Chattanooga or Nashville? Has anyone lived in both places? (Memphis: crime rate, how much)

[JMT]

No question about it, Chattanooga wins the beauty contest over Nashville. The magnificent backdrop of the mountains surrounding Chattanooga is beautiful. A few years ago some outdoorsy magazine listed Chattanooga as one of the country's 10 best cities for outdoor sports.

However, in the last year the Chattanooga area (Chattanooga and Cleveland MSAs) has lost over 2,000 jobs while the Nashville area has gained nearly 15,000 (per the Tennessee Department of Labor). Plus, if you plan on doing any traveling, the Nashville airport is a hub for Southwest Airlines so has air fares that are half of what you'll get out of Chattanooga's airport. As far as big cities go, Nashville is a jewel, but it doesn't come close to Chattanooga's natural beauty.

Have you considered Knoxville? It's not a bad alternative to Chattanooga. While I think Chattanooga is more attractive than Knoxville, Knoxville is very close to the Smoky Mountains, much closer than Nashville. And in the last year there have been around 6,000 new jobs in Knoxville.

[ariesjow]

Originally Posted by Mary77

Oh yes. We definitely plan to drive or fly down there if he gets an interview. But for that much money, we would need to be assured that the potential employer is very interested. I'm just worried that when they see that we are not local, they may not even consider calling. This is the impression I've been given by some of the post's on this thread. I wonder if it would help if the kids and I moved to Chattanooga ahead of time? Then we could list a local address on the resume.

The main reason I posted this question was to find out if we should just give up on Chattanooga and aim for Nashville. Nashville seems to have a lot more jobs advertised in his field. But I don't know how different Nashville & Chattanooga are. Chattanooga has more natural beauty right? Is Nashville beautiful at all? We're not really into big cities and a lot of traffic.

Nashville is absolutely beautiful (large rolling hills and lush valleys) but doesn't have the Smoky Mountains as a backdrop like Chattanooga. East TN is the most beautiful region of the state IMHO but Middle TN is no slouch in that department either and is certainly the economic heart of the state.

There are over 1.5 million people in the Nashville metro so I'm not sure if it's a good fit for you if you like smaller places. Traffic around Nashville might be frustrating for you. However, there are tons of satellite towns near Nashville that could give you the smaller town feel for which you might be searching.

In the end, you'll probably be best served by visiting both great cities to see which one would work best for your family. The scenic stretch of I-24 between the two cities is more than enough justification for checking both out.

Originally Posted by JMT

Have you considered Knoxville? It's not a bad alternative to Chattanooga. While I think Chattanooga is more attractive than Knoxville, Knoxville is very close to the Smoky Mountains, much closer than Nashville. And in the last year there have been around 6,000 new jobs in Knoxville.

Good call. Knoxville sounds like it might be a good fit for the OP.

[Mary77]

Thanks for the Knoxville suggestion. All I've heard about Knoxville is that everyone there is obsessed with sports! How does Knoxville compare in size with Chattanooga? Are housing prices comparable also? That's another thing we love about Chattanooga---you can get a lot of house for the money. Also, we love what we hear about the number of churches to choose from in Chattanooga. Is that the same in Knoxville?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Mary77

Thanks for the Knoxville suggestion. All I've heard about Knoxville is that everyone there is obsessed with sports! How does Knoxville compare in size with Chattanooga? Are housing prices comparable also? That's another thing we love about Chattanooga---you can get a lot of house for the money. Also, we love what we hear about the number of churches to choose from in Chattanooga. Is that the same in Knoxville?

Knoxville and Chattanooga are very similar in size (both around 170-180,000). Knoxville metro has about 700,000, Chattanooga about 600,000 when you include Cleveland. Knoxville is growing much faster and is closer to the mountainy tourist trap of Sevierville/Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, meaning there can be a lot of traffic in Knoxville during certain parts of the year.

Yes Knoxville loves the Vols, but you don't need to be a sports fan to like it here. Believe it or not I have a lot of students here at U.T. who don't like sports.

