9 ms·

Ditch Your $2500 Rent And Come Climb The Best Rocks In The World

39 points by jhought3 13y ago

btrautsc 13y ago
As a resident of Chattanooga for 2.5 years now, I'll add for the non-rock climbers (or as myself, avoiders of altitude) that access to outdoors/ water/ nature is unbelievable in Chattanooga. Parks, the river front, multiple lakes, are all easy access - which is great for dog lovers like myself.
twog 13y ago
I just recently moved my company to Chattanooga as well. It has an incredible emerging startup scene. Check it out here http://noogastartups.com http://noogastartups.com
jstuder 13y ago
If any startups/freelancers are interested in Chattanooga, hit us up on twitter @LampPostGroup. If you can climb and code, you're in. Hungry to build an amazing business +10.
- btrautsc 13y ago
  Also check out http://www.thegigcity.com/gigtank/ http://www.thegigcity.com/gigtank/
fijal 13y ago
I like how "in The World" means "in the United States of America, in my opinion". As a rock climber, I can point out few problems: - weather, Tennesse weather is not really that good compared to places like Boulder or California - deep south, means you can't really be a foodie or god forbid vegetarian and a lot of other problems, like US visa immigration. How many of those startups are willing to sponsor H1B, even if it's possible to get one? PS. my choice of rock-climbing destination is Cape Town, South Africa, which is far off-the-way, but is definitely superior to Chattanooga for climbing. EDIT: people point out that there is decent food in south - so maybe I was just incredibly unlucky or something.
- jdminhbg 13y ago
  a) I'm not sure the actual subjective ranking of rock-climbing destinations is the point of this post. b) "deep south, means you can't really be a foodie or god forbid vegetarian" Dear lord, that's ignorant.
  - rquantz 13y ago
    I might take issue with saying that Tennessee is the deep south. Regardless, while there are plenty of foodies in the south, vegetarianism is still looked at askance. I was vegetarian for eight years, and my trips to the Alabama/Mississippi every summer were pretty challenging.
    - VLM 13y ago
      "my trips to the Alabama/Mississippi every summer were pretty challenging." Pass thru Huntsville? 20 years ago, before the "peace dividend" it was quite a hopping place. I hear Austin today is kind of like how Huntsville used to be. Has a heck of a .mil base and an excellent museum too.
  - npsimons 13y ago
    a) I'm not sure the actual subjective ranking of rock-climbing destinations is the point of this post. When you lead your article with the headline ending in "And Come Climb The Best Rocks In The World", you're going to get people commenting on that, linkbait or no.
- ZanderEarth32 13y ago
  Weather wise, it depends. Yosemite, Bishop, Joshua Tree, etc. are all too hot to climb in during the summer, or at least late summer. Is Chattanooga a different kind of heat? Dry versus humid?
  - btrautsc 13y ago
    Well, anecdotally - since I've been here I've always thought we have a longer "spring/ fall" climate than a really hot, humid summer. I would assume the elevation of the city and the Cumberland Plateau have some effect. It definitely gets hot in the mid-summer months, but not nearly as severely as other cities like Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta, even DC. Also, I think calling Chattanooga "deep south" would be a severe misnomer.
keiferski 13y ago
It still boggles my mind that people pay $2k-3k per month for a tiny apartment in NYC or SF. You buy a decent house in Pittsburgh for what 2-3 years of rent in SF will get you. I'm sure Chattanooga is similar to Pittsburgh in terms of what 100k buys. I love NYC, and SF is startup mecca, but on paper it just makes me question whether it's worth it.
- btrautsc 13y ago
  Bought a bungalow here on very lean startup salary. Mortgage significantly less than avg rent in SoMa/ Mountain View. Small yard for my dogs, great school if/when have kids. Less than 1 mile from a ton of restaurants, bars/taverns, whole foods. Great life for a mid-20's person and still get to travel often.
  - ardit33 13y ago
    Don't want to diss you or anything, but as a European I find bungalows (usually in track row hosing) depressing. Also, less than a mile is not really close. To me close is something that is within a block, that I can just walk within 5 mins. I live in NYC now, (east village), and there are about 100s of restaurant's, shops, bars, cafes just within 5 minutes walk. The diversity is ridiculous. (I don't think anywhere in the world you find so many kinds of nationalities and cousines in one place).
    - btrautsc 13y ago
      No diss taken, Sir. We may be thinking of the same type of house, perhaps not? But no matter. I love NYC, and have visited 3x this year. It is an amazing place. I'd say that Chattanooga will not be comparable in almost any metric - # of X, density, variety. I think for many living in American cities other than NYC, SF, downtown Chicago/ Boston/ DC/ ATL/ Seattle/ a few others - being able to live, walk, eat, get groceries is fairly unusual. Especially for a relative low cost with decent-to-high quality of housing.
- dominotw 13y ago
  You get paid more to offset the high rent in these cities.
runnr_az 13y ago
I climb and code. Always wondered how many of us there are. It goes without saying... perpetually tempted by stuff like this. I'm not in CA -- AZ instead -- but I am a rock climber and whatnot and playing outside is a very important part of my life. It's funny to think about, how programmers are stereotyped as these fat, lazy nerds.... and while there's plenty of that around my office, a ton of us do all kinds of athletic activities. Cool to hear that as part of someone's pitch. Of course, we could make some of the claims here in PHX: easy living, great community of people running around in the mountains, cool cultural stuff, etc...
- jhought3 13y ago
  I've climbed once in Arizona. Glad to hear that you love to climb and code. If you're ever interested in visiting Chat, you've got a climbing partner.
beachstartup 13y ago
