Huntersville, North Carolina

[JenDaveBrendan]

I posted a question about moving to NC back in Dec. and I have some more questions now (if anyone can help me!!
My husband has a 2nd interview in Charlotte next Friday (his 1st interview was by phone). We are both going down-all expenses paid by the company- for 2 nights/3 days. So I think things look good and we are really close to moving there!!
Anyway, I have an appt. with a realtor (a friend of a friend) while my husband is in his 6 hour interview who will drive me around communities to look, and (I think) I have narrowed the town we would like to live in down to Huntersville with all my research. Seems like a decent commute time to uptown Charlotte (his company would be exit 11 off of I-77), and a good town to live in. Of course, I am going by what I read on message boards and "numbers". One subdivision that sticks out to me is Stone Hollow, since alot of houses are for sale there. Anyone know anything about this subdivision?? Also, I would love to hear some opinions of the town.... I would also like to hear about Cornelius also (since it borders Huntersville).....
thanks in advance to anyone who can help!!
oh, also, we are staying at the Dunhill Hotel, anyone ever stayed here?? thanks!

Jen

ETA: I was looking on a "crime index" website, and the town I live in now is rated as an "8", and most of the towns I am looking at in NC are rated around "40".... this worries me, but I don't know exactly what is good/bad.... any insight would be appreciated. thanks!

 

[Living with the Land]

Huntersville is a great area. My parents have a summer home on Lake Norman in Denver, NC. It is a beautiful community with nice shopping and dining and close enough to Charlotte without being right in the city. It is a safe place to live and has a lot of activities going on. There is a magazine that they print and distribute to area restaurants with lists of things happening. We use these to find things that are happening for our DD who is 6. She and I spend about 4-5 weeks there during the summer and weekends during the school year. If you have any questions feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to answer or i can check with my mom. They are down there every other weekend year-round.

Holly

 

[plutolovr]

My husband and I are making a move to SC this summer. We looked at Huntersville also and the Mooresville area. The problem is he is a consultant and needs to go the airport on a weekly basis. EVERYONE we talked to said it's much easier to make it into Charlotte/Charlotte airport from the south. They said the traffic from the north is horrendous because there aren't many access roads and the two they have get really congested. We started looking in Rock Hill SC and found a new development, (not technically opened yet) that we are going to buy into. It's by D.R. Horton and it's called The Parks. We are going down in 3 weeks to put our down payment and pick our options. Very excited.

 

[Disney Doll]

I don't know a thing about Huntersville, but we have friends who live in Rock Hill, and it is a beautiful area, and a very easy drive to Charlotte.

 

[ktpool]

My parents live in Mooresville. It is very beautiful on Lake Norman. It is about an hour to the airport, though :-(

 

[tinaluis]

Plutolovr,
I send you a PM.
Tina

 

[tar heel]

Do you have or plan to have children? If you do and aren't planning on private schools, you might want to look in some other areas. If I were moving to the area and had wide-open options, I would choose a school system other than Charlotte-Meckleburg.

 

[NCDisneyMom]

I live in Mooresville, and used to work in Huntersville. When we were buying our first new home, we actually looked at Stone Hollow. Decided on Mooresville, though, instead of Huntersville. Iredell County taxes are a little bit lower. And, now with the nasty school-choice plan of Char-Meck schools, I'm glad we're not there. But, Huntersville as a town is very nice.

The commute to Charlotte actually wouldn't be too much different than the commute from Cornelius or even Mooresville. Most of the traffic tie-ups begin around exits 23 or 25, and it's usually clear sailng (southbound) up to that point.

It has also never taken me an hour to get to the airport (time of day plays a BIG factor, I'm sure). When I went down in December, it only took about 40 minutes. The way you go could play a big part, as well. Going all the way down I-77 through uptown may be longer. We exit onto 85 South to Billy Graham Parkway.

Oh, and Cornelius is very nice, also. I just prefer living in Iredell County, personally.

