Tell me about Chattanooga (East Brainerd, Red Bank: for sale, affordable apartments, rent)

[CleanCutHippie]

I am 30 yrs old, single, currently from NY and looking to move to a places less crowded, has lots of nature and outdoor activities as well as a bit of Southern Charm. I have a few questions...

1.) Living here in the NY suburbs I have seen every single solitary peace of available space be built on and I dont want to move somewhere that is too popular only to watch nature be destroyed by greedy developers. Is Chattanooga being built up very quickly?

2.) What are the best areas to look for nice affordable apartments?

[JMT]

I hope some people will help the OP. I referred him to Chattanooga in a post he made in the General U.S. forum so I guess I feel kind of responsible. I think Chattanooga is exactly what he's looking for, but I'm afraid I don't know enough about Chattanooga's neighborhoods to give him more specific info.

Here's the original thread that sent him to Chattanooga:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/gener...es-nature.html

[Jon F Moss]

Originally Posted by CleanCutHippie

I am 30 yrs old, single, currently from NY and looking to move to a places less crowded, has lots of nature and outdoor activities as well as a bit of Southern Charm. I have a few questions...

1.) Living here in the NY suburbs I have seen every single solitary peace of available space be built on and I dont want to move somewhere that is too popular only to watch nature be destroyed by greedy developers. Is Chattanooga being built up very quickly?

2.) What are the best areas to look for nice affordable apartments?

we have what you're looking for, but the question is are you ready for it? moving from nyc to a tier III city is a big change. also, understand that there is growth happening (in some areas more than others). however, the city is moving to buy up select pieces of land so as to preserve them (rather than sit by and watch developers ruin the landscape) Tennessee, TPL Will Preserve Stringer's Ridge Property (TN) : The Trust for Public Land (http://www.tpl.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=22608&folder_id=670 - broken link)

there are decent affordable apartment complexes on Mountain Creek Rd out in Red Bank. however, a young, single guy like yourself may desire to be closer to scene in downtown, or the hip north shore or the shabby chic southside.

recommend you come down for a visit, and check things out for yourself (if serious)

[SPLIT]

C.C.H.: Ex-Troy / POughkepsie here. I have 26 MILES of preserved Trust mountain land here for you . Tennessee River Gorge Trust
.Along the river ,West side of the city is called "Grand Canyon of the East ".
This should answer your development comment.

[CleanCutHippie]

Thank You, I passed through Chattanooga a few months ago and loved the mountains. It will be a big change for me, but big change is what I am looking for.

[u4icmusic]

Chattanooga was built out years ago. Most of the new construction is in Hamilton County in Ooltewah, East Brainerd and Hixson. There is new construction in the city of Chattanooga, but mostly to replace slums that were torn down. Throughout downtown, there are vacant lots for sale where houses once stood. This would be very urban living. The areas I mentioned above are more suburban or rural in nature. It's best to rent for a while before buying so you can get a feel for the city.

[BlueCuzco]

This will likely be pretty disorganized, but here are some general thoughts:

Urban sprawl is a problem here, though not much more than any other city. It's not wonderful to live with, but it's not terrible, either. The Trust for Public Land and the city government are working hard to preserve land and build green ways. Though there is over development, a large protected area is always close by. They opened a new section of green way along South Chickamauga Creek just the other day. On the long term, I think things will improve.

Because of its location on the eastern fringe of the Cumberland Plateau, Chatt is a truly a wonderful place to enjoy the outdoors. There are tons of amazing (big) parks just a short drive from downtown (as little as ten minutes) like Cloudland Canyon, the military parks, the Tennessee River Gorge, Reflection Riding, Prentice Cooper, Elsie Holmes, and Audubon Acres, not too mention that large natural areas on the main Plateau as well as the Smokies are only an hour or two away. There isn't an outdoor sport that you can't do in Chattanooga. Outdoor Chattanooga is building a new headquarters in Coolidge Park that is opening soon, and that will likely make it even easier to get outdoors in Chattanooga.

So yeah, we're plauged by poor urban planning (green ways have been seen by some to be a socialist threat, lol), but there is a lot of greenspace left and a big effort to keep it that way and to make it accessible to urban areas. It's pretty exciting.

For some perspective, remember than in the 1970's Chattanooga was the most polluted city in the United States and in the 1980's downtown was a dead zone as far as tourism, public space, resturants, and such go. In just a few decades we've beomce one of the top ecotourism destinations in the US and have been named the third best US city to live in by Relocate America. I see the trend continuing.

[maryelam]

BlueCuzco is correct that the city of Chattanooga is built out. Ooltewah and its neighbor, Collegedale, are nice residential areas just east of Chattanooga, about 15 minutes drive to the largest mall in Tennessee, Hamilton Place mall. You can find homes for sale and apartments for rent for a wide range of prices in this area.

[MountainAire]

You want a big change and live in the mountains? Come visit. I have the best scenery and unspoiled enviorment in the world up here. Just be very prepared for culture shock. Where I live in the mountains north of Chattanooga and we have mule teams going up and down the roads daily usually with drunks driving them too while banjo pickin badly. Good thing the mules always know their way home. There are real stills in progress all over the place among other interesting plant growth. Our 911 doesn't always promply answer the phone if they are busy drinking coffee or out to lunch and we have no fire department. Well, there are two left in the volunteer fire department but the engine doesn't really run and no one knows where it is.
There is no such thing as a clean cut hippie and you are too young to be one. I'm the real deal and a Woodstock survior.