I have a theory . . .help me prove/disprove? (Charlotte: loft, condo)
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Well, Loves, this has been the crux of my theory, and I am so glad you took time to post and share your thoughts, as I do respect your thoughts on this. You and Barb have been here a long time and have chosen to live in established neighborhoods and your perspectives are formed by years of watching changes here in CLT.
Maybe it is b/c I was older at this stage (when we moved back here) but I had already been down the dream house route . . . in the hot new neighborhood . . . and frankly, I felt to get to the type of lifestyle we wanted . . . in a new neighborhood . . . I would need to spend $700,000 and buy up instead of meet our goal and buy down (last kid in college the year we moved back here).
We were so surprised to find that in CLT, young couples in their 30s were able to financially swing $450,000 + homes in neighborhoods we would have felt matched our criteria. And even tho I truly enjoy children, I really couldn't see us at this stage being surrounded by tricycles. So since we were not going to go the $700,000 up route . . . we knew exactly what we wanted to do - get into an older neighborhood. Plus - we bought a smaller version of the house we had left behind . . . so even tho it was an older home - well - it was about the same age as the house we had earlier built.
I did have an advantage, b/c even tho CLT had drastically changed in the years when I had lived in another state, basically, old CLT that I had known and loved was intact (denser, but intact) . . . Since I had grown up w/ friends near where I live now, I was familiar w/ the area, knew the property values were not only stable, but would only increase . . . and so I quickly grabbed up this property.
Your statement about avoiding school re-assignments should be in red letters. If newcomers only realized how much more sensible it would be to buy in one of these established neighborhoods . . . but no one explains . . . they don't have a clue!
I have to say . . . I am living in the area of CLT that back in 1980, I hoped someday to live in. I aspired to be here. So even tho this is not an "aspirational" home . . . and I am sure my neighborhood is not "aspirational, as far as my life goals, I ended up in a spot, wh/ for me, is very comfortable - and safe. Plus my property values continue to climb.
I do not hear comments in this neighborhood from dissatisfied people. Maybe we are isolated from that kind of disappointment b/c the children in this neighborhood are in good schools and we don't have any crime here. . . those of us who enjoy gardening have mature yards to play in . . . our streets are quiet, albeit lacking in sidewalks - but we still manage to get out and walk in the neighborhood. I am exactly 1.5 miles from the grocery store and almost every convenience, from post office to vet are w/in 2 miles from our doorstep. Can't get much easier than that.
I hope newcomers will give it careful thought b/f automatically grabbing a new home in a new neighborhood. It may turn out to be the situation they dreamed of, as we have seen some posters state on this thread. But - it may not. A lot to consider.
Anifani, I'd like to give my perspective on moving into a "new" development.
I am one of the transplants who bought new construction and absolutely love where I live. The schools are great, my family has made tons of friends and have adjusted well. The biggest problem is ME adjusting to my new job (but that has nothing to do where I live). I haven't lived in an established neighborhood down here so I can't comment on it, but I am loving life where I live.
I guess it's all a matter of perspective. I totally respect people who live in established neighborhoods, and good for them. But I'm just as happy in my situation and wouldn't change a thing. If your happy where you live, that's all that matters.
Anifani, I'd like to give my perspective on moving into a "new" development.
I am one of the transplants who bought new construction and absolutely love where I live. The schools are great, my family has made tons of friends and have adjusted well. The biggest problem is ME adjusting to my new job (but that has nothing to do where I live). I haven't lived in an established neighborhood down here so I can't comment on it, but I am loving life where I live.
I guess it's all a matter of perspective. I totally respect people who live in established neighborhoods, and good for them. But I'm just as happy in my situation and wouldn't change a thing. If your happy where you live, that's all that matters.
Jack, I am so glad you and your family are satisfied here - and what a relief that things have worked out well! Re-locating can be overwhelming. I know exactly what you mean about adjusting. New geography doesn't stop at the doorstep . . . it includes the workplace, too and having been there myself . . . I hope time will help . . .
I apologize if this thread and my posts give the impression that I think the only place to be happy here in CLT is in an older neighborhood, LOL. I certainly do not think that and have seen some beautiful subdivisions where I feel I would be totally at home . . .
My thoughts have been in response to people who have moved here and find CLT to be a miserable place. We have seen posts referring to CLT as something only one step below Gangsta Land and even tho it was tongue-in-cheek - "a hellish pit of sin and crime." Hee Hee Hee. But the point was well made - some have moved here and been terribly disappointed b/c the crowded schools (and re-assignments), traffic and amenities turned out to be quite unexpected.
