I was very unimpressed by Chattanooga. (Knoxville, Harrison: lease, landlords, living)

[flower54]

Originally Posted by Want2MoveWest

That's because you spent an extra day. OP was in Chattanooga for 2 weeks. I've done all you mentioned over a weekend. You must be from an even smaller city. Maybe one in N GA.

No, actually I'm not from N. Ga. I've been in TN for 5 yrs (an hour from Nashville). But I'm from upstate NY. So I do know what a big city looks like. For me Chattanooga was a fun trip.

[Blue502]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I'm originally from the northeast, too, but I don't think that is it. Native Tennesseans complained about Chattanoogans as much as me. Maybe more.

I can give an answer, but it is going to sound like I am stereotyping. Here goes. I found that most of the difficult people in that area broke down into three groups; they sounded like they were gangstas, they sounded like they were members of the Hatfields and McCoys (I once had an old man and woman threaten to shoot one of my techs if he climbed the pole to shut off their cable) and rude transplants. It seems like quite a few arrogant transplants settled on Chattanooga.

Once again, that is a huge generalization. Of course, there are plenty of nice folks. I'm glad I settled in Knoxville, though.

Whew, I don't know what type of tech support you have done, but as a native chattanoogan, who deals with hundreds of people who visit here every year, I have heard nothing but good things about us native chattanoogans. AND i have never, EVER heard anyone who lives here call this place Chatt, first time in my 41 yrs. It's been chattown, the noog, nooga, but never Chatt.
Yep, we have the "gansta" talkers, what city doesn't? We also have the older southerners who believe their property is still their property, besides, old people are like that no matter where you are. As far as the transplants, don't group them into the natives. As a living, walking, talking native chattanoogan, I don't think i have ever meet a transplant who was arrogant.

As you stated, you were in tech support. If this was for Comcast, I can understand the hostility. Comcast treated this town pretty bad for the past 10 yrs or so, so yep, you can tend to find the hostile comcast customers.

SO, please don't suggest Chattanooga is unfriendly just by the phone calls you dealt with, that is pretty broad.

[peppermint]

Originally Posted by Blue502

Whew, I don't know what type of tech support you have done, but as a native chattanoogan, who deals with hundreds of people who visit here every year, I have heard nothing but good things about us native chattanoogans. AND i have never, EVER heard anyone who lives here call this place Chatt, first time in my 41 yrs. It's been chattown, the noog, nooga, but never Chatt.

Guess you'd be able to tell that I'm an outsider. I call it Chatt. I HATE 'Noog and 'Nooga. I absolutely hate that. Oh well. It'll always be Chatt to me.

[12buttons]

Originally Posted by Blue502

Whew, I don't know what type of tech support you have done, but as a native chattanoogan, who deals with hundreds of people who visit here every year, I have heard nothing but good things about us native chattanoogans. AND i have never, EVER heard anyone who lives here call this place Chatt, first time in my 41 yrs. It's been chattown, the noog, nooga, but never Chatt.
Yep, we have the "gansta" talkers, what city doesn't? We also have the older southerners who believe their property is still their property, besides, old people are like that no matter where you are. As far as the transplants, don't group them into the natives. As a living, walking, talking native chattanoogan, I don't think i have ever meet a transplant who was arrogant.

As you stated, you were in tech support. If this was for Comcast, I can understand the hostility. Comcast treated this town pretty bad for the past 10 yrs or so, so yep, you can tend to find the hostile comcast customers.

SO, please don't suggest Chattanooga is unfriendly just by the phone calls you dealt with, that is pretty broad.

I am sure you hit the nail on the head. He said he was in tech support... maybe he was the "cable" guy that tore up your carpet, drilled holes into your floor and oh, was not reachable until he was in your driveway, charging you more than the original estimate. Yeah, I'd say he tested the patience of those poor people. I would not make any meaningful conclusions off of this thread which seems to have devolved quickly

[rouge111]

Originally Posted by creeksitter

It does seem that culturally Chattanooga is different. Maybe because historically as a mill town it didn't have as much of a middle class as surrounding cities?? It is known for its many wealthy philanthropists.

These days I get the impression that Chattanooga is a city of strivers. Which isn't a bad thing if you are a striver yourself. But I wonder if newcomers are frustrated trying to break into the established upper crust.

Knoxville is based on an Appalachian culture, while Chattanooga seems to have the culture of the New South.

Hi Creeksitter,

I found this comment to be very interesting! I am from Ca. and may be moving to Chattanooga with my family and something about what you said really fascinates me. Would you mind elaborating on the differences in "attitude" and "viewpoint" between appalachian culture and the philanthropist culture?

Thanks!

