OT - Planning to relocate to Charlotte NC within a year

[FogBat]

So, my wife and I have made a decision to move out of Virginia down to the Charlotte area sometime next year. A lot of factors came into play, and we hashed out these things before making such a crucial decision. We had considered other metro areas, but we ultimately settled for this.

I know that some SS members have either lived in Charlotte in the past, or are still there. What areas would you guys recommend for affordable and safe places to live? Areas like Lake Norman are out of the question since there’s absolutely no way we could afford to live there. It doesn’t have to be city proper. We could even consider Concord or Kannapolis. We just don’t want to live where we would not feel safe, and I want to minimize commuting distance as much as possible.

Also, if there are other things that we need to know about that I haven’t thought about, feel free to pass it on. Just don’t recommend Elevation church to me whatsoever.

[Claude Balls]

Best to go to the southern side of Charlotte. A lot of the North, Northern Westside and Northern Eastside are pretty bad. Tryon Hills, Druid Hills, Enderly Park, the Plaza neighborhoods are all not very nice. A friend of mine moved there not long ago. He showed me some of the bad areas. As beautiful as the city is, there is a lot of gang activity inside of some of those neighborhoods. And a lot of those neighborhoods aren't like the ghetto neighborhoods you see around the northern cities. Some of them look like decent places, but are far from it.

Edited December 4, 2021 by Claude Balls

[FogBat]

7 hours ago, Claude Balls said:

Best to go to the southern side of Charlotte. A lot of the North, Northern Westside and Northern Eastside are pretty bad. Tryon Hills, Druid Hills, Enderly Park, the Plaza neighborhoods are all not very nice. A friend of mine moved there not long ago. He showed me some of the bad areas. As beautiful as the city is, there is a lot of gang activity inside of some of those neighborhoods. And a lot of those neighborhoods aren't like the ghetto neighborhoods you see around the northern cities. Some of them look like decent places, but are far from it.

Does that include staying within NC state lines, or possibly crossing over into the SC suburbs near the 485?

[Skibum]

I have family in the Beverly Woods/Southpark area, southern 'burbs, and it's quite pleasant. It's a great area for kids and there is a lot of friendly neighborhood interaction. It's convenient to anything you need in your day to day. I don't know what your idea of expensive is, but I think this area is what most people these days consider reasonable for a nice neighborhood ($450K can get you a decent house, and you can find nice townhouses for $325K). I think you'll have a hard time finding anything under that in the nice neighborhoods all around Charlotte. Not sure about surrounding communities, but real estate is just crazy lately. I continue to be shocked at what people consider a reasonable home price these days!

[Hoss]

8 hours ago, Claude Balls said:

Best to go to the southern side of Charlotte. A lot of the North, Northern Westside and Northern Eastside are pretty bad. Tryon Hills, Druid Hills, Enderly Park, the Plaza neighborhoods are all not very nice. A friend of mine moved there not long ago. He showed me some of the bad areas. As beautiful as the city is, there is a lot of gang activity inside of some of those neighborhoods. And a lot of those neighborhoods aren't like the ghetto neighborhoods you see around the northern cities. Some of them look like decent places, but are far from it.

Plaza Midwood is a fantastic neighborhood as is NoDa. Country Club Heights is an impossible neighborhood to buy in unless you’re super rich but it’s also very nice. Elizabeth is also a beautiful neighborhood.

But yes, south of the city is the nicest part without question.

1 hour ago, FogBat said:

Does that include staying within NC state lines, or possibly crossing over into the SC suburbs near the 485?

I know a lot of people who work in Charlotte but live just over the border in SC.

[#freejame]

Hockey rinks are on Indian Trail and town center. I kind of like Pineville better, but Indian Trail has pickup before work. Never lived in Charlotte but used to go there for shows when I lived in Fayetteville and to skate when I played hockey at school in Boone. Dates a girl from Matthews for a while too and went there a couple times. Not a bad area. Charlotte has one of the better music scenes in the south if that’s your cup of tea. North Carolina is infinitely better of a state than South Carolina is, but if you’re looking to move to the Charlotte area and you’re fine with more conservative state politics, I’d probably just move to SC. I’m in Charleston now, but I’m thinking about moving back to WNC. Need some mountains back in my life. 

[Doohicksie]

15 hours ago, Claude Balls said:

And a lot of those neighborhoods aren't like the ghetto neighborhoods you see around the northern cities. Some of them look like decent places, but are far from it.

