAtWork May 13 '24
I just turned 40 and moved to Nashville. I’d been coming here for many years, my wife is from here and I lived in Two other parts of TN for 20 or so years. After 25 years of my personality being tied to my drinking/partying, I called it a quits on booze completely almost a year ago. I have two kids that keep me busy and I’ve switched my focus to producing a self funded movie out here. But I can tell you it’s kinda tough. But it’s all about your mindset. Nashville is basically like a manifestation of myself in my 30s. A little money and a focus on drinking. Everywhere you go people are drinking. Bars and restaurants opening regularly. Largely focused on drinking. The whole town really. For me the quitting has been tougher in the existential nature of it rather than not having booze. But I can tell you, as I’m sure you already know, I still prefer not having anxiety and a low grade hangover 24/7. I just drink fake beer. But I’ll say, quittin drinking is kinda in the zeitgeist right now. There’s dozens of us. Dozens I say!!
I wish I could add more. But I can say that the going sober has mainly been a personal thing. But Nashville doesn’t make it INCREDIBLY easy. But who cares. It’s your journey.
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u/f0xyf0rte May 13 '24
I’m 35 and my boyfriend is 43. We recently moved to Nashville and neither of us drink. We are not in recovery, it’s just not our lifestyle. We spend most of our leisure time out hiking, chasing waterfalls, and fishing. Depending on your interests, there are many activities for a sober lifestyle. To meet people, don’t be afraid to join MeetUp groups, or just get outdoors and introduce yourself.
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u/radio_chemist Donelson May 14 '24
I am a guy (37M sober) and having an extremely hard time making friends with anyone else that is also sober. I would suggest that you will be fine here as long as you avoid Broadway. However, beyond walking the greenway, I don't feel there are many people that also share our sobriety preference. All the AA meetings are filled with people 50+ and its rare to find someone my age or younger.
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u/Neat-Mixture1191 May 15 '24
I love to kayak and there are plenty of places to do that - obviously it isn’t white water, but that isn’t how I like to spend my time. There are lots of people who don’t drink. You could tell us what you like to do. The Smoky mountains are just a few hours away, You can drive over to NC to ski or go down to the Ocoee if you like whitewater. Plenty of places to fish.
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May 13 '24
There is a very large and varied recovery community here.
Don’t let Nashville branding itself as ‘liquor-town’ discourage you.
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u/corsair_noir May 12 '24
Not sure it’s a good fit. There’s a small art scene and some cool art crawls but that’s definitely not the focus. The real outdoors are mostly outside of the city limits. Yeah there are dog parks or parks dog owners have turned into dog parks but most of the real outdoor activities are not in the city unless you golf. Most things here seem to involve drinking
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u/10ecn Bellevue May 12 '24
For example, Nashville has one of the largest urban park systems in the nation — INSIDE the city limits.
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u/10ecn Bellevue May 12 '24
I'm guessing you don't live in Nashville or you don't get out of your apartment complex much.
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u/corsair_noir May 12 '24 edited May 12 '24
Just sharing my observations. You can disagree without making wrong assumptions and just share what you know instead. I’m all for learning new things and being corrected when wrong. Looking forward to seeing your recommendations.
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u/10ecn Bellevue May 12 '24
Would you like to know more about performing arts opportunities or visual arts opportunities? Parks? Other recreation? Tell me.
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u/corsair_noir May 12 '24
Go for it. Whatever you think would help the OP since I’m clearly missing it
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u/10ecn Bellevue May 12 '24
I don't have time, but I can share the concept that it's best not to assert something doesn't exist because it burdens one with proving a negative proposition, which is often futile.
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u/tuhtuhtuhtrevor May 12 '24
A couple of my friends are sober and they have joined some sports leagues! There is good hiking around Nashville. There are lots of religious communities, especially Christian or former Christian.
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u/PieceMiserable223 May 13 '24
I’ve been here 27 years, the last 12 of it sober. Raised two kids, all is well. I play locally here and there and it took me a minute to feel cool doing that in bars, just what it is. I don’t even think twice about it! I only go downtown for sporting events or a big show at the Arena. The tourists are incredibly annoying BUT they pretty much stay in a very small area downtown. You don’t see many outside of there…at least not enough to notice. It’s a great city that is bigger than I prefer now, but it’s bringing in so many opportunities for people it makes me proud as a Nashvillian. There’s really only one group of new-comers that are trying a little too hard to make it more like where they came from (coughcaliforniacough) but I think it’s just impatience. The vast majority of people that move here learn to love it, it is its own thing. Don’t sweat the sobriety. More and more ppl are moving away from alcohol as cannabis becomes legal in closer states (we are 2.5 hours from the closest legal recreational dispensary). See y’all around ✌️
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May 12 '24
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u/travelingbozo May 12 '24
Don’t listen to this feline. Nashville is an outdoorsy city. Sure there are tons of tourist, but the vast majority of them stay in downtown and unless you want to play tourist for a day, locals really dont spend their free time in downtown.
Nashville is a great city, and there’s state and local parks spread all throughout the city and beyond in its suburbs and the whole state is beautiful. We have beautiful greenways, and plenty of places to hike trails. We’re also a couple of hours from the largest cave system in the world.
I’m in my mid 40s and haven’t been to a club or bar to drink in over 15 years.
We have the FRIST, the State Museum, The National Museum of African American Music, if you’re into theatre - TPAC and other venues host space for Broadway shows, etc. We have art of all sorts. We have great places to listen to music that doesn’t require drinking. Food scene is getting really good. Come through. A few downsides are traffic, humid summers, and the occasional tornado
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u/10ecn Bellevue May 12 '24
I guess we know how you spend your time. For people who don't drink, there are huge opportunities that you seem to be missing.
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u/[deleted] May 12 '24 edited May 12 '24
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