Thinking of moving to Charlotte, NC. Opinions?

[BK911]

I have a job offer in Charlotte. I am thinking of moving there from Orlando. Anybody familar with the Charlotte area? Good / bad areas to live? My job will require travel throughout Mecklenburg county pretty much every day, so I could live almost anywhere.

Just looking for some help in making my decision. I am an avid mountain biker (before I moved to FL) and also love the country road drives (before I moved to FL).

[89911]

This just was in todays paper. Take it for what its worth.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/01/officers.killed.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

[stomachmonkey]

My sister and her husband moved to Cary last year. They love it. Their only beef is it's a little slow and there is not much there but when you consider she came from NY just about anywhere else with the exception of a Miami, LA, Chicago etc.. will feel a bit empty.

Also one of my producers is in Cary and she loves it.

Scott

[pookie]

Charlotte is heaven compared to Orlando.

89911 did you read the article or just the title. Yes sadly two officers were shot, but they already caught the guy. Also the first time something like that has happened in Charlotte since 1993 I believe. The section of the Queen City where that went down is a pretty rough area.

In reality I doubt you would even live in Charlotte but probably in one of the towns around Charlotte and commute in. One place to check is Fort Mill SC. It is where we moved fromt is about 25-30 mins even on bad days from downtown Charlotte and has great schools (assuming you have kids). You should find that the cost of living is much better in Charlotte and the surrounding areas than in Orlando. There are also no toll roads in Charlotte which is something you seem to have a plethora of in Orlando. Some towns around Charlotte you might also want to check out are Pineville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Concord, and Moorseville, all in NC. In SC you have Fort Mill, Lake Wylie and Rock Hill, some sections of Rock Hill are nice, but the majority of Rock Hill is kind of crappy.

Weather in the area is usually a short winter where you might get snow. Long spring, short hot summer, and then a long fall. Great Porsche weather. I think Charlotte is or was one of the fastest growing areas.

Charlotte itself is about 2 hours maybe less depending on where you go to the Blue Ridge Mtns. Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Trail are also fairly close. 3-31/2 hours and you can be at the beach.

Good luck

[pookie]

Stomachmonkey Cary is a small town atmosphere located near Raliegh about 2 hours east of Charlotte.

I also forgot that Charlotte has Lowe's Motor Speedway (actually its in Concord) and they are getting the NASCAR hall of fame. Not sure if you are into that. But I would avoid Concord when a race is in town, traffic gets really bad.

[Gene Wilkes]

+1 Pookie! Charlotte and surrounding area is a very nice place to live and raise a family! I lived for a number of years in Gastonia and commuted to work in Charlotte! Nice area with great recreational areas near by.

[Tervuren]

I can tell you, there are a HUGE amount of car enthusiasts in this area. CAFE, Charlotte Area Ferrari Enthusiasts are a very active group of Ferrari owners. I attend their events whenever I can.

Weather - don't count on predictability and even seasons. It can snow in spring, and be hot in winter...

[MichiganMat]

Would love to live in Raleigh, I apply at SAS pretty much every 6 months, tough place to get into from what I can tell.

[BK911]

I was in Gastonia over the weekend looking at houses. They seem to be going for about the same as in Orlando. I also went shopping to get a general idea of food and stuff, and everything seems to be about the same price. So the cost of living initially seems to be pretty close.

As far as the cops getting shot, obviously that is very unfortunate. But I am originally from Baltimore and now live in Orlando. I can't imagine Charlotte being more dangerous than those cities.

So all else being equal, Charlotte is a no brainer?

[rhjames]

let's see....

Disney world, universal studios, Epcot, Daytona (beaches and speedway), the Space center, Sebring, Gatornationals (drag race), more drag strips than you can shake a stick at (oops, NC has them too), good weather year round.......

Yeah, NC is too close to daughter and son-in-law, but the the grandkid would be a welcome sight!


