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Thought I would post here to get some opinions, i read this forum pretty often and see some very educated and informative replies.
Anyway, here goes. I've been renting in charlotte with a roomate for the past 3 years after graduating from the art institute in 05 and picking up a steady web design job off tyvola. I'm 23.
Since then, i've been slowly working my way up into the uptown area and I'm sick of having a roomate. I need my privacy and I need to be able to leave my front door and be able to walk to the bars & restaurants I've come to love since moving so close to the city. I've met so many people here. Ideally, I want to just get rid of my car. Everything I need is uptown or in southend, and I can take the lightrail down to tyvola to work.
Right now, we are renting a mile north of uptown in a old house in the greenville neighborhood (was the cheapest we could find close enough to walk uptown).
After this august I want to make the jump and rent a little studio condo or loft for myself within the 277 loop or southend. I'm really tired of throwing my money away renting, but as of right now I can't afford to buy and I want to get a few years of urban living in uptown without the financial worries of buying. Eventually, me and my girlfriend of 2 years plan to buy when she graduates and gets herself a steady job, but until then we really just want to live it up while we can and enjoy ourselves. Basically, I don't care how small the place is I live as long at is below $900/mo and within 277 or southend. I don't even need a bedroom, even as little as a 400sf studio will do me fine as long as I am in a safe & convenient location.
With that said, do any of you have good advice on where to look? I constantly check craigslist and rarely find anything that suits me. The best deals I've seen are in Post Gateway, but people have told me they love to send the rent sky high after you move in. Any developments or areas you guys have in mind? I'm not asking for links to certain developments or PM's from agents, I'm asking for common knowledge from other people who have been in my shoes and had trouble looking in the area or know of any up and coming areas of interest. Thanks.
Last edited by thechabra; 02-27-2008 at 06:36 PM..
Thought I would post here to get some opinions, i read this forum pretty often and see some very educated and informative replies.
Anyway, here goes. I've been renting in charlotte with a roomate for the past 3 years after graduating from the art institute in 05 and picking up a steady web design job off tyvola. I'm 23.
Since then, i've been slowly working my way up into the uptown area and I'm sick of having a roomate. I need my privacy and I need to be able to leave my front door and be able to walk to the bars & restaurants I've come to love since moving so close to the city. I've met so many people here. Ideally, I want to just get rid of my car. Everything I need is uptown or in southend, and I can take the lightrail down to tyvola to work.
Right now, we are renting a mile north of uptown in a old house in the greenville neighborhood (was the cheapest we could find close enough to walk uptown).
After this august I want to make the jump and rent a little studio condo or loft for myself within the 277 loop or southend. I'm really tired of throwing my money away renting, but as of right now I can't afford to buy and I want to get a few years of urban living in uptown without the financial worries of buying. Eventually, me and my girlfriend of 2 years plan to buy when she graduates and gets herself a steady job, but until then we really just want to live it up while we can and enjoy ourselves. Basically, I don't care how small the place is I live as long at is below $900/mo and within 277 or southend. I don't even need a bedroom, even as little as a 400sf studio will do me fine as long as I am in a safe & convenient location.
With that said, do any of you have good advice on where to look? I constantly check craigslist and rarely find anything that suits me. The best deals I've seen are in Post Gateway, but people have told me they love to send the rent sky high after you move in. Any developments or areas you guys have in mind? I'm not asking for links to certain developments or PM's from agents, I'm asking for common knowledge from other people who have been in my shoes and had trouble looking in the area or know of any up and coming areas of interest. Thanks.
I can so appreciate what you are wanting to accomplish Though I don't think it will be easy, I do think you can find a situation that will work for you if you are willing to do a few things.
First of all, be open to going just outside the I277 loop. This would mean you couldn't quite as easily walk places, but if you did this and then became a bike rider uptown would be pretty accessible. Next, consider renting a room in a home, instead of your own apartment. I have seen rooms for rent like this in both Elizabeth and Eastover. Some of these rooms for rent have their own entrances, but you would be in a home with other people. You still wouldn't have a room mate but you would have to accept living under the same roof with others. If you are already living in Greenville you really should be okay no matter where you go - that's kind of a rough area! So also extend your search to the Plaza Midwood area. There are a few streets with duplexes on them right off of Central Ave near Charlottetowne Dr. - perhaps one of them could be had in your price range. I will ask around and see if I can come up with any leads for you, we can always keep our fingers crossed something in that price range is available in uptown
Last edited by lovesMountains; 02-27-2008 at 09:58 PM..
