Does anyone regret moving to Charlotte?/ what makes charlotte so great? (taxes, living in)

[mullman]

/done with this thread/

[Mrs. P]

Originally Posted by chicagocubs

Actually, I understand that. If you are used to an area that is more urban, the lack of street lights is very unnerving. It took me a long time to get used to it.

Actually I came from a small town. Never even thought to check out the night driving issue....but I will next time.

[mullman]

Originally Posted by Mrs. P

Actually I came from a small town. Never even thought to check out the night driving issue....but I will next time.

And your small town had better lighting that Charlotte?

My wife's town in MA has 1 stop sign and 1 stop light and zero road lighting.
THAT is a small town...

[polo89]

Originally Posted by Mrs. P

Not really. If people are thinking of moving, don't you think it's fair of people to give them some info good and bad both? One thing about the board here is if any negativity is posted in regards to Charlotte the OP is usually attacked.

Every city has it's bad and good points. Charlotte is no Utopia, and I think giving people that impression could be misleading. It's a great city, but not perfect. No place is.

Personally I don't have kids in schools, but feel Charlotte's schools have some issues. Personally I've never been involved in any crime (victim) but feel Charlotte has a crime problem.

It's just like what happened to me....did I think when I came here I would have such a hard time driving? Nope. Didn't think, didn't even enter my mind, that street lights would be an issue for me. Not enough of them, and too far apart and dim. I can not drive at night here, because of this. So yes, this city can have it's issues for potential movees. How much say this street light issue would affect? Probably very few, but it is something that I feel should be presented...simply because like myself I didn't even think to check that out. Boy I am next time I move. It's on my list GOOD street lighting.

As someone who had been coming to visit the Charlotte metro area for a good 25 plus years ( one to two times a year) I thought I had the area pegged pretty good. I did not. When I came to visit relatives I really never listened to the news, I never drove much (family always drove me around)
What a concern to me once I moved here to actually watch the news in regards to crime, school issues etc, not to mention driving at night time.

So what I'm saying is yes these boards can and do have some stupid remarks, however tearing into someone because they have a different view or stating to others NOT to read anything negative is remiss for all of us.

Let the potential movees decide on their own what to absorb in comments, whether we feel the comments are over and above what may be necessarily true...Not everyone's experience is the same here.

Some manage to have a great life. Some have a so-so life, and some have a horrible life. It depends on what one requires, in order to survive, and be happy.

I agree 100. It's like you can't say ONE negative thing about Charlotte on these boards. You should go to the south Florida forum, it's nothing but negatives. And I also agree about the street light situation. There just isnt enough of them here, it's insane. I moved here from Texas and it can get pretty country out there but, OVER HERE it's insane. But other then that Charlotte is a BOOMING city, and it's gonna continue to grow.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by polo89

I agree 100. It's like you can't say ONE negative thing about Charlotte on these boards. You should go to the south Florida forum, it's nothing but negatives. And I also agree about the street light situation. There just isnt enough of them here, it's insane. I moved here from Texas and it can get pretty country out there but, OVER HERE it's insane. But other then that Charlotte is a BOOMING city, and it's gonna continue to grow.

It is not that you can't say "one negative thing" on this forum!!! I don't think newcomers get it!!!!

We natives have been living here and putting up w/ all kinds of things for decades. It is what it is. We adapt and make the best of things. It is just very aggravating to hear newcomers arrive and start criticizing what isn't right here, what is a problem for them, etc. Those of us who grew up here are fully aware that this is not a perfect place to live, but we did not send out engraved invites saying "This is Utopia!!! Please come to this perfect city!!!" Nope. We sure didn't. In fact, our city has more problems b/c of too many people moving here and putting a strain on the infrastructure.

So the feeling from natives is . . . we all make the best of what is here. If you don't like it - leave. People sound petty and whiny complaining about the things they miss. The natives have a list of things they would like to see improved, too! But change is slow and takes money and we fully realize that we can't have it all - WITHOUT OUR TAXES GOING UP. So we deal with it and move on.

[mullman]

Originally Posted by anifani821

So the feeling from natives is . . . we all make the best of what is here. If you don't like it - leave. People sound petty and whiny complaining about the things they miss. The natives have a list of things they would live to see improved, too! But change is slow and takes money and we fully realize that we can't have it all - WITHOUT OUR TAXES GOING UP. So we deal with it and move on.

Agree.
So ironic that people move here for the lower cost of living, then wish for things that would only make our taxes like the NE which they were only too happy to 'escape' from.

