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To whom it may concern:
I would like to say that if you are thinking of moving to Chattanooga, I would think twice before doing so. The area is far from good and needs a serious overhaul before becoming attractive to out-of-towners. There are a few issues I have with this area and I will tackle them one by one.
First of all, the homes here are very overpriced and very hideous. Some people are trying to make 265% profit on a home that needs to be seriously gutted from the inside. If you plan on looking at homes in the million dollar range, forget about any appliances such as Sub-Zeros or a Wolf stove placed in these homes. If you're from states such as Florida, Louisiana, or Texas, forget about finding a home built on a slab because almost everything is built on a crawlspace foundation and air vents are in the floor, much like in a double-wide trailer. You either have to build yourself or find something relatively moderately priced which you can do a complete overhaul on.
As for the job market, there are terrible prospects for you. If you're a foreigner or do not speak with a Southern twang, you can forget about finding a job. I am from Louisiana and went on a couple interviews and people will treat you like you are an alien. They were very insulting towards me and discrimated against me to hire the locals around here despite having a master's degree with a 3.7 GPA , who was willing to work for a $15/hour internship. Diversity is not something that Chattanoogans value.
Lastly, there is not much of choice when it come to supermarkets. Bi-Lo and Food Lion reign supreme here despite the fact that locals insist on paying premium prices for sub-standard products. Your only bet for a good supermarket is Fresh Market, Wal-Mart, and the Publix that will be coming to the area within the next month.
I will say the only three bright spots in this town are Baylor School, McCallie School, and GPA. If you have a very bright child that you are willing to spend a lot on education, these are the best boarding/private schools to go to without going to the Northeast. Your child will learn a lot and the sky is the limit when you send your child to a school like this.
So very sorry the move to Chattanooga has not been what you hoped. We just last summer purchased in the Soddy -Daisy area and we love it.
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The area is far from good and needs a serious overhaul before becoming attractive to out-of-towners.
In what regard? We live in Tampa Fl and summer there and find Chattanooga to be very nice. Great job on the waterfront area, minimal traffic even at rush hour. Slower pace and very scenic city with great prospects for the future. Plenty to do indoors and out and most of it free.
There are a few issues I have with this area and I will tackle them one by one.
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First of all, the homes here are very overpriced and very hideous. Some people are trying to make 265% profit on a home that needs to be seriously gutted from the inside.
Where did you move from? We found homes to be VERY reasonable. Oh sure there are a few who think the sky is the limit and they will make a bundle on out of staters, some of the new developments case in point. We found nice homes from 75k to 350k I guess it depends on what you are looking for.
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If you plan on looking at homes in the million dollar range, forget about any appliances such as Sub-Zeros or a Wolf stove placed in these homes. If you're from states such as Florida, Louisiana, or Texas, forget about finding a home built on a slab because almost everything is built on a crawlspace foundation and air vents are in the floor, much like in a double-wide trailer.
Most homes around the nation are built this way, only areas of the country with high water tables build on slabs such as FL,TX. I would much rather be able to work on my homes systems with them underneath as opposed to having my hot water heater in my living room ceiling been there done that. Very expensive repairing all that drywall and furniture when you could have just replaced the heater. Before you build understand freeze and thaw heave effects on slab homes.
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As for the job market, there are terrible prospects for you. If you're a foreigner or do not speak with a Southern twang, you can forget about finding a job. I am from Louisiana and went on a couple interviews and people will treat you like you are an alien. They were very insulting towards me and discrimated against me to hire the locals around here despite having a master's degree with a 3.7 GPA , who was willing to work for a $15/hour internship.
Most towns/businesses will hire locals first if given the chance. I am a nurse and spoke with many facilities and found no feeling of being discriminated against. I am sorry this has happened to you. Maybe you need to back up and regroup and let some hostility go. If it comes through to employers as it did in this letter I probably would not hire you either.
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Diversity is not something that Chattanoogans value.
Can't really make an informed comment on this one but did very much enjoy many ethnic cuisines while in town ran by proprietors on the same nationality who told us they felt very welcome and supported by the community at large. I'm sure not all feel this way, but the few we spoke with loved the area.
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Lastly, there is not much of choice when it come to supermarkets. Bi-Lo and Food Lion reign supreme here despite the fact that locals insist on paying premium prices for sub-standard products. Your only bet for a good supermarket is Fresh Market, Wal-Mart, and the Publix that will be coming to the area within the next month.
Agree 100%. Can't wait for Publix to come in.
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I will say the only three bright spots in this town are Baylor School, McCallie School, and GPA. If you have a very bright child that you are willing to spend a lot on education, these are the best boarding/private schools to go to without going to the Northeast. Your child will learn a lot and the sky is the limit when you send your child to a school like this.
We have no children in schools so can't comment.
I hope things bet better for you soon, it really is what you make it.
So very sorry the move to Chattanooga has not been what you hoped. We just last summer purchased in the Soddy -Daisy area and we love it.
In what regard? We live in Tampa Fl and summer there and find Chattanooga to be very nice. Great job on the waterfront area, minimal traffic even at rush hour. Slower pace and very scenic city with great prospects for the future. Plenty to do indoors and out and most of it free.
