By Nyah Jackson
Before the pandemic, Tanya Vu was a district sales manager for Allstate Corporation and lived in Orange County, California. But when the lockdowns began, she and her husband decided to head east.
The couple considered Florida, but they didn’t think they could tolerate the humidity. Asheville, North Carolina, offered a picturesque environment, but it felt more like a retirement community.
Vu, now owner of the Allstate insurance agency on Ooltewah Ringgold Road near Main Street, said she and her husband discovered the Chattanooga area while watching YouTube videos detailing the area's beauty. Her husband likes fishing , and she described Chattanooga as the “Mecca of bass fishing.” That was a hook for the couple, a small tug that made Chattanooga stand out as a good place to reside.
Before moving to Chattanooga, Vu began looking for an Allstate agency to purchase in the area. A friend told her it’s not often that people sell their agencies.
“It's rare because agents out here love what they do, and they really don't sell their businesses," Vu said. “I had been stalking Chattanooga for like, three years. So, I finally called my buddy, and I'm like, 'Oh, I know you moved out to Nashville. I know you know I want to move out there, too. But, like, what's going on? Like, no one is selling their business.’”
Her friend spoke to a district manager who happened to be aware of someone who wanted to sell, and that’s how she ended up in the greater Collegedale community.
“This is how little I knew about this area.,” Vu said. “When she said 'Ooltewah,' I was like, 'Do you have anything closer to Chattanooga?'”
Vu and her husband have owned the business since 2023. She said business is good, and they like working in the community.
“I've been doing insurance for 17 years and wanted to be an agent in a town where it's not so small that there's only five of us in town, but it's small enough where the local community and relationships still really matter,” she said. “That's how I like to do business."
