7 ms·

Calling all Geeks: Chattanooga Pays Techies to Relocate

23 points by codegeek 14y ago

ntkachov 14y ago
They are asking for quite a bit but they are paying very little. Their relocation payout is $1250. For many of the big companies they pay their interns more to relocate. Asking for top tech talent to move for $11,250 is little more than a signing bonus. This plan will get them two kinds of people, people already thinking of moving to Cahttanooga, and people who need the money.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- Snackchez 14y ago
  Correction, a third kind: techies who rock climb. Chattanooga has epic bouldering.
  - waterlesscloud 14y ago
    And caving. Lots and lots and lots of caves.
- waterlesscloud 14y ago
  What this is really about, to spell it out, is to attract people who already want to move to a small town. It's aimed at people who are already headed towards that goal, for whatever personal reason they may have, and it's saying "Pick our small town out of the hundreds you might otherwise pick". From that viewpoint, it's not a bad deal.
waterlesscloud 14y ago
"Another goal of Geek Move is to revitalize the eight neighborhoods where Geek Movers may purchase their new primary homes" I'd be curious just how much these neighborhoods need to be revitalized. On the plus side, real estate in a "revitalizing" part of Chattanooga should be very cheap, so $10k might be a substantial percentage of the home price. Chattanooga is a decent little town. Living overlooking the river or on the mountainsides would be nice. Or maybe in the smallish downtown area. Other parts of town would be a lot less appealing to me personally. I note you have to be more than 50 miles away, which makes it perfect for siphoning off talent from Atlanta and its suburbs.
crowbar 14y ago
I live in Knoxville and while I love living here, finding tech positions at decent pay is difficult. The cost of living is lower and many firms here take advantage of that to an insulting degree. I can imagine it being similar nearby in Chattanooga. If I was planning to move to Chattanooga, the payout would nice small bonus, but that's about it.
- iamdave 14y ago
  many firms here take advantage of that to an insulting degree I found that to be the case throughout a lot of the Blue Ridge area, when I lived there. To a greater extent, unless you're heading to larger metropolis areas like Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Columbia or Charleston, what you've said is 100% true throughout much of the Southeast. Outside of larger cities, firms don't like to pay much. It's why I hightailed it to Austin two years ago and haven't looked back except holiday visits to family.
  - rwg 14y ago
    It's even worse if you're in a small college town — you're competing against fresh grads who will work for pizza and Coke, as well as not-so-fresh grads who will take a huge pay cut just to return to party town. http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/314846 http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/314846
- steverb 14y ago
  Awesome, another Knoxvillain on HN. I feared I was the only one. Decent pay here in Knoxville isn't all that difficult, but you do have to hustle and build up a bit of a name for yourself before you can reasonably expect to pull in anything, and it won't approach SV rates. Oh, and you pretty much have to be a .NET developer, although there is some demand for Java and a tiny bit of demand building for Ruby and Python. Feel free to drop me a line (email is in my profile) and maybe we can help each other out.
- Xcelerate 14y ago
  Another HN'er in Knoxville here. I'm a grad student at UT. I really like the Knoxville area (more than Atlanta -- where I was) and am curious about what sort of technical jobs are in the area. I'd kind of like to stay here and find a good engineering position, but I'm concerned that since the COL is so low (=> low starting salary when I graduate) that it may be better to get a job in a big city first and then move back here later.
jefflinwood 14y ago
I like the idea, but I'm not sure the money's quite enough motivation for most techies - I think the offer would be more appealing if it was sweetened with free co-working space, tech classes, or something similar. For reference, here is a Zillow link that shows all the 3 bed/2 bath houses built since 1900 in the area shown on their map - I'm not sure that all of these are in the neighborhoods to be revitalized. The prices seem pretty reasonable to me (I live in Austin, TX which also has no state income tax) - homes in the $50,000 to $250,000 range. http://bit.ly/VCbXK3 http://bit.ly/VCbXK3 The way the payout is structured, it's effectively $3,333/year for three years plus a one-time $1,250 payment. That's not enough for any developers I know to uproot and effectively move out of their professional/personal networks. Anyone here live in Chattanooga?
- ktsmith 14y ago
  Looks like a pretty weak offer. The relocation payment is very small. The pay in TN is quite a bit lower than I would expect given the cost of living. The crime rates are nearly double places like San Francisco. I can't find a list of the neighborhoods that the down payment can be used in. Are they even places anyone would want to live?