Then we have situations where crime has quite unexpectedly occurred in new areas where none of us would have predicted it. NKJaws has informed us of the situations in her part of Steele Creek and that has been quite disturbing to know her neighborhood has been impacted by crime "seeping" into that edge of town. She bought her home expecting a new, safe subdivision. We can only hope law enforcement will put a stop to this problem (theft, drugs). I hope some improvement has occurred in the last three weeks, w/ two theft rings having been apprehended by LE. Time will tell. Neighborhoods have to work together to stop/apprehend the criminal elements b/f things get worse.
So . . . my contention is that too often, families are moving here w/o being given enuff info and doing enuff homework. Whose fault is that? One expects the relo services to recommend the best areas for transplants . . . one expects a realtor to be informed and offer a variety of options . . . and one expects the newcomer to spend some time "learning" b/f "leaping." But that is not always the case; moving can be a chaotic life change, and families are often depending on "what feels right" when they view a potential neighborhood - and they do not even realize they should be concerned about schools, traffic - or even what type of crime might be taking place near their new home.
I guess my thoughts have been on the line of - why don't realtors show more of the older homes to people who are 'clueless' - and - why don't transplants have more of an open mind about considering an established neighborhood rather than always assuming something new is better?
My conclusion is . . . it is human nature to want "new" as we think we are avoiding obsolescence and maintenance issues (a very real consideration) - and we will be "growing" our family in a growing area.
Someone posted this week that he/she had come here for a job interview and felt Charlotte was very "cooke cutter." That got me to thinking - Hmmmm. If the relo agent/realtor never even bothered to drive through "old Charlotte" - no wonder the potential transplant thought all that was here was new/recent subdivisions "out in the burbs."
If I have given the impression that I feel negatively about new neighborhoods, then I have truly implied the wrong thing. I think we are blessed w/ both lovely older established neighborhoods . . . and vital, beautiful new ones. The rub comes in when people select where to live - and perhaps have not considered (or been informed) about such things as commute times, school situation, etc.
My theory leads me to believe - perhaps we are not marketing Charlotte right. I am not sure about the answer or the solution. But I am thinking about it and hope others will, too.
I am asked - what is Charlotte's "identity" and honestly - I am not sure how to answer that. And I think that may be at the very core of what I am contemplating. Add that Forbes article to this mix . . . and I am left w/ trying to sort all this out . . .
In 1946, Lady Astor referred to Savannah as a "beautiful lady w/ a dirty face." Sometimes it is a good thing to have someone give us a wake up call. After this much publicized comment, Savannah, w/ its beautiful ante-bellum homes and a glorious past - began to work towards revitalization and a movement towards restoration and reclamation.
How would Lady Astor describe Charlotte in 2008? A stressed out lady w/ soiled designer clothes and unruly children? I don't know. Just something to think about.
Last edited by brokensky; 02-03-2008 at 08:15 AM..
Reason: misspell, edit
Totally agree. Speaking as a person w/firsthand knowledge, I can tell you most transplants don't look at established neighborhoods before new construction. So, they are already are going in w/a bias (right or wrong).
It starts w/a good realtor to explore all options maybe not thought of by the prospective buyer (which includes the benefits of established neighborhoods). If the potential buyer refuses, then so be it, but at least it was brought to the table.
Totally agree. Speaking as a person w/firsthand knowledge, I can tell you most transplants don't look at established neighborhoods before new construction. So, they are already are going in w/a bias (right or wrong).
It starts w/a good realtor to explore all options maybe not thought of by the prospective buyer (which includes the benefits of established neighborhoods). If the potential buyer refuses, then so be it, but at least it was brought to the table.
Good conversation.....
Thank you for taking the time to expand the conversation, Jack. I have enjoyed it very much, too. I hope others will post w/ their experiences. I do not see this as a "gripe thread," but rather a chance to assess what is really going on in our city . . . from the very personal perspective of residents who have either been here a long time . . . or who have moved here and can share their experiences.
What a great post! I am relocating to Charlotte area next year and have had a hard time trying to find many posts on older established neighborhoods. I currently live in a almost 60 yr old all brick home in Baltimore and have no desire to live in a new home.
That being said, what are the names of some of these older established subdivisions?
What a great post! I am relocating to Charlotte area next year and have had a hard time trying to find many posts on older established neighborhoods. I currently live in a almost 60 yr old all brick home in Baltimore and have no desire to live in a new home.
That being said, what are the names of some of these older established subdivisions?
