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Hello All,
I am just returing from my 3 day trip to Charlotte more confused then before I came. When I first arrived I was in shock b/c I entered Charlotte from the Sugar Creek exit of 77. not happy at all. I have 2 children(ages 10 & 12) and I will be looking to commute from the Sprint building on Whitehall Park Drive. I'm in the process of selling my home now in NY and I want to rent for approx. 6 months before purchasing a home. I want to keep my commute down to no more than 30-35 mins from my job(the shorter the better). I have been doing alot of research and I thought that Huntersville, Southpark, and University were all the best locations for me. I went to huntersville and it looked really underdeveloped. I didnt see any shopping centers and/or housing communities/devolopments.(Maybe I missed something ). I went down Mallard Creek in the University area and I did like the housing communities that I saw. Now I'm hearing that the crime is bad in that area. I love the way Southpark looks but may be out of my price range, or is it? I'm looking to rent a 3bdrm in a nice apt complex for about ($700-$1000) range. I will be purchasing a home shortly thereafter and I want to pay no more than 250k(hopefully less). Great schools are very important as well as I want alot of shopping to be a short distance away . I'm relocating to charlotte from westchester,ny. I really need your help in selecting the right area of Charlotte for me and my family. Thank You in advance
Hello All,
I am just returing from my 3 day trip to Charlotte more confused then before I came. When I first arrived I was in shock b/c I entered Charlotte from the Sugar Creek exit of 77. not happy at all. I have 2 children(ages 10 & 12) and I will be looking to commute from the Sprint building on Whitehall Park Drive. I'm in the process of selling my home now in NY and I want to rent for approx. 6 months before purchasing a home. I want to keep my commute down to no more than 30-35 mins from my job(the shorter the better). I have been doing alot of research and I thought that Huntersville, Southpark, and University were all the best locations for me. I went to huntersville and it looked really underdeveloped. I didnt see any shopping centers and/or housing communities/devolopments.(Maybe I missed something ). I went down Mallard Creek in the University area and I did like the housing communities that I saw. Now I'm hearing that the crime is bad in that area. I love the way Southpark looks but may be out of my price range, or is it? I'm looking to rent a 3bdrm in a nice apt complex for about ($700-$1000) range. I will be purchasing a home shortly thereafter and I want to pay no more than 250k(hopefully less). Great schools are very important as well as I want alot of shopping to be a short distance away . I'm relocating to charlotte from westchester,ny. I really need your help in selecting the right area of Charlotte for me and my family. Thank You in advance
You should look into living in Concord. It's in Cabarrus County just above the University area. I have lived here for 20 years now. My husband commutes to Charlotte for his work. I work for Cabarrus County schools and truly believe they are great.
You should be able to rent a house in Concord in the price range you want. The crime up here isn't nearly as bad as the University area.
And getting a house in your price range will be no problem.
I'll be glad to help you out if you have any more questions.
you will find that most people will steer you to their neighborhoods because everything is "great!"
But being a transplant like you from a mid sized city (if from NY, NY from a huge city), be careful. Some areas are just too "country" and would be a huge adjustment for you.
The best thing I did was hook up with a realtor who I told exactly what I was looking for in a neighborhood, and she took me around the city to the areas she thought would fit me. This was great because I quickly saw the areas that didnt meet my expectations.
No ones opinion is better than seeing it for yourself. I dont know if you can visit again before you relocate, I just know it was the best thing I could have done.
If your going to be off whitehall you should look into fort mill and rock hill sc. I have heard great things about the schools there. I may consider moving there myself in a few years. They are really building up the white hall area.
I think Huntersville would be too far for your commute, however, I could be wrong. Belmont and Mount Holly wouldn't be too bad considering you could drive mostly on the 485 to get out there.
Good Luck with your journey. Just remember, you cannot compare NY to NC because they are as different as day and night. I move here from NY in the late 90's and they have built up my area like crazy. I do not live in the university area, but I work out there and traffic is a night mare.
I can give you many reasons why Cabarrus County Schools are better than Charlotte schools - the main one being busing. I can't imagine a 10 and 12 year old being bussed across town. I used to live in Charlotte and moved here before my kids started school, so they wouldn't have to deal it. I only said the schools were great.
As for the community, we are close enough to Charlotte to be a part of the big city life, if desired. There are rural areas in the county that are "country", but I didn't mention those because chanellc2005 liked the University area, and Concord is very comparable to that.
I agree that chanellc2005 should have a realtor direct him and his family.
He just asked questions and I answered because I live here.
