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Old 12-28-2006, 09:28 AM
 
19 posts, read 220,634 times
Reputation: 32

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Hubby and I, along with our 5 month old girl are looking for another long-term place to live (coming from FL) and I hear that Tennessee in itself is great, but of course, we need to narrow it down. So, I would like some info on Chattanooga.

We are looking for the following: 4/2 or more, 2car garage, approx 2500-3000 sqft, lot can be 1/2 to 1 acre or more, around the $200,000-$300,000 range (or less if possible), place has to have great fishing (flats), good jobs (hubby in the elevator trade), good schools, shopping, scenery (mountains are a good thing).

If Chattanooga doesn't provide this, then what Tennessee city does?
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Old 12-28-2006, 09:44 AM
 
Location: Johnson City, TN
130 posts, read 566,172 times
Reputation: 129
I like Chattanooga second only to the Tri-city area but I'm not intimately familiar enough to answer any of your specific questions....especially the one about the elevator biz. I do know that it's more cultural and progessive than the far east end where I am, and I'm not saying whether that is good or bad since it depends on your perspective.

As far as mountains, the Tri-city area owns that market. The biggest, best and most beautiful in the state.

Also, there's not much for flats fishing. You know that Tennessee isn't coastal.....right?
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Old 12-28-2006, 10:14 AM
 
19 posts, read 220,634 times
Reputation: 32
Okay...you got me....I had to throw in the Flats because of the type of boat we have....Yes, I know it's not coastal.....Any kind of fishing would be good though! river, lake, bay, fly, etc. I'll check out the tri-city area you are talking about, not for fishing, but for all the other amenities I mentioned. Thanks!
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Old 12-28-2006, 11:39 AM
 
Location: South of DAYTON
1,253 posts, read 4,873,725 times
Reputation: 627
Thumbs up Chattanooga HALFBACK

LEE: HELLO , will sent you a private message later, if you new to this forum format. In good mood just PASSED vehicle emission inspection today, will post later. Just got 2nd boat for Wife, along with 3 Kayaks, this region, HAMILTON CO, is heaven, one of the state retiree focus target retiree market.
. Web search www.TRGT.org" we are called Grand Canyon of the East. Kayak BLUEWAY, island camping route. .Child 5 months old and need school info ..? We rushing things,? However prior posts a few pages down, Hamilton
co trend of 25 % of serious students in private tuition schools. Last month tv news focus of parents CAMPING Out on sidewalk 5 days to Registers youngsters for KINDERGARDEN .! Many fishing Contests here on Tenn river at Chester Frost County park. Have lots of pics to share if you e-mail or click on white City logo top left of these home page and pick CITY.? ONE acre may be tough in city limits, I have new One acre,($100 per sq ft ), north in Soddy, 40 mile hill top view, canoe creek float in back yard. . Elevator industry in Florida,? . Must be Miami downtown.? Need to post Motor Vehicle Rules for my new FRIENDS. My church neighbor knows all about real estate if you ask something specific I have not read about.
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Old 12-28-2006, 08:40 PM
 
Location: Greenville, SC/Greensboro, NC
1,998 posts, read 4,606,032 times
Reputation: 1775
Dear Lee16240.

I am a physician new to the Chattanooga area (lived here about 9 months). Married with 2 young girls. At present, we are renting.

Over the past 6 months, we have scoured Hamilton county & NW GA looking for acceptable subdivisions. My wife is involved with various "play groups" - this has been great for obtaining info about housing, schools, etc.

Chattanooga and the surrounding area are very scenic. It is a mountainous area with easy access to great recreational activity. (For instance, the Ocoee River [whitewater rafting] is about a 45 min drive). The population is about 150k with a metro pop of nearly half-million.

Traffic around the area is moderate with occasional highway accidents (especially trucks, there are trucks everywhere here). I have lived in Memphis, Nashville, and Birmingham and can attest that the traffic here is better. The TN Dept of Transportation just installed numerous cameras all over the Chattanooga area. For more information go to: http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/tdotsmartway/.

Retail shopping is actually pretty good for a town this size. I believe Hamilton Place Mall is the largest indoor mall in TN. Chattanooga is home to almost all the major retail chains. Grocery shopping, on the other hand, is average at best (Bi-Lo & Food Lion dominate). The biggest news to hit the Chattanooga grocery market is that Pubix will open its first store here in Summer 2007. (We had Publix & Bloom in SC, now that is grocery store nirvana!) Organic groceries in this area are limited. There are no Wild Oats, Earth Fare, or Whole Foods. There is a local organic store called Greenlife grocery. It is very nice, with a wide selection of organics, but it's tiny!

