Anyone in Ooltewah?

[Guest StorminMormon]

So my wife's work has finnaly gave her the greenlight to work from home with the kicker that she has to live at least sixty miles from the office. (Cool Springs) We live out in Chapel Hill which is only about 30 miles out, so I am really pushing her to move to the Chattanooga area. After some google-fu I am thinking the Collegdale/Ooltewah area is where it's at and have even found some pretty good houses over by the Adventist College. My questions are this:

 

1. How are the schools in the area? I have an 8 yr old, a 5 yr old, and a 4 yr old,so this is paramount.

 

2. From google earth the area seems fairly separated from the city, which I like, but how far are stores i.e Kroger, Wal Mart, Home Depot, Academy, etc. and places to eat? (Keep in mind I'm 20 minutes from Spring Hill, 35-40 from Franklin so I don't mind driving, more for the wife.)

 

3. How far does the fiber optic network reach out from Chattanooga?  I'm thinkin about puttin some FO 10-8s on the Glock and I heard those things are always falling out so I want to be able to access some in a pinch :) J/K she needs fast internet for work.

 

Obviously this will be after school ends, and we will be taking some trips to scout it out, but I want to hone my search.

 

 

[zybysco]

I can ask around about the schools. I'm pretty sure the schools are really nice, but I'll need to double check with someone more familiar with them.

Ooltewah is somewhat isolated, but it is super close to everything. It is less than ten minutes to the Hamilton place area and.maybe 20 to downtown. There are several restaurants in Ooltewah as well and they are always adding more. It is home to the slowest and worst Bojangles ever though.

[wk05]

Ooltewah is Great.  Lived there for two years and loved it.  Close to Walmart (groceries, etc.), bi-lo, etc. within 5 minutes, and anything you could ever want within 10-15 at Hamilton Place.  There/Apison/Ringgold will be the next place I find a place!  From what I have heard, schools in the area are not bad (compared to most other TN public schools)!  

[daddyo]

My father, my sister and her husband all live in Ooltewah. Mom and Dad moved to Chattanooga from the Copper Basin area about 11-12 years ago then moved to Collegedale a couple of years later when they opened Greenbriar Cove. I can tell you all about medical care for seniors, which is wonderful with some exceptions. It is very close to everything you'll need, and far enough from Chattanooga that you don't feel like you're in the city. Cleveland is not far in the other direction, and if you really want to feel like you're in the sticks, drive up to Copperhill via the River Road (along the Ocoee), which is about a 45 minute drive. Some really beautiful scenery is a stone's throw away in just about any direction. Also, gas prices tend to be lower in the area than any other place I've found on that side of the state.

 

You might want to check housing availability out on Snow Hill Road (which goes by Ooltewah HS). Beautiful area out there.

[Patton]

I am in East Brainerd, about 5 minutes away from Ooltewah. My wife was born and raised in the Owls Nest(Ooltewah). The good is that it is really convenient, the schools are probably above average, shopping and dining is great. The bad is the traffic can be heavy because they never upgraded the roads and it has gotten to the point that when they do it will be a nightmare because they waited too long. Also, you are a stones throw from Volkswagen; everyone that works there is wanting a place in Ooltewah/Collegedale and are overpaying. I don't know that the desire to live there will necessarily continue and home values may go stale; I suspect tha they already have. What is your budget for a home?

Only some of Ooltewah has Fiber Optic.

East Hamilton is the high/middle schools that you want and not Ooltewah. Ooltewah high/middle used to be great but no longer. Stay away from the Tyner area.

IMHO, the best kept secret in desirable and ultra affordable homes is the Falling Water/Soddy/Lakesite areas.

As someone else mentioned, Apison is a great area. Edited October 3, 2014 by Patton

[Garufa]

So does she have to live more than 60 miles away from Cool Springs or within 60 miles?  Ooltewah is consideraly further away than 60 miles, by like 100.

[frankmako]

ooltewah at one time was the place to live.   still is if you overlook the ooltewah high school.   several years ago they started busing from inner city area to the high school and the school now has a gang problem.   the high school is packed full with students.  they had to build a new high school in the apison area, east hamilton high school.  good school so far.  the best place to live at this time on the east side of town is the east hamilton high school area.  the other good places are hixson and soddy-daisy.  but all places have some type of problems.  pm me with your phone number for more detail info of the best places to live in the chattanooga area. 

