Get out, man. The region isn't trying to help people like you, with families, it's trying to help the entrenched who bought 20 years ago.

You may make less money in terms of income in most other cities, but your retirement savings will grow a lot faster regardless. I work on a traveling/remote team. One of my teammates lives in Chattanooga. His 3 bedroom house with I think 2 or 3 aces of land put him back a whopping $200,000.