- RMacy 14y ago
  I used to live in Chattanooga, and recently moved to Nashville. Not much going on there... EDIT: Also the crime rates are pretty high, and traffic is terrible. But downtown is really quaint. Lots of homeless roaming around downtown though. I probably wouldn't suggest the move, you give up a lot in the community and professional development space for a few bucks.
droithomme 14y ago
Speaking as someone who has spent a few months there. Unfortunately Chattanooga is not a very good location for free thinkers or people that are not comfortable in a very fundamentalist environment. Average IQ in the area is not high. Not saying people shouldn't do this but do not underestimate the cultural clash, it's like going to a foreign country. $1250 won't cover much moving expenses, shipping my car across country cost my employer $3000 during my last move, the moving fees were around $15,000 and I don't have as much stuff as most people. The forgivable second mortage is rather limited as you have to choose from certain less desirable neighborhoods that the city wants to "revitalize". Outsiders looking for property will be shafted by local real estate developers. I strongly recommend anyone considering buying a property in Chattanooga review the property sales record history for the houses they look at. They are available on line and at the courthouse. You may be very surprised to find that the house the bible quoting agent says is a steal at $400,000 sold for $50,000 only two years ago. Renting is not an unreasonable choice instead, and at least you have your choice of neighborhoods rather than being corralled into certain ones with a surplus of properties owned by local insiders trying to get rid of them. The city should not be paying for relocation and mortgages anyway. If companies want people to relocate it is a matter of course that they must pay full relocation, with no excuses. Expecting local government to subsidize necessary business expenses is not a reasonable expectation. Companies that can not afford normal business expenses like paying relocation costs of specialized and critical talent should stop complaining that they can not find the right people. Most likely they should not be in business to begin with as it is clear they are unable to generate enough revenue selling products to stay in business. Government taxing the populace to subsidize businesses that can not manage to cover normal business costs is a questionable economic strategy that likely does more harm than good in the long run. This part of the cited article got my attention: > The smart grid is also being used for security purposes, with police cars able to access surveillance video from public areas. If there’s suspicious activity in a park or downtown, officers across town can instantly flood the problem area with lights. > That technology is in place in one third of the city this year and will increase over the next few years, Marston said. The city is obviously bragging about this because they think it makes their newly created surveillance state seem like the latest in high tech wizardry and a signal that they are technologically advanced. It actually highlights something of the opposite. An announcement that the city had set up public wifi, set aside parkland that wasn't football related, established bike lanes, or had implemented a gifted program for students in the schools would be more indicative of a good place to live for adult engineers and other creative and knowledge workers. Finally, a Geek is a Circus worker who bites the heads off of live chickens. For decades it was used as a severe insult, often preceding a beatdown by jocks. The term has been reclaimed by creative intellectuals among themselves, but is always a term of derision on some level when used by those outside this group, comparable to the n word with african americans and the d and f words in the gay and lesbian communities. Programs such as "Hunt the Geek" I find to be intrinsically insulting and disrespectful. All this said and in closing, Chattanooga is not a bad city all told, and there are plenty worse places. Chattanooga has one of the nicest aquariums in the region, and has great rock climbing and hiking trails in the area. It's also within weekend trip distance of Atlanta, which can be a really fun city to visit with excellent restaurants and events. If considering this offer, go because you get a good employment offer and like the area and not because of the $1250 moving subsidy with a number of conditions. Also go with your eyes open and do not purchase any property until you understand how the local real estate market works, and realizing there is a substantial chance you will end up underwater and unable to sell and leave if you choose poorly.
spqr 14y ago
Good for Chattanooga. My former employer bought a company there several years ago necessitating me traveling there about 10 times per year. Nice views, decent weather, clean city. Still hated traveling there though for some reason.