The Gem of Chattanooga is the downtown area. The centerpiece is the incredible aquarium (which was the largest in the country until Atlanta recently opened their aquarium - by the way, tickets there are MUCH more expensive than Chattanooga). The Creative Discovery Museum is an awesome experience for kids - there's an IMAX attached to it as well. There are countless restaurants, small stores, etc. w/in walking distance of one another. Another Gem of Chattanooga is that it sits on the TN river. There is pedestrian bridge (Walnut Street Bridge - a century-old steel truss bridge that has been renovated into the world's longest pedestrian bridge) connecting both sides of the river in the downtown area. Yet another Gem of Chattanooga is something called the "Tennessee Riverpark". It is a continuous stretch of walking/biking paths for THIRTEEN MILES along the river starting in the downtown area (when completed it will stretch for TWENTY miles). There are picnic areas, playgrounds, fishing piers, boat launches all along this stretch. Also, check out Coolidge Park downtown - also part of the "Riverpark" - great for kids!

The area schools are a subject for much debate. Because of the Hope scholarship and higher teacher pay, families have flocked to the Northwest GA area. There is strong opinion that public schools in that area are just better than Hamilton county. TN with its newly implemented lottery now has a Hope scholarship (although a much watered down version compared to GA). Watch out for the proposed re-zoning of students due to the construction of 2 new schools (Signal Mtn High School, and Apison Middle/High School) - this would, of course, affect housing values in those areas.

We are currently looking at housing similar to you. We have concluded that we can get a little more house for the money in the Hamilton county area (as opposed to Catoosa county GA). Yes, you can definitely get a 4 bdrm, 3000 sqft, with garage, new for 250-300k. For utilities, natural gas is available to most areas (although limited in NW GA). Cable (Comcast) available in all but the most remote areas. Water/Power are relatively cheap.

If you want to stay in TN and schools are important, I would limit myself to Signal Mtn, Lookout Mtn, SE/East Hamilton county (Ooltewah, Apison, Collegedale). I know that Signal and Lookout Mtn are both VERY expensive in terms of housing (too expensive for us). I am not too familiar with the North/NE parts of Hamilton county (with Soddy Daisy, etc.) so I cannot comment on their schools. Again, if schools are important, I would avoid the city of Chattanooga and the areas immediately surrounding it. You can get a report card with each school (this has been very important for us) at: http://www.k-12.state.tn.us/rptcrd06/ (broken link).

We are staying in TN because of obvious tax reasons: there is no state income tax . Tax on food and other items are quite high at over 9%. (We cross the state line into GA once a month for non-perishables, etc. - tax on groceries there is very low - 1 or 2%). There is no "ad-valorem" tax on autos - tags in Hamilton county are about $30.

Good luck. If you have any specific questions, please let me know.

drfranklin
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Old 12-29-2006, 01:19 PM
 
4 posts, read 36,308 times
Reputation: 10
I will be moving to TN this summer and am in the job market. I have tons of medical experience. If you have an openings or know of any, please let me know.
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Old 12-29-2006, 09:59 PM
 
Location: Greenville, SC/Greensboro, NC
1,998 posts, read 4,606,032 times
Reputation: 1775
Quote:
Originally Posted by cgjones View Post
I will be moving to TN this summer and am in the job market. I have tons of medical experience. If you have an openings or know of any, please let me know.
cgjones,

Will let you know if I hear of anything...good luck with the move!

Please let me know if I can answer any specific questions.

drfranklin
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Old 12-30-2006, 12:01 PM
 
4,948 posts, read 18,688,068 times
Reputation: 2907
Quote:
Originally Posted by drfranklin View Post
cgjones,

Will let you know if I hear of anything...good luck with the move!

Please let me know if I can answer any specific questions.

drfranklin
I have a question for you. Have you heard of alexian village a retirement community on signal mountain? It seems quite nice,
I had a friend who did a visit there and said it was beautiful. I am in Florida now, and was looking at what they had mailed me.
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Old 12-30-2006, 09:49 PM
 
Location: Greenville, SC/Greensboro, NC
1,998 posts, read 4,606,032 times
Reputation: 1775
Quote:
Originally Posted by maggiekate View Post
I have a question for you. Have you heard of alexian village a retirement community on signal mountain? It seems quite nice,
I had a friend who did a visit there and said it was beautiful. I am in Florida now, and was looking at what they had mailed me.
maggiekate,

Haven't heard of Alexian Village. Signal Mountain (west of town) is a great area of Chattanooga. It sits at about 2000 feet in elevation and is at least 5 degrees cooler than downtown Chattanooga. It's about 15 to 20 minutes from the city center. Real estate on the mountain is quite pricey however.

drfranklin
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Old 12-31-2006, 11:46 AM
 
Location: South of DAYTON
1,253 posts, read 4,873,725 times
Reputation: 627
Thumbs up ALEXIAN Brothers- Seniors, Chattanooga

M.K. Yes there is a seniors complex that was recently featured in the Sunday real estate section of the TimesFreePress.com . Initially thought it was a family development of contractors, but is a Religious Order that moved to this region many years ago with Low real estate prices in 1936. I have business card with e-mail of a female director however their HISTORY and web link is
. very interesting, www.AlexianBrothers.org . New phase looks like townhomes or 3 story condos. Couple living while still self sufficient or own car.
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