Areas to avoid? (Chattanooga, Cleveland, Athens: crime, credit, house)

[genteelhart]

Hello all - as our Move to Tennesee adventure continues, we're looking at Cleveland and Athens and would also like to consider Chattanooga.

"Big City" isn't necessarily our favorite style, but it does come with some perks that may tempt us to buy there.

Looking through the MLS there are a good number of good-looking listings for our modest budget - obviously Chattanooga like any city will have its higher-crime areas and we'd like to avoid the worst of those.

If anyone has any recommendations for areas to avoid when looking for a home to buy, I'd appreciate it and we can start to narrow down our list.

I know I'll be able to tell more when we make our buying trip out there - bad neighborhoods tend to have their own tell-tale signs, and we're always comfortable approaching the police department, too, to ask their advice.

Schools are not overly important as we homeschool, but of course a horrible school district affects resale value so is of some interest to us for that reason.

Commute traffic is not an issue, we have a home-based business and can avoid high-traffic times of day.

Thanks!

[RiverView]

Originally Posted by genteelhart

Hello all - as our Move to Tennesee adventure continues, we're looking at Cleveland and Athens and would also like to consider Chattanooga.

"Big City" isn't necessarily our favorite style, but it does come with some perks that may tempt us to buy there.

Looking through the MLS there are a good number of good-looking listings for our modest budget - obviously Chattanooga like any city will have its higher-crime areas and we'd like to avoid the worst of those.

If anyone has any recommendations for areas to avoid when looking for a home to buy, I'd appreciate it and we can start to narrow down our list.

I know I'll be able to tell more when we make our buying trip out there - bad neighborhoods tend to have their own tell-tale signs, and we're always comfortable approaching the police department, too, to ask their advice.

Schools are not overly important as we homeschool, but of course a horrible school district affects resale value so is of some interest to us for that reason.

Commute traffic is not an issue, we have a home-based business and can avoid high-traffic times of day.

Thanks!

What types of areas are you looking for and what price range? Urban, Rural, Subdivisions, Close to Downtown, smaller communities?

[genteelhart]

We're looking for a neighborhood where shootings, muggings, and significant property crime are considered somewhat unusual events, not expected daily or weekly or even monthly happenings.

Other than that, we're flexible, so I'm trying to figure out where NOT to buy more than where TO buy.

Once we're out there, we can better narrow down what we like about each neighborhood, and if I can eliminate some of the contenders in advance because there are weekly shootings there, that would be awesome.

[peppermint]

Well, I'm biased. We live in Harrison - off of Harrison Bay Road, and we love it. We have a little bit of land (~4 acres). It's quiet and our biggest problem is woodchucks burrowing in our barn. Life is good.

[RiverView]

Originally Posted by genteelhart

We're looking for a neighborhood where shootings, muggings, and significant property crime are considered somewhat unusual events, not expected daily or weekly or even monthly happenings.

Other than that, we're flexible, so I'm trying to figure out where NOT to buy more than where TO buy.

Once we're out there, we can better narrow down what we like about each neighborhood, and if I can eliminate some of the contenders in advance because there are weekly shootings there, that would be awesome.

Some areas of town you may want to focus on because of the things you mentioned are:

North Chattanooga, Signal Mountain, Lookout Mountain, Hixson, Soddy Daisy, E Brainerd, Collegedale, Ooltewah.

[genteelhart]

Originally Posted by peppermint

Well, I'm biased. We live in Harrison - off of Harrison Bay Road, and we love it. We have a little bit of land (~4 acres). It's quiet and our biggest problem is woodchucks burrowing in our barn. Life is good.

Hey, and we have a Jack Russell terrier who would be glad to take care of any woodchucks we might encounter!

I know overall we're just going to need to make a list off the MLS and start driving neighborhoods, day and night.

My husband is retired law enforcement, so he knows even better than the average house-shopper what to look for as far as "problem areas" and of course we'll check with the PD, too.

[movintonooga]

Signal Mountain has barely any crime and has a great homeschool network, including a theater group, science and history fairs, group field trips, etc. And it's one of the friendliest small towns I've ever experienced!

[peppermint]

Originally Posted by genteelhart

Hey, and we have a Jack Russell terrier who would be glad to take care of any woodchucks we might encounter!

I know overall we're just going to need to make a list off the MLS and start driving neighborhoods, day and night.

My husband is retired law enforcement, so he knows even better than the average house-shopper what to look for as far as "problem areas" and of course we'll check with the PD, too.

Yeah, the woodchucks aren't intimidated by our house cats! hahaha

I wouldn't dismiss Harrison either. There are people on the forums and in town who don't give much credit to our area, but it's nice, rural, and quiet. It feels like a long way out, but it only takes 15 minutes to get to 153 and you pass banks, grocery stores, restaurants, and a Goodwill! to get there. No malls or Super Walmarts out here = much less traffic.