Vanderbilt University community and environment like...?

I am from New Jersey and am very interested in Vanderbilt University.

I know about all of its academic and extracurricular offerings, but I'd liket to get a better feel on its surrounding environment. I like the idea of Nashville, where it is broken up into little neihborhoods with shops and restaurants, etc. I also like knowing that i could attend some big name concerts like Death Cab, 3 doors down, etc. My dad said i might go through a culture shock though, because it is Southern. What exactly does this mean? What is it like in Nashville? anything like NYC, because if so, that's not what i am looking for, too urban for me.Vanderbilt University community and environment like...?
Nashville is a nice city. It is not anywhere close to NYC. It has a small centralized downtown and there are suburbs in every direction. There is always music to be seen (it is the music city) as well as major league sports like The Tennessee Titans and the Nashville Predators. There is also a AAA baseball team called the Nashville Sounds that can be fun to go to (and cheap).



For a city it's size, Nashville is very cultural and clean. There are not as many theatrical venues as NYC, Chicago, or LA, but it does have more than most cities it's size or bigger. The people are nice, and the weather is great.



Vandy is located slightly on the south side of town. It is fairly close to downtown, but not in it. It is a great neighborhood called Hillsboro Village that has lots of little shops and places to eat. It is also near Centenial Park which is beautiful and has a scale rebuilding of the Parthenon in Greece. Anything you want to do, you can do in Nashville.



Your father could be worried about the fact that many people do have accents and there are the idiots. But I have lived in lots of places and there are people with accents everywhere (especially Jersey) and idiots as well.



I think it is a great city and one day I may move back. I would recommend you visit first though. Southwest flies in for really cheap, so book a flight and a hotel. Make sure you see second avenue and some music while you are there and decide for yourself.