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Old 12-27-2011, 03:24 AM
 
5 posts, read 30,513 times
Reputation: 21

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I Heard all the great things about Chattanooga. So I drove up the day after Christmas, just to take a peak. I immediately felt like I was on US-10 Lodge Freeway, coming into town on US-24. As I went downtown, I saw lots of paper on the ground in various areas. (Didn't quite understand that). Went up and down each street to look at some of the locations of the attractions to the downtown area. I looked for the beauty of the downtown area that everyone described. What I found was a town that look no different than any other town. Nothing bad, just nothing that stood out! It looked as though it could be a fun place to visit when the weather gets warm, but beautiful, I didn't see any of that. I'm not saying it's ugly. I'm just saying, if I had never read anything about this town, I wouldn't know that it was known for anything other, than just being "Chattanooga". Now I'm not talking about the water, just the town itself.
I had about 10 homes priced at $150,000 that I wanted to look at in and around the area. As I drove through the neighborhood near downtown and out past I-75, I noticed all the potholes in the streets. (Hadn't seen that since Detroit). Neighborhoods had mixture of beautiful homes on one block, and Beirut,(exaggeration to paint a picture) on the next. Houses elbow room to one another, thin homes that stand tall, some Bungalows. As we keep driving around, it appeared as though we were coming into better neighborhoods, but it kept bringing me back to Detroit, in all the ways I just described. My son was driving me. I hadn't said a word to him about what i was feeling, but just looking at my surroundings. He said, "if someone blind folded me and place me in the middle of any one of the neighborhoods we just came from, and told me I was in Detroit, I would believe them. After he said that.....I said turn around and let's get out of here. I was feeling the same way he felt, but couldn't quite put my fingers on it. Everything about this city, except for the downtown, felt familiar to me, like I had been there before. Not the war torn pictures you see on TV and magazines about Detroit, but the areas they don't show. The average part of Detroit, or the south side of Chicago is what is known as Chattanooga TN.
Hey, they built up Greenville, SC up the same way. I took a drive over to the city back in the spring.....I found the city to be very clean, neat and pretty. Just like it was described, but getting a conversation started with the locals was like pulling teeth. Too much work, not worth it!
$150,000 doesn't sound like much money, but in GA it can buy a house that use to be $300,000 and up. In this down economy, I don't have to pay more than that for a decent place to stay.....just for it to depreciate in another year. The $150,000 homes in Chattanooga was compatible to $35,000-$50,000 homes in Metropolitan Atlanta, not Atlanta. $150,000 in Atlanta will buy a shack.
Not putting you city down, just expressing my opinion. Please respect that. I'm looking to relocate for work purposes. I will be renting for a year but would like to rent in a city that's a possible area I would like to buy in. I can take this one of my list.
Born raised in MS. Lived in Michigan for 27 years, seven in Oakland county, which at the time was one of the richest counties in the US. I'm sure it still is. Don't care to check! Don't know if it still hold the same standards today. I've live in some of the best neighborhoods in Detroit....had to, my safety and my child safety was too important. My house got broken into on my husbands birthday. Broke my lease and got the hell out of their the next week. My son bike got stolen right next to him while he was sitting on the porch. Moved out of Detroit the following month to Oakland county. I'll never share my surroundings with thieves, if I know it.
Currently live south of Atlanta. GA is very friendly overall. Everyone wave and speak, even the police will nod his head or wave from inside the police vehicle. Everybody wants to know how you doing. Kids say yes maam, no maam. I'm spoiled with that now. Mississippi was like that to. People in Detroit are cold and mean as HELL. I've seen people speak to folks they don't know. They may speak back, but when you walk past they will say, "What that ***** speaking to me for"
My job is portable, I'm a Financial Protection Consultant. Looking for a new area to settle in to conduct business and possibly live. Texas and FL is next on my list to explore, but want more options.
I like beautiful, walkable downtowns with plenty of foot traffic and lots to do. Shops that you can dine outside, access to some water. A Zoo and Aquarium at least in the county. Everything I need must be in the county, not necessarily in the city. I'm use to driving because of my job. I cannot stand seeing paper on the ground. Clean and neat is what I love. I plan on relocating somewhere by May. Preferably a warm state but my options are running out.

 
Old 12-27-2011, 06:59 AM
 
Location: Greenville, SC/Greensboro, NC
1,997 posts, read 4,590,348 times
Reputation: 1774
My goodness, you have some lofty expectations of a city - you desire: a beautiful, walkable downtown with plenty of foot traffic and lots to do, shopping and outside dining, a close-by zoo and aquarium, a warm state, have 150K to spend (on a house no less), and this city must be clean and neat (no paper whatsoever on the ground!) - whew!

