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Good areas anywhere are not cheap. Charlotte is no different.
Very true. We came back to Arizona (our hometown) from Houston and housing prices there were ridiculous for good school districts. My pause or anxiety in moving is due to the fact that here in AZ, I am not paying that much for rent and the school my sons attend is phenomenal. They have lots of field trips, teachers and parents are super involved, lots of after school activities, curriculum is accelerated, etc. I don't want to lose that. In Houston, we didn't focus on schools so much as we homeschooled and when time came to transition to regular school, the teachers were telling my child to put his head down because he was asking too many questions. I never want to go back to that.
To the OP, I understand your financial concerns. I made the opposite move mamy years ago leaving Charlotte for a job in Phoenix. I really think your family, once settled, will enjoy living in Charlotte. True, it is about three hours from the beach and two from the mountains, but it's still closer than driving six hours to get to the beaches in California (three for Mexico), or five to Vegas or four to the Grand Canyon! I miss Charlotte and hope to move back one day soon. Remember, once you leave the desert, leave the comparisons between the two places because they are polar opposites. Good luck with your relocation.
How much do you think cost of living differs between the two? I can look all day on calculators, but in reality those things can only do so much. For instance, Houston housing cost is high, but I paid less for goods and services. What are your thoughts when doing cost comparison?
One more question for everyone. How do you go about finding a rental out there. For instance, here you can contact a realtor to send listings. I have been going on zillow/trulia/craigslist but I know there are probably houses for rent that I am not hitting on. When I called a realty company,they said agents are not on the rental side and I can pick up a key and show myself. Seems the process is quite different out there, but getting a realtor would help so much.
How much do you think cost of living differs between the two? I can look all day on calculators, but in reality those things can only do so much. For instance, Houston housing cost is high, but I paid less for goods and services. What are your thoughts when doing cost comparison?
I believe the COL is slightly cheaper in Charlotte, but not by much. Surprisingly, I think your utilities will cost more in NC than AZ. Housing is also slightly cheaper in Charlotte. Phoenix is larger but Charlotte has more Fortune 500 companies.
If everything is perfect in AZ, why the heck are you moving?
First, I hate the desert. Second, AZ residents are not concerned with higher education, as a whole. It seems that people here are satisfied with the minimum that gets them by. I was able to see a whole different type of culture surrounding education when I was in Texas. It was expected that people were going to college. You heard kids in stores chatting about what universities they were applying to. Not so much here. Also, there is a lack of black professionals here and I like my kids seeing more positive role models in the community. I think Charlotte has all of those things and a better location than Texas.
I got very lucky that I landed in such a good pocket amongst all the bad areas here in AZ. I came back because my family wanted to try living close to their grandparents, etc. What I have found is that I don't spend as much time with them anyway, so I might as well be somewhere I like. Moving east has been an experience I've been waiting for for a long time, I just don't want it to be a bad experience because I am struggling financially.
One more question for everyone. How do you go about finding a rental out there. For instance, here you can contact a realtor to send listings. I have been going on zillow/trulia/craigslist but I know there are probably houses for rent that I am not hitting on. When I called a realty company,they said agents are not on the rental side and I can pick up a key and show myself. Seems the process is quite different out there, but getting a realtor would help so much.
Few realtors in this area deal with rentals, as the commissions are so much smaller than sales. In hot neighborhoods, driving around to find for rent signs that have just been put up is about the only sure fire way to find them.
First, I hate the desert. Second, AZ residents are not concerned with higher education, as a whole. It seems that people here are satisfied with the minimum that gets them by. I was able to see a whole different type of culture surrounding education when I was in Texas. It was expected that people were going to college. You heard kids in stores chatting about what universities they were applying to. Not so much here. Also, there is a lack of black professionals here and I like my kids seeing more positive role models in the community. I think Charlotte has all of those things and a better location than Texas.
I got very lucky that I landed in such a good pocket amongst all the bad areas here in AZ. I came back because my family wanted to try living close to their grandparents, etc. What I have found is that I don't spend as much time with them anyway, so I might as well be somewhere I like. Moving east has been an experience I've been waiting for for a long time, I just don't want it to be a bad experience because I am struggling financially.
These sound like good reasons... anytime you get nervous, remind yourself why you are leaving a state known for party schools and moving to a state with some of the best colleges in the country Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, NC State, Elon, App State, etc
There's not much you can do to find a good rental other than zillow and other real estate websites. :/
Housing is honestly not too bad, depending on what neighborhood you live in. Like if you go towards/near the myers park area houses there sell for 500K+ easily and I think some rent for 2K+ easily. But I don't think theres many rentals over in that area and what not. But you can definitely find some good places that have some pretty decent schools assigned to them and that are within a 10-30 minute commute to CMC
Have you talked to a realtor regarding this issue?
I haven't been able to get in touch with anyone. Left some messages, still waiting for a callback. I'm going to try again tomorrow and in the mean time I have started to contact some property management companies. There are a few homes that are reasonably priced and seem to be in decent areas. I have been looking in Matthews and Indian Trail. The drive in doesn't seem too bad and also the drive from the 28269 zip code up north seems okay. Not sure if this is true, any thoughts? When I do google maps it says the drive in is between 28-40 minutes tops, depending on when I leave.
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Seems the process is quite different out there, but getting a realtor would help so much.
