Looking for help picking a neighborhood- 32 Single, White Male, Middle Class (Charlotte: fit in, condos)

[DWH6783]

Hello,

I'm looking for tips in choosing a general area of Charlotte and the surrounding area to live in. I'm ready to buy a place in the up to 200k range, preferably a townhouse or condo but a modest SFH might work. Here's the criteria:

-Would like a commute that's mindful of Research Drive (work- off Harris, near UNCC), South Park area (family), Uptown.

-Would prefer a fresh, clean new construction with a modern floor plan (mostly affects nicer bathroom and closet space). Turned off at buying an old place and trying to fix it.

-Not a night life person, but I do like the walkable, bustling feel that you can see somewhere like in DC's East Market for example.

-I also like to jog/bike so a place with natural or greenway areas is a plus.

-And the biggest thing, looking for the right match for my personality and standing. My job and class generally feel somewhere between blue collar and professional, income around 80 but I'd rather hang with a crowd that makes less than more. I'm just an average, non judgmental, generally introverted gamer type who goes to work, listens to music, wears jeans, etc. I'm educated but not an intellectual. I don't fit in with the fru fru crowd of South Park but wouldn't be comfortable in a seedy area either. I appreciate art and music but don't identify as one of the NoDa crowd. I'd like to be in an area where I can generally find people that I have common ground with, whether looking for women, hangout buddies or sharing public spaces like a gym.

Some options that I've looked at are the Plaza Midwood surrounding areas, which have a great location but older construction. Current frontrunner for me is some Townhomes in Briar Creek off of Commonwealth.

I also identified a place called Brightwalk off Statesville Avenue which has an appealing mix of being new constructions, built in greenery, potential future walkable retail, and a good location for my job. Will look into more but it was all street parking and it was a turnoff how tight it was to drive in the townhouse section. Unsure of the "personality" of the development. I would be interested in more projects like this that anyone knows of.

Thanks for any tips and I will monitor this thread for anything I can clear up that might help with a recommendation.

[GoPhils]

I don't see why you wouldn't consider the university area. Easy commute of course, IMO is the most diverse area of Charlotte, light rail under construction which should help walkability and should definitely be able to get something newer in your price range.

For the near term your best bet is probably the Mallard Creek area which is more professional, away from most of the students, not much walkable retail (maybe if you're near the Trader Joes/Hickory Tavern shopping center) but there is a greenway. For future potential there was a thread a little while back where the OPs wishlist was somewhat similar - Best Future Transit-Oriented Suburbs for Raising a Family and he brought up a neighborhood called Rocky River Village. I'm not that familiar with that immediate area and many would say that south of WT Harris can be a bit iffier, but hopefully the light rail can start to change that.

A bit of a middle ground between those two could be the townhomes/condos near the Shoppes at University Place. Obviously not the same as Plaza Midwood but there is a bit of walkability there and of course will also be a stop on the light rail.