Chattanooga sucks and is run by mountain wealth. (Knoxville, Johnson City: mobile home, employment)

[ChattanoogaSucks]

It's a well known fact Chattanooga is run by the millionaires on Signal and Lookout mountain. It's no accident that we went from 13th largest manufacturing city in the world to below 5,000th place in under 40 years. The rich couldn't stand those well paying jobs that created air pollution so they secretly worked to outlaw nearly any type of business with above average pay. Unless you have a Master's degree you're lucky to get more than $15 per hour nearly part time hours. You can volunteer at many places but that doesn't work well when the landlord asks for the rent.

We also have a gang problem that's existed since the early 1980s but only NOW does anyone have a clue. People around here literally think gangs are only a recent problem. This is how this city's leadership thinks:30 years too late and $Millions too short in response. And the dumbest statement ever made when someone criticizes Chattanooga is "Well then why don't you move?" It's dumb, lazy and doesn't address problems we have. I guess it's better to pretend like Dorthy.

I failed to mention Volkswagen recently decided to move a plant to build cars here. It will add more than 2,200 new above min wage jobs to the city. The only problem is that would still put us on pace to surpass the 1980s employment and income levels. We literally would need 10 VW plants just to barely keep pace with what the rich destroyed so they could no be annoyed by smelly air as they golf and play tennis. Yeah, that's high IQ material we have down here.

Home ownership is limited to a few categories.
1.Super poor buy trailers [mobile homes to be PC]
2. Under $80K housing with the illusion it is an investment but loses 50% of it's value half way through the mortgage.
3. Filthy rich, buying home way above the $150K range [which is what northerners would pay $300k-$500K for], this way you can pass your 6,000 sq. feet mini-mansion to your children so that they will never know the value of hard work.

A person could write a 1,500 page highly compressed book about this 3 horse town's problems.

Of course I'm just jealous of other people's money and don't like rich people.... this will be the reason Others say is the root of my post. IGNORE the real problems facing this city and let things move along like it's the 1980s every day.

There is nothing wrong with being rich as long as you're solutions don't interfere with the freedoms and future of 99% of the working poor in this place.

Also our idea of solving traffic jams and excessive commute times is to add 6 lanes to intersections. We have some really dumb people living in and running this town. It's more like a village than a town since it's something only a fictional book would come close to describing.

I would like to know what was wrong with a vibrant thriving manufacturing city? Also, what was the evil about this city's above average median income 30 years ago? What was so evil and bad about that?

And when we run short on the budget the solution ALWAYS is to annex more land for more property taxes. Do these clowns know you have to repair the roads of this newly annexed area? How is this a revenue stream for future growth? This is the kind of people that run government, pass laws and live here.

If after reading this you make the bonehead decision to move here you have no one but yourself to blame.

p.s. Teachers starting pay is under $25K and Tenured Policeman earn under $40K....Now that is smart.

[mcatp]

I guess you haven't heard of the Clean Air Act. That was the federal government and not the local government even though they are the ones having to enforce the law.

[u4icmusic]

If you don't like it here, move.

[Jon F Moss]

Wow, your comments are toxic! Who know what recently happened to cause you to feel that way. Oh, and I must say - I've never been referred to as "filthy rich" before. The city is in transition and making itself over - be a part of the process. Did you take a stand? STAND | History Is Made By Those Who Speak Up.

Watch this little video and consider a makeover of your own.


YouTube - beauty school drop out grease

[ChattanoogaSucks]

Originally Posted by mcatp

I guess you haven't heard of the Clean Air Act. That was the federal government and not the local government even though they are the ones having to enforce the law.

Then how did dozens of large cities in the north manage to avoid this job killing act?

People think it's impossible to have clean air and manufacturing in the same city at the same time.

McDonalds,Starbucks and others like it will never ever pay the wages large manufacturers paid in the past. Why do so many people favor and fight for poverty wages?
30 years ago it was common for one worker to bring home enough money but today it takes 2 or 3 wage earners to pay the bills and this is progress?

[ChattanoogaSucks]

Originally Posted by TriDad

The city is in transition and making itself over - be a part of the process.

When will this 30 years and running 'transition' be over?
We're already a service based economy. What other economic horrors are in store for Chattanooga?
The rich people on the mountains never went through any transition.

[Jon F Moss]

In that sense, Chattanooga isn't unlike other mid-sized Tier 3 cities in the US. The phrase "rugged individualism" keeps popping in my head when reading your posts, CS. The stark naked truth is that no one is going to help us economically. Realization of that leads to another question: "what are you prepared to do?" I'm not suggesting violence, but a violent, radical change in your way of thinking so as to ask "what are you prepared to do to get ahead in this new economy." Job security is a thing of the past. What are your skills? What are your passions? Meld those together and you may have a viable business to launch.

If you're serious about exploring this DM me, and I can provide you with additional information (personnel, resources, etc). Put away negative thinking, and forget about what others are doing. What are you going to do? That is the new Chattanooga Way.
.

YouTube - The Chicago Way

[trobesmom]

To the OP, to advocate that dirty air and water is an acceptable trade for economy is DUMB! There is no price that should be placed on the health of the environment; Like it or not, the health of the environment coincides directly with YOUR health and YOUR CHILDREN'S health. It would behoove you to do some research on how the health or our air and water is effecting lung cancer, asthma, and all other sorts of serious illnesses (start with the American Lung society). NO ONE has the right to pollute the air that I must breath or the water I must drink from (or enjoy mercury free fish etc etc). God, how we need to revolutionize how humans think and behave!!

