Charlotte v. Cary (Raleigh, Apex, Waxhaw: crime, house, neighborhoods)

[JBMOM]

Hi, my family and I are so close to putting our house on the market in NJ and heading down to NC. We've visited the Cary/Raleigh/Apex area and really liked it from the perspective that it's a great place to raise our children. We're planning on visiting Charlotte at the end of March and were wondering what your thoughts are on how the two compare. I realize that it's a personal preference, but if there are glaring differences, it would be so helpful to know. My husband works in the apparel industry and I'm a paralegal. Our boys are in grade school and are very athletic. Any insight would be so appreciated. Thank you.

[U120]

We also considered the exact same areas as you are. We are from Long Island and also have 2 children age 8 and 4, so many of the same concerns. We searched Raleigh/Cary/Apex first and were very impressed. Our RE Agent did all she could to persuade us not to look in Charlotte. She would just tell us that its "different", but couldnt exactly tell us what was so different.

What we found when we came here was a much more metropolitan feel. It felt alot more like what we were used to from NY but much friendlier, cleaner, newer and better all around. I found Charlotte to offer so much more in culture, arts, entertainment and to top it off you got more bang for your buck regarding housing and property costs.

We settled in Waxhaw and dont regret it for a second. We entirely love it here as do our children. Honestly I dont think you can make a mistake with either decision you make. Both are amazing areas.

[JBMOM]

Thank you so much for your reply. I think that you hit the nail on the head. When we were in Cary, we really liked it, but found that there didn't seem to be that much to do in terms of the arts and culture. There's a tremendous amount of outdoors stuff available, which is fabulous, but when we had some free time on a Sunday morning, we had nothing to do! We're not looking for another NYC, but somewhere that offers a little bit of everything that we love. It sounds like Charlotte may suit our personalities a bit more than Cary... Thank you.

[the 7 oh 4]

Moved here from North Raleigh years back. Would never return to Raleigh. Charlotte is 15 years ahead of Raleigh. Charlotte is booming & vibrant & has MUCH more culture!

Visit both and you will have your answer. Charlotte is more metropolitan & cosmopolitan.

Charlotte all the way!

GOOD LUCK!

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by JBMOM

Hi, my family and I are so close to putting our house on the market in NJ and heading down to NC. We've visited the Cary/Raleigh/Apex area and really liked it from the perspective that it's a great place to raise our children. We're planning on visiting Charlotte at the end of March and were wondering what your thoughts are on how the two compare. I realize that it's a personal preference, but if there are glaring differences, it would be so helpful to know. My husband works in the apparel industry and I'm a paralegal. Our boys are in grade school and are very athletic. Any insight would be so appreciated. Thank you.

One of the biggest, most important differences is the school situation. As nice as Cary is, I would not personally move there with the huge problems going on with their schools -kids are being bused all over creation. If you want your child to go to a nearby neighborhood school definitely look at Charlotte and its neighboring counties (Cabarrus, Union, Gaston).

[NCaro]

I would visit both places and make sure you spend enough time to get a feel for both. Visit neighborhoods that you think you might want to live in and talk with the neighbors. Also, you might want to check out what is available for recreation etc in both places to see which one meets your needs.

Good luck!

[dpreston]

U120,
glad you like it here Waxhaw, were probably neighbors

[BrusselsSprouts]

Both Cary and Charlotte are great places to live. My parents retired from Poughkeepsie NY to Cary and love it. They live in a retirement community and find that many of the people they meet are from NY and NJ. One thing to note about Cary is that there is a lot of construction going on (roads, buidlings). Almost everything is new. Cary stands for "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees.", so no surprise that you find an abundance of people from NY/NJ. I live in Charlotte, about 2 hours south of Cary. Charlotte, is more like a small city you'd find in NY / NJ, with tall buildings, and a center city. There is plenty to do in either location. Charlotte generally gets the big NY plays, and musicians here, and all the famous restaurants and stores are here now. Charlotte is one of the only areas of the entire country where housing prices have not fallen in the last few months; rather they are stable, and have increased. The only problem is that with so many people wanting to move to NC from all parts of the country, crime has increased significantly, taxes have gone up, services have suffered (the school system), infrasturcure is stretched (roads and water most of all), and development is out of control in many areas chewing up a lot of beautiful land in lieu of shopping malls and junk chain stores and restaurants (WalMartians love it here because there are so many Walmarts). Developers here in the Charlotte area seem only interested in making money, and build some pretty terrible crap with little planning. City and County leaders only want tax money, so they let it happen, and investors and banks push everyone along as fast as possible. Eventually, this area will be just like parts of NY and NJ.

[U120]

The Walmartians tried invading Waxhaw and Marvin but were defeated on both fronts!!