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My husband and I will be moving to Charlotte around April 1st. We are looking for a safe area and rent around $750. Any advice on where to start looking?? We have a large hound dog and a cat.
Congrats on your upcoming move to what really is a great city - people accuse me of being overly enthusiastic about CLT, but having experienced the city as a transplant as well, I can tell you it is an easy and welcoming city to call home. I hope and think you'll find the same to be true.
A lot depends on where you want to live / how close you want to be to the center of the action. CLT is a sprawling city, so living on the outskirts can be a little too far away for some people. I lived in the Mallard Creek area, which is in northern part of the city next to the Concord line. I found it convenient, since that area of Concord has a lot of amenities, and the Mallard Creek area itself has plenty of restaurants and grocery stores. It was about a 15 minute drive (without traffic) to Uptown, which a lot of my friends considered way too far. Because it wasn't in the central part of the city, the rent was more affordable (this is largely true for a lot of the outer ring areas - the further you get, the more affordable things are): I paid $640-ish for a large pet-friendly 1br off of Mallard Creek and was really happy with it.
That said, some people really like living close to Uptown, and I can understand why. If you work in the area, it makes sense. Plus, there is a lot more to do closer to the city center and neighborhoods are much more walkable (or, as walkable as possible in CLT, which is largely a car city). If that's more your bag, you can find affordable options in neighborhoods around Uptown, it will just take some more digging. I've had friends in Elizabeth, Dilworth, Cotswold, Chantilly, and off of Providence Road - those are traditionally safer areas very close to Uptown. While they are more expensive as a result, you can find gems: a friend of mine lived in Elizabeth and paid less than $700 for a fantastic 2br. That's an exceptional deal that isn't easy to find, but they do come along and it's worth a look.
Finally, I've had friends (and I myself have lived) in areas of West CLT - which a lot of folks claim to steer clear of. I understand why, since it is an area in transition and the crime is higher than the previous areas I just listed. However, don't write it off completely - parts of Arbor Glen and areas in Wilmore (though transitional) might work for you. Check them out, too!
There's a lot of options in a city like Charlotte - take your time looking, to the best of your ability - and something great will come up.
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