Chattanooga has long been known for its natural beauty—but recently it has been getting a lot of attention because of something else: Our humble little Southern town was the first city in the Western Hemisphere to offer one-gigabit-per-second fiber Internet to businesses and the general public. In an effort to avoid technological mumbo-jumbo and loads of numbers ending in about ten zeros each, let it suffice to say that that’s pretty freaking fast (perhaps as fast as Sam Flynn’s Light Cycle in “TRON: Legacy”). Because of this, Chattanooga is quickly shifting at 1gbps from being known as the “Scenic City” to its new moniker: “Gig City.”
Those who were chastised by their parents throughout adolescence for constantly having a video game controller in their hands or incessantly pecking away at a computer keyboard (think Matthew Broderick in the 1983 movie “WarGames”) may get the last laugh in the end, as, it turns out, these days it actually pays to be a geek. Being a geek could not only literally put a roof over your head, but it could also fill your pockets with so much cheddar that it might be prudent to buy stock in mousetraps.
A company, appropriately named Gig City, started a program last year called “GeekMove” which gives professional geeks within a 50-mile radius of Chattanooga up to a $10,000 forgivable mortgage, $1,500 to cover relocation expenses, and a job if they’re willing to move to the Noog and bestow upon us all of their geeky brilliance.
The purpose behind the GeekMove program is to make sure Chattanooga’s technological and entrepreneurial boom keeps on keepin’ on. This way, the city can continue to serve as a model for other cities wanting to follow in our footsteps. For more information, visit thegigcity.com.