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Whenever I have been asked, my answer goes something like this: “We think Florida smells funny and Arizona is too dry, so we think we will likely retire mid-south.”

We are by no means ready to retire. Let’s get that straight right away.

But we are moving south.

I have done tons of research on where to go. I originally concentrated on the Carolinas. I thought one of those two states would afford us pleasant weather most of the year; with the exception of when the Northeasters blast through.

Move a little further west and Bingo!

We fell in love with Chattanooga, TN.

And Chattanooga gets less than 2” of snow per year. Sure beats Chicago and the Polar Vortex!

Chattanooga, these days, is referred to as Scenic City. And it’s gorgeous. 15 years ago, it was dubbed the dirtiest city in the US. What a transformation!

So why else would we move to Chattanooga besides the fact that it’s gorgeous?

It’s a great size. Big enough to keep us interested, but small enough that it doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to drive across town. Compare that to the last time I drove back into Chicago and it took me an hour to cross five miles on a clogged expressway.

The culture level means there is a symphony. Broadway comes through town. It just lasts two days instead of two months. Better motivation for me to get my tickets.

It’s a foodie town. No doubt about it. That’s important to me and my husband. We have visited several times and have not covered all of the restaurants we want to visit. We’ve had so many great meals for a smaller-sized city it’s silly. And Tasty!

The people of Chattanooga are some of the friendliest people I have ever met. As soon as they hear you don’t have their accent, they ask why you are there and how they can help. I have taken several informal surveys with people who have moved to Chattanooga. I ask them if they made the right decision to move there, and I kid you not, 100% of them say it’s the best decision they have ever made.

Sports are huge in Chattanooga. Because it’s situated on the Tennessee river, they get paddle boarding conventions, kayaking, rowing and more. Marathons and other running races are frequent. Surrounded by mountains they have hang gliding, rock climbing, repelling and hiking. I think I’ll just start with some easy hiking.

Now, let’s get to some of the business reasons. Yes, we are moving the company down there, too.

It’s a lot cheaper. We are going to save so much on overhead we will be able to offer innovative programs to help our clients save money. We just launched ZClub. If you are not yet aware of it, call us or check it out HERE.

The internet speed is amazing. MUCH faster than anywhere else in the US! Seems odd, but they took it over as a public utility and put in all optic cabling that runs internet at lightening speeds.

That means the youth are moving. Young people who are entrepreneurs and starting off fresh new businesses are flocking to Chattanooga. We want to retire among the young. The median age of Chattanooga is currently 39.

I know I sound like the “Chatt” or “Nooga” (both nicknames for the city) Chamber right now but I know so many of you were going to be curious about why we chose Chattanooga.

In many listings it’s coming up as one of the top 10 places to retire in the US. But like I said, we are not ready to retire, but we were ready to get in on the fun early.

Here we come to Chattanooga!

Please pardon any awkwardness during our transition. We will be making the move over the last half of April. We will always be available by phone. Our phone system will transfer calls to our cell phones automatically. We will still be able to take orders; we just might have a slight delay in shipping depending on which day you call. The moving truck shows up April 24 and we hope to be open in our new offices before May 1.

Thank you so much for your support. We hope you’ll be excited for us! And if you’re ever near by we’d love to invite you to visit us at our new offices.

Cheers,

P.S. I’ll keep the recipes coming too!

Chicken Verde

If you have Mexican food fans in your family this is a hit!