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We currently live downtown Chicago and are contemplating a move to Charlotte for both weather and SPACE! Can anyone help us find a good place to live? We have a 1 year old and our family is growing. We need good schools and a 4-5 bedroom house. Since we are used to a faster-paced city lifestyle, we would really like an area with a lot to do as well as other young families.
We currently live downtown Chicago and are contemplating a move to Charlotte for both weather and SPACE! Can anyone help us find a good place to live? We have a 1 year old and our family is growing. We need good schools and a 4-5 bedroom house. Since we are used to a faster-paced city lifestyle, we would really like an area with a lot to do as well as other young families.
Please help if you can! Thanks in advance!
Do your jobs come with you? Or will you need to seek employment?
Lesson #1 - the South doesn't move fast, except when driving. Once you get used to it, and adjust your own pace (some people can do this quickly, some people just never seem to get the hang of it), most things here won't annoy you as much.
We are doing the same thing...but coming from West Michigan. I've looked and researced extensively and we decided on the Huntersville/Concord area. I would tell you the same thing
our realtor told us...buy neighborhood/location first...then house. Look at the infrastructure of the area. Don't buy into a neighborhood that's less than 70% developed unless you LOVE it and plan to stay for a number of years. My advice: Getting insight from people who live there already is great...it's helped me a ton. Visit the areas...talk to everyone, visit grocery stores, ask other Moms, watch traffic flow at peak times of the day. Be Realistic about what you really are looking for...don't be swayed by a beautiful home! there's probably a reason why it's empty...Good luck!
You'll want to determine location based on commute to work. The city is spread out with only a few ways to get across town which means tons of traffic and congestion.
Lesson #1 - the South doesn't move fast, except when driving. Once you get used to it, and adjust your own pace (some people can do this quickly, some people just never seem to get the hang of it), most things here won't annoy you as much.
Second this! Nothing is fast here, and things are rarely on time. So, you need to leave the Chicago impatience there. It's difficult, but, you can learn to just go with the flow...I have...well, to a degree!
You'll want to determine location based on commute to work. The city is spread out with only a few ways to get across town which means tons of traffic and congestion.
Why does everyone put such an emphasis on living close to where your work is? Don't forget, a ton of people move to Charlotte from major cities where sitting and rotting in traffic is a daily ritual. I drove 30 miles 1 way to work and took 45 minutes to get to work in the morning and 1 hour 15 minutes to get home. If I just loved Concord and my job was in Steele Creek....I would have lived in Concord....who cares about traffic if you love your neighborhood and your home?
Doesn't the average personin the U.S. commute 1 hour per day anyway?
We currently live downtown Chicago and are contemplating a move to Charlotte for both weather and SPACE! Can anyone help us find a good place to live? We have a 1 year old and our family is growing. We need good schools and a 4-5 bedroom house. Since we are used to a faster-paced city lifestyle, we would really like an area with a lot to do as well as other young families.
Please help if you can! Thanks in advance!
So you want Chicago in Charlotte with the "better" weather...heh.
Why does everyone put such an emphasis on living close to where your work is? Don't forget, a ton of people move to Charlotte from major cities where sitting and rotting in traffic is a daily ritual. I drove 30 miles 1 way to work and took 45 minutes to get to work in the morning and 1 hour 15 minutes to get home. If I just loved Concord and my job was in Steele Creek....I would have lived in Concord....who cares about traffic if you love your neighborhood and your home?
Doesn't the average personin the U.S. commute 1 hour per day anyway?
Well, if they live near to downtown Chicago, their commute time is pretty low. (assuming, of course, that they work downtown) So, they may not even have a car...many people in the city don't. Hence, a commute time would be vitally important in this respect. So, it is truly dependent upon what the person is willing to do...and, (possibly more importantly) what they are used to.
Why does everyone put such an emphasis on living close to where your work is? Don't forget, a ton of people move to Charlotte from major cities where sitting and rotting in traffic is a daily ritual. I drove 30 miles 1 way to work and took 45 minutes to get to work in the morning and 1 hour 15 minutes to get home. If I just loved Concord and my job was in Steele Creek....I would have lived in Concord....who cares about traffic if you love your neighborhood and your home?
Doesn't the average personin the U.S. commute 1 hour per day anyway?
Yes, because gas is almost free and getting cheaper!
Commute is still the single biggest consideration for where to live to most poeple... You may decide you can put up with more of it and spend more time in the car, however it's not simply a matter of "time". The further you go, the more it costs you to go back and forth. This comes out of your monthly nut.
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It's difficult, but, you can learn to just go with the flow...I have...well, to a degree! 