 

[JenDaveBrendan]

Thanks everyone. From these replies and replies I got on another message board, I think Huntersville is out - the things I have been hearing about Charlotte-Meck school system doesn't sit well with me (I have a DS in Kindergarten) -- so I think Mooresville is definatly on the top as well as looking into a couple towns in SC.
This is so overwhelming!!
thanks-
Jen

 

[Mom21]

I grew up in Mooresville. My parents live in Statesville now, so I go home every year or so. I moved in 90 for my job. I would go back in a heart beat. I will say though that the Mooresville of today is far from the one street town I grew up in. When I was there we had a Hardee's, a What-A-Burger(oh such fond memories of high school), and a Western Steer. I think you would enjoy it and find it a very pleasant place to live. I just want to say "Thank you, thank you, thank you" for reminding me of what fun times I had as a teenager. Memories. Oh if only I could go back.

With children I think you will have a lot of fun. Nothing like summers spent on Lake Norman skiing, swimming, and tubing. Then you are so close to the mountains to go snow skiing in the winter. Only 4 hours to the beach. I think it is the best of all the worlds. I wish I could have my dd grow up there. Enjoy your time.

 

[hmp2z]

You might want to look in the Concord or Harrisburg area, since you have children. Low crime, fairly easy commute to uptown Charlotte (just hop on I-85 or take 49 - Harrisburg is a shorter commute than Concord), great school system. We live in Charlotte (University area) & have friends who just had a baby & are already looking for houses in Cabarrus County. She & I are both teachers, both taught in Char-Meck and moved on to Cabarrus schools, and the difference in the schools is night & day. I have another friend who teaches at JM Alexander in Huntersville, and it is a nightmare there, and that's reportedly one of the better Charlotte schools. Irvin Elementary School in Concord has a great reputation, and I've heard good things about the principal, Dr. Propst.
Huntersville & Lake Norman have the reputation of being a rather "nouveau riche" area; a lot of people who recently came into money, buying McMansions & driving Hummers, with little "LKN" stickers on their Hummers, so everyone will know they live near the lake.
If you want a nice area that's within Charlotte, so is an easy commute, you could look at the Southpark area. It's pricey, but the schools in that section of the county are better, b/c that's the old money area. Sadly, as you can see, it all comes down to income. Being a public school teacher, I get to see the nitty gritty effects of poor school resource allocation.
The University area has had an increasing crime rate, but it's just car break-ins; we're not worried. Northeast of us, in the Mallard Creek area, there's been an escalation in violent crime recently, as is the case in Southwestern Charlotte, near the airport.
Good luck making a decision; feel free to write to me if you have any questions. I haven't stayed at that hotel, but I know where it is; it's right in uptown.
Cheers!
Heather W

 

[kaabost]

The Charlotte are is a great place in which to live! I grew up here and have recently returned. Assuming your husband gets this job..........the majority of your potential headache is out of the way. many find it really tough to find a job here because everyone in the country (especially from the northern states) seems to be moving or transferring here, What can I say, it's a great place. Since I recently moved back, I was in the job market for a while. Luckily, I finally found one (that I like). Not so ironically, I am working for a builder selling new houses. That industry is booming here......go figure. This job has yielded further insight into the Charloote housing market. One hot place that you should consider is Union County. Charlotte is quickly moving into Union County. The small town rural atmosphere is still there (probably not for long) but you can still get to the shops, restaurants, etc. within 10 minutes. The real kicker is that the taxes are very low (whereas Char/Meck taxes are the highest in the southeast) and the schools are excellent. Every day we have home buyers come to us in Union County (Weddington and Waxhaw area) because it is simply the best deal around. The price of housing in Union County is about to skyrocket due to such high demand. If you can get in now, not only will you have great schools and low taxes, but your real estate investment will absolutely take off. I'm moving there as soon as I can. Charlotte traffic is bad any way you cut it but I would bet that you can get to the downtown area from Union County as fast as you can from Huntersville (even though it is more mileage). One more issue..............crime. The local politicians like to ignore the fact that there are gangs and alot of crime in the Charlotte area but I believe that they are just beginning to acknowledge it. As with most cities (I assume) the majority of the high crime takes place within the downtown (violent, robbery) and University areas (drugs, drug related)..........this is just my impression by the way. If you live in Union County, you will be far enough away from this garbage. Keep us posted. Let us know what you decide upon.