[TooTall49]

A few months ago, with retirement rapidly approaching and after much research, I decided that Chattanooga looked like a strong possibility for a happy retirement. My adult daughters and I drove to your lovely city at the end of May from Northern Illinois, and spent a week there. We did some of the tourist things (Ruby Falls, Rock City, etc.) and spent time just traveling around the city, getting acquainted with it as much as possible. We loved the city and its people. I realize that one week doesn't make me an expert and I haven't seen everything, but I loved the mountains and the people. The views from Lookout Mountain were breathtaking! My house is currently for sale and as soon as I close I'm on my way to your lovely city. I currently live in Northern Illinois and it is a wasteland! Winters are brutal. Whatever time is left to me I want to spend in an environment with mountains, trees, water, and friendly people. That's Chattanooga.

[Blue502]

Going on about the culture, we are a rich town in philanthropist. And for that , I am grateful. We could never repay these people who loved this town so much that they invested hundreds of millions of dollars and never left. It shows alot to have the "money" people put there money into there town instead of someplace else. Though with purse strings being pulled, politics are around the corner. I don't think we have been hurt at all by that good ole boy network. We, as citizens of Chattanooga, have faired better.
TooTall, I am elated that you have made this town your choice!! It won't take long to realize this is the biggest little town you could live in. Dive right in and start hobnobbing with the locals, won't take long to get to know most everyone or know of them! Once that is established, you have friends for life who will love enjoying the mountains, trees, water with you. Or leave ya alone when ya need to be

[indy_317]

I went to Chattanooga for vacation years ago, when I was much younger. It was part of a vacation to that area, as well as the Great Smoky Mtns. NP. This was back in the mid to late 80s. I had always wanted to get back to the area as I got older. After dating my gf for about three years, we both took a trip in the fall of '05. We hit Mammoth Cave NP, Chattanooga, and then Gatlinburg.

This would be my first road trip over two hours since high school vacations with the family back in the mid-90s. It was a fun trip. After a day at Mammoth, we drove down to Chattanooga. We ended up staying at the Country Inn and Suites just outside of Chattanooga, in Tiftonia, TN.

My gf dropped enough hints so she got her engagement ring at Rock City at the older lookout area. We also saw Ruby Falls and did the Incline Railway. The Railway was the worse of the "tourist traps." It was kinda dull and boring. We actually drove to the top of the mountain. It might be better if one rides up, sees some awesome views, then rides back down. I was very impressed with downtown Chattanooga. We made it a point to hit up Mellow Mushroom Pizza. We have a Mellow Mushroom here in the Indy area, and we liked it as something different, we make sure we hit up any Mellow Mushroom when we travel. The year before, we hit the one up in Orlando, FL. Unfortunately, downtown Chattanooga was packed with people. I don't know if something was going on or what. It might have been a 'lets get out before it gets cold' (this was in Sept.) issue..who knows. Anyways, the Mellow Mushroom was so packed, we decided we didn't want to wait. We looked at another local pizza place, but it was packed as well. So we decided to drive to some mall area and just went for the Ci-Ci's pizza. Before we left, we also ate at Mr. T's Pizza as well.

I thought Chattanooga was a neat city. We didn't get to see Lookout Mountain tourist area, but we did make it down to drive through and explore Chickamauga and Chattanooga Nat'l Military Park. The packed downtown was a nice thing to see. I saw there was a newer movie theater, but wasn't sure if there was a mall or not. Downtown Chattanooga had the same feel as downtown Indy, minus the skyscrapers.

In fact, I was very impressed with TN as a vacation spot. From Indy, it is only a seven hour drive to Chattanooga or Gatlinburg. I highly recommend this to people here in Indy as a nice, cheaper alternative for a family fun vacation. We ended up going back to Gatlinburg in 2007.

[TooTall49]

My daughters and I did a lot of the "tourist" things, enjoyed them all. All the locals we met were very friendly. What I love most about
Chattanooga, is its landscape and its people. We were also impressed with downtown Chattanooga, which is very much alive, unlike downtown Rockford, Illinois. While I understand that no place is perfect, for me, Chattanooga is close. I'm just waiting for my house to sell, then my daughter and I are on our way. Woke up this morning to -8 degrees!! Expected high of 5 degrees! Luckily, my car started.

[want2bntennessee]

I love Chattanooga, wish I lived there! My sister lives near by in Harrison and every time I visit I cant get enough of it! Never been bored there ever! And seriously any of you that think the Chattanooga folk are rude better not ever attempt my town of Orlando! It was just said on the news a few nights ago that we (Orlando) were voted #9 in the top 10 rudest cities in America (AGAIN)!