You are one of the typical posters I see on City-Data that I term "wondering nomads" desperately seeking Utopia in the US (and for you on a shoe-string budget). Let me clue you in: there is no Utopia - there are compromises everywhere.

I lived in Chattanooga for a number of years before moving in 2008. It's a wonderful, family-friendly city, with a multitude of activities. Chattanooga has a low cost-of-living and has a warm, caring populace.

Please note that every city (including Chattanooga) has blighted areas - for Chattanooga, some are areas are quite close to the downtown area. A 150K house near downtown Chattanooga has the likelihood of being a shack in an unsafe area.

I highly encourage you to return to Chattanooga in the Spring and seek the help of an experienced realtor.

Other cities in the South that meet your demands are extremely limited (if any - especially with your budget). Other suggestions: Charleston, Tampa, Orlando, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, & New Orleans. However, most, if not all these cities, will have extremely pricey housing (to coincide with your demands above).
 
Old 12-27-2011, 07:26 AM
 
Location: Franklin, TN
6,662 posts, read 13,287,719 times
Reputation: 7612
Yeah...the day after Christmas probably isn't the best time to go get the "impressions" of a city.

And winter time is bad in general for Southern cities, because the beautiful trees are bare, and there is no snow on the ground to make up for it. It's an ugly time of year. Come back in the late Spring. It'll look different.
 
Old 12-27-2011, 08:46 AM
 
Location: Resaca, Georgia
145 posts, read 449,758 times
Reputation: 109
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacaria View Post
Not putting you city down, just expressing my opinion.

BWAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAA! I guess that's kind of like when someone prefaces a statement with, "no offense, but..." and then tells you something completely offensive.

Alrighty, then.

Good luck finding the perfect place for you.
 
Old 12-27-2011, 09:58 AM
 
Location: somewhere over the rainbow Ohio
2,017 posts, read 5,336,351 times
Reputation: 1541
I completely agree with the OP. Chatt or Tn. in general just won't do for her.
Good luck in the other places you are researching.
Pam
 
Old 12-27-2011, 10:44 AM
 
5 posts, read 30,513 times
Reputation: 21
I wouldn't have had a problem with any of the things I described if it had been kept up. I like neat. and well maintained...the areas was not kept up. You don't have to have an expensive home in order to keep it up. However, I can only compare it to what I've seen from my past... parts of metro Atlanta, metro Detroit/Detroit, Chicago and Greenville, SC.... they were well maintained and neat for that price range of $150.00. Like I said the city itself does not have to have all the things I named, but at least have it in the county or be able to drive up to 45 minutes, maybe an hour to get to it. I think that's being fair, don't you?
I didn't knock your downtown, I just had my expectations pushed up to high. Like I said, in the summer it's probably really nice and a great place to hang out. It was the neighborhood I was mostly disappointed in.
I think with the low cost housing and people moving in to $300-500,000 neighborhood on a shoe string budget as you call because the house foreclosed, we will all have a little baby Beirut next door to us in our beautiful neighborhood. Low income to high middle class all in the same block. I don't have a problem with it as long as you keep the noise down and keep your property up, and not have rowdy friends that come over loud. That's why I wouldn't move into a new development. People don't stay there long. The only thing I know is that with prices falling daily and continuing to fall all over, why pay top dollars when I don't have to. But I heard that you guys property value was appreciating overall for 2011 by 1% and by 3% for 2012. If that be the case,maybe I was looking at homes that never lost it's value over the years, my bad!
 
