Relocating to chattanooga area...for Volkswagen (Cleveland, East Brainerd: best neighborhood, for sale, new home)

[cloudwalker4]

Can anyone give me the city positives/negatives for Soddy Daisy? We are looking to relocate there within the next few months. My husband has gotten a job with Volkswagen. Moving from Mississippi. Middle and High schools are a priority for us, but we also don't want a huge drive either. Any newer subdivisions in the area? Thanks for any help you can give...

[dasmarian]

Soddy is a long way from the VW plant, if your husband is working there. I am guessing a minimum of 30 minutes to the plant site. If you are looking for a nearby suburb that has a small town feel, Cleveland might be a better choice.

[TriDad]

well - if you want to work at VW and be close to work, then S-D may not be the place for you. There's no way to cross the river except to travel south to 153, then over the dam....maybe check out Ooltewah

[Hawkeye75]

Cloudwalker4-

We too will be relocating (from Lexington, KY) to the area for my husbands new job with VW. He accepted the job last Friday and things are moving very quickly. He starts on the 22nd and then he goes to Germany on the 29th for two weeks. We have no idea when we will be able to really look for a house, etc.

The kids and I will stick around Lexington and get the house up for sale (fingers crossed) and start tying up lose ends. Hoping things don't take too long.

I also started out looking at Soddy Daisy but was told by a friend here that used to live in the area that would be a fair commute for my husband. Right now he drives 45-60 minutes one way everyday to work so he definitely wants to be closer. Ooltewah has been suggested to me many times and I guess that is where we will begin our search.

I wish you luck with your relocation. We can share our experiences together here! How old are your kiddos? They sound older than mine. We have a 4 yr old boy and a 5 month old girl! Any of your kids a babysitter ?

Good luck!!!

Kacy

[jkmewright]

East Brainerd is going to put you pretty close to the plant and is located in the zone for our brand new East Hamilton Middle/High School which should be great after the bugs are worked out Close to shopping, movies etc... That also puts you close to alot of traffic, but for many, it's worth the sacrifice. Lots of new homes and subdivisions, family friendly. Here's the zone map for the school to give you an idea of where to shop:

http://www.hcde.org/media/pdf/items/...tHamilton2.pdf

[GeorgiaPeach08]

Ringgold HS, Graysville elementary if you have small children or the new Heritage HS area. Very safe gated community called Windstone is located about 15 min. from Hamilton Place mall and 25 from downtown Chattanooga. Near Ooletawah and plant. The nicest neighborhood we found in a reasonable price range.

[GeorgiaPeach08]

Might look at Windstone in Ringgold,GA. The elementary, Graysville, is top ranked. The neighborhood is gated, safe and family friendly. The neighborhood is about 15 minutes from Hamilton Place Mall, 20+ from downtown Chattanooga, easy access to highways. It was the best neighborhood we found in the area.

[scarpozzi]

I recommend Ooltewah, TN. It's got some great homes in the $175k-250k range with a lot of custom builds in the past 8 years. Going out toward Hunter will give you a lot of good options. You will be one exit from VW there (3 miles via I-75). Probably a total of 10 minutes for the commute unless you live off the Ooltewah exit. A new Publix was just built there and Walmart is there. You're only 6 miles from Shallowford and Hamilton Place Mall, but downtown Chattanooga will be a 15 minute drive. I personally think it's best to live near work since you make that trip more often than any other. It's just good to know where everything else is. Check Ooltewah. Anywhere else, you're going to be driving more and may not get much more house for the money.

Ooltewah high school appears to be a good school, but I don't know how they fare in comparison to other public education institutions in the state. If you insist on private schools, there is always Baylor, Notre Dame, GPS, and McCallie....if you feel it's worth the money.

I live in North Chattanooga and have no ties to Ooltewah, though I have some friends that used to live there and loved it. If I were to buy a home in the suburbs, it would most-likely be there.

[financelife]

You definitely do not want to move to Soddy only because you will eventually hate having to cross the river everyday.

East Brainerd, Ooltewah, even Cleveland TN. And "traffic" is nothing here. With traffic, it takes 30 min to get from Shallowford Rd to downtown.

[teriturtle]

seems like there is a lot of relocating going to TN, we will be moving by the end of august husband's plant relocating from Baltimore to Chattanoogna the area looks beautiful love the availibility for boating. Looking forward to moving Good Luck to you Cloudwalker! P.S. this is a great site for area info. Thanks to all who express their opinion!