There are a few issues I have with this area and I will tackle them one by one.
Where did you move from? We found homes to be VERY reasonable. Oh sure there are a few who think the sky is the limit and they will make a bundle on out of staters, some of the new developments case in point. We found nice homes from 75k to 350k I guess it depends on what you are looking for.
Most homes around the nation are built this way, only areas of the country with high water tables build on slabs such as FL,TX. I would much rather be able to work on my homes systems with them underneath as opposed to having my hot water heater in my living room ceiling been there done that. Very expensive repairing all that drywall and furniture when you could have just replaced the heater. Before you build understand freeze and thaw heave effects on slab homes.
Most towns/businesses will hire locals first if given the chance. I am a nurse and spoke with many facilities and found no feeling of being discriminated against. I am sorry this has happened to you. Maybe you need to back up and regroup and let some hostility go. If it comes through to employers as it did in this letter I probably would not hire you either.
Can't really make an informed comment on this one but did very much enjoy many ethnic cuisines while in town ran by proprietors on the same nationality who told us they felt very welcome and supported by the community at large. I'm sure not all feel this way, but the few we spoke with loved the area.
Agree 100%. Can't wait for Publix to come in.
We have no children in schools so can't comment.
I hope things bet better for you soon, it really is what you make it.
Dee..... You, my dear are an angel . The part about the homes be lesser quality because they are not on slabs just cracked me up. And yes, the part about needing a good supermarket is true. All of Chattanooga will be lined up for the grand opening of the 2 Publixes or is it Publixi..... either way.... I'll be there
Sorry, homes built on crawlspace are absolutely revolting and they are inferior in quality. There is no reason to have that and in fifty years those homes will have an awful smell permeating through them. Most construction in the coastal states used crawlspaces before and it is considered an old way of constructing a home. If crawlspace is so superior, then why are commercial buildings built on slab? That's because crawlspaces cannot support weight and you cannot put materials such as marble flooring, Sub-Zero, or Wolf stoves on because it is unstable for heavier building materials.
Sorry, homes built on crawlspace are absolutely revolting and they are inferior in quality. There is no reason to have that and in fifty years those homes will have an awful smell permeating through them.
Gosh, I had no idea I was living in inferior housing and for 20 plus years no less. The home has been here 65 and it has never had a permeating smell except for when an old feral cat crawled up under and died.The other plus, when it flooded, our neighbors (on slabs) flooded we did not, guess the water just crawled through and we dried out a lot faster than they did.
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Most construction in the coastal states used crawlspaces before and it is considered an old way of constructing a home. If crawlspace is so superior, then why are commercial buildings built on slab? That's because crawlspaces cannot support weight and you cannot put materials such as marble flooring, Sub-Zero, or Wolf stoves on because it is unstable for heavier building materials.
I will take the old way anytime and we just built a new kitchen from the ground up and had the choice of slab or frame, took frame and could have had it built to support the Titanic but didn't. Didn't need it.
I'm sure since you are from the south you have seen many commercial buildings on stilts or crawls of a few stories in height. And I'll almost bet those million dollar beach front homes have no slab lots of granite/marble and maybe even a "Wolf" and "Sub-Zero"
Maybe this is why you can't find a house? Maybe your expectations have been too high for things in this move and this is why you are so disappointed? Give it some time Chattanooga is a nice place, maybe it's just not for you.
I thought I had heard everything, but choosing an area in which to put down roots and raise a family based on grocery stores takes the cake (no pun intended). And the crawl space issue is a close second. Most people have different priorities, so perhaps that is why Chattanooga is more for them.
And if you think Chattanooga is overpriced, perhaps you haven't visited any CA, FL or most East Coast cities? You can find lots of Sub-Zeroes there and Viking ranges, too. Good luck wherever you land-- it's no fun to be miserable, so I hope you find a place more to your liking. If you're really into grocery stores, I recommend cities that have a Trader Joes.
After a while, you begin to believe that it is your own mind that brings on all your misfortunes - especially, when over an unreasonable period of time, you are met with such indifference and negativity. I must tell you, Chattanooga, despite it's natural beauty and disappearing southern charm, has been a great dissapointment to my wife and I and will definitely be to others who are accomplished, formally educated, middle class people seeking an appreciation of what they have to offer in the non-existent Chattanooga employment market.
If you don't believe the lieral when I say, "non-existent", just go to ANY Chattanooga jobs board, including postings in the Free-Press.
While this is a very beautiful place, it also creates it's own limitations for those who come in from the outside. Make no mistake, I am FROM here, have been away all my life and returned with more experience and knowledge to offer and local business has treated me as if I am non-existent.
As long as you are willing to accept a service job for seven bucks an hour, are transferred here, or bring your own money to start a business you can have a happy mindless life. Otherwsie, you are a threat and an intruder.
You have to examine the mentality of people who have chosen to stay in a place all their lives and work unchallenging and mostly unrewarding jobs for low pay. Nothing changes and nobody wants it too. Old money and new wealth (mostly made elsewhere) controls growth here - and that "new" growth is mosty a new facade for tourism but doesnt benefit the people who live here. Those who own the new chic restauarants and businesses are from somewhere else. Doctors and lawyers do very well here but there are very few specialists in any field.