hmm. > I love California, but they don't know anything about food. i really wonder how you can say this with a straight face. http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... one ramen restaurant, across the state line. "You mean ramen doesn't always come in plastic bags?" http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=pho http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... one pho restaurant, in another city. "ewww what is this stuff in my soup" http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=sashimi&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1#find_desc=omakase http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=sashimi&find_loc=ch... one omakase sushi bar. better learn to love rainbow rolls and sweet sauce. http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=xiao%20long%20bao http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=szechuan&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1 http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=szechuan&find_loc=c... not a single decent chinese restaurant, not surprising. hope you like sweet and sour chicken and chop suey (lol) http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=carne%20asada http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... one carne asada joint, in another city. there's 3 mexican joints worth going to in the whole area. 'tacqueria' brings no results. looks like there's a local mini-chain 'mojo burrito' which is 'heads and shoulders above qdoba'... well that's a start. http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=peruvian http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... one peruvian restaurant, down the highway. seems like a decent place though. http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=indian&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=f6deef80a3f9648d http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=indian&find_loc=cha... FOUR whole indian places. i think we're getting warmer (pun intended...) http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=thai http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... lots of thai, we must be on to something here... spicy food, right? http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=caribbean&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=2ae0043be2fccfd6 http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=caribbean&find_loc=... NOPE no jerk chicken to be found anywhere. and you call yourself spice lovers... sigh. http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=bbq http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... well, if you move there, i hope you like southern food. cause that's pretty much what you're gonna be eating. it's very difficult for me to not interpret "California doesn't know anything about food" as "People with other points of view don't know anything about the things we like the most here." "hard to find quality bbq in SF or LA" or "we have great southern food" or even "californians can't handle real spice" would have flown a lot better.
deleted 13y ago
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ghc 13y ago
I've stayed in Chattanooga. I'll stick with my $3600 rent, thanks. Tennessee is a very different place from the north, and if you're from New England like me, you might find the culture shock very unpleasant. Even when I lived in Atlanta the culture shock was real, despite there being so many transplants in the city. I will make no claim as to how someone from the West, Mid-West or South would feel about Chattanooga, however. It is certainly a pretty little city, much like Boulder.
- _fs 13y ago
  Care to provide an example or two of the culture shock? From California and I've never lived in the south, let alone visited.
  - gaustin 13y ago
    Unabashed racism, homophobia and jingoism. Most people I've gotten to know there start out super friendly and then repugnant beliefs start to emerge as we've become more familiar. I've heard similar stories from other transplants. eta: I'm not saying this is a universal problem with the south. I'm just saying that I've noticed it there far more often than in other places I've lived and traveled.
  - munin 13y ago
    in the south, i have had way more people scream homophobic epithets at me on the street. not sure why because i'm heterosexual, and one time a car full of old women screamed a lesbian-focused epithet at myself and my wife while we were walking hand in hand. i grew up in the south and i have no idea what southern hospitality means. where i lived, the running joke about southern hospitality was that <ethnic group> would hear the sound of you reloading before you opened fire. if you're nerved out when surrounded by a bunch of well-armed, perpetually drunk, ill mannered, poorly educated and xenophobic people, i would not recommend moving to the south.
  - ghc 13y ago
    I think that there is an element of California (inland) that you would recognize as similar to elements of the South (mega churches, militant anti-abortion sentiment, amazing amounts of poverty). You might just be shocked at the level of homophobia, however. When I lived in Atlanta I worked with a couple who once confided that they had enough scary experiences that they quickly told everyone they were sisters when traveling outside of Atlanta.
ebiester 13y ago
I have to bring up the same thing on many of these... But what if you're not white, straight, and Christian? How far can you venture outside of Chattanooga and still feel safe? Can I hold hands with my boyfriend in public and not feel uncomfortable? I may not have marriage today where I live, but it's coming soon. How long is it until I get the same in the South? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/mar/05/poll-62-percent-tennessee-against-gay-marriage/ http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/mar/05/poll-62-perce... -- For that matter, am I going to have hassle seeing my boyfriend if he's in the hospital because someone doesn't respect my health care power of attorney? How far do I have to travel to feel like a second class citizen? I know you like your city, but outside a certain radius, it's not very friendly for a lot of people.
binarydud 13y ago
As a resident of TN, I can say that rock climbing isn't the only outdoor activity that we have awesome access to. Within an hour and half of Chattanooga are some great whitewater kayaking spots, including the Ocoee, Rock Island, spots on the Cumberland Plateau, and several rivers in the Smoky Mountains.
hkarthik 13y ago
It's unfortunate that so many of us find inexpensive places like Chattanooga inaccessible due to cultural differences. Why is that being comfortable with living outside the straight, white, and Christian demographic basically means accepting anywhere from 2-4x the cost of living?
- nijk 13y ago
  Because the quality of life and the increased economic opportunity outweighs the capped cost of $20-$40k/yr. You can't take it with you when you go.
jasonkester 13y ago
A list of places in the world with better rock climbing than Tenessee would take a page or so, as long as you were only listing general areas and not specific crags. Limiting that list to places with sub $2000 rent wouldn't remove any of those items at all. That said, there's an important idea in there that we probably shouldn't ignore in our rush to dismiss this. The author is absolutely right that there's a lot of world out there with lots of great stuff, most of which is cheaper to live in than the San Francisco Bay Area. If you want to find the best "X" in the world, you're almost guaranteed to find it elsewhere. As it happens, I'm also living in the place with the Best Rocks In The World (Fontainebleau, France). But I've also lived on Tonsai beach, and in the Basque country, either of which could snag that title if you changed your priorities a little bit. All were great places to work remotely. We're living in the Future now. If you have a passion for climbing/surfing/outdoor whatever.., and they've got a spot where there's a bunch of it, you absolutely can go set up shop there. That's pretty nice.