23 points by codegeek 14y ago

They are asking for quite a bit but they are paying very little. Their relocation payout is $1250. For many of the big companies they pay their interns more to relocate. Asking for top tech talent to move for $11,250 is little more than a signing bonus. This plan will get them two kinds of people, people already thinking of moving to Cahttanooga, and people who need the money.

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
Snackchez 14y ago
Correction, a third kind: techies who rock climb. Chattanooga has epic bouldering.
- waterlesscloud 14y ago
  And caving. Lots and lots and lots of caves.
waterlesscloud 14y ago
What this is really about, to spell it out, is to attract people who already want to move to a small town. It's aimed at people who are already headed towards that goal, for whatever personal reason they may have, and it's saying "Pick our small town out of the hundreds you might otherwise pick". From that viewpoint, it's not a bad deal.

waterlesscloud 14y ago

"Another goal of Geek Move is to revitalize the eight neighborhoods where Geek Movers may purchase their new primary homes" I'd be curious just how much these neighborhoods need to be revitalized. On the plus side, real estate in a "revitalizing" part of Chattanooga should be very cheap, so $10k might be a substantial percentage of the home price. Chattanooga is a decent little town. Living overlooking the river or on the mountainsides would be nice. Or maybe in the smallish downtown area. Other parts of town would be a lot less appealing to me personally. I note you have to be more than 50 miles away, which makes it perfect for siphoning off talent from Atlanta and its suburbs.

crowbar 14y ago

I live in Knoxville and while I love living here, finding tech positions at decent pay is difficult. The cost of living is lower and many firms here take advantage of that to an insulting degree. I can imagine it being similar nearby in Chattanooga. If I was planning to move to Chattanooga, the payout would nice small bonus, but that's about it.

iamdave 14y ago
many firms here take advantage of that to an insulting degree I found that to be the case throughout a lot of the Blue Ridge area, when I lived there. To a greater extent, unless you're heading to larger metropolis areas like Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Columbia or Charleston, what you've said is 100% true throughout much of the Southeast. Outside of larger cities, firms don't like to pay much. It's why I hightailed it to Austin two years ago and haven't looked back except holiday visits to family.
- rwg 14y ago
  It's even worse if you're in a small college town — you're competing against fresh grads who will work for pizza and Coke, as well as not-so-fresh grads who will take a huge pay cut just to return to party town. http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/314846 http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/314846
steverb 14y ago
Awesome, another Knoxvillain on HN. I feared I was the only one. Decent pay here in Knoxville isn't all that difficult, but you do have to hustle and build up a bit of a name for yourself before you can reasonably expect to pull in anything, and it won't approach SV rates. Oh, and you pretty much have to be a .NET developer, although there is some demand for Java and a tiny bit of demand building for Ruby and Python. Feel free to drop me a line (email is in my profile) and maybe we can help each other out.
Xcelerate 14y ago
Another HN'er in Knoxville here. I'm a grad student at UT. I really like the Knoxville area (more than Atlanta -- where I was) and am curious about what sort of technical jobs are in the area. I'd kind of like to stay here and find a good engineering position, but I'm concerned that since the COL is so low (=> low starting salary when I graduate) that it may be better to get a job in a big city first and then move back here later.

jefflinwood 14y ago

I like the idea, but I'm not sure the money's quite enough motivation for most techies - I think the offer would be more appealing if it was sweetened with free co-working space, tech classes, or something similar. For reference, here is a Zillow link that shows all the 3 bed/2 bath houses built since 1900 in the area shown on their map - I'm not sure that all of these are in the neighborhoods to be revitalized. The prices seem pretty reasonable to me (I live in Austin, TX which also has no state income tax) - homes in the $50,000 to $250,000 range. http://bit.ly/VCbXK3 http://bit.ly/VCbXK3 The way the payout is structured, it's effectively $3,333/year for three years plus a one-time $1,250 payment. That's not enough for any developers I know to uproot and effectively move out of their professional/personal networks. Anyone here live in Chattanooga?

