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Wow...is there anything NOT to like?? There is a TON of things to do, the water is beautiful, and the property values are skyrocketing on or near the lake.
Schools are top notch, lots of restraunts and dining. If you dont mind the traffic, the east side of the lake is great, if you want serenity and a lil slower paced life, go for the west end of the lake...
Location: Sunny Phoenix Arizona...wishing for a beach.
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I live in Huntesville and I love Lake Norman. It's nice to sit at one of those lakeside bar and grills and have a drink and look at the lake. I enjoy driving over the lake, I just like to see water. Yes we have stores and strip malls but what busy place doesn't? I find the commute to Center City stress free using CATS and door to door approx 45 minutes that includes waiting for my bus and driving home from the park and ride.
top notch schools? You have to be kidding me..top notch they are not (unless you are from a state where they have horrible schools) the schools here are okay..not great by anymeans and horribly over crowded. They keep adding more and more kids to my daughters classroom.and trailers are going to be added next year.and she is in k and has to be there at 7:30 am which is ridiculous.
Yes there are many restaurants but the majority of them are chains which is sad.
Is it nice here?..yes for many people...but again it depends on where you are coming from and what you are used to. We came from CT so find that this area is severly lacking in many of the things that we loved back home (history, culture, great schools, the ocean/beaches..and water you can swim in LOL, local restaurants, local stores, heck..locals in general! zoos, aquarium, many children's museums etc etc..). Many people enjoy the lifestyle here..housing developments, strip malls, chain restaurants... sterotypical suburbia lifestyle
it really just depends on what you are looking for
top notch schools? You have to be kidding me..top notch they are not (unless you are from a state where they have horrible schools) the schools here are okay..not great by anymeans and horribly over crowded. They keep adding more and more kids to my daughters classroom.and trailers are going to be added next year.and she is in k and has to be there at 7:30 am which is ridiculous.
Sheesh, settle down killer. I am basing this off my little one's schools in our area and comparing it to where we came from in FL. Sure, there are better schools out there in this world, but the reviews that I have read and the feedback from our friends and neighbors on the schools around Lake Norman seem to be pretty darn good.
If your biggest gripe is kids learning in trailers/portables, alot of kids in the classroom, and being there early, then you are doing alot better than most of the nation. I'd be more concerned about fights, crime, unconcerned parents, poor teachers, little or no funding, etc.
Try out Broward County FL for a few years and tell me what ya think about Lake Norman area schools..
Okay, I'm ready for the darts to come flying for saying this. But if you come from an area where you have real lakes and real ocean, you're not going to be impressed. Manmade lakes just don't cut the mustard. But if you're in the middle of a southern state, and it's hot and humid, with no lakes, then ..... and you don't mind that power plant, then .... hey, go for it.
It's way overhyped; and I've driven around most of it and the areas in between. If I was going to spend $700,000+ on a home, it wouldn't be there jammed up next to all the other faux showplaces. It would be in an area that compliments and justifies the price. Just another urban sprawl marketing program, in a plain vanilla overdeveloped area.
top notch schools? You have to be kidding me..top notch they are not (unless you are from a state where they have horrible schools) the schools here are okay..not great by anymeans and horribly over crowded. They keep adding more and more kids to my daughters classroom.and trailers are going to be added next year.and she is in k and has to be there at 7:30 am which is ridiculous.
Yes there are many restaurants but the majority of them are chains which is sad.
Is it nice here?..yes for many people...but again it depends on where you are coming from and what you are used to. We came from CT so find that this area is severly lacking in many of the things that we loved back home (history, culture, great schools, the ocean/beaches..and water you can swim in LOL, local restaurants, local stores, heck..locals in general! zoos, aquarium, many children's museums etc etc..). Many people enjoy the lifestyle here..housing developments, strip malls, chain restaurants... sterotypical suburbia lifestyle
it really just depends on what you are looking for
Right on with all that. I have a little one and another on the way... and I wouldn't in a hundred years, stick around here long enough for them be raised in this area. I would work three jobs if I had to.... for them grow up back in upstate NY or New England.
Folks - This place is seriously over-rated, and if you are thinking of moving here... I will offer some sound advice - Rent before you buy. Check it out, that's cool. But all I can offer from my perspective.... is... that I have never disliked an area- that I've lived - any more than I do the Charlotte/Lake Norman/Mooresville area. I did once live in Philadelphia. And that is saying something, if you know what Philly is like.
Oh well... I'm once again tonight on another "I hate Charlotte suburbia" trip. I wonder if it has something to do with my having been dragged to Walmart in Mooresville today? I think my blood pressure is still 180/120. I keep telling my wife that shopping on-line is really the best thing to do.
