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I would recommend that you keep in mind that Ballantyne will be a terrible commute if your DH ever winds up working in Uptown or elsewhere in Charlotte. The best he could hope for from there would be 45 minutes and Union will be much more wose, they say 485 will be widened by 2014, but I'd add two years to that since the whole thing has been under constructiong for 20+ years and still isn't complete. You might want to think about the suburbs immediately around the city, such as Cotswold. Its a reverse commute to most places of about 20-25 minutes, there are good schools, though you'd have to pick carefully or plan for private school.
I commute to uptown regularly from ballantyne, and if you don't hit the times right, yes you are in traffic pretty bad, but not too bad, definately not city traffic like I am guessing ATL is. But since they commute will be into fort mill, I am guessing the OP's husband would be OK. I am thinking cotswald to fort mill would not be so good though, however I have never done it.
First of all - welcome to Charlotte!! Temperate climate, tempered traffic, and the proverbial warm hospitality will greet you and hold you forever in its warmth!
I am the mother of gifted children as well, and have loved the education in NC so far. My kids go to a gifted charter school and we live in S Charlotte. PM me and i can give you more info on the school and the neighborhoods I think you may be a good fit for.
There are some spectacular homes in the S Charlotte area with all the amenities like swimming pools, tennis courts etc that would work out great for your kids! Some great alues out there - if you want I can recommend a great realtor for you - a fellow mom who is very familiar with the neighborhoods in S Charlotte and can help you find your perfect family home!!
Hello- We are moving from East Cobb area of Atlanta to Charlotte. We have excellent schools here and an extremely gifted kid so we are really intent on a great public school sytem that is also not too large. Also an area that is young family friendly, we have three young kids, lots of pre school options, swim tennis neighborhoods preferred. Husband will be working in Ft. Mill but we are not sure to live there or move into Charlotte. Reasons not to move to Ft Mill would be NC colleges are better and if he ever leaves this company and takes a job in greater Charlotte or north Charlotte, we would have to move again for a reasonable commute. On the other hand we hear great things about Ft Mill area. Housing range would be in the 400-500 range. We ideally want a basement too but there does not seem to be that many there???? We are not Southern so a place with transplants would be good. We like a small town feel however, Atlanta is too large for our tastes so we are excited about Charlotte being smaller. Cant be too far out in the boonies however, need grocery and shopping somewhat nearby. We are white, late 30's, college educated, three young kids. Also, need an area with stay at home mom community is the norm. Any suggestions would be greatly appreaciated. Thanks
sc has some good colleges and who said your kids would choose a college in nc. they may go out of state
Thanks for all the suggestions. It seems like from what I gathered, sight unseen of Charlotte, we should look at Waxhaw and Ballantyne and then at Ft Mill if we decide we can live over the border instead. Nobody mentioned Matthews, is that not good or just commute from Ft Mill too long?
Other problem is that I get a realtor assigned to me from the transferring company since they are paying all closing costs etc. so as far as a GOOD realtor, I dont know who I am getting. So for everyone offering me a good name, sorry, cant use them anyway. Boo.
Thanks for all the suggestions. It seems like from what I gathered, sight unseen of Charlotte, we should look at Waxhaw and Ballantyne and then at Ft Mill if we decide we can live over the border instead. Nobody mentioned Matthews, is that not good or just commute from Ft Mill too long?
Other problem is that I get a realtor assigned to me from the transferring company since they are paying all closing costs etc. so as far as a GOOD realtor, I dont know who I am getting. So for everyone offering me a good name, sorry, cant use them anyway. Boo.
Matthews is a nice place The section of it south of Hwy 74 (which is most of Matthews) is no further from the airport than Waxhaw - and in some cases will be closer. I would definitely say to let the realtor show you homes and neighborhoods in all these areas.
Just so you know, almost all relocation companies allow you to request a real estate agent, even if it is not one currently with their company. I am in the process of closing one where the seller requested me personally, and at that time I did not have a relationship with the relocation company (Cartus, in that instance). I worked out the deal between the relocation company and my company and everyone is happy. You just need to request one by name and it can be worked out.
Join the Charlotte Mommies network. I'm a member of Lake Norman Mommies. Charlotte founded the network! Those women will be a great help and resource for you!
I'm a member of a different sister site, UnionCountyMommies.com. We have a ton of transplants down here. I am from RI and have felt right at home since day 1. Lots of friends from NY, the midwest, other southern states, and from right here. My husband works from home, so I don't know much about commutes, but I do have a lot of friends whose husbands commute into the city from here. It can be longer, but I think a lot of people love living down here. It's all about where you feel most comfortable.
One recommendation for anywhere before you decide. Use google maps at times you will be driving to find actual travel times during those times. We were set on Ballantyne till we found that everywhere we wanted to travel to was 1 hr or more away from 5 - 6:30 PM, even when going out of Ballantyne.
Travel time isn't everything, but definitely worth knowing what to expect. If the travel times work out, the area itself looked excellent as far as suburbia goes.
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So for everyone offering me a good name, sorry, cant use them anyway. Boo.
