Accountfully offers outsourced accounting to a modern client base from two amazing locations; Charleston, South Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee. Both offices are nestled within cities that are hubs of art, education, economic growth, and entrepreneurship. Not to mention in close proximity to major airports and all of the world’s high quality cuisine.
With so much focus on the remote workforce and hybrid teams, we want to take a second and celebrate the “why” behind the two office locations our teams work from daily. It was hard to scale these down, but we have narrowed down five cool facts about each city we hold offices in. You can’t go wrong in either spot, but if you are an accounting pro looking for a change of pace in both career and locale, this may help you decide.
Who will like it here: A history buff or golf aficionado who enjoys breathtaking beach-scapes, historic buildings, and convenient travel up and down the east coast.
We are sought after by a lot of famous people, most notably the iconic comedian, Bill Murray. He (like Accountfully Partners, Brad and Meredith) lives on Sullivan’s Island. Outside of the potential celebrity sighting, his influence runs much deeper in the area. He is part owner and “Director of Fun” for the local baseball team, the Charleston RiverDogs, who (another cool fact) is Charleston’s first baseball team, originally established in 1886 as “the Seagulls”. We often make it to RiverDogs games as part of our quarterly Accountfully team happy hours. You are likely to spot Bill at one of his baseball team’s games, on the beach, or at one of his restaurants, The Rutledge Cab Co or Harold’s Cabin.
Charleston continues to be a major player in the aerospace industry and defense contracting world. Boeing employs more than 7,000 people building wide body jets, and defense contracts are estimated to be in the billions to support a thriving SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center - Charleston is the center of its Atlantic operations) program. Other large industries include medical devices, Charleston’s school district, Life Sciences, IT, and automotive. So what does that mean for an outsourced accounting firm? It means we are in a growing hub of businesses that are thriving, so we share in that success by supporting the accounting needs of many new companies. It also means great industries for our employee’s spouses and partners to expand their careers in the area. As of January 2022, our unemployment rate was 3.9%, much lower than that of the US, at 6.4%2.
Like to play golf during your down time? This is the place to do it. Charleston is considered the birthplace of American golf, and the Lowcountry in general, is a top destination for golf fans. Our booming tourism and amazing scenery is a perfect fit for expansive, scenic golf courses. The first golf club in America was formed in Charleston in 1787, by Scottish merchants. The first course was a modest square located on what is now between the streets of Calhoun and Beaufain from Rutledge to Barre3 and since the late sixties, our neighbors to the south on Hilton Head Island have hosted the RBC Heritage Golf Tournament. Each year this event pumps over $102 million into the area economy, and has produced golf legends like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
Charleston has been around since 1783, so we have many years of history all around us. One of the coolest trends in the area is the revamping of some amazing old buildings into modern, environmentally friendly new spaces. Across the board, we are seeing them repurposed into shops, restaurants, and modern workplaces, like ours. This mix of heritage and history combined with modern convenience is something very unique to Charleston. Even a few of our clients are architects and builders focused on similar projects.
If you are still not quite convinced Charleston is a great place to live, don't take our word for it. Big media outlets have been ranking it as a top spot for years. In 2016, Travel + Leisure Magazine ranked us the top place to live in the world. The factors that helped win the rankings are the food, the friendliness of people, the sights/landmarks, arts, culture, and value.
That’s a tall order to maintain, but we’ve been hitting top rankings consistently since then:
Who will like it here: Someone who likes experiencing all four seasons (but not too extreme or long of each), loves music and art, and prefers less Mustard in their BBQ sauce.
Don’t get us wrong, we love Nashville’s rich and lengthy history of country music and the legends that still roam the halls of the Ryman Auditorium. You don’t have to be a die-hard Country fan to fit in. Nashville is steeped in music and radio history across the board. For anyone with a musical bone in their body, they will be in heaven. With its heavy artistic culture comes a range of new business ventures, and entrepreneurial pursuits - the types of clients we serve. You’ll be happy to know that it is a hub of multiple music genres, from Gospel, to Bluegrass and more. Its central US location paved the way for the first recording artists and radio stations.
Outside of the humming music scene, are a slew of festivals to enjoy. The popular Nashville Film Festival, as well as Oktoberfest in Germantown are a few to look forward to.
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Nashville is the home of many large industries that are not music focused, but like its central locale and efficient logistics opportunities. Nashville offers major commerce advantages to large businesses located there for both domestic and foreign shipping. Not only does it border eight states, it has an expansive transportation network; air, rail, water, road, and transit inside the city (great for the workforce too). With these new businesses, comes a more diverse population, and an increase in modern amenities, and an overall economic boost.
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Nashville is not only called “Music City”, it is also called The Athens of the South. This is because of its extensive educational establishments in the area, as well as its signature full size Parthenon replica. The only one in the world. With older, respected institutions all over the area, you are bound to find the right fit to increase your knowledge and up-fit your career skills. Many of its institutions have been around since the early 1900’s.
If you have school age children, you will be happy to know that Nashville schools have an increased focus on art, music, and physical education in the elementary schools, and on math and science requirements at the secondary level. This emphasis stemmed from the 1980s Tennessee based “Better Schools Program” - a program that rewarded teachers who improved their credentials and who increased performance in the classroom4.
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Charleston has Nashville beat on the beach side of things, but Nashville nails it when it comes to adventuring. If you are more of a mountain, forest type, Nashville has you covered. The Great Smoky Mountains are not too far away, offering stunning hiking with waterfalls and trees and rocks aplenty. Closer to town are Nashville’s scenic parks, like Centennial Park and Shelby Park. The climate is rather conducive to outdoor activities, too. Mild temperatures make for enough seasonal enjoyment of fall leaves and some winter snow, without taking too much of a toll. High temperatures average in the upper 80’s in July, and Snowfall during the Winter is about 4”.5
Our Nashville Office is a cozy, friendly, collaborative workplace in walking distance to a ton of great lunch options. We have been known to frequent a few regular spots for happy hour and new hire lunches, like Double Dogs Restaurant and Bad Axe Throwing, where we test our Axe throwing abilities over a few beers.
Happy Hours aside, the booming tech, startup and artsy enterprises in the area, means there are a lot of young professionals residing in these downtown areas. Organizations like LaunchTN and The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce throw networking events frequently, where you can meet like minded professionals and create new business relationships. Many of these even have mentorship programs for those seeking to start a company of their own. Cool places with interesting people.
Both Charleston and Nashville offices bring some great perks to living and working there. Each city has its uniqueness, but there are a few common themes to both, should you still be on the fence:
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Are you convinced yet? If being part of a company culture that appreciates working hard and having fun, Accountfully is a great fit. We are always seeking like-minded accounting professionals to join our team. Take a look at our current job openings and learn more about our perks on our careers page.
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1 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Total Gross Domestic Product for Charleston-North Charleston, SC (MSA) [NGMP16700], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NGMP16700, January 13, 2022.
2 U.S. BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
3 This Post and Courier Article.
4 Gose, Daris A., "The Development of the Better Schools Program in Tennessee From 1981 to 1986" (1994). Electronic Theses andDissertations. Paper 2687.
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