 

[Sleeping~Beauty]

That's where we are looking, in Union County, Weddington, and the surrounding towns. We have been doing so much research.

We just got back from a trip to Charlotte two weeks ago to see the area. We had the most wonderful realtor, absolutely the best. I still have to write and thank her!

It was so great down there. The only thing holding me back from moving right now is family and friends. I don't know if I can leave them all behind (in NJ).

They are all pretty mad at me right now for really considering this move.

 

[MomofKatie]

We moved to NC 5 years ago- we did lots of research beforehand, and we ended up moving to Union County. We are SE of Uptown, so it is a relatively painless commute. The public schools here are very good (much better than Char/Meck, IMO). The Weddington area might be just what you're looking for- what price range are you looking for in a home?

 

[JenDaveBrendan]

So the Union county area is Weddington,Matthews, Waxhaw, Indian Trail towns?? What is their school system like? Does each town have their own school system? How do Union county schools compare to Mooresville?
I will have to look into these areas. Thanks!
Oh, to answer the poster's above question - the price range we are looking at is in the 140-200(max) range.
thanks!
Jen

 

[tar heel]

It's unusual for North Carolina towns to have their own school systems, which takes some adjustment for people moving here from the Northeast. Union County is all one system. Mooresville City and Kannapolis City are two city systems in our area, and periodically there is some political sentiment to merge them into the county systems.

If you were to decide to look at Cabarrus (Concord and Harrisburg), I'll give you some tips. We've lived here 19 years and have children far apart. We were very unhappy with our first elementary school 17 years ago, moved across the county and have been singing the praises of the schools, especially the elementary and middle, ever since. I also work with every school through my job. My advice would be a lot different from the young teacher who posted above.

 

[hmp2z]

My advice would be a lot different from the young teacher who posted above.

How nice to be called "young" still
What part of Cabarrus County did you like the schools in? I had heard some not-so-good things about Concord Middle, before I got there, but it is an amazing school, and doesn't have some of the problems that JN Fries, Harris Rd, or Mt Pleasant have.

