Emily Szink, the news director for FreightWaves TV, left Omaha for Chattanooga in May, and has settled in happily with her dog NE (pronounced Enny).
"I'm very active, I love being outdoors and I hated the snow," Szink says. "I love the fact that almost any restaurant I go to I can bring my dog, I love the sunsets, I like to ride my bike a lot."
When she began considering her next career move after working as a morning anchor in local news in Omaha, Szink found the job posting at FreightWaves was intriguing. She had never been to Chattanooga, but once she checked it out, she was smitten. The relatively low cost of living, the climate and the outdoor activities were big draws. She has, however, discovered one thing she wishes were different.
Contributed photo / Emily Szink moved to Chattanooga from Omaha to work as a news director for FreightWaves.(Read more: Laws of attraction: Drawing new people to the Scenic City is key to economic growth)
"It's a great city, I love to show it off to visitors, but I wish more people my age would check it out," Szink says. "I haven't run into a lot of people who moved to Chattanooga to take a job if they weren't already here."
A few more young, single people in the mix would be great - as long as Chattanooga doesn't lose the mid-size city feel that makes it charming and livable, Szink says.
"It's not a Chicago, it's not a Dallas. You don't need to go to one of those cities to have an amazing experience and an amazing life."
Emily Szink
* Arrived: Spring 2019 from Omaha* The draw: Landed a job as news director at FreightWaves* Here for it: “It seemed like a very walkable, dog-friendly town. I’ve always wanted that.”* Less than perfect: “There aren’t a lot of single people my age.”