Possible Relocation To Chattanooga (East Brainerd, Signal Mountain: apartment complex, to rent, houses)

[amador72]

i know there are other threads about relocating to chattanooga or surrounding areas but i need a little bit more info about the chattanooga area,this is the deal i have a job offer that will be in the chattanooga area its really an offer i cant refuse the pay is good and expenses are all paid for i currently reside in texas and i have some questions about chattanooga

1st? What are the better schools in the area?

2nd ? what parts of town have the better living quiet neighborhoods just an all around safe place to be i have 2 children and they are my main concern as for education,safety and everything in between now i dont mind living in subdivisions but at the same time a quiet country setting not to far from town is good also,even surrounding cities are an option driving distance i like to keep it between 15-30 mins.

3rd? do you have any input on the company Alstom Power which is the company offering me the job position.

if anyone can help me out i will greatly appreciate it thank you very much.

[SPLIT]

A: I believe you will like our weather here much better. . Will give you a few links to gather info . City of Chattanooga . This also has column for WORK info .
.. Many threads here about schools, & you do not mention ages of students. . Will add the comment about 25 % drop out rate in public system. If one is professional employed, invest in private success schooling. City has high ranked BAYLOR & GPS that help win college scholarships, etc.
.. Welcome to Hamilton County, Tennessee more county info .
A good starting point for housing is North of the city at HIXON shopping mall area of Rt #153. . Four lane divided pkwy #27 would be used to travel South to work .? I assume Alstom is on the south side .? .However #153 goes East over the dam & connect with I-75.
. More rural county is North up Hixon or Dayton pike towards the county Chester Frost Park .
.. Your one relocation question should be city taxes. City boundaries are expanding with annexation in different neighborhoods & your rates should increase .??

[amador72]

i have 1 middle schooler and 1 high schooler ages 11 and 15 thanks SPLIT

[SPLIT]

A: I see a nice new article in the CHATTANOOGA mag about new Hixon Green school .. Chattanooga Magazine: main . Nice book to get / read.
.. Also web link mag articles about professionals / artists relocating from other states . CHATTER mag Chatter Chattanooga | Home Page can usually read these articles on line.
Daily newspaper read here Chattanooga Times Free Press | Home Page
ENJOY .

[Thornbury150]

What part of Texas are you in? We are currently in Texas and will be relocating to Chattanooga in the Spring. My husband is already there and we have been looking at Ooltewah schools (High School for us). If my daughter went to Junior High, I found Hunter to have the better parent ratings. Both are in Hamilton County School District (they don't do theirs like ours here in Texas).

We went last week and stayed off of (I think) 153 and Shallowford, by the Hamilton Place Mall. They had some really nice apartments there that also go to Ooltewah schools.

[amador72]

im in san antonio tx

[mp37421]

Originally Posted by amador72

i know there are other threads about relocating to chattanooga or surrounding areas but i need a little bit more info about the chattanooga area,this is the deal i have a job offer that will be in the chattanooga area its really an offer i cant refuse the pay is good and expenses are all paid for i currently reside in texas and i have some questions about chattanooga

1st? What are the better schools in the area?

2nd ? what parts of town have the better living quiet neighborhoods just an all around safe place to be i have 2 children and they are my main concern as for education,safety and everything in between now i dont mind living in subdivisions but at the same time a quiet country setting not to far from town is good also,even surrounding cities are an option driving distance i like to keep it between 15-30 mins.

3rd? do you have any input on the company Alstom Power which is the company offering me the job position.

if anyone can help me out i will greatly appreciate it thank you very much.

1- Any county schools(which are soon to be annexed) or any private schools. N. GA schools are also great but Catoosa Co. has really cracked down on people going to school if he/she wasn't zoned to go in that area. I remember about 5 years ago when I was in 8th grade when they had cops lined up outside w/ administrators stopping anyone that had Tennessee tags or out of county tags.

