Will be working in Rossivlle, Ga and Dalton, GA (Chattanooga: sales, homes)

[ousmc]

and want to live in Chattanooga (unless Dalton and Rossville have more to offer). I have a wife and 2 young children so schools and family friendly neighborhoods are important. I also do not want to commute more than 30 minutes. Any suggestions on where to look? We are looking at spending $225,000 to $275,000 for a house. Any and all suggestions are appreciated! Thanks.

[VolDude]

Rossville is right across the boarder, so you could live just about anywhere in Hamilton County and be there in 30. Dalton is further away. Anything beyond East Ridge will probably take longer than that, and ER schools apparently are subpar. Per Google Maps, dead-middle East Hamilton (37421/37302) and Ooltewah (37363) will take about 45 to Dalton, and their schools are well regarded. North Chatt (37405) showed about 40 to Dalton, and there is a zoned magnet school somewhere here that's also supposedly a good one. You can afford a home in East Hamilton, Ooltewah, or North Chatt on your budget and all have good neighborhoods, although you won't find many or any newer homes in North Chatt.

[wilsonmom3]

check out Windstone, although it would be in the upper end of your price range for sure, you can sometimes, esp. now, find a good deal. It is a really nice gated, golf course community in the east hamilton/ooltewah area so it close to shopping, with good zoned schools, (in both states), but it is 30 min from dalton if you go the "back way" thru ringgold, and 30 min from rossville. Most of the neighboorhood is in GA (state income taxes, yes) but there is a section in TN (no state income taxes, although it is being annexed into city of chattanooga soon so prop. taxes will go up). My BIL lives there and commutes to Dalton.

[peppermint]

Have you considered Ringgold, GA? It's about halfway between Dalton and Rossville. I do not live there, but I have heard that the school districts are good. Also, you could easily find a home in your price range. It's only about 20-30 minutes to most places in Chattanooga.

There are no state taxes in TN, but there are in GA. However, property taxes are much higher in Chattanooga. In my experience, that means double. Also, sales taxes are higher in Chattanooga (over 9 %) versus Ringgold. In the end, the taxes are all probably a wash.

Good luck!

[ousmc]

Thanks everyone for the replies!