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My coworker from Chattanooga assures me that nobody would want to live in those neighborhoods, and that he is sending the list to friends and family to laugh ab

• impendia 15y ago
  I got curious and looked at a Google Map of the place. It seemed that the neighborhoods mentioned covered a majority of the older urban neighborhoods close to downtown. Perhaps they are indeed all hellholes. If so, I'm very glad I don't live anywhere in Chattanooga. I have never been there, and perhaps it would be idiotic for anyone to take them up on their offer. But I admire them for trying. I'd like to see more American cities succeed in reviving their urban cores. In so many places in America you have to be a half-hour commute from downtown to live in a safe neighborhood with good schools... and that's just sad.
• mbateman 15y ago
  Okay, counter-anecdote. I grew up in Chattanooga. Those neighborhoods range between fine and quite nice. Most people in Chattanooga live in the burbs, so I feel like there may be skewed perspectives as to what counts as a nice place to live. Downtown can be quite nice by urban standards. While it might not be the best place for technology in the universe, it's a very nice place to live, and I'm glad that they are incentivizing tech and making the most of their internet infrastructure. It does seem a bit gimmicky overall but the incentives might tilt it to being the best option for some talented people. Who knows.