2- The Hamilton Place area is great if you want to rent or if you like your house close to another. 99% of the houses in that area are new(er). I live in the area although I'm in an apartment complex and I love it. The main reason being is when I leave the lot where I live, I'm right on the main road that has restaurants, the mall, shopping, etc.. E. Brainerd is also nice and is one of the main suburbs in all of Hamilton County. E. Brainerd has really grown over the past 5 or so years, and they are starting to build up what use to be the country. They have built a Bi-Lo complex and they are also clearing for 2 shopping centers. And give it time and they will also start with the restaurants

Apison, TN which is also in Hamilton Co. is just east of the E. Brainerd area and is mainly houses in a country type setting. It will take you no more than 15 minutes to get to the city.

Also don't rule out Ringgold/Catoosa Ga. or Ooltewah, Tn. Ooltewah is really considered Chattanooga and Ringgold is extremely convenient to Chatt.

If you choose E. Brainerd or Ooltewah, be prepared to live in the city of Chattanooga as there has been a heated annexation battle over the past few months. Hamilton Place is already in the city.

If you have anymore questions, reply and I'll check back.

[Thornbury150]

We were looking at houses in Hamilton on Hunter North...and were hoping our kiddo could go to Ooltewah HS but was told they were already zoned for Central. However, the builder told us we could probably get our daugther into Ooltewah....do they allow that out there?

[mp37421]

Originally Posted by Thornbury150

We were looking at houses in Hamilton on Hunter North...and were hoping our kiddo could go to Ooltewah HS but was told they were already zoned for Central. However, the builder told us we could probably get our daugther into Ooltewah....do they allow that out there?

I won't say that they allow it, but they don't enforce it like N. Ga does.

For instance-
When the new East Hamilton High opened, zoned students' enrollment at Ooltewah High was down, I can't remember the exact # but it was some 30%. If you go to the schoolboard and ask them they will probably say that's it's not allowed, but if you just sign your kid up and don't say anything, I can just about assure you that your daughter will be going to Ooltewah High

[jwkilgore]

Alstom is located slightly west of the heart of Downtown Chattanooga with good access to Hwy 27 and I-24.

1. Schools
First, all public schools (city and county) in Hamilton county are under the same school district, administered by the Hamilton County Dept of Education.

I have a 4-year old and we've been diligently researching schools for a quite a while. He's probably going to attend the Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts (magnet school with Paideia teaching style), but you won't be able to apply in time because it has a first-come-first-served selection process. The application day is actually tomorrow, and I've been in line for 4 weeks. Information on the other magnet schools with lottery-based admissions (we have math and science, performing arts, etc.) can be found at Magnet Schools

Good zoned public schools are Westview Elementary and East Brainerd Middle-High school (same general zones), which are both fairly new. These are about 20-miles east of downtown; expect a 20 to 40 minute commute in normal traffic. Also the Signal Mt. schools are supposed to be pretty good. You can see current zone maps at Zoning

Next up are parochial schools. Elementary schools include Silverdale Baptist, Belvoir (Lutheran), Boyd Buchannon (Christian), Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Catholic), and St. Jude (Catholic). Tuition ranges from $5000-$7000. Silverdale and Boyd Buchannon are both rated fairly high; I'm not familiar with the others. There's also Grace Academy (Episcopalian) for $10,000. I'm not familiar with any parochial high schools.

Finally you have private. Elementary schools include the Montessori school just east of downtown ($6000) and Bright School just north of downtown ($12,000). The top private high schools include Baylor, McCallie (boys only) and Girls Preparatory School (aka GPS, girls only), all of which are excellent college prep schools and run about $20,000 for day-students.

2. Location
I live in the East Brainerd area (zoned for Westview Elem). It takes about 20 mins home to downtown during off peak times. I can leave at 7:30 and be sitting at my desk at 8:00 on a normal day, but accidents and weather can stretch the commute to 45 mins+. Signal Mountain is physically closer, but takes almost the same amount of time because of the twisty roads. I'm not familiar with closer-in areas considered "good", but they do exist. The closer you get to downtown, the more you pay for a decent neighborhood.

3. Alstom
I don't know much about them, other than where they're located (it's hard to miss the storage yard full of massive wind turbine parts) and what they do.