Greetings, Saneely! I am not the best person to provide names of subdivisions, as I just go by "areas" - but I know we have others who can specifically give you names.
Could you give us a rough idea of the price range? Also, will you need to commute somewhere - since driving time may affect your decision as to where you would like to live.
Once we have that, I know others will be able to give you specific names of subdivisions.
BTW - thank you for posting! It is great to know that our discussions here may be of some small help to others thinking of moving here.
When we were looking for our house after we moved here in August, we quickly realized that with our budget (<$150K) the new developments were not going to give us anything close to what we wanted. We knew we needed a good lot with mature trees for the kids and room for them to run around, with small children who are going to grow to be 3 big teenagers (and due to spacing all on top of each other, lol) we needed room to grow, but not so much we'd get lost in the house when they were gone. We ended up spending our max on a house that's almost 20 years old that we can easily see raising the kids and staying put when they're gone. We have half an acre, live in Matthews (which we appreciate because of the slightly lower property taxes), have less than 30min commute to DH's work in uptown, are in a really good school zone considering our price range, all of that and we can still afford for me to be home with our kids...I truly think we've found our "dream home"!
We keep reading about the crime due to foreclosures in the newer starter neighborhoods and just thank God we didn't get involved in that mess. I think it's especially important for people who move here with lower end housing budgets to look at established neighborhoods- someone else already paid that "premium" for the house being new and what you have now is fairly solid equity not to mention you can judge what the neighborhood is like now and not have to hope that everyone else who builds is who you want to be neighbors with. Then again, DH and I are kind of "back to basic" people who wander on the crunchy side of life and we're fairly young (29), so maybe we're just weirdos, lol.
I'm really enjoying this thread - good job, ANI. It has started me thinking about my arrival in Charlotte on a hot August day of 1974. We moved from Ithaca, NY and I had never spent a summer in the south. We moved into a neighborhood which was already 6-7 years old built by John Crosland one of the better builders of the era. Most of tour neighbors had bought the houses when new and most were natives. We were one of only two new families in the neighborhood. I hated the heat and was furious when I learned that there was no public school kindergarten for our area - especially when I found that most of the primo preschools had long before filled their classes. But you see, I was alone - I did not have 200 other families moving in from the North at the same time to kvetch with. Everyone took the heat for granted and thinking that public kindergarten was a given was pretty naive in my neighbor's eyes. There was no City-data.com forum to complain on, so what did I do? I talked to my
husband and my mother. No one here knew that there was a breakdown happening in my sweet little Cape Cod in Coventry Woods. Soon everything started to calm down. Beautiful September arrived, I found a private kindergarten (not the best, but I hung around to make sure it worked out for him) for older child and a Montessori school for younger one. When October and then November came and I still had my house plants outside, I was a true convert. What I'm trying to say is that when you move into a new subdivision with transplants from the North I think there's too much negative energy to preclude disappointment. Think about it! What if we had been 200 mothers screaming our lungs out because there was no kindergarten for our five year olds?
Like, Ani, I have no complaints about new neighborhoods. My husband would lovet o burn down our house and move into a new one where we didn't have to worry about new windows, a new shower, refinishing at least 1/3 of our hardwoods, and paying to have our gorgeous hardwoods pruned every time we turn around. My sister and her husband have had a series of old homes starting with a fantastic Victorian on Lake Harriet in Minneapolis and finally ending up with a 1930's home on another lake. My brother-in-law said ENOUGH !!! He refused to replace one more roof, one more brick wall, one more storm window. So they bought a brand new town home and he rejoices in it's newness every morning. So, you see I know what you' burb dwellers are saying and Ani does too.
I personally don't want to move too far from the center of town. I love it that I can be anywhere uptown in 15 minutes, at Cottswold or Southpark in 10-15 and can still make my weekly trips to Trader Joes, Stonecrest and the Arboretum in less than 20 minutes. I love it that I can be at UNCC in 20 minutes, NoDa in 15. I like it that the whole city is MINE!
I must admit that when I do visit S. Charlotte, I am envious of the pretty neighborhoods and know from having visited friends that the houses are all shiny and new inside. My neighborhood, by comparison, is rather tired looking, but it's very comfortable and I am comfortable in it.
I hope that I've explained my feelings. I should add that as retired folks my husband and I can not (and would) buy a five bedroom home such as we have here. We wouldhave to downsize too much hand I'm not ready for that.
I wish, as do Ani and Loves, that before folks relocate here, they were shown all of the options available - including the old established neighborhoods.
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