Charlotte, NC

[Balldog]

Anyone familiar with the Charlotte, NC area? There is a good chance I will be relocating there and was wandering what are the good areas of Charlotte to live. The job will be located on the north side and was hoping to find a place on the north side.

[Easy Mac]

As far away from the city as possible.

[lordscarlet]

I have a good friend that moved there recently. I can see what she has to say.

[PraetorianX]

Charlotte is a nice area, at least where I am. Of course, I live in Union County as opposed to Mecklenburg. Dunno the north side very well to be honest though, but I'd definitely not live IN Charlotte.

[Shakes]

Yes it is best to live just outside of Charlotte. It is a good area though to be in. Just becarefyul of the winters as they get ice storms every now and then.

[lordscarlet]

Why is it so bad to live inside Charlotte?

[CU Tiger]

I work in Charlotte, and live just across the line in SC.

Everyon is dead on.
You want to live out of Charlotte (and out of Mecklenburg county if possible)

WHY?
2 reasons the disparity county to county in tax rates and home values is unbelievable.

When we bought our home 2 years ago. (It is in a neighborhood by a national builder) the identical house in Charlotte $275,000, in York county (15 miles between subdivisions) $210,000 IDENTICAL HOMES.

Now annual taxes
Charlotte house $3100
York county home $1200

No brainer man...try to stay aay from mecklenburg county.

If you are going to work on the North side you have 2 choices. It really depends if you are North on 77 or north on 85. If 85 I would go into Kannapolis, or maybe Concord, but both are still the same way.

If on 77 side, its really tougher because the north side there is Lake Norman area. You are then competing with al the Nascar drivers, football and Basketball players for homes.

Anyhow, trying to summarize my thoughts in a few words and sucking.
My company wires homes all over Charlotte for 7 diffferen builders, PM me for specific opinions....

[Easy Mac]

York county suxors... Chester 4 evah

[CU Tiger]

York county suxors... Chester 4 evah


Dude, you dont live in Chester county do ya?

I am not putting anyone down, I have family there, but seriosuly that whole town is cursed. It is a dump, and just can't get it together.

I bought 80 acres right off 77 in Chester county seevral years back waiting on it to boom...guess what its still worth the 1900/acre I paid for it.

[Easy Mac]

I went to middle/high school there. Been back once in the 7 years since I graduated.

[Wolfpack]

My parents live in far south Charlotte just outside Ballantyne and that's a pretty nice area, but it's way-the-hell away from north Charlotte.

When we were there for Christmas, my wife and I poked around some neighborhoods trying to get a handle on where we'd consider living if I found a job there. There is a lot of development going on just south of the county line on I-77 and they recently opened up a new mall in that area. In the near future, they'll have I-485 opened up between Huntersville and West Charlotte, so you'll have fast access to the airport. As others have pointed out, though, Lake Norman drives up property values. Still it's not wildly expensive unless you're looking for a McMansion somewhere on the lake. Homes can be had for a reasonable amount if you know where to look. However, you also should be aware that the housing market in Mecklenburg County has been brutal with a lot of foreclosures, particularly in new low-price neighborhoods where people tried to move into better homes but bought more than they could afford and wound up in trouble. My parents had a copy of the Charlotte Observer that had a foreclosure map on it and it gave us clues where to look and where not to look. As I recall, foreclosures were fewer towards the north end of the county, but picked up rapidly the closer in to the city you got.