North or South Charlotte? (Graham, Arlington: rental, crime, cheap house)

[shoboo75]

Hi,

My husband and I are considering moving to Charlotte. We currently live in the DC Metro area in Northern VA and are moving basically to afford a nice home.

Both of us travel for work so all we need is airport access. For now, neither of us is looking for a local job.

We just came back from our first visit to Charlotte and our head is spinning from the variety of homes, neighborhoods, builders etc.

We are looking for a 2500-3000 sq feet house in the 280K-330K range. We are looking to slow down a bit and possibly start a family soon so a good elementary school would be a criteria.

In North Charlotte, we were able to find a lot of new constructions, and South Charlotte had older resell homes.

What do you recommend. North or South Charlotte. Our needs again are simple:

2500-3000 sq feet house
280K-330K range
Good elementary school
Nice neighborhood

Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks!

[mountain_time_Blues]

South Charlotte. Won't be finding anything near the airport though. (It's not exactly in the best part of town) You'll probably be able to find homes matching the criteria you have mentioned.

[bs13690]

South Charlotte will definitely have a lot of options for you. We also have moved from Metro DC (Arlington) to here because of housing prices. They both have a lot of new subdivisions, IMO.

A really good site for property searches is Allen Tate Family of Companies. You do not have to register and they have a robust search engine.

Also, before you decide on a house you should look at crime for that area. You can go to Community Crime Information System to search for incidents in any area in Charlotte. The Quick Search is the easiest and be sure to check reported incidents (assualt, burglary, etc.) as well as calls for service (noise complaints, fireworks, etc.).

Good luck!

[south.charlotte&union]

I prefer the south side of town as well, but it really is a personal preference. When you visited, which area did you like better? You would be able to find a home meeting your criteria in either location.

[btgo]

We moved here 11 years ago from Arlington VA. Lived in University area for 7. I loved the neighboorhood, schools, etc. But 'affordable housing' drove me (and 3 of my neighbors) to move to South Charlotte. City council member Smuggie Mitchell and Malcohm Graham are all about promoting 60k-100k housing. The schools started to suffer and now my old neighborhood is in decline. We used to walk to the elemtary school, but all this cheap rental property and cheap houses went up all around the school, I didn't feel safe sending my kids walking unescorted. Check the schools...they are all horrible up there now adays. Thanks alot Smuggie No contest...

[Edwinvon]

Go further South than Charlotte - Look in Fort MIll, SC. Easy access to I-485 which will take you directly to the airport with little traffic. Home taxes are less and the Fort Mill schools are great.

Good Luck,

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[shoboo75]

So our search continues and we are still confused. A friend mentioned today that from an appreciation perspective, South Charlotte would be a better bet since North Charlotte has newer communities and have lots of inventory left.

But we are looking to be there at least for 4-6 years. In that time frame, will South Charlotte still be a better investment than North Charlotte.

The brand new, shining homes in North Charlotte sure are tempting!

[Emma77]

I personally prefer South Charlotte by far! To me the North side is nothing but cookie cutter, just add water houses. Nothing unique about it, and not enough trees! Obviously there are people out there that don't mind that, but I love the fact that my house looks nothing like anyones else's.

Good luck in your move!! Either way Charlotte is a great city!!