[p911dad]

Joe, both areas are wonderful to live in, however, the commutes into Charlotte are only going to get worse. The Charlotte area has fully recovered from the recession and development is going faster than ever, meaning the local roads, schools, etc are pretty well strained. Multiple office towers and condos are going up in Uptown. Many inactive subdivisions are now back in development. If commuting is not an issue, any of the towns along Lake Norman from Huntersville north are great, but getting congested. Most of the Lake Wylie area in SC is on the west side of Lake Wylie, and there aren't a lot of options to cross the lake to get into Charlotte in rush hours.
The property taxes are getting higher, but not near CT, NY or NJ levels, it's all relative to what you are used to, just like the traffic. In SC gas taxes seem to be lower than NC, last week I paid $1.39 for gas in Fort Mill SC (a little higher now I'm sure). Liquor taxes lower too. The public schools in the suburban areas are generally strong, the city not so much. The whole area is generally faith based (lots of Baptist and Presbyterian churches) and more so as you get away from the city.
Lake Wylie is probably an easier drive into the city than Lake Norman on most days. Also, there is a large amount of high end retail on the south side of Charlotte, again making Lake Wylie the preferred pick of you like good restaurants and shopping. It seems the south side is the preferred choice which puts Lake Wylie/FT Mill SC area close to all of that. As a final note, we live well inside Charlotte, so my comments are neutral, just based on observation and knowing all sides of the area. Myself, I like city life.