SF to Chattanooga how's the weather??? (fit in, how much, home)

[SF Ad Gal]

My husband and I will be relocating to Chattanooga from San Francisco next year. We already came for a quick visit and really loved the whole vibe of downtown Chattanooga and North Chattanooga. In San Francisco we enjoy a mild climate yeararound...between 55 and 75 degrees with low humidity...of course we do get the fog...

I see the tempeture averages go from the 40's to the 90's in Chattanooga. How hot and humid is it in the summer??? Like Puerto Rico in July? How much snow or ice storms are normal in the winter? What about mesquitos and bugs in the spring and fall?

Thanks!

[Jon F Moss]

i lived in South Florida 20+ years before moving to Chattanooga. The humidity is no where near what it is in the tropics. Haven't been through winter or spring, but the bugs haven't been bad so far...

We've noticed some fog in the mornings here so you could be right at home here

[PickedTN]

I lived in an arid climate for 18 years, including 3 years in the Bay area. After about 3 months of living here, I'd say the humidity and bugs haven't been as bad as expected. There were a few days when I preferred to stay indoors, but my husband wasn't bothered at all. We just sweat a lot more, which is probably healthy. You won't need to use as much lotion! My husband often applies insect repellant before we go walking, since he seems to attract mosquitos more than me. Yesterday was a beautiful day in the low 80's...we were outside (downtown) from about 6-9pm and didn't even see a mosquito!

We were looking forward to having more rain, but this summer has been abnormally dry. We're curious to find out if the winter will be too cold and gray for us. The locals say it's very mild, but we'll see for ourselves.

[SF Ad Gal]

This is very helpful! I've lived in the mid-west, Puerto Rico and have spent the last 25 years in San Francisco. A new job opportunity is bringing us to Chattanooga. Having never even been to the South until recently...the more I know about the area the easier it will be overall.

I've read a couple of posts about Chattanooga being in the bible belt? Of course we are aware of what the bible belt is...but is it true that much of the socializing happens around the church? Needless to say, it's not quite like that in San Francisco due to the many hundreds of diverse religions that call the area home. Would anyone care to shed some light on this?

[GulfRGT]

Sure hope 25 years in the 9th District will fit in with the politics of Tenn hmmmmm

[jkmewright]

SFgal, I am not sure exactly what you are asking but I will do my best to answer you
While it is true that we are in the bible belt and that many of our activities do surround the church, you do not necessarily have to attend to love life here. I do not attend any type of organized church and except for a visit to the Quakers in '02 and a Catholic outdoor picnic this past month, I have not been in YEARS, literally. I have been invited to church activities and enjoyed myself completely. I felt no pressure to join and appreciated the hospitality and generous nature of my church-going friends. Now if you are asking if we are open minded down here... that's another ball of wax my friend.

[Jon F Moss]

Originally Posted by GulfRGT

Sure hope 25 years in the 9th District will fit in with the politics of Tenn hmmmmm

some would say the 9th District way of thinking doesn't fit in many parts of the country

[jackie75]

I want to know as well how the winters are. I lived here in Michigan for 8 years now & I can not stand how cold it is here, or how long it takes for some green to start appearing!!

[Jon F Moss]

I'm sure it's nothing like MI! But stay tuned, and we'll let you know...

[jkmewright]

Let's see, last year we wore t-shirts @ Thanksgiving time. It will finally get really cold in January and we'll see some signs of Spring in March (Dutch crocus and such). April is the time to break out the shorts. Our winters are short but the cold seems so biting as the humidity is high here. No sense in even owning a snow suit as our last BIG snow was in '93 but every now and then we'll get enough to make snowballs and still get to work by noon. Here's a good site for you to check things out:

Chattanooga monthly climate data since 1996