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I am a CPA looking to move me and my family from the greater NYC area to Charlotte NC. I was wondering how bad is the commute from SC, note I'm used to a 1.5-1.75 hour commute each way (total 102 miles daily) so a 30-45 minute commute is dandy to me. Also, with two young boys are the schools and neighborhoods that much better in SC than NC? Let's assume I find work, as it's very unlikely I won't find something suitable, and I don't mind rural as I was born in Louisiana and grew up in north west Florida. Thank you for any responses.
The schools and neighborhoods are not better in SC then NC. It really depends on where you are going to work and live and what price point you want. You would need to give a ton more information then you have to get an opinion.
It depends on where in SC you're looking. The most popular suburbs on the SC side of the line are Fort Mill, Indian Land, Tega Cay, and Lake Wylie. Fort Mill in particular is known for having very good schools and nice neighborhoods. You could also check out Rock Hill which is larger but just a bit farther from Charlotte. The length of your commute will of course depend on where you're working in Charlotte, but in general it really shouldn't exceed an hour from any of those towns.
for those who wish to have more specifics...
Okay,
i am not from the area so if general descriptions are lacking local names feel free to correct me, additionally if this move occurs its can be as far as 6-12 month out if i choose, lastly i do know i need to go see everything and visit specific areas prior to a move, and so lets assume i am aware of this.
i have some opportunities about 3 miles west of hornets stadium ( i know this is a rough description) , additionally lets say my price point on homes is $325,000 and under.
Where i will live is still in question, as I'm not sure what area we prefer. We are an active outdoors family, but having spent much time in NYC we have no problem with a more urban to suburban area as long as we have access to getting outside in the woods. The commute from any town we decide to live in should be at or under an hour. We have been advised that Matthews NC is good several times, however many have also said to commute from a town in SC is often beneficial. I am not aware of which towns are common choices for Charlotte commuters who have growing families, so if one could state some that appear to be suitable for a young family that would be appreciated.
What is the real opinion of the commute from just over the boarder in SC to Charlotte for work. ( i know this is general, but there are only a handful of major roadways ( i-77, 49 from Lake Wylie, hwy 21, 521 -485, 321 ) into Charlotte from SC so a general explanation of the commute as one sees it would be fine. I'm sure there are many other routes but as these appear to be the main roads, thus i assume it is the major commuter ways as well. ( again feel free to correct or advise me if that is completely off base)
I suggest monitoring the Google Maps traffic overlay for SC roads between 6 and 9 am over a few days to see the backups. Try plugging in a destination to see drive time maybe.
The areas that you have spoken of will generally result in a commute of under an hour. So, your decision may depend on your preference of schools or your feel for a specific area. There are two lakes in the area that are popular for people to live near because of the outdoor recreation. There are numerous neighborhoods near these two lakes. Lake Norman is near I-77 on the north side and Lake Wylie off Hwy 49 on south side. Good Luck
I don't understand why you need to commute.
The suburban communities you are describing are not in forests. Outdoor activities are just as accessible for city dwellers. Why sign up for traffic if you don't have to?
As always it depends on where in SC vs NC as there are some school districts better than others. The benefit of SC is that the property taxes are lower than NC. Fort Mill would be your quickest commute - with close proximity to Highways, Lake Wylie, the airport and a fantastic school district. South Charlotte commute may be a bit longer but also has fabulous schools, lots of shopping, restaurants, lots of parks, etc.
It's worth exploring the different areas and see what is the best fit for our family.
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Last edited by SunnyKayak; 05-29-2016 at 06:37 PM..
Former New Yorker that moved to Charlotte January of 2015.
A little background. I'm 40 and lived in Queens since 1984 moved to Great Neck LI and worked in NYC and Hauppauge and finally moved to Hoboken, NJ December 2012. So I definitely understand the traffic and what NYC has to offer in terms of entertainment, culture and conveniences versus Charlotte.
Figure I chime in regarding schools and commute times. We don't have kids, but we wanted understand resale based a lot on schools. So we did our homework and wanted a balance. We ended up at a 4000+ home development call Highland Creek. It's split between two counties, Mecklenburg and Concord. On the Mecklenburg side the school is 6/10 and 9/10 in Concord, based on Trulia.
Highland Creek is located close to I485 which give access to I77 and I85. I work in uptown, Charlotte's version of 'Downtown', and my commute is about 20 minutes door to door at 4-5pm. Traffic on I77 usually starts after exit 19A towards Huntersville, but fortunate for me that's where I connect to I485.
I have coworkers that live in Ballantine and Mint Hills and their commute is usually 45 minutes plus during rush hour. Longer if by Rock Hills, SC. The infrastructure just wasn't built for the population growth. These are also areas with better schools as well, but for us, it was a balance of commute time vs. school.
The longer I'm here the more I appreciate the extra time spent with family vs. in the car. 20-30 mins more each way can easily equate to an hour a day. A lot of local will be very helpful in pointing you to various areas and each of the neighborhood will have it's pros and cons.
Being in Charlotte for almost a year and a half now, I wouldn't go back to NYC even for 1.5x the salary, which I've been offered. I just wanted to give you a former NYer's perspective.
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