ktsmith 14y ago
Looks like a pretty weak offer. The relocation payment is very small. The pay in TN is quite a bit lower than I would expect given the cost of living. The crime rates are nearly double places like San Francisco. I can't find a list of the neighborhoods that the down payment can be used in. Are they even places anyone would want to live?
RMacy 14y ago
I used to live in Chattanooga, and recently moved to Nashville. Not much going on there... EDIT: Also the crime rates are pretty high, and traffic is terrible. But downtown is really quaint. Lots of homeless roaming around downtown though. I probably wouldn't suggest the move, you give up a lot in the community and professional development space for a few bucks.

droithomme 14y ago

Speaking as someone who has spent a few months there. Unfortunately Chattanooga is not a very good location for free thinkers or people that are not comfortable in a very fundamentalist environment. Average IQ in the area is not high. Not saying people shouldn't do this but do not underestimate the cultural clash, it's like going to a foreign country. $1250 won't cover much moving expenses, shipping my car across country cost my employer $3000 during my last move, the moving fees were around $15,000 and I don't have as much stuff as most people. The forgivable second mortage is rather limited as you have to choose from certain less desirable neighborhoods that the city wants to "revitalize". Outsiders looking for property will be shafted by local real estate developers. I strongly recommend anyone considering buying a property in Chattanooga review the property sales record history for the houses they look at. They are available on line and at the courthouse. You may be very surprised to find that the house the bible quoting agent says is a steal at $400,000 sold for $50,000 only two years ago. Renting is not an unreasonable choice instead, and at least you have your choice of neighborhoods rather than being corralled into certain ones with a surplus of properties owned by local insiders trying to get rid of them. The city should not be paying for relocation and mortgages anyway. If companies want people to relocate it is a matter of course that they must pay full relocation, with no excuses. Expecting local government to subsidize necessary business expenses is not a reasonable expectation. Companies that can not afford normal business expenses like paying relocation costs of specialized and critical talent should stop complaining that they can not find the right people. Most likely they should not be in business to begin with as it is clear they are unable to generate enough revenue selling products to stay in business. Government taxing the populace to subsidize businesses that can not manage to cover normal business costs is a questionable economic strategy that likely does more harm than good in the long run. This part of the cited article got my attention: > The smart grid is also being used for security purposes, with police cars able to access surveillance video from public areas. If there’s suspicious activity in a park or downtown, officers across town can instantly flood the problem area with lights. > That technology is in place in one third of the city this year and will increase over the next few years, Marston said. The city is obviously bragging about this because they think it makes their newly created surveillance state seem like the latest in high tech wizardry and a signal that they are technologically advanced. It actually highlights something of the opposite. An announcement that the city had set up public wifi, set aside parkland that wasn't football related, established bike lanes, or had implemented a gifted program for students in the schools would be more indicative of a good place to live for adult engineers and other creative and knowledge workers. Finally, a Geek is a Circus worker who bites the heads off of live chickens. For decades it was used as a severe insult, often preceding a beatdown by jocks. The term has been reclaimed by creative intellectuals among themselves, but is always a term of derision on some level when used by those outside this group, comparable to the n word with african americans and the d and f words in the gay and lesbian communities. Programs such as "Hunt the Geek" I find to be intrinsically insulting and disrespectful. All this said and in closing, Chattanooga is not a bad city all told, and there are plenty worse places. Chattanooga has one of the nicest aquariums in the region, and has great rock climbing and hiking trails in the area. It's also within weekend trip distance of Atlanta, which can be a really fun city to visit with excellent restaurants and events. If considering this offer, go because you get a good employment offer and like the area and not because of the $1250 moving subsidy with a number of conditions. Also go with your eyes open and do not purchase any property until you understand how the local real estate market works, and realizing there is a substantial chance you will end up underwater and unable to sell and leave if you choose poorly.

spqr 14y ago

Good for Chattanooga. My former employer bought a company there several years ago necessitating me traveling there about 10 times per year. Nice views, decent weather, clean city. Still hated traveling there though for some reason.