Expanding upon that a bit - I think the one good thing about going to a place like Walmart - is that after you are done with your "experience" there... and get back to your vehicle in the parking lot, ya know, quickly shuffling the packages in your car (because usually three people are waiting for you to pull out of your parking space) is that there often is an interesting moment that takes place. You pause for a second... and then quickly look in the review mirror at your face... and think to yourself... "Wow. I really am pretty normal." What a freak show Walmart's are... it's amazing.
But...today... that respite of tranquility quickly passed, for as I headed out the parking lot, I was nearly sideswiped by someone running a stop sign with a "Git R Done" sticker on their 1988 Chevy Monza.
After this harrowing incident, in order to keep myself sane - I reminded myself that it was St. Patrick's day - And I am still on the Planet Earth (I think) - and hey, there is basketball on television and a sixer of Guinness in the fridge when I made it home. (Though I did have to travel on I-77, and wasn't quite sure I would make it home... but I'll save that for another post...)
Oh well.... just another day in Charlotte suburbia..... What a Long Strange Trip it continues to be. And, heck... it's only been a bit over a year.
In conclusion, I do though, wish a Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone - Even the WalMartians in Mooresville. Top O' the mornin' to you rascals...
Last edited by Berkshires413; 03-17-2007 at 09:37 PM..
Location: Sunny Phoenix Arizona...wishing for a beach.
4,300 posts, read 14,953,183 times
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Why do people continue to move here if they don't like crowded schools,chain resturants,strip malls and a fake lake? I will never understand this. I knew this place was crowded before I came, I saw the chain reataurants and the fake lake and came anyway. I guess I don't understand what people are hoping to acheive when they come here. It's crowded because everyone is coming and it's not going to get better until people stop coming and the people that are unhappy here go home. Who knows I may go home once I figure out where home is, but for now I am here and I am thankful for what I have at the moment.
Why do people continue to move here if they don't like crowded schools,chain resturants,strip malls and a fake lake? I will never understand this. I knew this place was crowded before I came, I saw the chain reataurants and the fake lake and came anyway. I guess I don't understand what people are hoping to acheive when they come here. It's crowded because everyone is coming and it's not going to get better until people stop coming and the people that are unhappy here go home. Who knows I may go home once I figure out where home is, but for now I am here and I am thankful for what I have at the moment.
Speaking specifically for my situation, I came here because of me and my wife's job opportunities... and the fact that we had a baby and thought it would be nice to be around some family that are in the area... in order to help out...with the baby,etc.
I knew from the get go, though, even before I moved here, I was not going to be happy here long term. I just could have never guessed... that I would have grown so sick of this place... so quickly.
I've posted some negative opinions of this area on here, and some people do not like what I have to say... but... the bottom line is... this is a forum where people who are thinking of moving here should hear all sides... and hey, I am totally aware that many people may be happy as a cat in a sun-filled window sill once they are here... but I think there are also a significant amount of people who are running from a place that they will miss... for various reasons... once they are here. It's all relative...
Who knows, I'm just putting it all out there... plus... ya know... I'm just a bit bored here... and like to write. So, that... is that.
PS: What did you think of the sales at the Mooresville Walmart today?
Location: Sunny Phoenix Arizona...wishing for a beach.
4,300 posts, read 14,953,183 times
Reputation: 813
Quote:
Originally Posted by Berkshires413
Speaking specifically for my situation, I came here because of me and my wife's job opportunities... and the fact that we had a baby and thought it would be nice to be around some family that are in the area... in order to help out...with the baby,etc.
I knew from the get go, though, even before I moved here, I was not going to be happy here long term. I just could have never guessed... that I would have grown so sick of this place... so quickly.
I've posted some negative opinions of this area on here, and some people do not like what I have to say... but... the bottom line is... this is a forum where people who are thinking of moving here should hear all sides... and hey, I am totally aware that many people may be happy as a cat in a sun-filled window sill once they are here... but I think there are also a significant amount of people who are running from a place that they will miss... for various reasons... once they are here. It's all relative...
Who knows, I'm just putting it all out there... plus... ya know... I'm just a bit bored here... and like to write. So, that... is that.
PS: What did you think of the sales at the Mooresville Walmart today?
Oh I agree you should post the negatives on here. This is a relocation forum and it's important for people to know that this is not paradise on earth or the holy land. We don't have an ocean we have a man-made lake and that will not change.
I was actually heading up to Walmart today and I made a wrong turn on the 77 and ended up back in Huntersville so I went to Target instead.
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hey, go for it. 
