Chattanooga area is attracting a new wave of boomer retirees

Chattanooga is a natural at attracting retirees, and a couple of concerted efforts have built on that advantage.

About 30 percent more of Chattanooga’s population consists of people who moved here from outside the area when compared with the national average, according to 2006 U.S. Census data.

“People want to be in a community with lots of things to do, but they also want to be close to a natural environment,” said J.Ed. Marston, vice president of marketing for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, which launched a Choose Chattanooga campaign in 2007 aimed at encouraging people to migrate to the area, especially retirees.

Most of the people moving to Chattanooga are of the boomer generation, born from 1946 to 1964, and Mr. Marston said the area has particular appeal to their ideas of retirement.

“The boomer generation is not retiring in the traditional sense of the term,” he said. “They’re changing their lifestyle to align more closely with their passions.”

And interest is growing, Mr. Marston said. Relocation inquiries have risen to more than 1,100 a month, up from about 80 each month before the Choose Chattanooga marketing began, he said.

“We market the community’s current assets and then make recommendations and comments with appropriate organizations,” he said.

One of Chattanooga’s largest and oldest retirement-aimed organizations is Alexian Brothers. The Alexian Village on Signal Mountain has doubled to 322 independent resident apartment homes in the past 25 years and offers an active lifestyle in the Village and Chattanooga, said sales counselor Laura Jackson.

She said residents come from 39 states and 11 countries.

“Chattanooga is a draw because it’s a city that offers a lot of cultural and environmental aspects,” Ms. Jackson said. “For those whose family is spread out, they’ve got half the country within a day’s drive.”

Retiree interest statewide is also increasing, said Ramay Winchester, director of Retire Tennessee. The state-run program has received more than 48,000 inquiries three-fourths the way through the current fiscal year, compared with 42,000 all of last fiscal year, she said.

However, of the nine communities involved in Retire Tennessee, Ms. Winchester said Chattanooga’s effort is the largest.

“It’s a cosmopolitan area that’s mid-sized,” she said. “And they love these beautiful mountains.”

Plus, she said Chattanooga and Hamilton County have the attraction of a “very affordable tax rate.”

Affluent retirees — with an income of $250,000 a year and $3 million in assets — is the target of the program, Ms. Winchester said.

National studies show each retiree who moves to the area creates one to four family-wage jobs, which is why Mr. Marston said the effort is part of economic development as well.

“By targeting retirees and other relocators, we’re helping build our economy,” he said.

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