Can anybody tell me about Charlotte, NC?

[MinnieGirl33]

Our family may be relocating to Charlotte, NC & I am in desperate need of input.

What areas are better? Can you tell me about the schools (kids currently in 4th & 7th)? How are car insurance, property taxes & homeowners insurance rates?

Anything you could tell me (including "don't do it") would be greatly appreciated!

 

[K&KsMom]

Hi there,

My DH and I have been doing a lot of research on this area recently. We may be relocating as well. From what I gather Carrabus County has good schools, nice homes and is a safer area. A great website is Bestplaces.net and Greatschools.net
Check those sites out. I have heard Meckenburg(sp?) county does not have great schools from a friend who lives in this county.
I hope this helps.

 

[monorailsilver]

I have a friend from my other board that lives in Charlotte.

I don't know where exactly in the city/out of the city she lives but I do know she said the schools are so over crowded.

Good Luck.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

Thanks for the replies.

We actually have 2 different states that are possible & the task of researching is overwhelming at times.

Keep the info coming! (please )

 

[MSSANDRA]

We are about 45 minutes from Charlotte. I second the idea to look at Carrabus Co. it is north of Charlotte. Taxes are lower and the schools are really good. Carrabus boaders Charlotte to the north so depending on the location of you company travel may be quite short. Charlottte is about 4 hours from the beach and 2-3 to the mountians. The season changes are quite nice and most winters are fairly mild. Nascar is quite big here and Charlotte is the home to the Panthers and Bobcats. We live in Rowan, just north of Carrabus so I really do not know a lot about the insurance rates.

 

[sharlon]

Hey! I moved from Charlotte to Asheville, NC 2 years ago, after living in Charlotte for 4 LONG years. Personally, we will never move back. I grew up in Atlanta, and Charlotte is getting to be alot like Atlanta is. SPRAWL! That said, if you end up going, do not live in Mecklenburg County. The local politicians have managed to completely mess up the school system. Cabarrus County is a good option and is to the northeast of the city. I would also look at Iredell County which is directly north. That is the up and coming part of town where many families are moving to escape Mecklenburg County. If the job is on the south side of town, look at living in Fort Mill, SC. It is a good place for a family as well.
Charlotte is stuggling, at best, to try to keep up with its growth rate. This applies not just to schools, but also to infrastructure. This is part of the reason that the traffic is so out of control
Good luck with your decision!
BTW, where else are you looking at moving?

 

[momw/2princesses]

I was born and raised in Charlotte and moved to Cabarrus County 7 years ago when I got married. The town I live in is only minutes away from Charlotte, which provides great access to jobs, restaurants, activities, etc. but the school system in Cabarrus is much better than Mecklenburg, where Charlotte is located. That's one of the main reasons we moved out of the county! Property taxes are higher in Mecklenburg than in the surrounding counties. I don't really have anything to compare to for car insurance, but we have a 1996 Ford F-150 and a 2003 Expedition and pay about $800 a year for car insurance. I don't think that's too bad. There are so many wonderful things about the area. We have wonderful weather - 4 real and different seasons. We're about 2 hours to the mountains and 4 hours to the beach. We have great shopping and dining too!

Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

Andrea

Mom w/2 princesses

5 3

 

[lynetteSC]

we live in rock hill, sc which is about 20 mins from charlotte - we chose this area b/c lower real estate prices and taxes and less crowded schools...still not far from the action ... pm me if you have any questions!

 

[alloyd1170]

I was going to add about looking into Rock Hill SC. Im in the Columbia SC area and drive up to Charlotte on occasion. The Rock Hill area isnt far from Charlotte and might be a bit cheaper. Dont know about the schools, but SC is almost at the bottom in the country for schools (I think weve moved up to 48 now).

alison

 

[catherines_mama]

I live in Cabarrus County (north of Charlotte) and love it. My parents lived in Charlotte for some time too. When I bought my 1st house it was in Mecklemburg county (Cornelius) but when DD got close to school aged, we moved to Cabarrus county (Concord). I also REALLY like Union County, they have a very good school system and yet it still is close to Charlotte and still 'country'.

SC is nice, and my parents have moved to Chester SC but my mom does the drive to Charlotte everyday to work. Granted, she has an empty nest and doesnt have to worry about kids at home. Depends on the commute you want to make, BUT look at the SC school system, its not one of the best itself.

You have to balance what you want, and feel free to PM me if you need any help.

 

[prestonsmomma]

I think they have answered your questions pretty well for you. I live about 1 1/2 West of Charlotte and LOVE it. It's quiet here and crime rates aren't bad either. Let us know if you have any NC that we can answer for you.