39 points by jhought3 13y ago

As a resident of Chattanooga for 2.5 years now, I'll add for the non-rock climbers (or as myself, avoiders of altitude) that access to outdoors/ water/ nature is unbelievable in Chattanooga. Parks, the river front, multiple lakes, are all easy access - which is great for dog lovers like myself.

twog 13y ago

I just recently moved my company to Chattanooga as well. It has an incredible emerging startup scene. Check it out here http://noogastartups.com http://noogastartups.com

jstuder 13y ago

If any startups/freelancers are interested in Chattanooga, hit us up on twitter @LampPostGroup. If you can climb and code, you're in. Hungry to build an amazing business +10.

btrautsc 13y ago
Also check out http://www.thegigcity.com/gigtank/ http://www.thegigcity.com/gigtank/

fijal 13y ago

I like how "in The World" means "in the United States of America, in my opinion". As a rock climber, I can point out few problems: - weather, Tennesse weather is not really that good compared to places like Boulder or California - deep south, means you can't really be a foodie or god forbid vegetarian and a lot of other problems, like US visa immigration. How many of those startups are willing to sponsor H1B, even if it's possible to get one? PS. my choice of rock-climbing destination is Cape Town, South Africa, which is far off-the-way, but is definitely superior to Chattanooga for climbing. EDIT: people point out that there is decent food in south - so maybe I was just incredibly unlucky or something.

jdminhbg 13y ago
a) I'm not sure the actual subjective ranking of rock-climbing destinations is the point of this post. b) "deep south, means you can't really be a foodie or god forbid vegetarian" Dear lord, that's ignorant.
- rquantz 13y ago
  I might take issue with saying that Tennessee is the deep south. Regardless, while there are plenty of foodies in the south, vegetarianism is still looked at askance. I was vegetarian for eight years, and my trips to the Alabama/Mississippi every summer were pretty challenging.
  - VLM 13y ago
    "my trips to the Alabama/Mississippi every summer were pretty challenging." Pass thru Huntsville? 20 years ago, before the "peace dividend" it was quite a hopping place. I hear Austin today is kind of like how Huntsville used to be. Has a heck of a .mil base and an excellent museum too.
- npsimons 13y ago
  a) I'm not sure the actual subjective ranking of rock-climbing destinations is the point of this post. When you lead your article with the headline ending in "And Come Climb The Best Rocks In The World", you're going to get people commenting on that, linkbait or no.
ZanderEarth32 13y ago
Weather wise, it depends. Yosemite, Bishop, Joshua Tree, etc. are all too hot to climb in during the summer, or at least late summer. Is Chattanooga a different kind of heat? Dry versus humid?
- btrautsc 13y ago
  Well, anecdotally - since I've been here I've always thought we have a longer "spring/ fall" climate than a really hot, humid summer. I would assume the elevation of the city and the Cumberland Plateau have some effect. It definitely gets hot in the mid-summer months, but not nearly as severely as other cities like Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta, even DC. Also, I think calling Chattanooga "deep south" would be a severe misnomer.

