Moving from NY....and FREAKING OUT! (Charlotte: home, neighborhood, salary)

[NCaro]

I'm from MA and have never seen so many bugs down here. Don't let people fool you, they are here and that is why you have to have a pest control service come monthly. It has also been very hot here so the bugs are in search of water. Saw my first roach here a month after being here, NASTY. Knock on wood, have not seen any snakes though.

The weather is hot but you honestly get used to it. I am looking forward to when I hear stories of all the cold winter days back North and know that I don't have to be there!

Traffic, yes it can be bad but it depends on where you live and where you work. For us, traffic has not really been an issue. It took us longer to commute in MA than down here. I think it is all relative. The thing that has taken the longest to get used to are the lights. You sit at them for longer than back North.

Good luck!

[moremoremore]

Thanks guys! I don't know if I'm more nervous or less nervous now LOL

Na, no job yet...Hubby has his same NY job (works from home)...so it's not the end of the world if I don't find something right away. I'm actually an attorney here in NY and have no desire to practice law in NC. I'm sure I'll find something....I'd actually love to work with animals but I don't know how that would happen....

As for Jackson Heights, you're right! In 3.5 years, our coop appreciated 100%. Nice!

[groove1]

I see roaches here, but I also saw a lot of them in WNY.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by moremoremore

Thanks guys! I don't know if I'm more nervous or less nervous now LOL

Na, no job yet...Hubby has his same NY job (works from home)...so it's not the end of the world if I don't find something right away. I'm actually an attorney here in NY and have no desire to practice law in NC. I'm sure I'll find something....I'd actually love to work with animals but I don't know how that would happen....

As for Jackson Heights, you're right! In 3.5 years, our coop appreciated 100%. Nice!

Vet Tech at Gaston community College

[TomnNC]

Originally Posted by moremoremore

ROACHES, SNAKES and HEAT and TRAFFIC and LACK OF JOBS :eek

Roaches and Snakes: That didnt stop us from relocating. Just keep you eyes and ears open!
Heat: I spent a year in Iraq; the heat here is a joke. I find it no hotter here than the northeast. Only difference is we have the pleasure of dealing with it for a longer period of time. The northeast is in a drought, as well. Not just focused on the south. The weather keeps my golf clubs out of hibernation!
Traffic: No worse than any other metropolitan area. It comes with the territory of living in a progressive city. Just have to learn the back roads!
Jobs: I feel the market is fairly stout. The only issue is the competition for open positions. I have a degree, experience, and military service so I didnt have too much of an issue.

[gocabarrus]

If you are looking for a good school district Area 4 is going to be your best bet. Especially Providence High school district. Providence Plantation is nice, but for my money Sardis Plantation has a more established feel to it. Mostly Full Brick homes built in early 90's. Iv'e been showing a ranch there that is going for around 280k with 2140 sq. ft. If you need more sq. footage than homes in the Butler school district will work as well. Hope this helps.

[rmorton]

Originally Posted by moremoremore

LOL....Yes, you're right...NYC has no roaches


Thanks for the pep talk guys!


OK. Thanks guys....! I know it's going to be an adjustment...We are also going to be first time "home" buyers, having had a coop (condo type for NC people)....So I guess I just read posts about snakes and roaches and expect to have them in my home on a regular basis But I'm sure part of that is from being a first time home buyer...I actually don't mind snakes outside and away from me

I do fear the hot weather. I won't lie. I hope that jumping out of the AC into the car won't be as bad as going from my apartment...into the no ac elevator....across the street....into the parking garage...

I drive about 45 min to work now so I'm pretty easy going regarding traffic...We are renting at Plantation Park (which I hope is OK since I spent 5 min finding an apartment) for 3 months while we check out areas for the final move...I do like area 5 but also love mature communities and don't want to spend more than $300,000.00

OK. Dumb question...Is Matthews part of area 3 or 4?

Lived in NY (Islip) from 1968-2005. Retired LIRR conductor. One good thing, the odds are you will meet at least one new yorker every week. We have flocked here by the thousands. I have only seen snakes on the golf course(and that was when I was in the woods (where I am a lot these days) Not a dumb question. Matthews is a large area...some is in area 3 some in area 4, some in Union county, some in Mecklenburg county,. The area have been recently changed so it can be a bit confusing. Once you are here there are maps that show the differnet areas. There are some mature communities all over Charlotte and for 300 you can get a pretty nice home.

[StuyTownRefugee]

Originally Posted by ultraviolet*

NYC doesn't have ROACHES or TRAFFIC or HEAT? r.o.f.l.