People, like us, who are tired of the ratrace, but have money, bring it to this place to service the people who visit, have wealth, or retire here. The city of Chattanooga runs off every large business that could provide lots of new jobs, considering it as a location but continues to pour money - public and private -- into the facelift of the city... kind of a Disney Main Street USA between the mountains for people to spend their money passing through...and, the city's biggest wish is that most of those people will stop and say, "how quaint, I think we should move here."
Tell me who else can afford the half-million dollar condos that are going up everywhere. Not most Chattanoogans.
As long as you BRING your money and the security of your life with you, it is a great place to live.
MY wife has outstanding credentials and a resume and references that should impress anyone at any level. She spent a year applying for every job in Chattanooga for which she was UNDER qualified, QUALIFIED or OVER-qualified. Actually, she was over-qualified for all of them because there have been no jobs described within their position titles that even came close to what she has done outside this town.
She has been passed over for every position for which she has been a finalist. Most of the losses were to people promoted from within. This tells us that this mentally-dwarfed business community only posts positions because they legally have to but their intent is to hire from within from the start.
More than half the jobs she applies for, she never even gets a call back on, dispelling another myth that somehow "southerners" are inherently more polite and courteous. She even applied with several TEMP services and was told she would be put on their lists. SHE HAS NEVER BEEN CALLED - ONCE.
Chattanooga is a small minded place where people protect their turf. Most of them don't even qualify to do what they do but if you know COUSINS, your daddy can get you a job, or you have ever aspired to more than medicority and have worked your way up from the bottom for thirty years, there is no limit to where you can go in this town.
After having lived all over the country, mostly in big cities, we made the uneducated decision to return to Tennessee. We were excited about the prospect that we were coming home for "the good life" but life in these United States has changed everywhere. Every seen the movie Pleasantville? Welcome to the black and white world of Chattanooga!
Here we are, at the age where we'd like to stop moving and stay in a place we grew up and geographically like. Alas, we are in no position to retire, so his is only one more stop in the process of survival.
An old folk song said it, "There is no hiding place down here." Don't think that you'll be able to come and rock on the front porch. You'll have to pay to play.
This place was bought and sold way before most folks realized there was another paradise besides Florida....... now on a par in ruin with California.
From the past year's experience, all I can offer anyone thinknig of making a move to Chattanooga is, DEEPLY RESEARCH before you leap.
Even the Chamber of Commerce lies about the health and prosperity of this town. Just call them and confront them about the things they write. You will see a lot of stammering and evasiveness.
Unfortunately, if you are not in a situation to just bring your checkbook and settle in the rural serenity of Tennessee, the only chance of finding near-decent weages are Nashville and Memphis.
I have lived in Nashville twice and now it is just an over-poplated version of a place I never liked. Memphis has a little more outside influence from big business but is still very provincial about employment.
We will likely abandon our dream of living out the rest of our lives "in the woods" and move toward the bright lights again.
Read the CAUTION signs from those who made the mistake of buying back into the "sweet south" farce. Good luck and Y'all come back now, ya hear?
xtranaut, thank you for your post. Unlike other comments on a particular style of home construction making this town a disappointment, I am interested what you have to say. We have not had the same experience that you & your wife have had, but our circumstances are a little different.
I had never seen anyone refer to CHARLES SHAW as Two-buck Chuck.. That is f&%ing funny. I was introduced to that wine by the nicest person I have met in Chattanooga since i have been back -- a tree cutter on Signal Mt (who is from California)
As for Veronica, I don't think anyone should zone in on her idiosyncrasies about crawl spaces verse slabs and so on. I know how personally devastating it is to have an entire business community treat you and your wife like you are invisible or have some contagious disease.
Too bad. It is a disease that these people could stand to have. Integrity, courtesy, respect and a receptive mind for the ways they could benefit by hiring people from the outside who bring something fresh.
This is what has really got Veronica down --- not the stupid comparison to housing amenities or construction.
It eats at you until you begin to think you are not worthy....and she shouldn't have to move to find a way out of misery. Instead, this place needs an enema (as Jack said in Batman)....these square headed snobs need to reassess how and why they are doing what they are doing -- or at least, why they allow the people the put in charge, to do it.
Here is to Trader Joe's! But you can have Atlanta. (closest Joe's I know)
ok, no more picking on ones preferred mode of house construction
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. The part about the homes be lesser quality because they are not on slabs just cracked me up. And yes, the part about needing a good supermarket is true. All of Chattanooga will be lined up for the grand opening of the 2 Publixes or is it Publixi..... either way.... I'll be there 
Chattanooga - a big mistake unless you bring $$$
After a while, you begin to believe that it is your own mind that brings on all your misfortunes - especially, when over an unreasonable period of time, you are met with such indifference and negativity. I must tell you, Chattanooga, despite it's natural beauty and disappearing southern charm, has been a great dissapointment to my wife and I and will definitely be to others who are accomplished, formally educated, middle class people seeking an appreciation of what they have to offer in the non-existent Chattanooga employment market. 
