Chattanooga or Nashville? Has anyone lived in both places? (Knoxville: crime rates, neighborhoods)

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Bluebird9872

This is the first time I've read anyone saying that the humidity in Chattanooga is awful. Does everyone else feel that way, too? I've been through most areas of TN in the month of July and remember the humidity in Nashville and Memphis being awful, but don't recall it being bad in Chattanooga. I had assumed it would be similiar to the climate in the Hendersonville/Asheville area of NC being it is just on the other side of the mountains. I lived there for 5 years and absolutely loved the climate. The climate and it's central location (to the rest of our family) is why we are looking to relocate to Chattanooga. I don't mind it getting hot during the day, but I remember the nights being really nice and cool and it just made the hot days seem more bearable.

I agree, I have never felt that the humidity in Chattanooga was awful. I've lived in Mississippi and am originally from Florida, and the humidity in East Tennessee is nowhere near as bad as in those other places. Don't get me wrong, it's still pretty hot and muggy, but it could be worse.

Mary77, I hope you've perused this forum to see what other people have said about Chattanooga. There are some negatives about the area, but there are a lot of definite positives, too, and many people in this forum have said some very good things about Chattanooga. Remember, it's a pretty big city, and big cities come with their own sets of problems. If you're able to get a good job in Chattanooga, I think it is a wonderful community with a lot to offer.

[Mary77]

Well, it sounds like as long as we live somewhere like Signal Mountain or Soddy Daisy and just visit the safer parts of Chattanooga for entertainment occasionally, then we would probably be pretty happy there. We really have our heart set on that area. I think Chattamom was saying that the humidity is awful relative to New England where I live. But I'm really comparing it to the 90-100 degree heat and humidity that I grew up in down in Florida. The New England summers are nice and cool but that has it's down side also. Last summer my kids and I crossed our fingers everyday hoping that the temperature would get high enough to go swimming. I think we only got to go five or six times. That was a drag.

JMT-I know you are a big Knoxville promoter. How does the crime rate in Knoxville compare to Chattanooga?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Mary77

Well, it sounds like as long as we live somewhere like Signal Mountain or Soddy Daisy and just visit the safer parts of Chattanooga for entertainment occasionally, then we would probably be pretty happy there. We really have our heart set on that area. I think Chattamom was saying that the humidity is awful relative to New England where I live. But I'm really comparing it to the 90-100 degree heat and humidity that I grew up in down in Florida. The New England summers are nice and cool but that has it's down side also. Last summer my kids and I crossed our fingers everyday hoping that the temperature would get high enough to go swimming. I think we only got to go five or six times. That was a drag.

JMT-I know you are a big Knoxville promoter. How does the crime rate in Knoxville compare to Chattanooga?

Well I don't think you'll have to worry about having temps high enough to go swimming around here!

According to city-data.com Chattanooga has a higher crime rate than Knoxville. But as other posters have said, I really think Chattanooga's crime is confined to just a few areas, areas you probably wouldn't go to anyway. The schools in Chattanooga, on the other hand, are pretty bad. Knoxville actually has a very good school system for such a big city. I think that's one reason why there are twice as many private schools in Chattanooga as there are in Knoxville even though Knoxville is larger.

If your heart is set on moving to Chattanooga (and I don't blame you) I'd try to make it work before looking somewhere else. The hardest part about moving to Chattanooga is getting a job. Since it looks like you've got that taken care of, you might want to concentrate on making Chattanooga work for your family before looking up here. That's just some friendly advice, take it for what it's worth (which is probably less than 2 cents!).

[Mary77]

I wonder if the fact that Chattanooga has so many private schools is just perpetuating the problems with the public schools. If the wealthier citizens put their money and attention towards the private schools and just leave what's left over for families that are stuggling financially, than how are things supposed to get better in the public schools? It just seems obvious that the better teachers are going to want to teach in the private schools and wealthier families usualy have more time to volunteer and contribute resources. From my perspective (the outside looking in) it looks like this creates a divide between the haves and the have-nots. It doesn't seem like good social policy for the weathier, more established folks to just "take care of their own" and not care about the rest of the community. I wonder if this kind of social policy is responsible for the high crime rate in that area.