Location: Sunny Phoenix Arizona...wishing for a beach.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chanellc2005
Hello All,
I am just returing from my 3 day trip to Charlotte more confused then before I came. When I first arrived I was in shock b/c I entered Charlotte from the Sugar Creek exit of 77. not happy at all. I have 2 children(ages 10 & 12) and I will be looking to commute from the Sprint building on Whitehall Park Drive. I'm in the process of selling my home now in NY and I want to rent for approx. 6 months before purchasing a home. I want to keep my commute down to no more than 30-35 mins from my job(the shorter the better). I have been doing alot of research and I thought that Huntersville, Southpark, and University were all the best locations for me. I went to huntersville and it looked really underdeveloped. I didnt see any shopping centers and/or housing communities/devolopments.(Maybe I missed something ). I went down Mallard Creek in the University area and I did like the housing communities that I saw. Now I'm hearing that the crime is bad in that area. I love the way Southpark looks but may be out of my price range, or is it? I'm looking to rent a 3bdrm in a nice apt complex for about ($700-$1000) range. I will be purchasing a home shortly thereafter and I want to pay no more than 250k(hopefully less). Great schools are very important as well as I want alot of shopping to be a short distance away . I'm relocating to charlotte from westchester,ny. I really need your help in selecting the right area of Charlotte for me and my family. Thank You in advance
You didn't see any shopping centers in Huntersville? What kind of shopping are you looking for? Have you been to exit 23 and 25 off the 77? Exit 18 has the North Lake mall also. You didn't see any housing developments? Where were you? I think Huntersville is developing very well. Take another look up here.
If I were you, coming from Westchester, I would look at South Charlotte, Ballantyne, and SouthPark. You should have no problem finding a nice apartment in that price range in those areas (and even a house when your ready). Your best bet is to go with a realtor and look.
nyxmike is right on the money. look in s. clt or you could try the carowinds area because it is closer to whitehall and your commute would not be so bad.
I can give you many reasons why Cabarrus County Schools are better than Charlotte schools - the main one being busing. I can't imagine a 10 and 12 year old being bussed across town. I used to live in Charlotte and moved here before my kids started school, so they wouldn't have to deal it. I only said the schools were great.
As for the community, we are close enough to Charlotte to be a part of the big city life, if desired. There are rural areas in the county that are "country", but I didn't mention those because chanellc2005 liked the University area, and Concord is very comparable to that.
I agree that chanellc2005 should have a realtor direct him and his family.
He just asked questions and I answered because I live here.
Charlotte hasn't bused its students in about 3 years now All kids in Charlotte are now assigned to neighborhood schools.
Comparing Charlotte Mecklenburg schools to Cabarrus County schools is like comparing grapefruit to grapes, so it is never going to be a fair comparison.
Char/Meck's system is HUGE - serving well over 125,000 students, including inner city impoverised areas. Cabarrus County's system has a tiny fraction of that many students and serves a different type of community. BOTH have good schools. The difference is, Cabarrus County schools are across the board more successful because they deal with a lot fewer social issues. Charlotte definitely has some problem schools, but it also has some awesome award winning schools. Every parent must search out the right situation for their particular child.
OP, I seriously don't know where you were in "Huntersville" because it has a ton of shopping and is very developed except on the west side of Huntersville where thankfully there is still land left.
You don't need to be this far north anyway, it's too far of a commute. Southeast Charlotte is your best bet by far.
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not happy at all. I have 2 children(ages 10 & 12) and I will be looking to commute from the Sprint building on Whitehall Park Drive. I'm in the process of selling my home now in NY and I want to rent for approx. 6 months before purchasing a home. I want to keep my commute down to no more than 30-35 mins from my job(the shorter the better). I have been doing alot of research and I thought that Huntersville, Southpark, and University were all the best locations for me. I went to huntersville and it looked really underdeveloped. I didnt see any shopping centers and/or housing communities/devolopments.(Maybe I missed something 
). I went down Mallard Creek in the University area and I did like the housing communities that I saw. Now I'm hearing that the crime is bad in that area. I love the way Southpark looks but may be out of my price range, or is it? I'm looking to rent a 3bdrm in a nice apt complex for about ($700-$1000) range. I will be purchasing a home shortly thereafter and I want to pay no more than 250k(hopefully less). Great schools are very important as well as I want alot of shopping to be a short distance away 
. I'm relocating to charlotte from westchester,ny. I really need your help in selecting the right area of Charlotte for me and my family. Thank You in advance 
