Boomtown in red state explodes by nearly 100 people PER DAY – with locals warning ‘it’s just not the same’

The population of a red state city grew by nearly 100 people a day last year, even as locals warn that “it’s just not the same.”

Nashville’s population will grow by an average of 86 people per day by 2023, according to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

It’s part of a broader trend in Tennessee, where the population increased 1.1 percent from 2022 to 2023, with people drawn to affordable housing and low taxes.

But locals have warned that the rising population has had negative knock-on effects for the town, saying ‘it’s just not the same’.

Nashville residents say they are increasingly struggling to afford a home as an influx of out-of-state buyers drives up real estate prices, leaving many with nowhere to go.

There were 1,525 people experiencing chronic homelessness – where someone has been homeless for more than a year and has a mental illness or disability – in the city last month, compared to 863 in the same period a year earlier.

Local nonprofit founder, Heather Young, told WKRN that the increase is caused by a sharp increase in the cost of living.

Nashville has seen population growth in recent years, with wealthy out-of-town residents flocking to take advantage of cheaper real estate and lower taxes, pricing out locals.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Nashville metropolitan area has grown from 1.3 million to 2.1 million residents in just 23 years, driving up property values ​​and the cost of living.

According to U.S. Census migration data, more than 22,500 former Californians moved to Tennessee between 2021 and 2022 alone.

In recent years, major companies like Oracle have chosen to move their headquarters to Tennessee and bring their employees with them.

Attracted by lower real estate costs and taxes, Amazon also announced it would set up major operations in downtown Nashville, and New York money manager AllianceBernstein said it would move its headquarters to the city, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The average home sales price in Nashville at the end of February was $414,012, up from $290,983 five years earlier.

Remacia Smith, who grew up in Nashville, told The Wall Street Journal that she recently had to move to the suburbs with her five children.

“It almost doesn’t look like Nashville anymore,” she said. “Phew Lord, I wish people would stop moving here.”

Broadway, a major thoroughfare in Nashville, includes Lower Broadway, a renowned entertainment district for country music

Remacia Smith, who grew up in Nashville, told The Wall Street Journal that she recently had to move to the suburbs with her five children

Meanwhile, lifelong resident John Michael Morgan, for his part, told the newspaper he is concerned about preserving Nashville’s essence.

“Nashville has always been a big city that felt like a small town,” Morgan said. “Now we’re a big city that feels like a big city.”

The Metro Council has committed $50 million in American Rescue Plan funding to combat homelessness by 2022, but the problem hasn’t gone away.

India Pungarcher, a Nashville-based advocacy and outreach specialist, told WKRN, “If a one-time investment of $50 million ended homelessness in Nashville, homelessness would no longer exist, right?

“We’re going to need hundreds of millions of dollars to, you know, even make a dent in homelessness here in Nashville.”

The number of chronic homeless people in Nashville, Tennessee has increased by 77 percent this year

There were 1,525 people experiencing chronic homelessness in the city last month, compared to 863 in the same period a year earlier

Local nonprofit founder Heather Young told WKRN the increase is being driven by a sharp increase in the cost of living

Purple Heart recipient Patrick James told DailyMail.com that just three years ago he was making $150,000 a year. Now he sleeps in a battered and immobile Chevy Suburban after losing his home in a divorce.

The decorated veteran who served multiple tours in Iraq simply can’t find enough money to pay rising apartment rents, despite having an Army pension.

Even a modest one-bedroom apartment far from downtown can now cost $1,400. In the hipster neighborhood of The Gulch, where the skyline is littered with construction cranes, a new studio can easily cost $1,500 a month, while two-bedrooms start at $2,485.

“Nashville is all about money and real estate now, but that money and real estate makes the rich richer and the poor poorer,” James told DailyMail.com as he sat in the passenger seat of an old Mercedes he uses to get by .

“Nashville only cares about tourists, country music and cowboy hats. It’s a dog and pony show. Forget those nice apartments that are under construction, I have no chance of getting an apartment in this city right now.

“You have to make at least three times the amount of the rent to be approved,” he added. “That’s why I bought that old truck to live in and the car so I could go somewhere.”

The old Mercedes, with a Purple Heart license plate, sits next to the Suburban in an area known as the Old Tent City, next to the Cumberland River.

Abandoned RVs and makeshift sheds, some fenced off in an attempt to recreate a private home, are the larger living spaces amid makeshift canvas structures that house an estimated 130 people.