[chattamom]

I'm short on time right now, but just wanted to point out that the weather in Chattanooga is NOTHING like Asheville, NC! Chattanooga is a MUCH lower elevation (600 ft vs over 2000 ft for Asheville) and also further south than Asheville. In the summer, it's hot and muggy even in the evening. There are days it may still be 90 degrees at 11 PM! Now, perhaps it's even worse in coastal FL- I don't know- but Chattanooga does NOT have a mountain climate like Asheville. There are no "nice and cool" summer evenings, unfortunately :-(
The heat and humidity may not bother some people- especially those accustomed to it- but I just don't want anyone to be misinformed.

[bernerscotty]

I came from the North(chicago) and I would agree it is very different in the South. I think Hendersonville which is about 20 minutes from Nashville is a nice place to live and pretty also. It is growing!

[drfranklin]

I want to emphasize the words of Chattamom regarding Chattanooga weather. I have been to Asheville in the summer and have lived in Chattanooga. The city of Chattanooga is HOT and HUMID in the summer (as are almost all places in the South). Last summer was brutal (days of >100 degree temps).

Asheville and its surrounding area are at a MINIMUM 2000 feet in elevation. Our television coverage here (Greenville, SC) extends to Asheville and the mountains of NC. The weather broadcasts here are broken into "the Upstate" and "Asheville/Mountains". Asheville is at least 10 degrees cooler than the Upstate of SC (Greenville has very similar weather to Chattanooga). (For a great summer escape, go to Mount Mitchell in western NC, elevation 6684 ft, it's usually 20 degrees cooler than Asheville!)

Again, there are really no "cool evenings" in July/August in Chattanooga. Now, Signal/Lookout Mountains approach/exceed 2000 feet and are always cooler than downtown Chattanooga. Perhaps a "shady place" on top of Signal Mountain will approach the summer weather of Asheville.

[Bluebird9872]

Originally Posted by chattamom

I'm short on time right now, but just wanted to point out that the weather in Chattanooga is NOTHING like Asheville, NC! Chattanooga is a MUCH lower elevation (600 ft vs over 2000 ft for Asheville) and also further south than Asheville. In the summer, it's hot and muggy even in the evening. There are days it may still be 90 degrees at 11 PM! Now, perhaps it's even worse in coastal FL- I don't know- but Chattanooga does NOT have a mountain climate like Asheville. There are no "nice and cool" summer evenings, unfortunately :-(
The heat and humidity may not bother some people- especially those accustomed to it- but I just don't want anyone to be misinformed.

Chattamom....thanks for clarifying...even though it's not what I wanted to hear I'm hoping that the hot/humid weather that you have there is at least better than what we've got now in Dallas, TX. I am really sorry to hear that it doesn't usually cool down in the evenings when the sun goes down. I'm sure it's not as dry and windy as it is here though....please tell me it's not.

[jkmewright]

We'd PAY for some wind if that answers your question You get used to it. My folks came from Oregon where it's rainy and very windy most of the year. They've managed to adjust to the sticky heat. You won't be suprised to see people mowing their grass @ 9pm 'round here.

[JTinTennessee]

Originally Posted by Mary77

We are currently living in Vermont and we hope to move to Tennesee this summer. We want to move to Chattanooga but there doesn't seem to be many job opportunities being advertised in my husband's line of work ( Maintenance Supervisor ). He sent in applications for two positions that were advertised over the past two weeks and neither of them called. I have seen posts on this forum saying that it's hard to get an interview in Chattanooga if you're not local. Is this really the case? Is it going to be difficult landing an interview simply because we are not living in Chattanooga (or Tennessee)? Should we focus our efforts on Nashville instead? What are the pros and cons of choosing Nashville over Chattanooga? Please, someone give me some inside info to work with. We really don't want to have to endure one more winter in Vermont. Thanks.

I finally found my dream historic cottage in Chattanooga, and need to sell my lovely 2 bedroom condo in Ashland City, TN, just 15 miles from downtown Nashville. Lots of jobs around here, including in your husband's field. Where I live is small and beautiful, but with the convenience of the big city nearby. The only reason I'm wanting to leave is because of the home.