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I am from Saint Louis, moved to Alabama end of 2010, that was waaaaay too far from civilization. Then moved to Mount Holly, borders Charlotte on the east side, last year and it's definitely close enough to Charlotte for doctors and entertainment and shopping. BUT, I am in the process of moving out to Waxhaw next month. I have gone out there repeatedly to check out the town and surounding areas and schools. The schools look great. The town is the most adorable I've seen around. I've looked into lots of these surrounding little towns, and many of them are not much more than suburbs, which is not my taste, and many of them are little towns that no one ever appears to actually go to. Waxhaw seems to have an active little town. There are always people there walking around, and every weekend the town itself hosts family friendly events throughout the summer. During the year they host an event once a month. Also, one of my biggest draws is that in the tiny little town there is a pottery studio, a glass blowing studio, a studio that makes metal art, a kids' art studio, a yarn shop and a bead shop. I like crafty and artsy people and it seems like I will find that there. Also, it looks like people actually hang out downtown in the evenings, should I want to get away from my family for a while. Mount Holly is dead past about 7pm. I'm a mom of five, so I want a town that is safe, good schools, kids can ride their bikes, lots of family activities, but also a place to unwind as an adult. Waxhaw seems to have all of that plus some. I certainly hope I'm right, because this is my very first house purchase, and I won't be moving for a long while.
Just as a note, I did not choose a brand new house in a brand new neighborhood. I wanted to be close to the little town and I wanted more than .23 acre for a yard, so my house is just a mile from the center of town and is older.
Seems a little far out for my tastes..I am an hour out of Boston now..If i can't live less than an hour of a lower cost of living city like Charlotte then it's not worth it. I like the amount of house you get, but quite honestly I would pay more for location at this stage. Makes the house easier to sell.
I also love Waxhaw for all of the reasons you list. I live in Marvin, just over the Union/Mecklenburg county line. I work in Ballantyne and my husband in SouthPark, both relatively easy commutes. I have ordered an electric hybrid car and hope to soon be able to commute with NO gasoline. I enjoy the quite calm of my wooded older neighborhood. I can get to anything I could possibly need in less than 30 minutes.
We live in unincorporated. Waxhaw and we love it, but I can see that it's not for everyone. We moved from outside NYC and hubby commuted 2 hours each way to the city. So a half hour into Charlotte is a treat! Also, I work in Matthews and hubby works from home, so we're not dealing with any crazy traffic/commute issues.
You will absolutely love Waxhaw for the exact reasons you've listed. We have lived here 3 years and still feel that way about this cute little town. Maybe not so little anymore..
As someone who has experience with both systems, I will tell you that they "Union county schools are soooo much better than Mecklenburg county schools" meme is fairly inaccurate and usually trotted out by people who don't want their kids mixing with kids from other socioeconomic backgrounds.
As someone who has experience with both systems, I will tell you that they "Union county schools are soooo much better than Mecklenburg county schools" meme is fairly inaccurate and usually trotted out by people who don't want their kids mixing with kids from other socioeconomic backgrounds.
Cuthbertson Middle School is the #4 ranked middle school in the state...The one's above? NOT IN MECK!
there's a fair mix of socioeconomic backgrounds as well..let's not try to play the race card without saying race, k?
I just came from having a child in the Weddington Schools and yes it isn't diverse but we felt very welcome there. Now back in a top rated Meck school, there is a difference. Union county is better for regular and gifted/AIG/TD kids. However Meck is tons better for Special Ed or struggling kids.
And by the way, back to the don't want their kids mixing with kids from other backgrounds, this couldn't be further from the truth for me personally in Weddingong/Wesley Chapel area.
We moved because the commute was too far for dh. He is working just past the Lake Wylie/Tega Cay area. We chose our area for better access to the highways and being more central to the W and E.
It's not my cup of tea to live in the boonies. We prefer to live closer in. We don't have kids so schools are of no concern. If I was raising some younguns I might feel differently. So far I haven't heard any other reason for living there.
"Too far out" is subjective... of course because it comes down to where you work etc. It's not for us - we love it "out here" in the cow farms.
We specifically wanted to avoid Meck schools - you'll find many who end up in Union county for that reason alone. Union county schools overall are far superior to Meck schools with a few exceptions - Ardrey Kell, Providence, and Myers Park. If I had to live in Meck county, I would specifically choose a house that is zoned to one of those High Schools.
Indian Trail is the outlier in your town list as that will be more Matthews centric for eats and shopping - you're likely looking at Sun Valley for schools. Weddington and Waxhaw will lean more towards Ballantyne for eats and shopping, with Wesley Chapel kind of in between - in general these towns will be Weddington, Marvin Ridge, or Cuthbertson for schools.
When speaking about Waxhaw specifically you have to be careful because it is very large and essentially extends directly South from Weddington and Marvin which are up against the county line... You can live in Waxhaw and vary your Uptown commute by as much as an extra 30+min should you live out South of 75 (past downtown).
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