If I wasn't having so much fun in Texas, I go back to FLA!!!!

regards---rhjames

[TerryBPP]

My fiance is from there and I couldn't imagine living there. Its bascially a really nice 5 mile radius town surrounded by 20 miles of ghetto. Service in restaurants, convience stores, etc. all sucks. The East Blvd. area is nice but is very small and expensive. Uptown is not real safe.

There are TONS of nice restaurants and some decent night life. But not worth moving there IMO.

People in Charlotte make fun of Gastonia as a white trash town. I've never been there so I can't comment.

MY 2 cents.

[BK911]

That's funny, the main reason I want to leave here is because of the weather. Hot and humid with thunder storms every day for about 6 months, then near perfect for 6 months. I'd rather have the typical seasons where it doesn't rain every day.

The other reason are the roads; flat and straight. No such thing as a drive in the country. More like a drive through the swamp on roads that go straight for miles, then turn slightly, then straight for miles.

[Joeaksa]

Have friends who have lived there 20 years and they love it.

[Halm]

Originally posted by TerryBPP
My fiance is from there and I couldn't imagine living there. Its bascially a really nice 5 mile radius town surrounded by 20 miles of ghetto. Service in restaurants, convience stores, etc. all sucks. The East Blvd. area is nice but is very small and expensive. Uptown is not real safe.

There are TONS of nice restaurants and some decent night life. But not worth moving there IMO.

People in Charlotte make fun of Gastonia as a white trash town. I've never been there so I can't comment.

MY 2 cents.

Are you talking about Charlotte or Gastonia?

My wife and I have been married a while now, and we have lived in Quantico, Little Rock, Columbia, MD, Winston-Salem, Warsaw, IN, Dallas, TX, Ft. Worth, TX and finally home to Charlotte. The only other place we would go back to is FT. Worth.

The public schools suck but everything else is pretty great. 2 hours to the mountains, 4 hours to some of the best beaches on the east coast, Davidson has a lot of bike ways and tons of riders, the P-car group here is very active with track events at VIR and CMS, plus we're doing a DE at Lowes' this summer. Restaurants and night life might not be up to D/FW standards, but it is way more than simply adequate.

PM me with your phone number or email and I am more than happy to answer any and all questions you might have.

[Tervuren]

Originally posted by BK911


The other reason are the roads; flat and straight. No such thing as a drive in the country. More like a drive through the swamp on roads that go straight for miles, then turn slightly, then straight for miles.

The roads here won't bore you. (Picture taken while circling Lake Norman)



Neither will the cars, I spotted 6 Porsche's and one Ferrari today.

[69 TEEE]

Know a great Porsche mechanic in the Charlotte area, John Forbes, Black Forest Racing.

[silverwhaletail]

Originally posted by 89911
This just was in todays paper. Take it for what its worth.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/01/officers.killed.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

"Demetrius Antonio Montgomery, 25, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder."

[Tim Walsh]

I don't know charlotte itself very well, but car culture wise it seems to be very good. Between the Porsche group that's there there is also a very active SCCA chapter centered in charlotte that I've run a few autocrosses with. http://www.ccrscca.org/

[TerryBPP]

Updated. I do have to add the scenery is much better and NC has some great roads but to me that does not add up to a great place to live.

Originally posted by TerryBPP
CHARLOTTE:My fiance is from there and I couldn't imagine living there. Its bascially a really nice 5 mile radius town surrounded by 20 miles of ghetto. Service in restaurants, convience stores, etc. all sucks. The East Blvd. area is nice but is very small and expensive. Uptown is not real safe.

There are TONS of nice restaurants and some decent night life. But not worth moving there IMO.

GASTONIA:People in Charlotte make fun of Gastonia as a white trash town. I've never been there so I can't comment.

MY 2 cents.

[flskala]

Yes, I realize this thread is 7 years old. Wonder if the OP ever moved....? Sorry to hijack but I'm now in the same situation. Considering a Charlotte job offer. My wife and I currently live in....NJ (no kids). Are the surrounding areas listed above still good places to live? I've read Gastonia is NOT a good place to live. Again, sorry for the hijack and hoped it worked out well for the OP regardless. Any opinions would be appreciated.