The Nashville List

Sometimes it feels like everyone is moving to Nashville. Over the past decade, its population growth has outpaced that of most U.S. cities—and with a lower cost of living than the coasts, it has drawn a steady influx of designers, writers, chefs, musicians, and makers who see it as a place where a creative life still feels possible.

Nashville occupies a kind of sweet spot: large enough to support industries and generate opportunity, yet small enough that communities form easily—fueling a thriving food and music scene, and an increasingly dynamic design culture. “We’ve seen Nashville go from a small town to the city everyone wants to move to,” says Gen Soar, founder of the lifestyle brand Pencil & Paper Co, who relocated from California more than 20 years ago. “But even with the tremendous growth, it still feels genuinely kind—a great place to raise a family, with that small-town sense of community still intact.” We asked Gen and two other friends to share their insider addresses in Music City here!

SARA RUFFIN COSTELLO, designer of The Chloe Hotels in Nashville and New Orleans

I live in New Orleans, but recently have spent a decent amount of time commuting to Nashville to design the Chloe Hotel, which finally opened in January 2026. As far as Nashville goes, it took a minute, but the city finally grabbed me by the third trip. The first couple of visits I saw what everyone sees: screeching bridesmaids and cranes in every direction. Essentially Bourbon Street with cowboy hats. Excavating the soul of a place, especially one with such an accelerated growth rate as Nashville, takes time and insider knowledge.

One way to the beating heart is through the secret door at the sexy cocktail lounge Attaboy, buzzer access only. My colleague Emily introduced me to this gem on one of our shopping safaris and we made a point of visiting on subsequent trips. The bar itself is designed with intention and transport in mind. They care deeply about how the place makes you feel. Emily and I would routinely snag bar stools and spend far too long analyzing the miracle that Attaboy is. The lighting alone is intoxicating. Bulky bar equipment is installed discreetly under the back counter, rather than the usual position, allowing bartenders to stand a mere 12 inches from you. In lieu of refrigerators, a beautiful ice sink chills cold beverages. As explained to us, this eliminates mood-killing fluorescent light leaks from fridge doors opening every few minutes. Since there is no drinks menu, offer up a notion of what you’re feeling, say ginger and lime, and one of the bartenders—shoutout to adorable Jesse Rosse—will blow you away.  This is intimacy served with sophistication. The bar chit-chat and the Ramos gin fizz are some of the best I have ever had. Nashville, I was beginning to realize, not only has distinction, but is a place where the bar for excellence is much higher than I assumed.

For the nearly two and a half years I was there working on The Chloe haunting vintage stores and negotiating with craftspeople, I honed a list of favorites. One afternoon at Sons of Sawdust, master woodworkers Matt and Sebastian suggested we break from a complicated design session for tacos and margaritas. They brought me and Emily to an under-the-radar joint, Dos Santos, that they had just completed with brothers, one out of Oaxaca and the other Denver. We would never have found it otherwise. That sort of discovery happens constantly in Nashville. Creative people opening doors. It gave me the rare experience of seeing Nashville both ways: as a visitor discovering it, and as a temporary local digging deeper.

Look past the pitfalls of gentrification and you’ll find a city where commerce and creativity collide in interesting ways. East Nashville is the artsy side of town. To the West, Belle Meade and the Vanderbilt neighborhood of Hillsboro feel older and more refined. Germantown and the very walkable Gulch area feature a ton of young professionals playing rugby and gathering in bars. I particularly like WeHo, a quickly developing pocket of style, which sprung up around the Soho House. The emerging Neuhoff District is also a worthwhile area to explore; historic industrial buildings reborn as galleries, restaurants, and design shops, with a burst of green life everywhere. Of course, cruising the boutiques on 12 South is probably the easiest way to knock out a retail heavy afternoon. 

Turns out I fell for Nashville hard and cannot wait to go back. 

SHOPPING

Imogene + Willie – Housed in a former service station, it’s the cornerstone of Nashville indie shopping and comes at a price. The denim is made in America. I always leave with at least one tee. The shop itself is a gathering place for cool folk.

White’s Mercantile – Curated by Nashville royalty Holly Williams, it remains one of the best repositories in town for all manner of inexpensive Southern stuffs. Her adorable husband, musician and artist Chris Coleman, sells minimalist, gestural paintings depicting images of the old west. I commissioned quite a few for The Chloe.