The Nashville economy enjoys a consistently low unemployment rate, a broadening and talented work force, recent job growth, and moderate to low taxes for businesses and residents. While music, entertainments, and tourism top the list as the most well-known sources of revenue, Nashville is also a leader in other industries such as health care, publishing, biotechnology, higher education, finance, and insurance.

The music industry in Nashville is widespread and is what makes the city famous. Billions of dollars are pumped into the economy from the thriving entertainment businesses as well as the recording industry. Local offshoots have enjoyed success as well from booking agencies to promotional firms to trade publications to local recording studios. Most major record labels maintain offices on Nashville’s Music Row including Sony, RCA, Capitol, Columbia, MCA, and others.

It’s no surprise that tourism is big business is in Nashville. In fact, Nashville is the hottest area for the State of Tennessee’s tourism revenues of over $2.2 billion. There is no shortage of great entertainment, attractions, and services for the benefit of residents and tourists in Nashville.

Surprisingly, health care is also one of Nashville’s top industries. Companies in the health care field employed almost 90,000 people and paid out over $4 billion in payroll in 2002 alone. Over 350 health care companies have some form of operations facility with the Nashville metro area while 21 health care companies are based here. Nashville also boasts some of the highest ranking hospitals in the U.S. and thereby retains some of the nation’s top doctors as well.

The Bible Belt of the South extends its reach through Nashville. The world’s leading publisher of Bibles, Thomas Nelson, is headquartered in Nashville. In addition to being a hub for religious publishing, Nashville is also becoming known as a major distribution center for other types of books and media. The Nashville metro area is now one of the top ten largest publishing cities in the U.S. and certainly the largest in the Southeast part of the country.

Nashville serves as a major transportation hub primarily because of its central location in the Mid-South. More than 80 miles of interstate highways run in, out, and around the city. Because of this excellent network of roads and easy accessibility, the trucking industry remains strong here. Many trucking firms have made Nashville a regional headquarters for local and bulk transportation services. Trucks and freight lines move millions of tons of goods through Nashville each year.

Rail service has remained steadfast in Nashville since the turn of the century. Two local shortline railroads, Nashville Eastern and Nashville Western, along with the CSX Intermodal local division run an average of 90 trains through Nashville every day. More than 30 commercial operators run barges along the Cumberland River through Nashville. The Nashville Air Cargo Link is a foreign trade zone serving the Nashville International Airport; it ships over 65 thousand tons of cargo through Nashville per year. Whether by air, land, or water, the central location and modern accesses to and within Nashville makes it a leading location for commercial shipping and transportation.

Nashville’s economic outlook appears great for both businesses and residents. With many recent corporate relocations or expansions and continued population growth, Nashville’s economy is predicted to be strong for the future. It’s no wonder Nashville made Forbes.com 2006 list as the #7 metropolitan area for the “Best Places for Business and Careers.” Even with all this growth, smiles and hellos will still be commonplace because Nashville remains a friendly place to live and work.

Imagine being only minutes from the city, yet surrounded by peaceful tree-lined streets, scenic views, and one of the safest neighborhoods in Nashville… this is Belle Meade. With a median income of over $144,000, Belle Meade is considered Nashville’s most affluent community.

You know you are in Belle Meade when you notice the distinct equine street signs, boutique shops, and large private estates with stately homes and horse trails. This area is actually an incorporated municipality within the city of Nashville with its own city hall, mayor, and police force.

With its desirable location and exceptional quality of life, real estate in Belle Meade comes with a high price tag. The average list price in the area is over $1 million, with home sales ranging in price from $500,000 to upwards of $2.5 million. The home sites in Belle Meade are large, private, and often feature meticulous landscape, rolling green hills, and scenic views.

Because there is little land available in Belle Meade for new development, buyers often purchase older homes and either renovate them or tear them down and start over. It is purely the location that drives the desire for such purchases of Belle Meade real estate – buyers are willing to pay top dollar for the land, even if the house doesn’t fit their needs since they can simply renovate or build their dream home.

The Warner Parks complex serves as the main recreational site for Belle Meade residents. Although it is not within the city limits, it sits next to Belle Meade and provides a nature center, hiking trails, equestrian facilities, golf courses, and athletic fields.

The city owes its name to the famous historical mansion, the Belle Meade Plantation. An original horse farm and Greek revival home, this 30-acre historic site is known for its past breeding and training of thoroughbred champions. Race horse legends such as Barbarro, Secretariat, and Seabiscuit can trace their bloodlines back to the breeding stock of Belle Meade. Tours, weddings, and event packages are available to the public.

The Cheekwood Mansion and Botanic Gardens is also located in Belle Meade. It is a beautiful 55-acre estate with a botanical garden, mile-long sculpture trail, learning center, and the Museum of Art’s revolving exhibits. The mansion hosts many different activities for adults and children as well as weddings and group events.

A major shopping center, The Belle Meade Town Center, is scheduled for completion in mid-2007 and will be located near one of the busiest intersections in the state: Harding Road and White Bridge Road. There are plans for an anchor grocery store, Harris Teeter, and AmSouth Bank branch, other retail shops, and some luxury condos. This center will certainly add some diversity to the architecture and landscape of Belle Meade.

Originally called Fort Nashborough after the Revolutionary War General Francis Nash, the Nashville area was settled around 1779 on the Cumberland River. The area was renamed Nashville in 1784. Soon after in 1796, Tennessee was the 16th state to join the Union. The Tennessee name is derived from a Cherokee variant of a Creek Indian word that is believed to mean “meeting place” or “bend in the river,” although there is some debate on the actual meaning of the word.

Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861 and became involved in the Confederate Army of the Civil War that enveloped our developing nation. In 1862, Union Forces captured the city of Nashville. December 15-16, 1864 mark the dates when the Confederates failed to retake the city in the historic Battle of Nashville.

The Battle of Nashville marked one of the most victorious achievements of the Union Army and effectively marked the end of the Army of Tennessee. There are no on-site remnants left from this battle; today, the suburban areas of Green Hills, Grassmere, and Brentwood occupy the area that was once a historic battlefield. In 1866, after the Civil War dust settled, Tennessee was re-admitted to the Union, the first Confederate state to do so.

Nashville has a very unique organization of government. Since 1963, a Metropolitan Charter created a single government for both the city of Nashville and Davidson County. Nashville was the first large U.S. city to adopt this type of consolidated metropolitan city-county structure. Other cities have now formed similar governments using variations of the charter that has worked so well for Nashville.

Three former U.S. Presidents called Nashville home including Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson. Of course, the Nashville area has been and still is home to many famous folks including country music stars, all types of musicians, actors, and more.

Nashville became the state capital in 1843, and is now the second most populated city in Tennessee.   Today, the greater metropolitan area encompasses eight counties including Davidson County – where the city of Nashville is located – and the surrounding counties of Cheatham, Dickson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson. The estimated 2005 population of the Nashville metropolitan area is over 1.4 million people.