Can you answer some questions about Chattanooga?

[WantingoutofAz]

Originally Posted by Celsius

Your welcome... I am a native and actually grew up in East Brainerd so I guess that explains my affinity for that area.

I was able to google and find the article on pay. It was from the TimesFreePress and if you scroll down the article you will see a paragraph heading "Paying a Higher Authority"- it talks about it there. Here is the link - Click

Thanks so much celsius. I really appreciate you attaching that article. Now that we know my husband won't take a huge pay cut if we move to Chattanooga hopefully there are jobs for attorneys there. We may just have to plan a trip out to visit this spring. Thanks, again. It is refreshing to hear from a native that isn't trying to run from where they were raised. I see that as a good sign.

[frozen tundra]

Riverview,
The competition is mounting for your house! We too are interested in Signal Mountain and your home sounds right up our alley! But, we are a little over a year before we migrate to the promised land! When do you plan on selling? How is garding on the mountain? Is it much colder in the summer and winter? Is the mountain road icy?

[RiverView]

Originally Posted by frozen tundra

Riverview,
The competition is mounting for your house! We too are interested in Signal Mountain and your home sounds right up our alley! But, we are a little over a year before we migrate to the promised land! When do you plan on selling? How is garding on the mountain? Is it much colder in the summer and winter? Is the mountain road icy?

We would like to sell March, April, May. By then we will have lived in the house for 2 years.

Things grow very well up here. Not really sure why. There is an organic farm or two up here as well. We have a sprinkler system so I'm sure that helps.

Summers can be anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees cooler in the summers. Just depends on the day. Rarely gets to or over 90 up here. This summer was different with the heatwave and the drought. The winters cooler by 5 to 8 degrees. The roads are not icey unless it snows which it rarely ever does. Last year we had 2 days all winter that is snowed maybe .5 to 1 inch. Melted off the roads by noon and the salt trucks were out way before that screwing up the sledding . Went to the golf course and make the most of the inch of snow. Had a blast sledding that whole morning.

[Grizzlybear34]

Sledding.

I watched Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase a couple of nights ago. Chevy chase on one of those silver disks, flying down the mountain, spinning around, absolutely no control as he go through trees, the highway, it was hysterical!

FT - My Bears are done, good luck to the Packers.

[RiverView]

I was his stunt double

Originally Posted by Grizzlybear34

Sledding.

I watched Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase a couple of nights ago. Chevy chase on one of those silver disks, flying down the mountain, spinning around, absolutely no control as he go through trees, the highway, it was hysterical!

FT - My Bears are done, good luck to the Packers.

[frozen tundra]

Grizz,
Thanks for taking the high road on the football front. What a difference a season makes!
maybe next year we can both compete for the crown!
As for sledding, we are in peak season! It snowed again last night for about 3 more inches! It's fun, you just have to make sure your hill doesn't run into the street where traffic is! That can be a tad scary!

[Hepmac]

Originally Posted by WantingoutofAz

Hi,


So here are my questions if you don't mind

1) Cost of living seems really low but are there jobs there? My husband is an attorney and in Nashville it is appearing that he can make close to what he makes here in Phoenix but the houses are so much less expensive. So are there jobs and if there are do they pay fairly? Here in Phoenix salaries are not matched to the cost of living.

Since there is no state income tax on TN salaries, you may come out ahead. Having moved from Chicago, I believe the housing comes at a great price. However, due to lack of competition, I believe services, groceries, cost of goods is about the same as what I paid in Chicago. Property taxes are fair, especially if you live an area where city taxes aren't charged. You can live on the outskirts of Chattanooga in the county and avoid city taxes.

2) Do most of you drive to Nashville or Atlanta to fly out? There are direct flights from both places to Phoenix. ALL of our family is in Phoenix so my guess is we will be flying back 2-3 times/year. Traveling with 4 children is tough and I want it to be as smooth as possible.

We have three children, and prefer to fly from Chattanooga (pricing is fair if you plan in advance). It is far easier to connect through a larger airport, and avoid the hassle of driving to Atlanta or Nashville. Not to mention the hours it takes to just get through the airports. Of the two, Nashville is slightly easier to navigate than Atlanta.

