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We lived in Union County before moving to South Charlotte. We found it a maddening mix. It was remote, yet the traffic was terrible. The infrastructure is not keeping up with growth and is only getting worse. We sold our house within just a few months and ended up moving twice in one year. We made a big mistake by moving to Union County.
The schools are crowded and getting more so; when they build more schools, the lines will be redrawn so you don't know where your children will go, and the trailers quickly fill up again. I don't know of any districts like you describe with just one high school. Even smaller towns like Concord and Davidson have five or six high schools. Maybe someone else can answer this, but hasn't Fort Mill somehow shut down to new students? I thought I heard something like this, but don't know how it could be possible.
Obviously as I have said before, the private school route was right for us. I don't mean this to sound harsh, but what is more important, a quality education or a larger house? For us, the right decision was to choose education.
You can buy a very large house here for under $400k in a good neighborhood. Especially when you compare to Ventura County. My parents live there and are active in real estate; a $3 million home in Ojai would be about $600 here. Without the view, of course
If you are not willing to spend the money for private schooling, why not look in one of the well established areas of Charlotte with the higher rated schools? There are small developments of new homes going in all over south of downtown. These are called "infill" developments, I believe. They are taking advantage of some of the last undeveloped spots in older, established communities. You get a new home, big trees, beautiful neighborhoods, highly rated public schools AND a convenient location near shopping, restaurants, and the cultural scene. Ask a good real estate agent about some of these new neighborhoods.
Good luck with whatever you decide!
Good info about "infill" neighborhoods that are going in and allowing for great in-town access - problem is, you can't find a home in any of them for under $700,000 last time I checked.
Fort Mill schools are not shut down to new students! There was one high school up until this year when a second one opened up, Nation Ford High School - but still, I believe the Fort Mill area gets closest to all the things Julia is searching for. Except of course, by moving over the state line into SC she loses the ability to access in-state tuition rates at all of NC's great universities and colleges later down the line. (This is reason enough for many folks to stay on the NC side of Charlotte's metro area).
Well, she was talking about Skyecroft, which I believe is $1 million and up. There is a development off of Hwy 51 near the country club, across from Arboretum shopping center. There is one off of Providence Rd near Charlotte Latin called "Grey" something. I've seen quite a few of these up and down Providence and some closer in, near Southpark off Carmel Rd and I believe off of Fairview.
I just thought of another nice neighborhood where I believe they are still building. I know two European families who live there. Large homes, small lawns, gated...it's called Heydon Hall.
And on the private school issue: I have a good friend who is moving here from Canada. She is from Europe. She chose the larger home vs. sending her children to private school. I know it is the right choice for some families and I did not mean to sound judgemental!
Oh and there are no homes here for $600. I meant $600k of course!
Again, hope this is helpful!
Last edited by solnechko; 12-18-2007 at 10:22 PM..
Reason: caught typo in previous post above
Well, she was talking about Skyecroft, which I believe is $1 million and up. There is a development off of Hwy 51 near the country club, across from Arboretum shopping center. There is one off of Providence Rd near Charlotte Latin called "Grey" something. I've seen quite a few of these up and down Providence and some closer in, near Southpark off Carmel Rd and I believe off of Fairview.
I just thought of another nice neighborhood where I believe they are still building. I know two European families who live there. Large homes, small lawns, gated...it's called Heydon Hall.
And on the private school issue: I have a good friend who is moving here from Canada. She is from Europe. She chose the larger home vs. sending her children to private school. I know it is the right choice for some families and I did not mean to sound judgemental!
Oh and there are no homes here for $600. I meant $600k of course!
Again, hope this is helpful!
My mistake, I temporarily had Julia confused with another poster who is trying to stay under $600,000 So yes, Julia could check out some of those infill projects. The ones you mention along hwy 51 are in the 1 million range. All the others you mentioned are between $700 and 1 million. I too would, and have in fact already, chosen a much smaller home to afford my children the opportunity to attend private schools - every family has to do what they think is right for their family.
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