Attitudes on massage, climbing, music in Chattanooga (house, neighborhoods)

[zappananda]

Hi all. This is my first post on here. I am originally from Gainesville, Fla..I have been a massage therapist for a few years,..mostly interested in sports/injury treatment work. I also got really into climbing a few years ago. So, last summer I took my frist road trip out west for some school and hopefully land in a cool town with climbing, culture and work. ..I ended up in Boulder and though I mostly like the area, it is a pretty dry landscape..I miss the green of Fla..the music scene is not too diverse, and you can't throw a stone without hitting another massage therapist...though I have found some work regardless.
So,..I'm wondering what some general attitudes about massage, chiropractic care and other alternative health modalities are prevalent in 'nooga? I don't see too many listings for massage jobs on craigslist, though I know that is not always a great indicator. I've also been climbing in the area and I love it there...any climbers on here?..and do they get bodywork? Finally, any words about the music 'scene' in 'nooga?..also the general 'sense of community' there...farmers markets, local business?

Thanks,..hope this wasn't too long.

[etta]

I love the Chattanooga Market (farmers market). They are located in the southside downtown area. It is every Sunday April through december. Organic produce, crafts, music, artists et cetera. You could probably set up and do massage there. Here is a link to there webpage... The Chattanooga Market
Also, plenty of CSA around here. Crabtree farms is an awesome urban organic farm in chattanooga... Crabtree Farms (http://crabtreefarms.org/index.html - broken link)

I don't think you would have much competition in the massage department. I moved here last September & have definitely noticed less Massage & acupuncture services available. My attitude towards such things is that I wish there was more! There seems to be plenty of yoga studios but not a ton of alternative healthcare. Maybe some of the other folks on this forum can offer up more info.

I do not climb but it is very popular here. Information about stuff like this could be found here... Outdoor Chattanooga
Also the new Outdoor Chattanooga visitors center is almost finished & will have a big climbing wall(set to open near the end of this month) Here is an article about it... Chattanooga Times Free Press | Chattanooga: City shows off new outdoor center at Coolidge Park The living roof is neat to admire from the walnut street bridge. I'm more of a hiker & kayaker but there are plenty of outdoor sports around here.

I'm not too knowledgable about the music scene. It depends on what you like I suppose. There is a 9 day music festival downtown seems quite popular... Riverbend Festival 2009 I also think this site offers plenty of information about local bands in many genres... chattarock.com - chattanooga, tn music news and happenings! (http://www.chattarock.com/index-bands.php - broken link)

There are a healthy amount of great local businesses & more popping up often. For shopping local I like the areas around the Northshore, Southside, St. Elmo & Downtown. Createhere(a nonprofit think tank in the southside) offers a class called Springboard designed to encourage creative entrepreneurs interested in opening local small businesses. They also have a grant program called artsmove that helps relocate artist here. I am sure that healing arts falls under there criteria as they offer it to djs & landscape architects. They give up to 15,000 to folks in the arts who wish to buy a house in 5 designated neighborhoods near downtown. Here is a link to there website: Projects (http://createhere.org/projects.html - broken link)

Also, it is not dry here. Pretty humid. 4 seasons. Mild winters. Hot summers but maybe not as hot as Florida.

[PunkGuy]

I used to be active in the music scene in Chattanooga, and for a while (2003-2005) it was pretty cool.
Most of the local clubs seemed to have disappeared (I'm sure some new ones have opened since I left) and the band community seems to not be as close as when I was playing.

Riverbend, for me, was horrible.
If you like country and bands that were popular in the 70's/80's you'll have fun.
I think Daughtry was the only somewhat modern act that they've had, and they got him before he was huge.

[Jon F Moss]

Originally Posted by zappananda

Hi all. This is my first post on here. I am originally from Gainesville, Fla..I have been a massage therapist for a few years,..mostly interested in sports/injury treatment work. I also got really into climbing a few years ago. So, last summer I took my frist road trip out west for some school and hopefully land in a cool town with climbing, culture and work. ..I ended up in Boulder and though I mostly like the area, it is a pretty dry landscape..I miss the green of Fla..the music scene is not too diverse, and you can't throw a stone without hitting another massage therapist...though I have found some work regardless.
So,..I'm wondering what some general attitudes about massage, chiropractic care and other alternative health modalities are prevalent in 'nooga? I don't see too many listings for massage jobs on craigslist, though I know that is not always a great indicator. I've also been climbing in the area and I love it there...any climbers on here?..and do they get bodywork? Finally, any words about the music 'scene' in 'nooga?..also the general 'sense of community' there...farmers markets, local business?

