My hometown is the 15th largest city in the country. For this reason, we moved to Chattanooga with some trepidation, worried that we might miss some of the “big city” amenities.
We were comforted by the proximity of Atlanta and Nashville to Chattanooga, figuring we could easily get a dose of “big city” on weekends.
The truth is, the only thing “small town” about Chattanooga is the fact that it’s impossible to meet someone new who doesn’t know at least 20 percent of the same people you know. I kind of like that.
We’ve not missed “big city” life at all. In fact, we rarely venture further than walking distance from home, let alone to one of the metropolises about 100 miles away.
I used to say my hometown was a “big city in a small town package” because the culture there was still family-friendly for its size. By comparison, Chattanooga is a small town in a big city package.
The Mainx24 event is a great example of Chattanooga’s “big cityness.” First, there’s the whole concept of having a 24-hour event, rivaling the likes of New York City as a city that never sleeps (at least one night of the year).
Second, it’s a celebration of a part of the city that is being renovated, redefined, and reclaimed as a place people want to go.
Finally, the Mainx24 features a parade that takes living proof of the big city/small town character of Chattanooga and marches it down Main Street.
The organizers of the Mainx24 parade, in a “big city” move, took a controversy over a goat and turned it into a focal point of the celebration. I met another photographer while shooting the parade. He said, “I only came for the goat!” I’m sure Oreo was honored; he looked pleased to be the center of attention as the grand marshall of the parade.
There were fire trucks and police cruisers, Chattanooga Roller Girls, and dogs galore. But perhaps my favorite juxtaposition of big city and small town was the double-decker tour bus followed by a stroller brigade. The bus looked like it came straight from London while the stroller brigade kept pausing to say hello to neighbors in the crowd.
Chattanooga might have the amenities of a much larger city, but it maintains a strong sense of community with an endless web of connections.
Small town. Big City package. It’s the best of both worlds.
Dianne Blankenbaker is a recent transplant to the Chattanooga area who came “temporarily” but is enjoying Chattanooga so much, she just might stay indefinitely.