It goes on and on. 'It is so much cheaper for housing in & taxes in CLT, but I wish it had this and that....'

Enjoy CLT for what it is...much cheaper.
I encourage you to vote in such a way to keep things cheaper and not just another NE USA.

The lighting thing is funny to me though, having traveled extensively and only find metro areas around the world sufficiently lighted for non headlight driving at night.

As an amateur astronomer I love dark skies and wish CLT was even darker than it is.

I used to drive out to Waxhaw for dark skies and use my telescope, but even that is not dark enough anymore.
Sad.

[anifani821]

Yes, I don't want my taxes going up.

Now, I don't mean to sound heartless about people missing specific places they enjoyed elsewhere. I miss things about Kansas City! But when I boo hoo about missing the boats and my favorite restaurants and jazz clubs, I am not criticizing CLT for not having a duplicate of those places. I just miss being able to go to those places. CLT has things KCMO didn't have . . .

I stay aggravated about the highways here. But I have felt that way since I started to drive about four decades ago!!! It is what it is! I knew it was like that when I moved back here. The other things - such as lack of sidewalks and greenways in my neighborhood - OH WELL. I sure as heck am not going to make it my mission in life to gripe about such things . . . as I don't want to PAY for those items. I just learned to walk in the street and dodge cars, LOL.

[nyxmike]

Just a comment about the street light issue. I don't know about anyone else, but I would just like to see the street lights that we do have fixed and working. I don't think people are saying that every street and highway here needs to have lights. The street lights on I-77, I-277, and I-85 in Mecklenburg need to be fixed and maintained. Same thing goes for the city street lights already in place. I can name several streets with broken lights. They have been that way for awhile now. This is a major urban area after all and some areas require adequate lighting at night.

Also, about taxes. I am pretty sure the fast-growing Atlanta metro area as well as other fast-growing cities in Texas still have low tax rates similar to Charlotte and NC (you can correct me if I am wrong). A lot of these places are twice the size of Charlotte, they are still growing rapidly, and they have many of the amenities people say Charlotte lacks. I think Charlotte can grow and still be an affordable place to live. Some areas will obviously become more expensive but that is to be expected anywhere.

[anifani821]

As far as I-277, a discussion came up in the last two years or so about those lights (and that is a bad area for lighting) and the estimate was $6 Million to repairs the wires in those lights. So, the Mayor suggested solar lights, wh/ would cost $1 Million. The state was responsible for repairing those lights, so that is why they never were repaired.

I tried to find out if the state approved the $1 M for the solar lights or if the city just bit the bullet and bought them . . . but so far, have not found a link to a story about that situation.

As you can see, street lights are not only expensive, on some roads, it is a state maintenance problem and if the state won't allocate the funds, we don't get the lights.

ETA: video on the solar project:

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/so...-nc/3485528426

[polo89]

Originally Posted by anifani821

It is not that you can't say "one negative thing" on this forum!!! I don't think newcomers get it!!!!

We natives have been living here and putting up w/ all kinds of things for decades. It is what it is. We adapt and make the best of things. It is just very aggravating to hear newcomers arrive and start criticizing what isn't right here, what is a problem for them, etc. Those of us who grew up here are fully aware that this is not a perfect place to live, but we did not send out engraved invites saying "This is Utopia!!! Please come to this perfect city!!!" Nope. We sure didn't. In fact, our city has more problems b/c of too many people moving here and putting a strain on the infrastructure.

So the feeling from natives is . . . we all make the best of what is here. If you don't like it - leave. People sound petty and whiny complaining about the things they miss. The natives have a list of things they would like to see improved, too! But change is slow and takes money and we fully realize that we can't have it all - WITHOUT OUR TAXES GOING UP. So we deal with it and move on.

Hey I know what you're going through. I used to live in FLA and all I here is whiny Northerners. BUT it's not like I was calling Charlotte hell, it's a good city and very afordable GRANTED there needs to be changes. I agree no city is perfect, and ya'll didnt ask any of us to come, and would probably be better off without us non-natives. I was sayin what I said in reference to northerners moving to FLA then complaining and moving to CLT and then complaining again, and was trying to inform them that it's not PERFECT here either so they dont get there hopes up and start there typical complaining again (I BARELY MAKE SENSE) sorry. I hope I made sense lol. Charlotte is a GROWING city and home prices will continue to rise (thanks to us non-natives) I moved from FLA then TX then here so I dont really know where I feal at home at, im only 19 so I have no ideal where I want to settle. (sorry for tellin my life story lol)