Kind of like Fort Worth in that regard, and maybe southern cities in general.  I don't know anything specific about Charlotte (other than the awesome rocking chairs in the airport), but one thing you may want to ask about with specific neighborhoods are whether they are going up or going down.  When we moved in 2018, our old neighborhood was clearly going down.  We moved to a neighborhood that's not great, but has seen worse days and is improving.

[Zamboni]

My brother in law lives in southern Charlotte NC. Pretty close to the SC border. Mathews NC. Very nice neighborhood. Nice size homes. Close enough to stores, malls, hospitals etc …

[nfreeman]

3 hours ago, #freejame said:

I’m in Charleston now, but I’m thinking about moving back to WNC. Need some mountains back in my life. 

I like mountains too, but I think Charleston is great.  Of course that’s based on a handful of visits, not living there.  I have friends who live there too and love it.  

[#freejame]

9 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

I like mountains too, but I think Charleston is great.  Of course that’s based on a handful of visits, not living there.  I have friends who live there too and love it.  

I’ve bounced around a lot in the last eleven years and I would say Charleston is by far the most “happening” place I’ve been. There’s a ton of restaurant and bars and obviously the ocean. The city planning is just atrocious and the housing prices are insane. I’m hoping to move March 2023, but I could easily be convinced to stay. It’s not my dream environment, but there’s a lot of fun to be had still. 

[Claude Balls]

12 hours ago, FogBat said:

Does that include staying within NC state lines, or possibly crossing over into the SC suburbs near the 485?

Yes, you can def find a nice place south of Charlotte before you get to SC. North.....no good.

[Pimlach]

Why not move back to WNY?  If you can work remotely from your home, then put your home in a place you know and love.  

[Eleven]

It's a tough call.  There are plenty of inoffensive chain restaurants in all of the areas, though.

Edited December 5, 2021 by Eleven

[FogBat]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Why not move back to WNY?  If you can work remotely from your home, then put your home in a place you know and love.  

My wife has cold-induced asthma. Coming back home is a no-go.

[FogBat]

22 hours ago, Zamboni said:

My brother in law lives in southern Charlotte NC. Pretty close to the SC border. Mathews NC. Very nice neighborhood. Nice size homes. Close enough to stores, malls, hospitals etc …

I’ve driven through Mathews a few times. It seemed all right. We’ll look into it. My wife and I thank you for the tip.

[FogBat]

On 12/4/2021 at 9:15 AM, Skibum said:

I have family in the Beverly Woods/Southpark area, southern 'burbs, and it's quite pleasant. It's a great area for kids and there is a lot of friendly neighborhood interaction. It's convenient to anything you need in your day to day. I don't know what your idea of expensive is, but I think this area is what most people these days consider reasonable for a nice neighborhood ($450K can get you a decent house, and you can find nice townhouses for $325K). I think you'll have a hard time finding anything under that in the nice neighborhoods all around Charlotte. Not sure about surrounding communities, but real estate is just crazy lately. I continue to be shocked at what people consider a reasonable home price these days!

We’re talking a trucker’s salary, so anything above 250-300 is really pushing it. Having said that, this is not a panic move, so we have some time to sort things out. I just want to make sure that the whole transition is as painless as possible. Plus, we have no desire to live near the Trailer Park Boys.

On 12/4/2021 at 1:40 PM, #freejame said:

Hockey rinks are on Indian Trail and town center. I kind of like Pineville better, but Indian Trail has pickup before work. Never lived in Charlotte but used to go there for shows when I lived in Fayetteville and to skate when I played hockey at school in Boone. Dates a girl from Matthews for a while too and went there a couple times. Not a bad area. Charlotte has one of the better music scenes in the south if that’s your cup of tea. North Carolina is infinitely better of a state than South Carolina is, but if you’re looking to move to the Charlotte area and you’re fine with more conservative state politics, I’d probably just move to SC. I’m in Charleston now, but I’m thinking about moving back to WNC. Need some mountains back in my life. 

We would certainly like to spend more time in an active cultural scene. As for political climate, I’m not anywhere near as worried and obsessed with it as much as I was in the past.

[FogBat]

Bump.

What parts of the outlying areas of Charlotte metro would you guys recommend? We’ve looked at houses on Zillow and spotted ones in places like Gastonia, Kannapolis, Concord, and Lincolnton. Granted, just about all of them are a guaranteed commute, and I absolutely ****ing HATE long commutes. But, it also depends on where I can get a new job at.