chattanooga neighborhood for families (Franklin, East Brainerd: real estate, new home, neighborhoods)

[snowghost]

HI. We have two elementary ages kids. Looking for a great neighborhood that has homes at or just under $200k, good/great schools, walkability, neighborhood playgrounds/pools, etc. Willing to remodel if fixer uppers are available. Any thoughts? And, would you choose chattanooga over huntsville, given the choice (and if part of a young family)?

[TriDad]

wish someone had answered this question...but once we're up there we'll ask around and figure it out

[drfranklin]

snowghost and TriDad (and others),

let me gather some information and I will respond to this post tonight

drfranklin

[drfranklin]

snowghost and TriDad,

Chattanooga offers a multitude of neighborhoods under 200k. If public schools are important, I would suggest looking in the Ooltewah or Signal Mountain areas. I've heard Soddy Daisy and the Apsion/East Brainerd areas are good as well. Private schools are abundant in this area. Some are excellent, a few are relative bargains (example Chattanooga Christian School, Chattanooga Christian School).

Real Estate Sources:

MLSAreaListings.com provides advanced searches for the entire Chattanooga MLS area.

www.newhomesandsubdivisions.com provides information on most new home subdivisions in the area (snowghost you might want to look here).

Look on the Times Free Press website (Chattanooga Times Free Press - Breaking News in Chattanooga, TN. Classifieds and Top StoriesChattanooga Times Free Press - Breaking News in Chattanooga, TN. Classifieds and Top Stories) for homes listed for FSBO and also go to Chattanoogan.com - Breaking News in Chattanooga for real estate ads (that's is how we found our current home).

There are specific real estate company websites that provide accurate school information for each house in the Chattanooga area (please PM if you need the company's name).

Perhaps the best public schools (in Hamilton county) are in the Signal Mountain area (although some may dispute this). With the construction of a new Signal Mountain high school, real estate in this specific area will rise. Yes, you can get a decent house in Signal Mountain (or the Signal Mountain school zone) for 200k. Again, the Ooltewah and Soddy Daisy areas are others to consider.

One could also live just beyond the border in Georgia (where the public schools are known to be better), but you would have to pay the Georgia state income tax .

As for the Huntsville/Chattanooga debate, it's been discussed before (just search). I have lived in both Birmingham and Tuscaloosa (but not Huntsville) so I can't really comment.

drfranklin

[beachbyrd]

Thank you for the info, Dr. Franklin. Appreciate your time....There is some good info, we will check out!

[jkmewright]

Snowghost, taking your needs into consideration, especially walkablilty, I would chose North Chattanooga. This is just about the only area I can think of where you can walk on sidewalks to the drugstore and recreation/play areas. We do have some other areas (which Dr Franklin mentioned) that are just great but you may have to hop in the car for some fun!

Housing and taxes are a cheaper in north GA so you might want to have a peak there too. The schools are nice.

[financelife]

My wife and I both moved from Huntsville last year, and so far we LOVE chattanooga. When we first visited, we got off an exit that lead us to a basically run down part of town. We were both like NO WAY are we moving to Chatt. But once we realized that was a bad side of town and discovered all the other areas this city has to offer, we now just laugh about our first experience here. LOL. We're both 28, and we just had our first child. We both also have post graduate business degrees. We've lived briefly in Atlanta as well. Chattanooga seems to offer a southern town with a sort of big city feel while still being a small city. And it's only 1.5 hours away from Atlanta if you want culture/shopping. We are also both of Asian ancestry.

Now when we drive back to Huntsville to visit family and friends it just feels "dead." That's still my home town though, and actually visiting there on the 31st.

Chattanooga has soooo many opportunities for family life. There is always something going on at the river and LOTS of parks and mountain trails and caves. I went spelunking for the first time in my life back in March with some guys I met at the gym. There's more of a community feel here. Upon arriving learned that the entire city pulled together to save a bridge that was converted in a beautiful walking bridge next to a beautiful museum. So you actually get to walk on a bridge to the other side of the river where there is a nice park for families called Coolidge Park.

[jkmewright]

Great to hear that you are lovin' life finance and CONGRATS on the new one

[TriDad]

update: we landed in Hixson, and couldn't be happier at the moment. Lots of housing under 200k, convenient to downtown, shopping, restaurants, safe, friendly neighborhoods

[financelife]

Thanks Wright. Bought a house on the 19th, and moved in this past weekend.