The seven "secrets" that make the Tennessee Valley a desirable location for expats

By: Christian Höferle

The second question future expats usually ponder is: “Can I see myself living there?”
Not always are the destinations for a foreign assignment exactly bucket list locations. Depending on your home culture, your international job assignment, and your expectations for an expatriate experience, some places can be downright deal-breakers when deciding whether to accept a foreign position - while others are sometimes seen as dream destinations.

What’s the first question then, you ask? Well, I suggest it is: “Do I really want to do this? Am I ready for this?”
That’s a conversation to have with yourself or with your partner/family around a kitchen table.

Once my wife and I made the decision to leave Munich, Germany, where we had been living for more than seven years, we were both very much convinced that we wanted to “do this” and that we were “ready for this.”
It became a choice between Berlin and... wait for it... Cleveland. No, not the one in the U.S. State of Ohio. We were looking at the second biggest Cleveland. The one in the Tennessee Valley.

Since that’s such a no-brainer decision, the next step for us was to figure out how the heck two 30-something city slickers would be able to adjust to a life in small-town East Tennessee. Both, my wife and I, grew up in small towns in Southern Germany and were happy to “upgrade” our lives as young adults by moving to the next bigger city. So upon first sight, the Tennessee Valley looked like a big step back.

The old adage “never judge a book by its cover” is quite applicable to the process of deciding on a foreign assignment. All the apprehension we may have had about our new home abroad has made way for the realization that Southeast Tennessee can be a pretty awesome place to live.

Here is why.

1. The weather
   
   Sure, Florida is a nice vacationing spot but if you prefer seasonal changes the greater Chattanooga area is a much nicer place to be. The summers are long and typically can get rather hot (95-100ºF | 35-38ºC) and sometimes humid. If you hail from Central Europe you may have to get used to these temperatures - very soon you’ll never want to miss them. The spring and fall (autumn) seasons are usually rather mild and the foliage weeks in the Valley create some breathtaking and colorful landscapes. The winters might be the only dreadful time of year as they remind me of the chilly and rainy Novembers of Bavaria. The upside: It rarely get’s below freezing point and if there’s ever snow it’s gone in a few hours most of the time.
   
   
   
   A view into the Chattanooga Valley, below Lookout Mountain, in the fall.
   
   
   
2. Nature
   
   During thousands of years the Tennessee River and its tributaries have cut beautiful gorges into the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. This means there are lots of waterways for swimming, boating, fishing, and all other kinds of outdoor activities, e.g.: Whitewater Rafting on the Ocoee River, a site of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. The Appalachian hills are terrific for hiking, mountain biking, hunting, or camping.
   
   
   
   Getting close to the 'Broken Nose,' 'Diamond Splitter,' and 'Table Saw' rapids on the Ocoee River.
   
   
   
3. The small(er) cities
   
   Of course you are a fan of New York, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc. I am too. So are also millions of tourists who let the experiences they made in large U.S. cities determine their image of what this country is like. However, it is the small cities that provide us with a more accurate picture of the United States, its people, and its culture. Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, or Ashville are simply great places to live and to visit.
   
   
   
   Aerial view of the Tennessee River, North Shore and Downtown Chattanooga, and Lookout Mountain in the background.
   
   
   
4. Chattanooga
   
   This city once was the “Dynamo of Dixie” and in the 1960s turned into the dirtiest and most polluted town in America. There was an exodus of people who saw no future in this place until the 1980s when local leaders developed a plan to turn Chattanooga around. Like the proverbial Phoenix from the ashes, the “Scenic City” now is the poster child of urban renewal. Nowadays it is also the “Gig City” - because it is the only place in North America where you can get a fiber optic internet connection with up to 1GB downstream capacity. Chattanooga was also recently named the Top Small City in the U.S. for Young Entrepreneurs. There is this “Can Do’ spirit which carried this town through the decades of decay and back up. An attitude worth catching.
   
   
5. The economy
   
   Yes, the economy. Not all regions of the United States were hit in the same way by the great recession. The Chattanooga area has been very fortunate to have attracted international companies like Volkswagen, Alstom, Wacker Chemie, Komatsu, and their suppliers who have been investing heavily in the region, building new production sites and providing employment for tens of thousands of people.
   
   
   
   Crossing the Tennessee River on the Walnut Street Bridge is only possible by foot or by bike. Built in 1890, it is one of the world's longest pedestrian bridges.
   
   
   
6. The cultural change
   
   With this influx of international companies the Tennessee Valley has been experiencing a very interesting cultural shift. While most of the Appalachian regions had been fairly untouched by outside influences for the past, say, 200 years, now the established population which largely stems from Scotch-Irish immigration is increasingly mixing with people from all over the Americas and from Europe. There has been a big push by Germans, Swiss, and Austrians which has given the Chattanooga area a destinct German accent. Not always do these different mentalities gel well right away. It makes for a dynamic environment, though.
   
   
   
   Since 2005, Bavarian and Tennessean cultures are coming together at the annual Maifest
   
   
   
7. The people
   
   It is the region’s proverbial Southern Hospitality which makes the cultural adaptation process so exciting. While you may feel that New York, London, Berlin, Moscow, or Tokyo can be a little bit abrasive at times, here in the Old South people still value their manners and most of them work hard on keeping it that way. Sometimes this will appear old-fashioned, even conservative - most of the time it is very charming and welcoming. Even 150 years after the Civil War the people of the South still make it a point to let you know that they are different from the rest of the country. Don’t let any Yankee tell you anything else.