3) I had briefly looked at Chattanooga in the past and stopped pretty quickly because the crime rates seemed really high. Crime stinks here in Phoenix and we want to live somewhere safe. I realize that every place has crime but are there low crime suburbs of Chattanooga? Do you SEE the crime when you visit downtown?

Crime is high in certain areas ... probably not the areas where you would choose to live.

4) I am homeschooling my children right now as the schools in Phoenix are ranked last in the US. My two oldest are in kindergarten so I just started. I am open to putting them in school if there are good schools around but are there any homeschoolers or homeschooling groups in Chattanooga that anyone knows about?

There are a ton of homeschoolers in Chattanooga. I run into them whenever I take my kids to gym classes or parks. You will find a network easily once you move here. There are good public schools (Westview, Signal Mountain, Lookout Mountain). There are also excellent private schools ... tuitions ranging from about $4k to $10k for elementary age.


5) It seems like there is just so much for families and children to do there. Am I right? That is one of the things that I was just blown away by reading past posts yesterday. I love being outside as I am a runner and my three oldest are boys so they need to get out and burn energy. I love the walking paths along the river downtown. It seems there are a lot of parks around. Is Chattanooga a family friendly area?

Very family friendly. You are right.

6) How far to the closest beach? We are 5 hours from San Diego right now and we love the beach. That is one of the downsides to Nashville. I would guess we would be a little closer in Chattanooga.

There is a small riverfront beach in town my kids go to. Certainly not the ocean experience, but fun for the kids. Not sure about the closest beach. We go to Charleston, SC in about 6 hours. Savannah, GA is about 5 hours due to all highway driving.

7) What are the best neighborhoods for young families? The two towns that were ranked in that article I read were East Brainerd and South Cleveland. It seems that people on here have a lot of good things to say about Signal Mountain as well. Are there any neighborhoods were there are new homes being built?

We like Emerald Valley, Mountain Shadows, Belleau Woods on the far southeast side of town. Emerald Valley is a gated community with sidewalks, a community pool, and walk-to access to Westview Elementary and its playgrounds. New middle school and high school being built around the corner, too.

8) Do most of the homes come with some land (at least a 1/2 acre)? Here in Phoenix all the houses are on tiny lots and are crammed together. Like I said earlier I need some land for my kiddos to burn energy.

You can certainly get that size lot, but the challenge is finding a level lot. Emerald Valley has level lots.

9) Anyone moved here from the Phoenix area that can offer how they have adjusted and how they like it?

I appreciate anyone who took the time to answer my questions. Have a great day.

You're welcome. Good luck.

[WantingoutofAz]

Originally Posted by Hepmac

You're welcome. Good luck.

Hepmac:

Thanks so much for all of your responses. Just curious if you researched other places in Tennessee and why you chose Chattanooga? How long ago did you move from Chicago?

Thanks again

[Grizzlybear34]

Wow! This season has been a cluster. So many injuries. The NFC North is back and doing well. I expect the Pack and the Vikes to make it. Not looking forward to facing the "real" Adrian Peterson for the next 10 years.

Go Pack G... sorry I can't say it. But good luck and win it al...almost. Sorry, I can't say it.

Originally Posted by frozen tundra

Grizz,
Thanks for taking the high road on the football front. What a difference a season makes!
maybe next year we can both compete for the crown!
As for sledding, we are in peak season! It snowed again last night for about 3 more inches! It's fun, you just have to make sure your hill doesn't run into the street where traffic is! That can be a tad scary!

[Hepmac]

Originally Posted by WantingoutofAz

Hepmac:

Thanks so much for all of your responses. Just curious if you researched other places in Tennessee and why you chose Chattanooga? How long ago did you move from Chicago?

Thanks again

Dear Wanting out of AZ,

Sorry I did not see your post from awhile ago. I hope you have found some clarification on Chattanooga and whether it would be a good fit. When we moved from Chicago, we needed to be close to the Georgia border for my husband's job. We also wanted to have a city nearby. We looked in north Georgia, but the towns we toured were too rural for us. We did not look north of Chattanooga because of the commute.

We have been here three years and have come across a number of relocated families who love it here. If you would like to email or call me, I would be happy to answer any questions you have. Let me know.