Thinking about moving to Chattanooga

#1
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Stewo

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#1
Iowa State fan/alum here. I'm looking to potentially relocate my family to the Chattanooga area from central Iowa. Looking to try and make a move by mid-year if at all possible. Anyway, I've "done my research" via the internet on the place, but I figured I'd like to hear from those of you that personally know the area (I've never been). I have a young family (kids aged 1, 3, and 5), so good schools, parks, etc. are important. Any thoughts are welcome, really. Thanks in advance.
 
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#2
#2
Welcome to VN! Chattanooga's a cool town, lived there for six years. There's lots to like.

Schools there are an interesting animal though. How it developed I don't know but the private school scene is very prominent there. There seem to be a lot of them and a surprising number of people pay to send their kids to them, almost to the detriment of the public schools, it felt like. Not saying the public schools are bad, they just felt a little diminished culturally. There are some very good magnet schools in the public system though that are very much in demand and therefore hard to get into. You may want to look into that well in advance, like now.

In terms of places to live, there's lots of variation and every area comes with its trade-offs (probably like anywhere). Very much worthwhile to get a one-year lease on a rental to start out, then spend that year exploring before you buy.
 
#3
#3
Stewo said:
Iowa State fan/alum here. I'm looking to potentially relocate my family to the Chattanooga area from central Iowa. Looking to try and make a move by mid-year if at all possible. Anyway, I've "done my research" via the internet on the place, but I figured I'd like to hear from those of you that personally know the area (I've never been). I have a young family (kids aged 1, 3, and 5), so good schools, parks, etc. are important. Any thoughts are welcome, really. Thanks in advance.
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No kids so Idk **** about any of that. East brainerd, signal mtn, ooltewah, and apison are the best areas though crime wise.
 
#4
#4
Never lived there. Visited a few times. Definitely an area I'd consider for my 'retirement.'
 
#5
#5
Seems a lot of people here with kids make the choice of Signal Mtn, Ooltewah, or anywhere else and send your kids to private school. Normal Park is highly coveted, they are changing the lottery system to pull more kids from lower income households so that has become more difficult. People who were born and raised here care more about where to you went to prep school than where you went to college.
 
#7
#7
It's horrilble...stay away :)

I lived downtown from 2001-2015 and moved 20 minutes south into North GA--which I hated at first --but now love due to affordability, slower pace, and raising a family.

But I love my Noog'. Chattanooga has good restaurants, parks, music, and plenty of outdoor activities in the surrounding areas. DaPismonque hit the nail on the head about the schools and variations in places to live in his post. You have mountains (Signal/Lookout $$$), downtown ($$$), retail-oriented (hamilton place area ($$)., etc. But I think if you want the true experience you need live in North Chatt ($$) or Downtown--but those might not be the most "family friendly" but are near where all the action is for the city. Suburb/metro area cities like Ooltewah, Cleveland, Dalton areas aren't that bad either to raise a family either and are highly accessible to Chatt. Just get ready for the humidity :)
 
#8
#8
DancingOutlaw said:
Seems a lot of people here with kids make the choice of Signal Mtn, Ooltewah, or anywhere else and send your kids to private school. Normal Park is highly coveted, they are changing the lottery system to pull more kids from lower income households so that has become more difficult. People who were born and raised here care more about where to you went to prep school than where you went to college.
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lol
When I first moved there a friend told me Chattanooga society folk just want to know two things when you meet, where you go to church and where you went to school. And they ain't talking about college.
 
#9
#9
I don't know about Chattanooga much, but you gotta pull for Tennessee when you move. It's the law. 😁
 
#10
#10
Stewo said:
Iowa State fan/alum here. I'm looking to potentially relocate my family to the Chattanooga area from central Iowa. Looking to try and make a move by mid-year if at all possible. Anyway, I've "done my research" via the internet on the place, but I figured I'd like to hear from those of you that personally know the area (I've never been). I have a young family (kids aged 1, 3, and 5), so good schools, parks, etc. are important. Any thoughts are welcome, really. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Ooltewah, (land of owls) so we call it Hooterville. Adjoining Ooltewah is Collegedale which is a great family community. Excellent public schools in both. I've developed residential neighborhoods in both and Cleveland/Bradley County. Apison is ok too, but where will you be working?
 
