Looking to retire in Chattanooga

[78porschejack]

hello all, this is my first time posting on anything. my wife and are are thinking very hard about retiring and out of the blue
chattanooga has come up on our radar. my wife is an asian scholar at a univ. and i own a construction company. never having lived in the south it could prove to be very different. we are going to visit this summer and feel out the place. we
are active in our pursuits, my wife is an artist, art collector, world traveller and patient with me. i am a construction designer,runner, novice potter, motorcyclist and old sportscar driver.
we are catholic and liberal.
we are interested in learning water activities.. sailing and kayaking. ok i am anyway.

i have a ton of question but one of the first is is there any older buildings that i might design and build a loft apt in?

[Rick26]

Jack,
Welcome to your first experience 'blogging'. Let me assure you that you'll get the hang of it quickly. Just spend a little time cruising the various boards and blogs to get a feel for how the process works. Nothing difficult, really, but learning the little tricks (etiquette) of each one will make your experience much more fruitful.
Now...to address your posting...
I'm a Chattanooga native and not catholic, nor liberal. However, we can still have a good conversation and, hopefully, provide you with a preliminary response to your request.
First of all, Chattanooga has, over the past 2-3 decades, become much more diversified in social, political, religious, economic, racial and philosophical make-up. Yes, it's still predominantly Southern conservitive and protestant but, as I said, that is changing.
Chattanooga has a tremendous amount of opportunities for living a full and enjoyable life. All the personal components you mentioned (scholar, artist, collector, traveller, designer, runner, potter, car/bike 'guy', etc.) are to be found in and around the Chattanooga area. Yes, it will take you some time and effort to 'connect', but, that's going to be true in most cities you visit. Water sports are in abundance with our many streams, lakes and rivers. Your biggest problem is going to be figuring out a way to encompass all the things you want to do.
Go ahead and plan a trip to get started on the process. In reality, it may take 2 or 3 trips to really get the true feel for the community. Look for opportunities to 'mingle' with as many folks as you can on each trip. Pick their brain for ideas about moving to the city and see what they have to say. I know you'll get a lot of different responses but, hey, that will be part of the fun. After you have spent some time here then you'll feel more comfortable about whether you want to move here or not.
Finally, yes, Chattanooga is an old manufacturing town and there's lots of run down/shut down/falling down old buildings that (in my opinion) would make great candidates for rehabing.
If you've got any specific questions, plesae go ahead and ask. I (or someone else on this board) will be glad to jump in with some answers.
Rick

[SPLIT]

..78,: WELCOME ,: We have some great paddle areas in the Soddy , Sale creek coves.. Wife will have plenty of arts in the HUNTER MUSEUM ,/ Bluff district... Maybe I had the new link on page one , but here again Chattanooga, Tennessee Visitors Bureau - Official Chattanooga TN Site .. SOUTHside of city being refurbish with multi level brick bldgs.
Also to the north is small city of Dayton ,if you need cheaper investment..
Here is our newer , farm Catholic church on Soddy hilltop / lake area. 55 acres , prior farm , have barn / outdoor pavilion / tractors/ etc/ future construction of elderly living (??) http://www.holyspirittn.com/
... Retired halfback here , prior cycle road driver, now woods ATV, my friend has 67 E-Type JAG conv , restored , owned many years, cars shows very popular here around Soddy .. Msg me if you need photo links.. . One of our younger parishiners , Chiropractor, is avid saILING
teacher / racer , featured in newspaper & summer Mackinau island racer up North. . Winter series also just north of the rt #153 dam at Privateer yacht club..

[78porschejack]

thank you for your comments, will be coming down in june and excited about the prospects. if we may will contact you for perhaps a cup of coffee and visit. jack

[78porschejack]

sorry to take so long to reply, we are coming down in june and perhaps we might get together for a cup of coffee and just visit. thanks agian, jack

[thenewman4]

Originally Posted by jennibg

My husband & I are almost empty nesters and are looking for an outdoorsy, eclectic town while we are still young-ish. Haha. Glad I found this thread, I keep coming back to Chattannooga. It's not too far from our current residence in Northern VA

So glad to see this as we are in the same boat, except in Chicago. Just curious- what other towns have you been interested in? We keep coming back to Tennessee or North Carolina.