BTW, Chattanooga was known years ago for having some of the worst pollution in the country. Cool eh?

[ChattanoogaSucks]

Originally Posted by trobesmom

To the OP, to advocate that dirty air and water is an acceptable trade for economy is DUMB! There is no price that should be placed on the health of the environment; Like it or not, the health of the environment coincides directly with YOUR health and YOUR CHILDREN'S health. It would behoove you to do some research on how the health or our air and water is effecting lung cancer, asthma, and all other sorts of serious illnesses (start with the American Lung society). NO ONE has the right to pollute the air that I must breath or the water I must drink from (or enjoy mercury free fish etc etc). God, how we need to revolutionize how humans think and behave!!

BTW, Chattanooga was known years ago for having some of the worst pollution in the country. Cool eh?

Yeah and just look at all the tourist attractions in place of $50K+ manufacturing jobs we had. Man that progress sure hurts.

How did 99.9% of the people in Chattanooga during the smog era manage to live to be 80,90 years old?

Chattanooga at one time was #13 on a list of most industrialized cities in America. This city was ahead of towns with steel and automobile production. THIS is progress?

Is it any wonder only a handful of UTC / Chatt-State student LEAVE Chattanooga upon graduation? I knew this gal who was working on a degree in the health care industry. She told me should could stay in the Chattanooga region at top out near $15 per hour but just moving to a place as near as Atlanta or Nashville bumped that wage closer to $20-$25 per hour.

All the clean air and water isn't worth being bottom of the median income list, percent of home ownership.

I've also spoke to a lot of people who moved to Chattanooga not knowing all it's history. They were amazed at the square footage you could get in a house for $100K. They kept telling me $100K was starter home in bad neighborhoods where they came from.

How long can a city sustain it's population and tax base if nearly all graduates move away?

With all the hype about our past dirty air and water you would think it easy to find illness and death rates directly related to the filth. Are those stats bought-off, hidden or just nearly impossible to locate? Oh no, it's also possible that the pollution in Chattanooga was more hype than science.

Modern day Los Angeles has code red unhealthy smog days almost every other day yet no stats on deaths directly attributed to that so-called unhealthy air. I better be careful though... I might actually find someone with the proof.

Have a nice day Chattanoogans

EDIT NOTE:I am not making personal attacks toward anyone here. If you feel attacked then I'll save time and apologize ahead of time for doing nothing. Thanks

[JustLynnhere]

Hi Everyone,
I am 45 yrs old, female and married. We have lived in Chicago, Minneapolis, Green Bay, Portland OR, Augusta Ga, New York, NY, Knoxville TN, Johnson City TN, Auburn Hills MI and St Croix, USVI. (Only to present my qualifications to offer an opinion on Chattanooga)

Tennessee (specifically EASTERN TN) is our favorite state for the following reasons:
1) NO state income taxes
2) It's absolute beauty -Comparable to Seattle and Portland
3) Location, location, location! Close to Atlanta, Florida, etc.

It is true that there are SOME "backwoods" residents (meet the neighbors prior to purchasing a home for sure), HOWEVER I have met the same thing up in any other area of the US with locals as well.

The speed of the work force is definately slower than most cities of the same size up North, West or North East. I have managed several companies across the US and this is an absolute fact. However, as intergration to this area from other parts of the US continues, I am confident this will continue to improve.

I found TN to be more clickish than other parts of the US as well, however after a year or two they (the locals) will come around.

I have also found like in many parts of the South, the pay is less. This has been justified by stating the cost of living is less. I am very well educated in economics and have studied this every where we move and have found this to not be true to the extent of the descrepencies in pay. I continue to fight companies to insist they pay employees better to improve moral and the quality of living for everyone involved.

The gang situation should not surprise anyone. the proximity to Atlanta and interstate 75 would explain that pretty quickly. We had the same problem in Augusta, however the police and FBI did a GREAT job shutting them down in a perfect sting last year! It is not as bad as Chicago or LA, and with more pressure from residents and corporations to the mayor, could be minimized.

Great new about VW! this will create many more jobs from their supplier's who must be placed close to VW, not to mention the jobs at VW!

Housing values are not quite as good as the deeper south, but are still a fairly decent deal. Property taxes are lower than most cities we have lived in as well!

I would say to the earlier poster that housing is more expensive up North because the market has bared the increase in prices, but I am in Auburn Hills Michigan right now and believe me, those prices are dropping like flies now! We didnt even consider buying here because of the rip off in values. I doubt the Northerners will continue to build those Mc Mansions down there for long! The ones that did will certainly be finding the market not holding those inflated prices! I have noticed that there are just as many trailers up here as in your area though...that surprised me. Not real wise to be hostile to neighbors who make more money than you though, they pay more in taxes I am certain of that. That is just a predudice in my opinion and creates more problems than it will ever solve.

I am not certain about the quality of schools there, but I did have one son as a senior attend a public school about 60 miles from Chattanooga and it was the WORSE education I had EVER seen. The teachers spoke Horribly (Poor use of English) They did Tye-dyeing in English class constantly and played games in Math. We noticed he was at least a year of classes ahead of the cirriculum, and he was only a "C" level student in Wisconsin. We did end up pulling him out of public school and placing him in a private school for the rest of his senior year.

I agree the pay for teachers is embarrassing in TN and really most of the South. It MUST become a top priority!

Over all, Chattanooga is a growing small city that has reinvented itself many times over. Shopping and dining out is decent, outdoor activities are plentyful, location to Atlanta and Knoxville is great.

We are coming in for VW and are looking forward to it. And yes, we understand "We ain't from around dere", LOL! Good place to live in our book!