keiferski 13y ago

It still boggles my mind that people pay $2k-3k per month for a tiny apartment in NYC or SF. You buy a decent house in Pittsburgh for what 2-3 years of rent in SF will get you. I'm sure Chattanooga is similar to Pittsburgh in terms of what 100k buys. I love NYC, and SF is startup mecca, but on paper it just makes me question whether it's worth it.

btrautsc 13y ago
Bought a bungalow here on very lean startup salary. Mortgage significantly less than avg rent in SoMa/ Mountain View. Small yard for my dogs, great school if/when have kids. Less than 1 mile from a ton of restaurants, bars/taverns, whole foods. Great life for a mid-20's person and still get to travel often.
- ardit33 13y ago
  Don't want to diss you or anything, but as a European I find bungalows (usually in track row hosing) depressing. Also, less than a mile is not really close. To me close is something that is within a block, that I can just walk within 5 mins. I live in NYC now, (east village), and there are about 100s of restaurant's, shops, bars, cafes just within 5 minutes walk. The diversity is ridiculous. (I don't think anywhere in the world you find so many kinds of nationalities and cousines in one place).
  - btrautsc 13y ago
    No diss taken, Sir. We may be thinking of the same type of house, perhaps not? But no matter. I love NYC, and have visited 3x this year. It is an amazing place. I'd say that Chattanooga will not be comparable in almost any metric - # of X, density, variety. I think for many living in American cities other than NYC, SF, downtown Chicago/ Boston/ DC/ ATL/ Seattle/ a few others - being able to live, walk, eat, get groceries is fairly unusual. Especially for a relative low cost with decent-to-high quality of housing.
dominotw 13y ago
You get paid more to offset the high rent in these cities.

runnr_az 13y ago

I climb and code. Always wondered how many of us there are. It goes without saying... perpetually tempted by stuff like this. I'm not in CA -- AZ instead -- but I am a rock climber and whatnot and playing outside is a very important part of my life. It's funny to think about, how programmers are stereotyped as these fat, lazy nerds.... and while there's plenty of that around my office, a ton of us do all kinds of athletic activities. Cool to hear that as part of someone's pitch. Of course, we could make some of the claims here in PHX: easy living, great community of people running around in the mountains, cool cultural stuff, etc...

jhought3 13y ago
I've climbed once in Arizona. Glad to hear that you love to climb and code. If you're ever interested in visiting Chat, you've got a climbing partner.

beachstartup 13y ago

hmm. > I love California, but they don't know anything about food. i really wonder how you can say this with a straight face. http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... one ramen restaurant, across the state line. "You mean ramen doesn't always come in plastic bags?" http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=pho http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... one pho restaurant, in another city. "ewww what is this stuff in my soup" http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=sashimi&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1#find_desc=omakase http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=sashimi&find_loc=ch... one omakase sushi bar. better learn to love rainbow rolls and sweet sauce. http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=xiao%20long%20bao http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=szechuan&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1 http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=szechuan&find_loc=c... not a single decent chinese restaurant, not surprising. hope you like sweet and sour chicken and chop suey (lol) http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=carne%20asada http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... one carne asada joint, in another city. there's 3 mexican joints worth going to in the whole area. 'tacqueria' brings no results. looks like there's a local mini-chain 'mojo burrito' which is 'heads and shoulders above qdoba'... well that's a start. http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=peruvian http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... one peruvian restaurant, down the highway. seems like a decent place though. http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=indian&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=f6deef80a3f9648d http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=indian&find_loc=cha... FOUR whole indian places. i think we're getting warmer (pun intended...) http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=thai http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... lots of thai, we must be on to something here... spicy food, right? http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=caribbean&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=2ae0043be2fccfd6 http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=caribbean&find_loc=... NOPE no jerk chicken to be found anywhere. and you call yourself spice lovers... sigh. http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chattanooga%2C+tn&ns=1&ls=9b344c609f9e4fdc#find_desc=bbq http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=ramen&find_loc=chat... well, if you move there, i hope you like southern food. cause that's pretty much what you're gonna be eating. it's very difficult for me to not interpret "California doesn't know anything about food" as "People with other points of view don't know anything about the things we like the most here." "hard to find quality bbq in SF or LA" or "we have great southern food" or even "californians can't handle real spice" would have flown a lot better.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

