relocating to either Chattanooga or Knoxville (Ooltewah, Pigeon Forge: crime, new house, job market)

[wisconsingirl66]

My husband, and I and our two small children are thinking of relocating to either the Chattanooga area or Knoxville and was wondering which of the two areas are better. Our kids are 4 and 2 so we would need good schools, the job markets looks promising in both cities for jobs for my husband. We are coming to visit in June to see if it something we really would like to do.

any info on either area would be great. Thanks.

[littleelvis]

Originally Posted by wisconsingirl66

My husband, and I and our two small children are thinking of relocating to either the Chattanooga area or Knoxville and was wondering which of the two areas are better. Our kids are 4 and 2 so we would need good schools, the job markets looks promising in both cities for jobs for my husband. We are coming to visit in June to see if it something we really would like to do.

any info on either area would be great. Thanks.

My wife and I and our 3 kids chose Chattanooga. We visited the area last year in June and we like the feel of the Chattanooga area better. Knoxville and the surrounding area is nice but I would not like to live there but that is my opinion. It is a very big tourist town.

We just closed on our house and we are moving to Ooltewah in 3 weeks. The schools seem to be nice but can't speak from experience yet. Can't wait for the warmer weather and milder winters.

I am sure someone has more info for you. Good Luck.

[wisconsingirl66]

Thanks for the reply. I think my husband is leaning more towards the Chattanooga area and I was looking at houses in that area and it seems more family friendly then Racine. We are going to Chattanooga in June and will make more decisions then.
Can I ask does crime seem to be as bad as it seems when you read these message boards?

[nb1968]

Knoxville has bad air quality. Equal to Los Angeles, and getting worse. This is according to the residents there.
Knoxville is slightly larger, and offers a bit more urban stuff, . . . but crime is worse, and Chattanooga is a MUCH nicer city. Also, Chattanooga has more "old money" (as seen by the venues downtown where they come to spend it) and this is a GOOD thing. Chattanooga has more amenities and nicer scenery.
ALSO, believe it or not, Chattanooga is more centrally located. It is closer to Atlanta and Nashville. 2 hrs or less to either.
Chattanooga over Knoxville anyday, unless your job offers you 150k more to put up with Knoxville.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by littleelvis

It is a very big tourist town.

Curious as to what makes it seem like a tourist town to you? Does it seem that way because it's close to Gatlinburg?
I don't live there but go to visit my son in school and I've never really thought about it as a touristy kind of place. College town for sure, but never really thought of it as a place I'd want to visit for a vacation destination, etc.
OTOH it seems like the kind of place it would be nice to live in, especially some of the areas on the outskirts that I've seen.

[littleelvis]

Originally Posted by wisconsingirl66

Thanks for the reply. I think my husband is leaning more towards the Chattanooga area and I was looking at houses in that area and it seems more family friendly then Racine. We are going to Chattanooga in June and will make more decisions then.
Can I ask does crime seem to be as bad as it seems when you read these message boards?

I live in Kenosha so I think I can give you a good idea of what we have experienced. Living between Milwaukee and Chicago my whole life I can say that the crime that is reported in Chattanooga is less then what I am used to. That being said for a city of around 170K it is more than what I am used to seeing in cities similar in size.

We are not living in Chattanooga but outside of it in a town called Ooltewah where there does not seem to be as much of a problem. As with any town there are bad parts that you should stay away from.

If you are going to be looking at new houses when you visit you will find one thing very strange. (at least we did) A lot of new construction houses are open to go into anytime. It was nice to look at new neighborhoods and be able to walk in many houses without having to schedule appointments.

Hope this helps. Feel free to IM me if you have any further questions. We are moving in 3 weeks so I can you let you know what our experiences have been.

[littleelvis]

Originally Posted by DubbleT

Curious as to what makes it seem like a tourist town to you? Does it seem that way because it's close to Gatlinburg?
I don't live there but go to visit my son in school and I've never really thought about it as a touristy kind of place. College town for sure, but never really thought of it as a place I'd want to visit for a vacation destination, etc.
OTOH it seems like the kind of place it would be nice to live in, especially some of the areas on the outskirts that I've seen.

You are right. Thanks for the clarification. We stayed in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area so that is more where I was coming from.

[Jon F Moss]

May I suggest checking out this thread: https://www.city-data.com/forum/chatt...ce-please.html

We asked ourselves the same question before moving to TN: Chattanooga or Knoxville?

[wisconsingirl66]

Thanks for all the information. It seems like Chattanooga seems to be more of what we are looking for.
A few more questions:
Jon, Do you still love living in Chattanooga?
What are the property taxes like?
We are taking a vacation in Chattanooga in June, so I am going to be checking out some of the areas, and hopefully have the information we need to make a decision.

[littleelvis]

Originally Posted by wisconsingirl66

Thanks for all the information. It seems like Chattanooga seems to be more of what we are looking for.
A few more questions:
Jon, Do you still love living in Chattanooga?
What are the property taxes like?
We are taking a vacation in Chattanooga in June, so I am going to be checking out some of the areas, and hopefully have the information we need to make a decision.

Property taxes are nothing compared to what I'm used to in Wisconsin. My property taxes on our home in WI were $6500 year on $300K house. We just bought a 280K house and taxes are $1800. Although if you live in the city of Chattanooga you have to pay city and county taxes which will double your tax liability. So it would be around $3600 in the city of Chattanooga.