Moving To Charlotte, 2009

[friendnc]

I have lived in Gastonia and Belmont. Belmont and Mt. Holly are very nice towns, as is east/southeast Gastonia. All of these areas are very close to Belmont Abbey/shopping/restaurants/I-85.

[amynascar20]

If I'm looking towards Gastonia what streets should I stop at before I'm in an unsafe area?

What is the drive time between Hunterville, Concord, Mooresville and Uptown during heavy traffic and when it's not busy?

What grocery stores are in the area?

Thanks again

[SunnyKayak]

Originally Posted by amynascar20

If I'm looking towards Gastonia what streets should I stop at before I'm in an unsafe area?

What is the drive time between Hunterville, Concord, Mooresville and Uptown during heavy traffic and when it's not busy?

What grocery stores are in the area?

Thanks again

You stated earlier that you read Belmont is unsafe but I want to clear your confusion. Charlotte has a neighborhood community called Belmont that is challenged not Belmont.
Your commute from Huntersville to Belmont will be around 45 minutes during commute hours I do not know if you take Mt Holly Huntersville Rd to hwy 273 will save you any time but you could avoid rush hour traffic that way.

Mooresville and Concord you are living further away from Belmont and you can add another 30 minutes to commute from these cities .
If that is what you want to do then its your choice but if it was me I would focus on finding a place in Belmont, Mount Holly, Gastonia or Dallas.

[amynascar20]

Thank you so much for your help! I definetly don't want to drive another 45 mins after I get out of school at 10 pm.

I'll be there in a few weeks (can't wait) to take a look and get some phone numbers of the complexes in the Belmonte area.

Someone mentioned that some of Gastonia could be unsafe, how far west can I go before I find those areas..any streets I can mapquest to get an idea.

My mom would also like to look at houses in the Gastonia area, she plans to follow me there eventually, are there any good areas I can take her to.

And in the Belmonte/Mount Holly Area, what shopping areas are there? Grocery, Mall, Walmart, Movie Theatre?

[cgballer]

Originally Posted by amynascar20

And in the Belmonte/Mount Holly Area, what shopping areas are there? Grocery, Mall, Walmart, Movie Theatre?

Most of the shopping is along Wilkinson Blvd w/ Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Bi-Lo, Harris Teeter, Target, etc. There's the Gaston Mall and Eastridge Mall in Gastonia. Just use the 'find business' function that google has (my search for movie theater): movie theater loc: belmont, nc - Google Maps to find specific stores in the area.

Oooh, and we also have a drive-in movie theater in Belmont

[amynascar20]

Again, Thanks for all the great info and help. I'm glad I asked or I would have continued to look for apartments in Hunterville and Concord.

I can't wait to come down and look through the Belmont area, now if only I could speed up the calendar.

Are there activities or any programs for kids, my daughter who is 12 now (will be 14 when we go) wants to go, but is afraid she won't make any friends (I've assured her the people in NC are nice and she will make friends... but I'm just mom and don't know anything). She likes reading, swiming, video games. Could you go for a bike ride around the area? I'd like to buy her a new one this year for her birthday, maybe we could ride around the area? or go to a park for a picnic? We want to look for cooking classes too to do together, Right now we live with Grandma and we're not aloud to cook =)

What are the winters really like? Does it snow? I met a girl there last year that said "They have a plow, but have only seen it on TV." Currently I've resided near Buffalo, NY for the last 5 years. I can't wait not to hear....Lake Effect Snow Advisory. I don't mind it getting chilly, but I'm tired of freezing. I have one of those old cast iron stoves, would I be able to use it? it belonged to my great grandmother, I can't wait to finally buy a house to put it in.

How close is the nearest lake? I'd love to learn to jet ski =)

How close and how long would it take to get to the Speedway?

As always, thanks again for all the great information.

[cgballer]

- YMCA in Mt Holly (swimming): ymca loc: Mount Holly, Gaston, North Carolina, United States - Google Maps
- There are public libraries in Mt Holly and Belmont
- Bike ride: There are side walks in Belmont that you can ride your bikes on. Wouldn't recommend riding a bike on the road since people are not used to sharing the road w/ bikers
- Stowe Park in Belmont is very nice, it's in the downtown area. They're going to build another (larger) park at the Catawba river including bike paths and public access to the river (also boating, etc.)
- So far we haven't had any snow and it's 68 degrees right now
- People in Gaston county are very nice, most of them are friendly Southerners

[the 7 oh 4]

Originally Posted by amynascar20

Thanks, I'll look into those areas (Mount Holly/Belmont) I read somewhere that Belmont was questionable? How about Gastonia? I saw a few areas in SC that were close too any thoughts on that?

I'll plan to attend Belmont as an Adult and will be taking night classes a couple times a week. I will have to work full-time too. Can anyone give me an idea what someone with a AAS degree in Business might make an hour? Currently I'm a receptionist at a local bank and make around $11 an hour, I'm currently working on the degree and will have that when I move. Are there any local employment agencies someone can give me a link too or # for?

Also in those areas what are the middle/school like? (I've read bad things on these post about the schools, but am open minded) I have to argue with the school system I'm in now and expect to have to do that no matter where I go....my daughter has ADHD it's been a struggle to get even the "good' school she's in to accomodate.

Next question....what/where is uptown I want to look like I know where and what I'm talking about when I get there.

Thanks again for your comments/help!!!

Belmont is not questionable. Belmont, NC. Belmont section of Charlotte is a different story and very questionable, but the city of Belmont, NC is totally fine! That is where Belmont Abbey is.

[amynascar20]

Thank you again, I can't wait to come visit! I got my college packet for the abbey today.

Unfortunetly were I'm at now, it's no where near 68!

I'll be sure to add more questions when I think of them.