Chattanooga insider/local's guide? (camping, live, restaurants)

[DonCorleone]

Greetings from Nashville...


We are heading to Chattanooga for a weekend trip and wondered if there was a local's guide such as The Nashville Scene that gives weekly reviews of events, restaurants, etc in the Chattanooga area. Is Chattanooga Now the best source for that?


Really looking forward to checking the city out.


Thanks.

[Creekcat]

Yes, that would be your best source. It is what it is, but pretty informative.

[DonCorleone]

Thanks! One (probably last) follow up question...Southside obviously has a lot going for it...what's the parking situation in that area of town? It's hard to tell on Google Maps, but I am not seeing a lot of public parking in that area if we wanted to walk around.

[Creekcat]

There are public parking lots. I can't really recall if they are still Republic or not. Last time I used them it was pay it the slot type, several years ago.

[SPLIT]

D.C. . The CHOO CHOO complex has the inside parking tower , where the FREE Electric city bus system
Has their start .
The Thursday edition of the newspaper , Timesfreepress.com. Has the music , food event scene flyer...
Also at the CHOO CHOO lobby one should find the free town mags like CHATTER,, BLUSH,, etc..

[DonCorleone]

Thanks, y'all!

[DonCorleone]

Just a follow up to say what a cool town Chattanooga is. We really enjoyed our stay and will certainly be back sooner rather than later. Great place to visit, but I definitely could see it being a great town to relocate to as well.

[shinestx]

I lived in some of the largest cities in the country before coming to Chattanooga. I have to admit I was nervous about coming here. Been here for nearly a decade, and have to say I never miss the "big city". It's a vibrant and beautiful city, and we've taken to the outdoors. I am convinced that my wife and I and our kids are far more healthy and outdoorsy than if we had stayed in the cities where we lived. I lost twenty pounds (my wife ten, but shhhhh) in our first year here. Happy to say we've kept it off. Hiking, camping and mountain biking are routine family outings with friends. Plus, several of my children have picked up rock climbing. I'm a bit too nervous to do that, but they are well-trained and very cautious.

[Mobilemom52]

I just came back from two weeks in Hixson helping our daughter (an audiologist) and family who have just relocated from here in Mobile. I just love the Chattanooga area. Though it's smaller than Mobile, it seems to have so much to offer - arts, history, scenic beauty, lots of outdoor activities - and four seasons, which I've missed (originally from New England, decades ago.)

I could easily see us relocating to the area upon retirement in a few years. Great place.

[shinestx]

Glad you had a good time. It is a great place to retire to.

Also your post presented a question I never considered. I am aware that Mobile is a major city on the Gulf... and in Alabama. My family always went to the beach at either GS or FM in Baldwin County. So I am quite familiar with that area, and always have enjoyed it. I love the food there. But to your point, I never even thought about the relative sizes of Chattanooga and Mobile. So I was surprised to see that Chattanooga is actually not much smaller in population in the city proper, and only slightly larger in area than Mobile. Even the counties compare somewhat similarly, in which case it's Hamilton County that is actually more dense, as it's a third the size in area as Mobile County.

Anyway, I never even considered that our two cities were comparable, and mostly they aren't as Mobile is an important port city on the Gulf... and Chattanooga is only the fourth (soon to be fifth) largest city in Tennessee, but we do have a lot of big city offerings/institutions. I love the beauty of its location and the many amenities.