Thanks! You know I really enjoy the plaza midwood area as I often visit Thomas st for common market/penguin/thomas st tavern/snug harbor nights, and I also go up to noda for shows at the neighborhood theatre & evening muse or catch a crawl. Problem with these areas is I frequent uptown area way more often and it's not really within walking distance.
I've been a skateboarder for 12 years, so that's what I use to get around (you may have almost run into me a few times if you frequent uptown, don't hate me!), so as long as it's within a mile or so and I don't have to go through a sketchy area as I do now in greenville. The seaboard st. tracks is a scary place to be so I usually go around and by the shelter at spratt. When we moved in here we were hoping the music factory would be further along and change some things around here. To be honest, greenville hasn't been that bad of a place to live other than the sketchy stretch between here and uptown and there aren't really any young people around here, which is the reason I want to leave (that & the roomate thing). I wish I could walk from here to the lightrail... then I really could ditch the car. If I can find a place to live with a safe walk to the light rail, that would also be an idea.
Anyways, I will keep looking and keep my fingers crossed, and of course, any help is always appreciated! Thanks again.
Last edited by thechabra; 02-27-2008 at 10:37 PM..
Thought I would post here to get some opinions, i read this forum pretty often and see some very educated and informative replies.
Anyway, here goes. I've been renting in charlotte with a roomate for the past 3 years after graduating from the art institute in 05 and picking up a steady web design job off tyvola. I'm 23.
Since then, i've been slowly working my way up into the uptown area and I'm sick of having a roomate. I need my privacy and I need to be able to leave my front door and be able to walk to the bars & restaurants I've come to love since moving so close to the city. I've met so many people here. Ideally, I want to just get rid of my car. Everything I need is uptown or in southend, and I can take the lightrail down to tyvola to work.
Right now, we are renting a mile north of uptown in a old house in the greenville neighborhood (was the cheapest we could find close enough to walk uptown).
After this august I want to make the jump and rent a little studio condo or loft for myself within the 277 loop or southend. I'm really tired of throwing my money away renting, but as of right now I can't afford to buy and I want to get a few years of urban living in uptown without the financial worries of buying. Eventually, me and my girlfriend of 2 years plan to buy when she graduates and gets herself a steady job, but until then we really just want to live it up while we can and enjoy ourselves. Basically, I don't care how small the place is I live as long at is below $900/mo and within 277 or southend. I don't even need a bedroom, even as little as a 400sf studio will do me fine as long as I am in a safe & convenient location.
With that said, do any of you have good advice on where to look? I constantly check craigslist and rarely find anything that suits me. The best deals I've seen are in Post Gateway, but people have told me they love to send the rent sky high after you move in. Any developments or areas you guys have in mind? I'm not asking for links to certain developments or PM's from agents, I'm asking for common knowledge from other people who have been in my shoes and had trouble looking in the area or know of any up and coming areas of interest. Thanks.
We lived in Post Gateway when they were brand new. We were the 1st people to ever live in our unit. We LOVED Post apartments.
There is also Post Uptown Place too. We went there too but liked Post Gateway. Live there for 13 months until we bought a Loft Uptown and had NO problems at all.
At your age...you need to be UPTOWN! We moved Uptown in 2000 and are still here and love it!
Also check out 4th Ward Sqaure (on Graham St) too. They are older & still nice and I think that you might even be able to get a full size 1 bedroom for $800.
GOOD LUCK!
Last edited by the 7 oh 4; 02-28-2008 at 07:39 AM..
Does anyone know any cheap apartments/studios preferably in uptown, Elizabeth, Plaza, SouthEnd or South Park? Preferably less than $600 a month.
I found a place on Pecan Avenue that was rented out. Then a place in uptown called 508 Tryon House. Though they just rented the studio on Saturday and have a 1 bedroom for $625 that might go up on the 10th in which case I might opt for that and wait for a studio to open later.
The reason I ask here is because it seems like all the best deals are on rinky dink websites and you have to dig through the mainstream $650 for a piece of crap in Hidden Valley and Graham, west blvd., Freedom etc.
I know those are all desirable locations but I also know there are lots of great deals.
The best deals I've seen are in Post Gateway, but people have told me they love to send the rent sky high after you move in.
If that's the case, sign a long term lease so you know the rate for a long term?
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Though I don't think it will be easy, I do think you can find a situation that will work for you if you are willing to do a few things. 