Old 12-27-2011, 10:47 AM
 
Location: Tennessee
37,759 posts, read 40,861,775 times
Reputation: 62051
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacaria View Post
I Heard all the great things about Chattanooga. So I drove up the day after Christmas, just to take a peak. I immediately felt like I was on US-10 Lodge Freeway, coming into town on US-24. As I went downtown, I saw lots of paper on the ground in various areas. (Didn't quite understand that). Went up and down each street to look at some of the locations of the attractions to the downtown area. I looked for the beauty of the downtown area that everyone described. What I found was a town that look no different than any other town. Nothing bad, just nothing that stood out! It looked as though it could be a fun place to visit when the weather gets warm, but beautiful, I didn't see any of that. I'm not saying it's ugly. I'm just saying, if I had never read anything about this town, I wouldn't know that it was known for anything other, than just being "Chattanooga". Now I'm not talking about the water, just the town itself.
I had about 10 homes priced at $150,000 that I wanted to look at in and around the area. As I drove through the neighborhood near downtown and out past I-75, I noticed all the potholes in the streets. (Hadn't seen that since Detroit). Neighborhoods had mixture of beautiful homes on one block, and Beirut,(exaggeration to paint a picture) on the next. Houses elbow room to one another, thin homes that stand tall, some Bungalows. As we keep driving around, it appeared as though we were coming into better neighborhoods, but it kept bringing me back to Detroit, in all the ways I just described. My son was driving me. I hadn't said a word to him about what i was feeling, but just looking at my surroundings. He said, "if someone blind folded me and place me in the middle of any one of the neighborhoods we just came from, and told me I was in Detroit, I would believe them. After he said that.....I said turn around and let's get out of here. I was feeling the same way he felt, but couldn't quite put my fingers on it. Everything about this city, except for the downtown, felt familiar to me, like I had been there before. Not the war torn pictures you see on TV and magazines about Detroit, but the areas they don't show. The average part of Detroit, or the south side of Chicago is what is known as Chattanooga TN.
Hey, they built up Greenville, SC up the same way. I took a drive over to the city back in the spring.....I found the city to be very clean, neat and pretty. Just like it was described, but getting a conversation started with the locals was like pulling teeth. Too much work, not worth it!
$150,000 doesn't sound like much money, but in GA it can buy a house that use to be $300,000 and up. In this down economy, I don't have to pay more than that for a decent place to stay.....just for it to depreciate in another year. The $150,000 homes in Chattanooga was compatible to $35,000-$50,000 homes in Metropolitan Atlanta, not Atlanta. $150,000 in Atlanta will buy a shack.
Not putting you city down, just expressing my opinion. Please respect that. I'm looking to relocate for work purposes. I will be renting for a year but would like to rent in a city that's a possible area I would like to buy in. I can take this one of my list.
Born raised in MS. Lived in Michigan for 27 years, seven in Oakland county, which at the time was one of the richest counties in the US. I'm sure it still is. Don't care to check! Don't know if it still hold the same standards today. I've live in some of the best neighborhoods in Detroit....had to, my safety and my child safety was too important. My house got broken into on my husbands birthday. Broke my lease and got the hell out of their the next week. My son bike got stolen right next to him while he was sitting on the porch. Moved out of Detroit the following month to Oakland county. I'll never share my surroundings with thieves, if I know it.
Currently live south of Atlanta. GA is very friendly overall. Everyone wave and speak, even the police will nod his head or wave from inside the police vehicle. Everybody wants to know how you doing. Kids say yes maam, no maam. I'm spoiled with that now. Mississippi was like that to. People in Detroit are cold and mean as HELL. I've seen people speak to folks they don't know. They may speak back, but when you walk past they will say, "What that ***** speaking to me for"
My job is portable, I'm a Financial Protection Consultant. Looking for a new area to settle in to conduct business and possibly live. Texas and FL is next on my list to explore, but want more options.
I like beautiful, walkable downtowns with plenty of foot traffic and lots to do. Shops that you can dine outside, access to some water. A Zoo and Aquarium at least in the county. Everything I need must be in the county, not necessarily in the city. I'm use to driving because of my job. I cannot stand seeing paper on the ground. Clean and neat is what I love. I plan on relocating somewhere by May. Preferably a warm state but my options are running out.
So, what's the point of this post? If it's telling people what you want, why post it in the forum of the place that you don't like?
 
Old 12-27-2011, 10:55 AM
 
Location: Brentwood, Tennessee
49,932 posts, read 59,700,060 times
Reputation: 98359
Quote:
Originally Posted by thisbloominglife View Post
BWAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAA! I guess that's kind of like when someone prefaces a statement with, "no offense, but..." and then tells you something completely offensive.

Alrighty, then.

Good luck finding the perfect place for you.
It's like prefacing a putdown with, "With all due respect, ..."

Talladega Nights With All Due Respect - YouTube
 
Old 12-27-2011, 11:01 AM
 
Location: Resaca, Georgia
145 posts, read 449,758 times
Reputation: 109
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacaria View Post
I However, I can only compare it to what I've seen from my past... parts of metro Atlanta, metro Detroit/Detroit, Chicago and Greenville, SC.... they were well maintained and neat for that price range of $150.00.
Well, if that's the way you see it, I guess I'm just not sure why you aren't moving to one of those places instead, especially since you said your work was portable?

Different strokes for different folks. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and not every place will be for everyone. I'm just wondering, like Laura said, what's the point of this post other than to be insulting to those who LOVE Chattanooga for what it is...paper on the streets and all!

Good luck in your search!
 
Old 12-27-2011, 11:14 AM
 
5 posts, read 30,513 times
Reputation: 21
I've already lived in those places.
I apologize for the insults, if that's how you guys took it. When can an opinion ever be just an opinion without it being an insult. Isn't this forum built on opinions? Are they all suppose to be the same opinions? People talked about Detroit, Chicago, and Atlanta like a dog and i don't get upset. Hell everything negative they've said about the neighborhoods for the most part was true, even I say it from time to time....but their are beautiful parts to all those cities that these people didn't know about. I didn't get upset with them. I just told them they need to go to the better parts and they will see it differently, as I'm sure I will once I visit again this summer.
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