Huntersville, Concord, or Matthews? (Charlotte, Indian Trail: transplants, crime, home)

[linearity]

Hi, We have narrowed it down to three towns, and wanted to get some opinions on schools, commute, housing appreciation rates, safety, and the number of young families. How would they compare?

We would like this home to be "it" for the next 20 years or so and settle down while the kids are going through school.

Thanks.

[CharlotteAgent]

Well Huntersville is filled with young families or "new" families. The commute to Charlotte is anywhere up to 45 mins. Depends where your going and what time you leave.

Any of the above cities should be ok to live in. I am more partial to Huntersville as I grew up here myself.

[mm34b]

Try the Charlotte Metro Area Forum for more responses.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/charlotte/

[galaxyblue]

Concord is crowded.

Matthews has great schools but the commute uptown can be 40-45 minutes. I love Matthews.

[friendnc]

I live in Concord and love it. All of the popular areas in the Charlotte area are going to be crowded, Concord no more than the others. The taxes in Concord are lower and the schools are great accross the board. It's safe. During "off" times, I can get to uptown Charlotte in 20 minutes (I don't go to Charlotte durnig rush hour, not sure how long it takes then). Don't take me wrong, Huntersville and Matthews are great towns. We love visiting Mattews Playhouse and Birkdale Village. They're great places to live in many ways. I just prefer the lower taxes, a MUCH smaller school system (130,000 students, Yikes!!), and quicker drive into town. But all in all, you really can't go wrong with any of them.

[dandevder]

I think you have chosen 3 very nice places. Have you visited all of the areas to see which is most appealing to you? I am right next to Matthews and like the area a lot. I enjoy being close enough to go shopping, yet have to go by a few farms on the way there. Best of luck to you in your quest.

[fromcenFL]

Matthews is very very nice town with a lot of history.
Its full of transplants but not nearly as much as Huntersville or Concord though!
They have a great Labor Day weekend festival every year thats free to roam around and music on a couple stages, plus movies and plays in the park during the summer.
A very cool downtown as well, good schools (I know people with multiple children in the system), and some decent parks, squirrel lake park is very cool.
The commute is shorter distance-wise than concord or huntersville by far and only takes so long because of congestion on independance which more of it will be converted to expressway so no more cross streets or traffic lights!

Some negatives though, Matthews is still in Meck county so the taxes won't be as low as Cabarrus though I've heard taxes in surrounding counties to charlotte will rise in the future to handle the growth- something to consider if you plan on staying 20 years.
Also, it borders Charlotte so crime and other problems could "spill over" in the future, whereas huntersville and concord are more "dissconnected" from Charlotte.

Hope I've helped.

[mmdj43]

Originally Posted by fromcenFL

Some negatives though, Matthews is still in Meck county so the taxes won't be as low as Cabarrus though I've heard taxes in surrounding counties to charlotte will rise in the future to handle the growth- something to consider if you plan on staying 20 years.
Also, it borders Charlotte so crime and other problems could "spill over" in the future, whereas huntersville and concord are more "dissconnected" from Charlotte.

Hope I've helped.

From what I understand, Matthews has a good chunk that is part of Meck County, but we live in Matthews and are in Union County. I think you're right about the taxes going up in the future. With all this growth, I would not be surprised that they will go up.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by mmdj43

From what I understand, Matthews has a good chunk that is part of Meck County, but we live in Matthews and are in Union County.

Are you saying the city-limits of Matthews extend into Union County?

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by mmdj43

From what I understand, Matthews has a good chunk that is part of Meck County, but we live in Matthews and are in Union County. I think you're right about the taxes going up in the future. With all this growth, I would not be surprised that they will go up.

If you live in Matthews you live in Mecklenburg county

It is possible you live in Indian Trail or other spots in Union county but have a Matthew address because there is no other post office closer.