Possible Relocation (Chattanooga, Red Bank, Soddy-Daisy: sales, real estate, houses)

[SMcCarthy02]

Hello everyone,


I hope that everyone had a great weekend and their Monday is starting out fantastic. I know that threads about relocation are abundant but I felt I should start my own with my own questions. I would like to discuss a possible relocation to the Chattanooga area. We are driving up for a visit this weekend and will spend all day Saturday driving around the city and the suburbs to get a feel. One year ago we relocated from the Minneapolis MN area to SW Florida (Cape Coral), we came here because my wife was offered what we thought was a great job opportunity and I purchased a business. I am not going to do to any bashing of this area because it is a fantastic area in many ways but we have learned that it is not for us or our family, we have three children 12 and under. What I would like to focus on is what we are looking for in a place to call home, we do not want to go back to MN (Frigid cold haha).
First and foremost I would like to talk about careers and what we would like to find, if possible. My wife is a registered nurse with her masters degree in nursing education. She spent the majority of her career working in behavioral health as a staff nurse and most recently here in Florida as a clinical educator. She will be looking for something along the lines of nurse education or clinical education. I have a 4 year degree in criminal justice and started down that career path but once we had children I went into sales. I am looking to stay in sales as I have over 10 years of experience in outside sales. Any help on the job market would be appreciated.
We are not city people so we would definitely like to look at the suburbs. Our criteria for that would be safe, good schools, sense of community, easy commute if needed, and affordable housing. We are very much outdoors people and love nature so I do know that the area has a lot to offer in that regard. In my research I have seen a few communities stick out, Signal Mountain, Red Bank, Hixson. Please comment on those if you can. Another thing that is important to us is our children being able to enjoy the activities that they do now. My oldest son has been playing competitive soccer for 5 years and we would like to find a good program for him. My daughter is very much into art and dance and hopefully we can find those as well.
We also understand that the area is very conservative, which we are, and is in the bible belt. If anyone can comment on religion and politics please feel free to do so. I could go on and on but I am going to stop so that I do not bore everyone to tears. Lets have a conversation about that area and I hope to learn a lot more before we visit this weekend. Thank you and have a great Monday.

[Pixelpie]

There's a great art magnet school called CCA that your child can audition for. Each student picks a major... art, dance, theatre, music etc and it's starts in junior high. You don't have to live ina specific neighborhood as they will bus children from all over Hamilton county. It's a great school and they're also academically very challenging. They only offer honor courses in high school. If your child has a flair for art it's the place to be!

Center for Creative Arts – CCA is a fine arts magnet school located in Chattanooga, TN.

I can't answer about sports as my child isn't into them...

We just moved here a year ago. We chose Ooltewah to live in... we really like it. It's an easy commute into the city for work...

Check it out if you have the chance!

[SMcCarthy02]

We were able to get up there this past weekend to get a feel for the area. My wife and kids loved the outdoor feel that it has and how friendly the people were. We were able to visit Signal Mountain, Soddy-Daisy, and some of the East Hamilton area. We really liked the quietness of Signal but not sure about living on Walden Ridge. Soddy-Daisy seems pretty rural, at least the part that we were in but had a good feel as well. We could tell the East Hamilton area was busier but its very close to shopping and everything. How long does the commute from Ooltewah take during the week?

[SPLIT]

We moved up from FLA 11 years ago , & just built our 2nd house in Soddy Daisy area..... Can not give exact kids / school advise as we are more retired age.. Your questions are really real estate agent current concerns... There is a new Hamilton county school head this month , so time will tell if scores improve... Signal mtn is trying to break away & form their own district.. One would thing this is more expensive & taxes should rise.... There is CITY TAXES to pay about half way up Hamilton county , close to the county park CHESTER FROST line in Hixson.. This might be a budget question for family. ? City job location,, we see the same question each month.. Erlanger has a big hospital downtown, is this your wife job location. ? Many other hospitals in Hixson area.. Traffic along that I-75 keeps getting more crowded each year with the industrial parks,,, Truck Semi accidents can snarl few times each week... Soon there will be a INLAND PORT terminal to off load train to -Semi access ......

[SMcCarthy02]

Thank you for the reply split. We are actually heading back up this week to explore some more and try to get a better feel for different areas. We are thinking we may like to live 30 minutes or so outside of Chattanooga in the country or at least an area where we can have an acre or 2 to start. I am meeting with a couple of prospective employers on Wednesday and my wife is looking at possibly working remote, we will not move without employment in place. Our biggest concern at this point is really schooling for the kids, I have talked to a couple of real estate agents in the area who say that it can be a challenge finding what you want in housing and also decent schools. As attractive as the schools in Signal Mountain sound we are not sure about living on Walden Ridge yet. We came to Florida from Minnesota and we were used to a very strong public education system and it does leave a little to be desired here in Florida. From what we have heard the Hamilton County Schools struggle for the most part as well, hopefully that can turn around. We are open to suggestions for areas to look at this week when we come up. I hope everyone is having a great Monday. Take Care

[SPLIT]

Good Deal on repeat visit.. Bring a bathing suit, should be a tad warm, but middle of summer..
As a general opinion, the more north one searches the house values are less , & the amount of land increases.. Hixson should have each house on 1/4 acre..Soddy area should have just under a acre.. There are now numerous One Million $$ value houses along Soddy waterfront.
. Our neighbor has a 12 yr girl that was in some sort Outdoor Academy last year in South Soddy along Dayton pike... Seemed to like that , However she now switched to the NEW school built in SALE CREEK.
Last year there was the finish of new Sale Creek Fire Station , Training center along Rt # 27. Said it was built for 50 yr expansion of our town. . You may find your land estate in this area.. We are getting a new construction boom in all sub-divisions.
. Forum features,, if one mouse clicks on a user name, it opens more choices & able to send PRIVATE MAIL ( Message) to other posters... Again we do not have young school children , but recall reading a year or 2 ago that boy & girl out of Soddy school got $ one million scholarship . Parents can really motivate.

[hannahrose1234]

Hello, We visited Soddy-Daisy/Signal Mountain. The area seems very nice. Will anyone give us more information about these two areas? Would greatly appreciate any response. We don't have children so schools are not an issue. We are retired so jobs are not an issue. We are in our early 60s. Info on healthcare, good neighborhoods, shopping/stores, would be of interest. Are there any events/activities, or an active senior center for the seniors that live there? Many thanks to anyone that can give us information.

[SPLIT]

Hanna WELCLOME,: You might have read above in this thread we retired in this town of Soddy 12 years ago.
Your best question is very active Senior center near the town lake, / little league fields, no fees to join.. printed activity monthly five days a week... Bingo on friday,, hot lunch each day $ one dollar.,, Pot luck lunch twice a month,, live music for one lunch....... Just remodeled, wheelchair friendly, library , card room , pool table, etc... They go on many bus trips also out of town, or state..

Food shopping is in two plazas there Food City ,, or a Super Walmart..... Smaller medical clinic there that I go to... Also both drug stores, and one with walk in clinic, .. Bigger hospitals are in Hixson rt # 153 along with bigger indoor Mall. Restaurants, etc... Lowes, Home Depot, etc...
Most all neighborhoods are good.... New construction houses about the $ 220 K range up to $ 410 K range. Close to one million along lake..

Pvt message mail if any other questions... Our church just had couple from Michagan relocate, and build level house. Other friends from Wisconsin are starting land cleaning on their 5 acre brow lot..