The first advice I'll give is that I haven't met anyone that calls it Nooga (just like in Atlanta no one actually called it Hotlanta haha). We say the full name or just Chat. Funny you're considering a move here because I'm considering a move to Alexandria in mid-2024.

I like Chattanooga though, lower cost of living, lots of natural beauty, big enough to still have some fun stuff but more quiet/calm than a huge city. Lots of places to hike and climb and also two lakes. Internet here (in city limits) is world class, being cheaper, faster, and more reliable than my ISP in Atlanta. Being only ~2 hours from Atlanta and Nashville is also super nice.

For insider tips I'd probably need to know more of your specifics, like what are you hoping to get moving here, or what do you dislike about the DMV area that you're hoping to minimize here. For example, with Chat right on the TN-GA border, most people live in the TN side because we have no income tax and most the jobs are on the TN side, but if you have kids you might want to pay the 5%-6% income tax on the GA side since I hear the schools are better there. If you also don't have a lot of income to tax and want cheaper housing, GA would also be better.

You can also check out r/Chattanooga, although I'd recommend searching for older posts instead of making your own; the people on the subreddit seem pretty anti-transplant, blaming us for all their housing and traffic woes. They also over hype how bad the traffic is; it's probably worse than a similar size city due to all the natural bottlenecks (mountains, tunnels, rivers), but compared to Atlanta or the DMV it's really good.