I've seen a copperhead or two in Charlotte, so that might be discouraging. But I've also seen some little black snakes, and green snakes. Those won't hurt you. And my dad told me he saw what looked like a gecko on my porch this morning. They eat bugs, so I'm actually cheerful about that. I once lived in an apartment that was pretty nice until 8 people moved into the one bedroom apartment next door, and suddenly I had a horrible roach problem. But I've seen them only on rare occasions other than that.

As for the other things: I'd say none of them is even close to the level of "bad" they are in NYC. Traffic? HA! It's certainly no Midtown Manhattan at rush hour! Heat? To me, it's about the same, it just gets cooler sooner in NY (ie, it's in the 50's there now, whereas its in the 70s here) and the winters are much milder.

As for jobs? I think everyone's results will vary...

Ha, Ha!! I was about to say the same thing! PLenty of roaches in NYC, rats, heat and lots of feral cats esp if you live in Brooklyn. Brooklyn has lots of insects, horseflies, bugs, IF you have a garden especially. No garbage disposals in sinks like the rest of the country.

Jobs? Charlotte, or NC/Va/Ga/DC have the jobs. NYC has decent ones only for the privileged, and in NYC many of the "people" are feral too.

But the humidity down South in summer is a killer sometimes, while NY gets very hot, there's usually a wind and humidity isn't nearly that bad comparatively.

What's so hot is Georgia, inland higher up in Mtns, solar radiation, etc.

[vanyali]

If your budget is $300k and you're looking for good schools, you should look fairly far out from the center city (like Matthews, like you said) or consider a townhouse/condo if you want to be closer in (though a lot of those are going for more than $300k right now). Generally, you're better off to the South of Charlotte than if you go in any other direction, except things get nicer in the far north around Davidson and Lake Norman. You might consider looking at Davidson -- it has a cute center dominated by a nice private college and cute old houses, surrounded by affordable newer developments, and I hear good things about the schools up there (but check out any specific school in detail before you buy -- see website below).

If you don't care about schools at all, then there are tons of opportunities for you to buy/rent into funky, young "emerging" neighborhoods close to Uptown full of cute bungalows and independent shops and restaurants. There's been a lot of flipping in those neighborhoods, generally speaking, so you might be able to find some desperate sellers stuck with cute newly-renovated houses in one of these areas and get a deal. I'm thinking NoDa (North Davidson St.), Plaza-Midwood, some pockets around South End (like Wilmore), and some of the edges of Dilworth. I'm sure there are other places I don't know about, but those are a start.

If the school situation is important to you, you should be very careful about where you choose, at least in the CMS school system -- the boundaries change all the time, so if you buy a place on the edge of the zone for the schools you want, you might get a nasty surprise. There is some limited school choice in Charlotte (a number of "magnet" schools that draw their applicant pool from a lottery) but many of them aren't very good, and you're not guaranteed to get a spot in one of the desirable ones. And you can not count on finding a spot in a non-parochial private school, they are all bursting at the seams and turning down record numbers of applicants, and they look at your social connections in the community to decide who to admit, giving newcomers a real disadvantage. Look at GreatSchools.net to research public schools.

I too am a former New York attorney. I think after you settle in,
you might want to re-think dumping your career (like I, apparently, have). I understand the desire for a break, but work is different down here. I remember Wachovia was a major client of one of the partners I worked for in New York, and we'd always have to remember to call them before 5, otherwise they wouldn't be at the office to pick up the phone. 5pm felt like the middle of the day to me. If I got home at 9pm in New York, I was knocking off early. No one does that here. A neighbor of mine is an investment banker with one of the big banks here, and she complains about her long hours because she gets home at 6. I'm not kidding.

My husband also works from home at his NY job, and while it's great in a lot of ways, it's also been hard for us to meet people. The professional gatherings, clubs hosting interesting speakers and discussions, even hobby clubs don't exist here on the same scale (if at all), so you meet people in church, if you go, at work, if you go, or occasionally in your neighborhood, if you happen to click with your particular neighbors and they happen to be interested in making new friends. It all boils down to pretty slim pickings, especially for an outsider.

[lovesMountains]

It's all about quality of life - which is apparently defined differently by some people. Personally, having to work after 4 pm would make me an unhappy camper. MOST mothers of small children who come here love the slower pace of life and the fact they get to spend so much more time with their children. Many of them come here and are thrilled to discover they can work less, or maybe even not have to work at all because their spouses job is sufficient to live on. So, if you live to work, and coming home before 9 pm is a hardship on you, please do reconsider coming to Charlotte. The pace of life here IS different, a fact most of us are very proud and appreciative of.