#13
#13
I’ve lived in Chattanooga since I was 5 years old. I’m 49 now. Hixson specifically. I bought a house on big ridge 20 years ago 10 minutes from where I grew up. Also on big ridge. I would not want to live anywhere else. I recently bought 40 acres outside of Chattanooga on one of the mountains here and will build a house soon. It seems like it’s way out in the country but I can be in Downtown Chattanooga in less than 30 minutes and in Hixson in less than 20.
Someone said you should lease here for the first year to decide where to live and that’s good advice. The housing market here is tough. Good houses sell very fast and there’s not enough to go around. There are a couple of companies building as quick as you can imagine but they can’t keep up with demand. Most quality contractors that remodel have a 6 month waiting list. So you may be waiting if you go with a house that needs a little updating.

Chattanooga is a great place with tons to do
I would not live anywhere else
 
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#14
#14
Orangeslice13 said:
I’ve lived in Chattanooga since I was 5 years old. I’m 49 now. Hixson specifically. I bought a house on big ridge 20 years ago 10 minutes from where I grew up. Also on big ridge. I would not want to live anywhere else. I recently bought 40 acres outside of Chattanooga on one of the mountains here and will build a house soon. It seems like it’s way out in the country but I can be in Downtown Chattanooga in less than 30 minutes and in Hixson in less than 20.
Someone said you should lease here for the first year to decide where to live and that’s good advice. The housing market here is tough. Good houses sell very fast and there’s not enough to go around. There are a couple of companies building as quick as you can imagine but they can’t keep up with demand. Most quality contractors that remodel have a 6 month waiting list. So you may be waiting if you go with a house that needs a little updating.

Chattanooga is a great place with tons to do
I would not live anywhere else
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Slice and I rode the same bus to school. Look how we turned out. It must be awesome!!
 
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#15
#15
Born and raised...Red Bank native. Went back two years ago and didn’t recognize the place. It’s a developing Nashville lite...without the music. Lot of hip new places and parks and restaurants. Real estate value has blown sky high. My family sold their house and moved to Crossville...was able to buy a huge spread with money for savings. If you like the city scene, best not tarry...everything’s being snapped up. If you don’t mind a commute, Soddy Daisy is worth a look. I know Ooltewah has been mentioned, and I remember when it was still lightly populated, but Peyton bought a house...😉
 
#16
#16
I appreciate all the feedback so far. From what my wife and I can tell, Chattanooga looks like a pretty cool city with tons of family-friendly activities all around. I'll be honest, I started looking into TN because of the weather. The weather in Iowa is garbage. More specifically, the winter. It sucks being trapped indoors for months on end. While you all are enjoying temps near 70 in the coming days, we likely won't even hit the freezing point.

Anyway, I find the school thing interesting, but I'd rather read that than people saying the school system is trash. We'll certainly have to do the necessary research to determine what'll align with we want/need. As far as the renting a home first advice, that's the direction we're going to go initially. I think it makes a ton of sense to go that route. Hopefully, it's not too terribly expensive to rent a 4 BR house. Any average estimates? Along these same lines, I don't have employment lined up. I'm in the process of finishing updates on my current house so it'll be ready for the market. Once I get a little bit closer to getting that accomplished, I'll be able to get more serious about finding employment. I've just sort of been looking around at what opportunities are there for people with my degree (supply chain management). It appears that there are quite a few places that hire SCM folks.

I had a question about working in TN and living in GA, if that were to happen. I understand that TN doesn't take state income tax, so I'm curious as to how that works. By the way, be thankful for that whole no state income tax thing. It's awesome, obviously. And also how little you all have to pay in property taxes. A $250,000 house in the Des Moines area comes with property taxes that'll traditionally run between $4,500-$5,500/year. I was shocked to see the difference between IA and TN in that regard.
 