On a side note about the Union County schools, there was a teacher who taught at one of the CMS schools with me, who quit after only 2 months there - brand new teacher, fresh out of the Master's program. She got a job at Union County, and, while at a faculty picnic, made a comment to her fellow teachers that she liked Union County schools so much more than the Charlotte schools. In Charlotte, she "had to teach a lot of black kids, so, you know..." (I couldn't find an appropriate jaw-dropping icon). She's doing well there, though, so presumably the school she's at is less diverse.
I look for diversity as one of the positive attributes of the schools, but there are those who, like this teacher, believe in a more homogeneous setting & so probably wouldn't like Concord Middle & Irvin Elementary - if that's the case, I'd suggest the Mt Pleasant or Harris Road school districts in Cabarrus County. I personally love the Concord Middle/Irvin area for great schools; Concord Middle is a professional development school & has a partnership with UNCC, so the teachers there generally have a wonderful education. Many of us either have (I got mine in May!) a Master's, or are pursuing one, and UNCC chose to use Concord Middle as the site for their graduate level classes. They send their student teachers to Concord, b/c it offers a level of diversity that you don't get in many other Cabarrus County schools. We've had several UNCC professors move to Cabarrus County & choose their house location based on getting into the Concord school district, b/c they think so highly of the middle school - Dr. Jones recently told me that she didn't care what elementary school her children went to, as long as it was a feeder school for Concord Middle. I thought that was a wonderful compliment, from someone who really would have an opportunity to work with schools in all of the surrounding counties, and who is obviously more expert in education than I can currently aspire to Just my 2 cents about the various local schools/school systems. As someone said, Kannapolis City schools are separate from Cabarrus County schools, but I've had several friends go teach there, looking for a better alternative to Charlotte, who quit within a year or two. Generally a good sign is the lower the staff turnover rate is, the better the school is. In Charlotte, teachers can't get into Davidson IB to teach for love or money - it's the only CMS school I've heard consistently glowing things about.
About the University area, someone said we had drug-related crimes - we really don't here, at least not unless you live in one of the lower-income neighborhoods, which would be the case in any part of Charlotte you live in. The big problem with the University area is the abysmal school choice; it's really, really bad - the schools here are all Equity Plus II (though I think they changed the name recently), which means a very high concentration of low-income children & so a very high concentration of inadequacy on the part of the administration.
About gangs, there is some gang activity in Charlotte, but it's pretty much the gangbangers beating up/VERY rarely killing another gangbanger; I have yet to hear of anyone who wasn't involved being injured or inconvenienced in any way by the gangs, unless, again, you live in a very low income area with a high gang presence. I've taught in a few inner city schools here, and the kind of gang trouble we have is NOTHING compared to what it could be - a few kids from one gang hassling each other. Most of the gangs here aren't the national ones; they're ones that the kids here just made up. The actual national gangs, like MS-13, have a small following, but, again, they don't mess with people who aren't involved, as a rule.
The thing about Charlotte is it's the biggest small town ever - it's not truly a city, in that it lacks the amenities that a city would have. In fact, Forbes magazine ranked 40 cities for various amenities in 2005, and Charlotte came in dead last for culture. The Blumenthal theatre here, while a WONDERFUL donation of the Blumenthal family, has a stage about the size of my high school auditorium stage. We went to see the traveling Broadway performance of the Lion King show there, and it was laughable; the animals were so packed together they could barely move. Things are slowly getting better - we're getting a Whole Foods in 2007, I believe, and Crate & Barrel is supposed to be coming in the next few years. For the most part, shopping is great, unless you're very health conscious & buy organic foods, then I'd suggest being somewhere either near Uptown or near Ballantyne, which is an upcoming ritzy area in southern Charlotte, in the Pineville/Matthews area. I think that it's Matthews that has a Farmer's Market, too, and there's one near the airport in Charlotte, but, as I said earlier, I wouldn't suggest living there.
Cheers!
Heather W

 

[MomofKatie]

Union Co. schools aren't divided into smaller township districts. Unless you move into the city of Monroe (where the schools aren't as good) you will be in a county wide system.

As for the lack of diversity, I will agree on that point. However, as recently as 6-7 years ago, Union Co was still heavily rural (this was before the population started to get a big influx of suburbanites and out of state transferees). We are one of the fastest growing areas of the state, and diversity is coming with that. I believe our schools will continue their record of excellence as the population grows.

With your housing budget in mind, a good place to start looking might be Indian Trail/Stallings or Waxhaw. Weddington is a great area, but the homes are starting to be priced above your budget.

We live in Indian Trail- we really like it. The drive to 485 (the I77/I85 access hwy) is under 5 minutes. We can get to 2 major malls in less than 1/2 hour, and any stores/services are within 10-15 min drive. Yet, we still retain a sense of "living in the country"- there are farms with cows, horses, and goats just a few miles away.

 

[hmp2z]

Here's a link to some new home communities in Cabarrus & Union Counties; they show you what schools are nearest, when you click on each community.
http://www.internest.com/xyz/search...MinSqSearch=&PropType=&BuilderID=&PropertyID=
Cheers!
Heather W

 

[tar heel]

In Cabarrus County . . . For a newcomer, I would recommend the west side of Concord or Harrisburg b/c that's where the big concentration of newcomers live. It is so much easier to make friends when everyone is new. I moved to Concord when there wasn't a big influx of newcomers and it was hard. Everyone was nice, but they already had their friends -- they had known them since childhood. If I moved here now, I know it would be much different and the way to make it easier is to go where the concentration of newcomers is. Ironically, I'm an oldtimer and I live in a newcomer neighborhood. As someone who has had children at three elementary, two middle and two high schools as well as one private school in the county, I also believe it's where you find the best schools overall.