Living in Chattanooga

Special Thanks and Photo Acknowledgement:
Also, several copyrighted photographs of Chattanooga scenes that are used on our website are used by special permission from the photographer, Doug Barnette (www.barnettephotography.com).

Living in Chattanooga
Whether you are returning to our area or moving here for the first time, we think you'll feel at home in our little corner of the beautiful Southeast.  With Chattanooga having an advantage of cost of living and location, U.S. News and World Report recently named Chattanooga "one of the best cities in the world."  The New York Times even highlighted the charm of our city and its nightlife and restaurants.  Chattanooga was also ranked #2 of Best Towns 2008 by Outside Magazine.

Chattanooga and its surrounding metropolitan area boast a population of more than 450,000 people.  More than 10 million people live within a 150 mile radius of Chattanooga.  Over and over, ordinary Chattanoogans have come together to define what they want their community to be.  Chattanooga has enjoyed a community renaissance that has brought us national and international recognition, and more importantly, has improved the community's quality of life.  It is a transformation that was envisioned by thousands of Chattanoogans and accomplished through partnerships among individuals, governments, companies, and non-profit organizations.  The work is never done, though.  Renewing Chattanooga is an ongoing commitment that draws on more people and touches more parts of our community every year.

Low Cost of Living

Along with the low cost of living found throughout the city, numerous employment opportunities are available in banking, healthcare (e.g., Erlanger) with our extensive insurance industry (Unum and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee are both headquartered here), and national and international corporations call Chattanooga home such as McKee Foods Corporation, Volkswagon, and, of course, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).  Click here to view demographic and economic information.

Great Location

Chattanooga, located in Hamilton County, Tennessee, is the hub of a five-county Metropolitan Statistical Area (including Marion County, Tennessee, and Catoosa, Dade, and Walker Counties in Georgia) and is centered between Atlanta, Knoxville, Nashville, and Birmingham.  It is within a two to three hour drive from each of these major cities, and within a day's drive of nearly one third of the major U.S. markets and population.  Because of the city's immediate access to U.S. highways and interstates, it is the distribution center for southeast Tennessee, northwest Georgia, southwest North Carolina, northeast Alabama, and parts of other neighboring states.  In addition to all this, low crime rates and lower-than-average cost of living make Chattanooga a wonderful place to live and work.  And, the open, friendly nature of the people here make a very easy transition for those just moving into our community.  The many churches and other wonderful lifestyle amenities make Chattanooga a great place to live, work, and continue your educational pursuits.