#17
#17
butchna said:
Born and raised...Red Bank native. Went back two years ago and didn’t recognize the place. It’s a developing Nashville lite...without the music. Lot of hip new places and parks and restaurants. Real estate value has blown sky high. My family sold their house and moved to Crossville...was able to buy a huge spread with money for savings. If you like the city scene, best not tarry...everything’s being snapped up. If you don’t mind a commute, Soddy Daisy is worth a look. I know Ooltewah has been mentioned, and I remember when it was still lightly populated, but Peyton bought a house...😉
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Did you ever know Rogene Russell Howard or Patrick Butler from Red Bank? They would have graduated from Red Bank H.S. in 1967.
 
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#18
#18
Stewo said:
I appreciate all the feedback so far. From what my wife and I can tell, Chattanooga looks like a pretty cool city with tons of family-friendly activities all around. I'll be honest, I started looking into TN because of the weather. The weather in Iowa is garbage. More specifically, the winter. It sucks being trapped indoors for months on end. While you all are enjoying temps near 70 in the coming days, we likely won't even hit the freezing point.

Anyway, I find the school thing interesting, but I'd rather read that than people saying the school system is trash. We'll certainly have to do the necessary research to determine what'll align with we want/need. As far as the renting a home first advice, that's the direction we're going to go initially. I think it makes a ton of sense to go that route. Hopefully, it's not too terribly expensive to rent a 4 BR house. Any average estimates? Along these same lines, I don't have employment lined up. I'm in the process of finishing updates on my current house so it'll be ready for the market. Once I get a little bit closer to getting that accomplished, I'll be able to get more serious about finding employment. I've just sort of been looking around at what opportunities are there for people with my degree (supply chain management). It appears that there are quite a few places that hire SCM folks.

I had a question about working in TN and living in GA, if that were to happen. I understand that TN doesn't take state income tax, so I'm curious as to how that works. By the way, be thankful for that whole no state income tax thing. It's awesome, obviously. And also how little you all have to pay in property taxes. A $250,000 house in the Des Moines area comes with property taxes that'll traditionally run between $4,500-$5,500/year. I was shocked to see the difference between IA and TN in that regard.
Click to expand...
The tax deal works with a 7% state sales tax , plus a county sales tax of around 2.5 to 2.75%. Total sales tax around 9.5 to 9.75 %.
 
#23
#23
Stewo said:
I appreciate all the feedback so far. From what my wife and I can tell, Chattanooga looks like a pretty cool city with tons of family-friendly activities all around. I'll be honest, I started looking into TN because of the weather. The weather in Iowa is garbage. More specifically, the winter. It sucks being trapped indoors for months on end. While you all are enjoying temps near 70 in the coming days, we likely won't even hit the freezing point.

Anyway, I find the school thing interesting, but I'd rather read that than people saying the school system is trash. We'll certainly have to do the necessary research to determine what'll align with we want/need. As far as the renting a home first advice, that's the direction we're going to go initially. I think it makes a ton of sense to go that route. Hopefully, it's not too terribly expensive to rent a 4 BR house. Any average estimates? Along these same lines, I don't have employment lined up. I'm in the process of finishing updates on my current house so it'll be ready for the market. Once I get a little bit closer to getting that accomplished, I'll be able to get more serious about finding employment. I've just sort of been looking around at what opportunities are there for people with my degree (supply chain management). It appears that there are quite a few places that hire SCM folks.

I had a question about working in TN and living in GA, if that were to happen. I understand that TN doesn't take state income tax, so I'm curious as to how that works. By the way, be thankful for that whole no state income tax thing. It's awesome, obviously. And also how little you all have to pay in property taxes. A $250,000 house in the Des Moines area comes with property taxes that'll traditionally run between $4,500-$5,500/year. I was shocked to see the difference between IA and TN in that regard.
Click to expand...
Lots of trucking and TPL companies here. Red truck(USX), white truck(CVTI), Coyote, Transcard, Kenco, etc. VW and Amazon may be places to look as well. Proximity to Nashville and Atlanta means larger companies may be looking for people in a geographical area.

If you live in GA you will owe their income tax even if you work in TN. Your residency determines your tax status, not where you work. North GA housing is usually cheaper but you have to consider you’ll lose 6% of your income in exchange.
 
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