Whitwell, Tennessee

Do not stay in Whitwell, Tennessee. It is just a few minutes from downtown Chattanooga. It’s a predominantly white town, and Trump supporter heavy. Tennessee is a red state in and of itself so it was expected, but I went on a bae-cation for a private stay on the lake and everyone had their Trump & JD Vance signs out. It was pretty back-wood-ish, and awkward interactions with the residents there. Mostly very passive, but still long stares, a bit of rudeness, and they has signs where they wanted AirbnB residents to leave, stating we weren’t welcome. Chattanooga is more diverse downtown, it seems with other tourists as well but the people are nicer- more engaged- normal I guess. They had a lot of wonderful waterfalls, beautiful tours, and mountain views. There were also a lot of lake/river/ summer activities. I went in the winter time not knowing but I’d go back in the summer. Most things are pretty affordable. However the food wasn’t appetizing… a few decent places but nothing I’m accustomed to. Bae and I opted to cook for the majority of the trip. Maybe just to stick more towards downtown area. It felt like I had to hide and hope no one realized I was in their neighborhood in Whitwell. Last thing- everything closed pretty early… little to no night life. Most restaurants, tours, clubs/ bars closed between 5PM – 8PM.