Housing might be a bit more expensive in Knoxville than in Chattanooga but it depends on what you're looking for. Are you looking to live smack in the middle of town? Out in the country? In a suburb?

You can go to both cities' sites here at city-data to get more detailed statistics on housing prices.

[Jon F Moss]

Originally Posted by JMT

No question about it, Chattanooga wins the beauty contest over Nashville. The magnificent backdrop of the mountains surrounding Chattanooga is beautiful. A few years ago some outdoorsy magazine listed Chattanooga as one of the country's 10 best cities for outdoor sports.

However, in the last year the Chattanooga area (Chattanooga and Cleveland MSAs) has lost over 2,000 jobs while the Nashville area has gained nearly 15,000 (per the Tennessee Department of Labor). Plus, if you plan on doing any traveling, the Nashville airport is a hub for Southwest Airlines so has air fares that are half of what you'll get out of Chattanooga's airport. As far as big cities go, Nashville is a jewel, but it doesn't come close to Chattanooga's natural beauty.

Have you considered Knoxville? It's not a bad alternative to Chattanooga. While I think Chattanooga is more attractive than Knoxville, Knoxville is very close to the Smoky Mountains, much closer than Nashville. And in the last year there have been around 6,000 new jobs in Knoxville.

as always...good input JMT!

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by Mary77

Oh yes. We definitely plan to drive or fly down there if he gets an interview. But for that much money, we would need to be assured that the potential employer is very interested. I'm just worried that when they see that we are not local, they may not even consider calling. This is the impression I've been given by some of the post's on this thread.

If I may chime in...

Employers typically do consider "locals" much more quickly over those who have out of town addresses. Typically this is because a lot of people apply for jobs, get them, then decide not to relocate for various other reasons, wasting a company's time in the hiring process (and costing them money via the time).

Some people get around this by rent out a box at a UPS Store (or similar) where they give you an actual address rather than a PO Box number, so it appears as though you have a local address. You can then just use your cell number as a contact if if you want to go all-out, get a pre-paid cell phone in that local area that assigns a local area code to it as well to complete the "picture" of living locally. The only thing is, if he's called in for an interview he's got to be ready to get the heck down there quickly to do it - as well as a second time for what mostly likely will have to be a 2nd/followup interview, etc.

You mentioned about gas prices and how costly it would be for you to come down to visit, etc. It's best to keep in mind that relocation pros always suggest that if you're relocating to a new area, that you have enough money saved up to pay for all relocation expenses (moving fees, apartment or home deposits, utility deposits, etc) PLUS enough money to live "comfortably" for 3-6 months WITHOUT working just in case you don't immediately find employment. Any less and you might be toying with a disaster. Just FYI.

[Mary77]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately I don't think having a local address would help us because it says right on the resume that he is currently employed in Vermont.

[mbricker]

I moved to the Nashville area 25 years ago & still have a rough hill farm an hour to the east. When I retired 2 years ago, i bought a little condo in Chattanooga b/c I love its size, accessibility, cultural & recreational amenities. I would never move back to Nashville unless I had to for employment. What kind of city names its sport teams the "Predators" and the "Titans," eh? Still, if you're youngish and building a career, it's certainly easier in Gnashville.

BTW, I'm from Rhode Island, and I NEED beauty and water. If the physical properties of your surroundings are important to your mental health, forget Nashville unless you have a lot of money and/or don't mind a long commute.

[Mary77]

Yeah, after living in Vermont for six years, I think I would be happier in Chattanooga. Physical properties are very important and we do mind a long commute. I like the idea of living in one of the small towns outside of Chattanooga like Soddy-Daisy. Thanks for the input.

[mysticfire0213]

Mary77--your husband and mine do the same kind of work-my hubby is a maintenance supervisor as well. We are having a tough time finding anyone to give him a second look even though he is very well qualified because of being out of state (we are in MD) we are looking in the Knoxville area Good luck with your search!