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We moved to Charlotte about a year ago and have been renting while we have gotten to know Charlotte a little more. We would like to buy a house soon, but Im still so wary of the CMS school system and finding a good school. We have strongly considered Davidson, but my husband works in uptown and Im concerned about that commute. I dont know much about schools outside of CMS that would still be a reasonable commute to uptown. We are also thinking over Huntersville since it is a little closer to uptown and the housing prices are better, but it seems a little cookie cutter or something, plus Im not sure on the schools. In-town we are just now looking at the Selwyn elementary area. And, of course, then there is my little pipe dream of getting a couple acres and trying some just-for-fun farming.
As you can see, we are still all over the place. Our price range is $450,000 and we would like to get a 4 bedroom. Kids are 3 and 1. Schools are the most important, but also commute to uptown and community feel. Any opinions on where we should focus our energies? Any little gems we are missing or areas we should rule out?
Where are you renting now? I'm surprised you haven't considered other counties besides Meck. Public school wise you should consider Davidson or Mooresville (Iredell) if the lake is important. Otherwise you should definitely look in South Charlotte at that price point.
Buying acreage and farming is a whole different ball game. If you're serious there are plenty of great areas for that, too. Guess that's where the home schooling would come in.
If you want acreage, head to the Lincoln County side of the lake. It's actually a pretty easy commute into uptown on the Brookshire, and my friends in Denver have had no complaints about the schools (but obviously check them out for yourself).
Huntersville is an easy commute to uptown. It is a little cookie cutter, at least in the big subdivisions. The important thing about Huntersville is buying in the right school zones - the schools you want are Huntersville Elementary - Bailey Middle - Hough High.
Cornelius is a good option too - the elementary schools are pretty good, but you want to make sure your elementary feeds to Bailey / Hough.
Davidson Elementary is excellent and also feeds to Bailey and Hough. I work with people who commute from Davidson and it's not too bad on most days.
If you think Huntersville is cookie cutter, you'll likely have the same reaction to south Charlotte suburbs, but might like some areas around Southpark, which has older neighborhoods.
Great ideas. We are currently renting in Cotswold, and the older areas around Southpark are an area where we should take a closer look. My husband was home schooled and didn't really enjoy the experience, so I don't think that is in our future. I have found the term 'South Charlotte' to be somewhat of a mystery. Can anyone suggest a school district in South Charlotte to help narrow down where to look? Im not familiar with some of the other areas like Lincoln, but Im going to look into them and learn more. I think Mooresville is too far, Davidson has been our top pick, but still worried about that commute for my husband and Mooresville is even further. The farmlet idea is more like a couple acres where we could have a chicken, maybe a goat and grow wild blueberries. Nothing to labor intensive.
Thanks for the suggestions, please keep em coming. We have only been here a year and there are so many areas we dont even know about. When we moved to Texas it was the nice folks on a message board that helped us find our neighborhood, so I am listening carefully to what everyone says here!
Great ideas. We are currently renting in Cotswold, and the older areas around Southpark are an area where we should take a closer look. My husband was home schooled and didn't really enjoy the experience, so I don't think that is in our future. I have found the term 'South Charlotte' to be somewhat of a mystery. Can anyone suggest a school district in South Charlotte to help narrow down where to look? Im not familiar with some of the other areas like Lincoln, but Im going to look into them and learn more. I think Mooresville is too far, Davidson has been our top pick, but still worried about that commute for my husband and Mooresville is even further. The farmlet idea is more like a couple acres where we could have a chicken, maybe a goat and grow wild blueberries. Nothing to labor intensive.
Thanks for the suggestions, please keep em coming. We have only been here a year and there are so many areas we dont even know about. When we moved to Texas it was the nice folks on a message board that helped us find our neighborhood, so I am listening carefully to what everyone says here!
In your price range Davidson is certainly doable, and it is a very desirable area to live in. Commute can be tough, though that is all relative to where you originally came from and what you were used to there
If the only thing making you hesitate about Davidson is the commute I'd recommend you have your husband leave your rental in Cotswold very early one morning, drive to Davidson and make the commute to his office from there in 7:30 a.m. traffic. Let him see what it's really like one afternoon leaving work too. Doing that would help you to decide on keeping Davidson on your radar.
Charlotte doesn't have school "districts" - kids are assigned to schools by neighborhood. There are many fine elementary schools all over the city. There are fewer great middle schools and even fewer great high schools.
If you look to live in a neighborhood assigned to Providence or Ardrey Kell you WILL get great elementaries and great middle schools, as those are the top high schools academically in CMS. However, I wouldn't discount neighborhoods assigned to Butler, Mallard Creek or South Meck necessarily.
Your best bet really is to find a great realtor who knows the areas serving the top schools. They will be a wealth of info for you and save you a lot of internet searching
Thanks LvsMnts, lots of good points. We have been working with a good realtor, but one of the reasons I posted is because I think its helpful to hear a variety of viewpoints, particulary since we are also intersted in schools outside of CMS.
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