 

[SandrainNC]

Hi! I actually live in Matthews which is right outside of Charlotte (but it is still in Mecklenburg County). I can only repeat some things said. There is a lot of conflict within the school system it seems (son just started Kindergarten so I am new to the school thing), traffic is bad (I drive to uptown Charlotte everyday for work). I am actually from Rock Hill, SC but it has changed so much since I moved to NC. Rock Hill has come a long way since 1992! I have heard very good things about Fort Mill, SC (between Rock Hill and Charlotte). I also have a friend in Cabarrus County (Harrisburg) and she loves it there.

Sandra

 

[Danestress]

I am going against what everyone else is saying, but I wouldn't want to move to Charlotte and then live way in the out-skirts.

I live in South Park which is expensive but more central. The schools are mixed. My oldest son went to a good high school, had a great experience there, and went on to one of our very good public universities (I really think our University sytem is a great part of living in NC).

My younger children are homeschooled. Most of my neighbors have children in private schools, but the ones who use the public schools have reported that they are very happy. I don't think all the fighting at school board meetings necessarily impacts a child's class room experience in an immediate way.

I love living closer to town. To me, the outskirts seem like stripmall h@ll. Yes, we have high taxes. We also have *beautiful* old neighborhoods, enough cultural assets to keep me happy, lovely parks and .... well, I like it pretty well here. My advice is always to buy a home close to your (or Dh's) work. We paid way too much for a house close to DH's work, but he drives five minutes to get there, comes home for lunch all the time, and we almost never have to get on the highways or drive in the rush hour messes.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

 

[Desnik]

This very topic has come up in the past alot on the community board. Try doing a search on that board and you should get a ton of info. Or, try posting this question over there. Not that the responses you have gotten aren't great, and helpful. But, you will probably get a lot more responses over there. Last year we were really looking into the Charlotte area. My mothers best friend and her whole family relocated there. Her friend lives very close to the city, no kids, and loves it. Her kids, who are adults and have kids of their own have huge beautiful new homes and their taxes are somewhere between $1500-$2000 a year. To me that is so low!!! They live about 45 mins from Charlotte, sort of south of it. It's called Indian Trails. There is a brand new school her kids go to and they love it. Here is a link to the community DH and I were looking at. We were in touch with them and we really liked what they had to offer. We made my mothers friend send her daughter to go see it and she said it was great!
http://www.bonterrabuilders.com/communities/community.cfm?comm=c100
Here's a link to an old thread I found on the CB:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=979524&referrerid=&highlight=charlotte nc
I really don't know why this new search feature doesn't go back to older threads! I wish the old one was back!!

 

[starbaby0103]

Charlotte is definately growing in leaps & bounds! I live in the University area and have seen this little cornor of the city explode over the last 5 years....they are building everywhere! I DEFINATELY second what everyone has said about Cabarrus County....it's close enough to all the amenities of Charlotte, but you also get the benefits of lower taxes, better schools, etc. If I were buying right now, that is the area I would target. If you are dead-set on living in the Charlotte area, I would also suggest the South Park area, which is pricey, but worth it to be out of the, shall we say, less than desireable neighborhoods.....In South Charlotte, you're super close to the uptown area, as well as good shopping, cultural events, and some of the best schools in the Mecklenburg Co. system. The Huntersville/Lake Norman/Birkdale areas are also very nice but a little pricey....Good luck with your decision!

 

[minniebeth]

My SIL lives in Tega Cay which is technically South Carolina, but a very short commute to Charlotte. It is close to Fort Mill that others have mentioned. It is a lake community and they love it. She says the school system is excellent.
Good luck!

 

[stacy6552]

Minnie just sent you a PM, with the short list of what you need to know, imho.

 

[dis-happy]

Hey y'all! It's nice to see so many Charlotte neighbors on the boards.

We moved to south Charlotte 10 years ago and have LOVED living here. After growing up in So. Calif. and then moving to northern VA/ DC outskirts after getting married we find that:

the traffic isn't too bad if you are from CA or DC
hardly any crime
nice neighbors (everyone brought us something to eat when we moved in and everyone in our neighborhood waves when they drive by)
house prices are pretty decent

We homeschool so the schools haven't affected us. I would suggest looking in south Charlotte since there are several new schools in that area. Now that they've gone to "neighborhood schools" and less bussing, things are getting much better.

Taxes are higher here then Rock Hill, but then again it depends on where you are commuting to every day. Personally, I would pick closer---this area is growing and traffic will just get worse. Car insurance is a bit high, but electric bills are very reasonable thanks to Duke Power! The whole area is beautiful....mountains are 2 hours away, beaches are 3-4 hours away.

Good luck!

 

[stacy6552]

dis-happy youre my soul sister! We grew up in SoCal and moved to NoVA. We almost moved to Charlotte a few years ago. But alas it seems I am to live in Bitterville (NoVA) forever......