[glowdotGlock]

I delivered a load of lead ingots to Hawker a few weeks ago. The next day I found out a plane had crashed in the field next to it. Clean town from what I saw.

[Guest StorminMormon]

For whatever reason, at her company you have to live at least sixty miles away from the office to work from home.


Also, thanks for all good info.

[blacklxcoupe]

ooltewah at one time was the place to live. still is if you overlook the ooltewah high school. several years ago they started busing from inner city area to the high school and the school now has a gang problem. the high school is packed full with students. they had to build a new high school in the apison area, east hamilton high school. good school so far. the best place to live at this time on the east side of town is the east hamilton high school area. the other good places are hixson and soddy-daisy. but all places have some type of problems. pm me with your phone number for more detail info of the best places to live in the chattanooga area.

Agreed. I graduated from Ooltewah in 08, it was rapidly declining for the reasons mentioned by frankmako. Many of the teachers left Ooltewah for East Hamilton. Ooltewah is a great area to live but, as others have said traffic is becoming a problem. I believe the Soddy schools are better than Hixson. I would look at the Apison and Soddy areas.

[Patton]

Agreed. I graduated from Ooltewah in 08, it was rapidly declining for the reasons mentioned by frankmako. Many of the teachers left Ooltewah for East Hamilton. Ooltewah is a great area to live but, as others have said traffic is becoming a problem. I believe the Soddy schools are better than Hixson. I would look at the Apison and Soddy areas.

Pretty much every teacher that was at Ooltewah during the hay day is at Soddy or East Hamilton now.

[Guest StorminMormon]

What about Signal mountain? Seems like the houses are a good 30% more but the schools look amazing. Any ideas how long it takes to get up and down ?

[Hershmeister]

What about Signal mountain? Seems like the houses are a good 30% more but the schools look amazing. Any ideas how long it takes to get up and down ?

Depends if there is snow/ice on the road [emoji33]

I used to live in a cute little craftsman era home in brainerd. Loved chattanooga - and its gotten even better. Ooltewah is nice - as others have said, close to the mall area and maybe 30 min from downtown

[Guest StorminMormon]

I bet snow or ice makes the commute really fly by

[Patton]

Signal and and even Lookout are great communities but extremely pricey. Commuting and vehicle maintenance really add to the cost of living there. I have heard but not confirmed that if you live on Signal you have to pay for your children to attend their schools otherwise they will attend in the valley. I heard it was in the neighborhood of $3k a year per student. If I had three children and was definitely send them to public schools, I would not eliminate the North Georgia area. You will pay a state income tax but some of the schools there are equivalent to some private schools.

[Pain103]

Maybe I got all confused but doesn't she have to live within 60 miles of cool springs? Unless the feds have redone the length of a mile I don't think Ooltewah will make that radius.

[Guest StorminMormon]

No, if she lives INSIDE a 60-mile radius she has to work in the office, if she lives OUTSIDE that 60 mile radius, she can work from home. Sorry for the confusion, but thanks for all the help, you guys have made for a couple long nights of Zillow/School websites/GoogleEarth :)

[Guest StorminMormon]

 If I had three children and was definitely send them to public schools, I would not eliminate the North Georgia area. You will pay a state income tax but some of the schools there are equivalent to some private schools.

 

After Googling around, I assume you are refering to Chickamauga?

[Patton]

Chickamauga is a neat little community with some very good schools, but it's tricky to find out which area will be zoned for Gordon Lee which is a great school. There is an extra cost involved but it is only like $700 per year for tuition and totolly worth it. Heritage High School is in Ringgold and one of the best schools around Chattanooga. Ringgold High School itself is not bad; I had a brother who graduated from there five years ago. Ringgold is a great community.

Most any school in Georgia will be better than the average TN school. It does cost a little more to live in GA because of state income tax and a tax on car registration. The advantage is a home that is $200k in Tennessee will only cost you 20% less in Nort Georgia.