Thanks,..hope this wasn't too long.

If you're into climbing, Chattanooga is the climbing capital of the East and has an active "hip" scene with a number small venues for live music. Check out Rhythm & Brews, JJ's Bohemia, Club Fathom, The Warehouse and the Riverhouse to name a few off the top of my head.

As mentioned above, the Chattanooga Market is held every Sunday in an open air building. Greenlife has a farmers market too. Also, the Northshore occasionally has farmers markets.

It isn't tropical here, but we do have 4 distinct seasons. If you don't like one, wait a few months and here comes another.

I know of a few PT clinics that specifically work with climbers and athletes, but can't speak specifically about your job prospects. Based on what you're saying, I think you should definitely check out Chattanooga. Oh, and those in the know refer to the Scenic City as "the noog"

Almost forgot, there are two indoor climbing gyms in town. Urban Rocks Gym just opened and 801Riverfron (http://801riverfront.com/ - broken link)t is in the works

[zappananda]

Thanks everyone for the info and links. The market seems cool as well as the chattarock site,..we have a site like that in g'ville though it's a little more extensive... GainesvilleBands.com - welcome ..'eh, I don't know how to make a link on this page..anyway, the createhere site seem very cool too,..though I'm not sure the world need another dj..IMO I did notice the lack or massage places in 'the noog' when I googled it too..just wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing as far as jobs or building a practice goes..seem like it could be good though.

I did see the urban rocks gym site but didn't know about the 801Riverfront..thanks TriDad. ..I do need my easily accessable plastic rocks to maintain my sanity. ..Gainesville was also 'the ville' or 'G'ville' ..and we were 'Gainesvillians'..are you 'Noogians' then?

Thanks Punkguy,..yea, local music 'scenes' tend to morph depending on who's playing..venues..etc.. It can be fantastic or downright miserable. It's nice there is something..or was..or could be again.

Anyway, I will keep Chattanooga in mind. I things don't dramaticaly improve here in Boulder, I will likely be heading that way

[PunkGuy]

Originally Posted by zappananda

Thanks everyone for the info and links. The market seems cool as well as the chattarock site,..we have a site like that in g'ville though it's a little more extensive... GainesvilleBands.com - welcome ..'eh, I don't know how to make a link on this page..anyway, the createhere site seem very cool too,..though I'm not sure the world need another dj..IMO I did notice the lack or massage places in 'the noog' when I googled it too..just wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing as far as jobs or building a practice goes..seem like it could be good though.

I did see the urban rocks gym site but didn't know about the 801Riverfront..thanks TriDad. ..I do need my easily accessable plastic rocks to maintain my sanity. ..Gainesville was also 'the ville' or 'G'ville' ..and we were 'Gainesvillians'..are you 'Noogians' then?

Thanks Punkguy,..yea, local music 'scenes' tend to morph depending on who's playing..venues..etc.. It can be fantastic or downright miserable. It's nice there is something..or was..or could be again.

Anyway, I will keep Chattanooga in mind. I things don't dramaticaly improve here in Boulder, I will likely be heading that way

Funny, that you are in Boulder looking to move to Chattanooga, as I lived in Chattanooga and moved to Boulder.

[zappananda]

Yea really... Boulder is just not working out at the moment. I'm just a little to poor to enjoy this town:/ I am a little unimpressed with the music here too...it all seems to be folk, blues, or jam type stuff..which I like, I just need some more edgyness sometimes..just a little discontent does a city good..brings out the creativity in people..a reason to try and make things a little better.

Anyway, just mulling the idea over...as well as a couple other places.

[PunkGuy]

Originally Posted by zappananda

Yea really... Boulder is just not working out at the moment. I'm just a little to poor to enjoy this town:/ I am a little unimpressed with the music here too...it all seems to be folk, blues, or jam type stuff..which I like, I just need some more edgyness sometimes..just a little discontent does a city good..brings out the creativity in people..a reason to try and make things a little better.

Anyway, just mulling the idea over...as well as a couple other places.

Yeah, Boulder is expensive...that's why I live in the outskirts...still, it is a bit more expensive, but to me it's WAY worth it!

You can find "edgy" music in Denver.
Being a "punk rocker" I've seen that major bands (Rise Against, Less Than Jake) play 30 minutes south of me. There are also smaller clubs in Denver, and even closer in Arvada.
In Chattanooga, you had to go to Nashville or Atlanta to see these bands. (2hrs!)

[MountainAire]

If there was one in this town that hung out a shingle, I'd be there in a heartbeat. I'm sore as snot.