Hoping to relocate to Chattanooga. (Cleveland, Gallatin: find a job, school district, colleges)

[crabbieme]

Hello. I live in Chicago and am really considering moving to Chattanooga. I have read many of the forums and have heard so many great things. My husband of 28 years and I are ready for a change. We love hiking, kayaking and biking. That's pretty much how we spend our summers. We are just tired of the big city life, even though we really enjoy the lake and the forest preserves over here...but, that's really all we look forward to. My husband and I really love the outdoors. We feel the need to be close to mountains. We also love the water. It's our escape from the city's noise pollution. We're looking for a nice quiet setting, preferably with some land or at least a nice big yard where we can do some gardening and be able to let our dog enjoy the sun without worries.

I am a teacher assistant with the Chicago Board of Education, and would like to find a job in the same field. What are my chances? I have over 17 years of experience in the field. Of course I don't have a problem working in the local Target or Walmart if need be.


Any suggestions or input is welcomed. Thank you in advance.

[claye]

I'm moving to the Chattanooga area in May. I bought a company there and we bought a log cabin on 7 acres in sequatchie county. It's about 40 miles northwest of Chattanooga outside of Dunlap. It's the hang gliding mecca of the east from what I've seen. I also see a lot of signs that are advertising "canoe the sequatchie". There are lakes for boating in the area too. It's a really beautiful area (check out Fall Creek Falls). You may check out the Dunlap/Pikeville area if you want to be on some land in a relaxing/peaceful area. I know my family is really looking forward to it. We've spent either Christmas or Thanksgiving there for the past 7 years and can't wait to make the move once things are wrapped up in Missouri.

That said, the area I'm moving to is peaceful but it's nice to be close to Chattanooga for shopping, entertainment, etc. I also like being a half day's drive to the beach in Florida, Myrtle beach, close to Atlanta, etc. There is so much close by.

As for jobs in k-12 education check all of the suburban areas around Chattanooga like Dunlap, Pikeville, Cleveland, as well as Chattanooga k-12 schools and private schools. I would also check the colleges. They have Chattanooga State, UTC, college of medical/dental, temple, Miller-Motte, and convenant. They do have a VW plant there as well that I've heard pays pretty well.

I don't live there just yet but these are some of the things that I've found over the years staying there a week at a time, I'm sure some locals can provide many things that I don't know about the area.

Good luck,

[crabbieme]

Claye, thank you so much for your input. All the things you mentioned are exactly what I am looking forward to. I have gone through so many youtube vdeos of people enjoying the mountains down there. I visited as far as Nashville and stayed in Gallatin for a few days and absolutey fell in love with the tranquility. As silly as it sounds, I was thrilled with the sounds of the crickets. I remember hearing them as a kid here in Chicago, not so much anymore. Little things like that are important to me. Lol.

I hope your move goes well and wish you and your family the best of luck.

[juneaubound]

Here are a few links about outdoor rec. opportunities in the area.

Outdoor Chattanooga

Run in the Boonies - Chattanooga, TN

SORBA Chattanooga

Chattanooga Area Mountain Biking - Mountain Bike Trails

Kayaking and Canoeing in Tennessee - Paddling.Net

[crabbieme]

Juneaubound, thank you for the great links. I really enjoyed going through them. Have saved some in my favorites. Lol.

[claye]

I came across this link on here where someone else asked about teaching jobs in Chattanooga. This may be just what you're looking for. They have tons of classified and certified positions in their school district.

https://jobs.hcde.org/ats/app_login?COMPANY_ID=00007807

[crabbieme]

@claye- thank you so much for the link...very useful. I really appreciate it.

[Hate subzero]

Have you considered Prescott Arizona?

[crabbieme]

Hate subzero (agree with that, by the way lol.) I haven't really dug into Arizona too much because I really want to still have a slight four season location. Mostly because my husband in turn hates the heat. I've looked into the west though and always seem to come to the area around Chattanooga or souteast Tennessee. I really love the mountains and love that fact that I can be by the ocean within hours on a weekend trip if I wanted to. Lol.

Thank you though for the suggestion. It does look very beautiful there.