ghc 13y ago

I've stayed in Chattanooga. I'll stick with my $3600 rent, thanks. Tennessee is a very different place from the north, and if you're from New England like me, you might find the culture shock very unpleasant. Even when I lived in Atlanta the culture shock was real, despite there being so many transplants in the city. I will make no claim as to how someone from the West, Mid-West or South would feel about Chattanooga, however. It is certainly a pretty little city, much like Boulder.

_fs 13y ago
Care to provide an example or two of the culture shock? From California and I've never lived in the south, let alone visited.
- gaustin 13y ago
  Unabashed racism, homophobia and jingoism. Most people I've gotten to know there start out super friendly and then repugnant beliefs start to emerge as we've become more familiar. I've heard similar stories from other transplants. eta: I'm not saying this is a universal problem with the south. I'm just saying that I've noticed it there far more often than in other places I've lived and traveled.
- munin 13y ago
  in the south, i have had way more people scream homophobic epithets at me on the street. not sure why because i'm heterosexual, and one time a car full of old women screamed a lesbian-focused epithet at myself and my wife while we were walking hand in hand. i grew up in the south and i have no idea what southern hospitality means. where i lived, the running joke about southern hospitality was that <ethnic group> would hear the sound of you reloading before you opened fire. if you're nerved out when surrounded by a bunch of well-armed, perpetually drunk, ill mannered, poorly educated and xenophobic people, i would not recommend moving to the south.
- ghc 13y ago
  I think that there is an element of California (inland) that you would recognize as similar to elements of the South (mega churches, militant anti-abortion sentiment, amazing amounts of poverty). You might just be shocked at the level of homophobia, however. When I lived in Atlanta I worked with a couple who once confided that they had enough scary experiences that they quickly told everyone they were sisters when traveling outside of Atlanta.

ebiester 13y ago

I have to bring up the same thing on many of these... But what if you're not white, straight, and Christian? How far can you venture outside of Chattanooga and still feel safe? Can I hold hands with my boyfriend in public and not feel uncomfortable? I may not have marriage today where I live, but it's coming soon. How long is it until I get the same in the South? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/mar/05/poll-62-percent-tennessee-against-gay-marriage/ http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/mar/05/poll-62-perce... -- For that matter, am I going to have hassle seeing my boyfriend if he's in the hospital because someone doesn't respect my health care power of attorney? How far do I have to travel to feel like a second class citizen? I know you like your city, but outside a certain radius, it's not very friendly for a lot of people.

binarydud 13y ago

As a resident of TN, I can say that rock climbing isn't the only outdoor activity that we have awesome access to. Within an hour and half of Chattanooga are some great whitewater kayaking spots, including the Ocoee, Rock Island, spots on the Cumberland Plateau, and several rivers in the Smoky Mountains.

hkarthik 13y ago

It's unfortunate that so many of us find inexpensive places like Chattanooga inaccessible due to cultural differences. Why is that being comfortable with living outside the straight, white, and Christian demographic basically means accepting anywhere from 2-4x the cost of living?

nijk 13y ago
Because the quality of life and the increased economic opportunity outweighs the capped cost of $20-$40k/yr. You can't take it with you when you go.

jasonkester 13y ago

A list of places in the world with better rock climbing than Tenessee would take a page or so, as long as you were only listing general areas and not specific crags. Limiting that list to places with sub $2000 rent wouldn't remove any of those items at all. That said, there's an important idea in there that we probably shouldn't ignore in our rush to dismiss this. The author is absolutely right that there's a lot of world out there with lots of great stuff, most of which is cheaper to live in than the San Francisco Bay Area. If you want to find the best "X" in the world, you're almost guaranteed to find it elsewhere. As it happens, I'm also living in the place with the Best Rocks In The World (Fontainebleau, France). But I've also lived on Tonsai beach, and in the Basque country, either of which could snag that title if you changed your priorities a little bit. All were great places to work remotely. We're living in the Future now. If you have a passion for climbing/surfing/outdoor whatever.., and they've got a spot where there's a bunch of it, you absolutely can go set up shop there. That's pretty nice.