Chatta'new'gans: Starting a family in Chattanooga after decades in Chicago

 Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / Flint and Jennifer Chaney pose for a photo at Bluebird Row Apartments in Chattanooga. The two moved to Chattanooga less than six months ago.
Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / Flint and Jennifer Chaney pose for a photo at Bluebird Row Apartments in Chattanooga. The two moved to Chattanooga less than six months ago.

Flint and Jennifer Chaney never expected they would welcome their first child to the world in Chattanooga, but they have warmed up to the idea since moving here this summer.

"We're having a nugget in the 'Nooga," Flint Chaney laughs. "We're excited about that."

Jennifer Chaney's job for a health and wellness company brought them here when her employers decided to relocate their business from Chicago. Now Flint Chaney, a freelance photographer, is rebuilding his business in Chattanooga after more than 20 years in Chicago.

photo Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / Flint and Jennifer Chaney pose for a photo at Bluebird Row Apartments in Chattanooga. The two moved to Chattanooga less than six months ago.

(Read more: Laws of attraction: Drawing new people to the Scenic City is key to economic growth)

"I never thought I'd be leaving Chicago for any reason - I loved Chicago, my business was doing well," he says. "But we visited in December last year, and we were here for five days and we just really liked it a lot."

The people were friendly, they all seemed to love living in Chattanooga - and there was one other thing that really got their attention, Flint Chaney said.

"We were down here in December, and there wasn't any snow," he says.

Now that they're starting their family outside of a major city, he's rethinking some assumptions he had always made, Flint Chaney says.

"All this time I thought we would have our kid growing up in the city, and now I'm thinking, 'Wow, he's going to be growing up in different circumstances,'" he says. "Sometimes your environment dictates your moves, and Chattanooga is a great place. This is not Chicago; we didn't want it to be Chicago."

Flint and Jennifer Chaney

* Arrived: Summer 2019 from Chicago* The draw: The Chaneys relocated when Jennifer’s job moved to Chattanooga* Here for it: “The people here are really what make it. Everyone we’ve met has been so nice, so kind.”* Less than perfect: “There’s nothing we don’t like. We kind of came here without a lot of expectations.”

Upcoming Events