Moving from Grand Rapids, MI to Charlotte (Huntersville, Matthews: fit in, rentals)

[daniboi81]

My partner and I have decided that we're through with winter here and have seriously been discussing the possibility to move to Charlotte. I have gotten a great deal of information about the area from this forum already along with doing additional reasearch through charlotte.com and local media sources. We're planning a visit to the area April 25 - 29 to get the lay of the land along with exploring neighborhoods and checking out the local attractions. I have a few questions / comments however about the area I'm hoping can be addressed:

- Crime: Not a question, but wanted to express my opinion about this as it has been mentioned quite a bit in the Charlotte forum. Every city has crime and think that the best way to gauge whether a city is safe or not is to visit it first hand and explore. The media tends to always focus on the negative aspects of a city (aka crime) which paints a picture that the city is crime plagued.

- Religion: While I understand that the south tends to be more religious, I'm wondering if Charlotte area as a whole is all that dissimilar to Grand Rapids? I've lived in GR for 18 years of my life and while it is conservative, I have had no problems with people trying to push religion down my throat. I'm curious to know if we can expect to run into any problems?

- Housing: We're hoping to rent a house for at least a year or so before commiting to buying. Does anyone have recommendations which websites and/or realtors can provide us with comprehensive listings of houses for rent in the Charlotte area?

[nkjaws]

Originally Posted by daniboi81

My partner and I have decided that we're through with winter here and have seriously been discussing the possibility to move to Charlotte. I have gotten a great deal of information about the area from this forum already along with doing additional reasearch through charlotte.com and local media sources. We're planning a visit to the area April 25 - 29 to get the lay of the land along with exploring neighborhoods and checking out the local attractions. I have a few questions / comments however about the area I'm hoping can be addressed:

- Crime: Not a question, but wanted to express my opinion about this as it has been mentioned quite a bit in the Charlotte forum. Every city has crime and think that the best way to gauge whether a city is safe or not is to visit it first hand and explore. The media tends to always focus on the negative aspects of a city (aka crime) which paints a picture that the city is crime plagued.

- Religion: While I understand that the south tends to be more religious, I'm wondering if Charlotte area as a whole is all that dissimilar to Grand Rapids? I've lived in GR for 18 years of my life and while it is conservative, I have had no problems with people trying to push religion down my throat. I'm curious to know if we can expect to run into any problems?

- Housing: We're hoping to rent a house for at least a year or so before commiting to buying. Does anyone have recommendations which websites and/or realtors can provide us with comprehensive listings of houses for rent in the Charlotte area?

If you are sick of the weather there then you are moving to the right place. The weather in Charlotte is great. I don't think you'll have any issues with people pushing religion down your throat. People here are very religious as a whole, a lot of church going folks, but I haven't witnessed them trying to sell it.

As far as crime, there are some areas that have more then others. I hear North Charlotte, Huntersville, Cornelius, Ballantyne, Matthews, South Charlotte are all low on crime. Good luck on your search.

[DawnW]

Many people here will ask you, "What church do you go to?" It isn't trying to push religion so much as just a part of conversation, a way to get to know you. They may even invite you to their church. But this is really their way of trying to help you fit in, if you say you aren't interested and change the subject, you will be fine. Just don't take offense because I honestly don't think it is meant offensively.

I haven't witnessed any crime yet, but I came here from Los Angeles, so relatively speaking, this is a very safe area.

Dawn

[dmmls]

Hey Daniboi!

I relocated from Kalamazoo to Charlotte in '04, and never regretted it once!!

I can give you might thoughts....

1) Crime- is everywhere, but there are some really good areas here, and then some not so great areas, but truthfully I don't associate crime with Charlotte, when I think about it.

2) Religion- the west side of the state of Michigan tends to be very conservative and religious, in fact many places are still closed on Sundays. I think you will find that Charlotte, being still in the "south" is going to be lighter "religiously" then even Grand Rapids, in my opinion. I find it to be this way.

3) Housing- there are SO many good areas to look in, it just depends on where you want to be. Rentals are all over the place.

I'd love to help you answer any questions about the area, especially in comparison to Michigan... just let me know!

[muffinman]

daniboi18,

I relocated from GR in 2003. I've enjoyed living here and its become my home. I have family that may move in the future and Charlotte is one possibility of where they would go.

I enjoy living here, married, career, house. If you're interested in my perspective, feel free to ask.

-Crime: The local stations focus way to much on this unless they're talking about a storm or weather related event. Don't let it skew your getting to know Charlotte.

- Religion: I've not been a member of a church since being here though I've been to several. I'm not asked the question as much anymore.

- Housing, I'd suggest trying to lock down where you'll be working, if possible. You don't want to commit on a lease without a firm job offer. This may help control your commute. Charlotte is a big area (Mecklenburg County really). Nkjaws suggestions of areas in Charlotte is a good list and I have experience with some of those areas.

[daniboi81]

As far as job, I work for an large insurance company where I have a potential opportunity to work at home or telecommute. If that comes true, which I think it might, then I can take my job with me. My partner has 8 years of banking experience and will be looking for a job either just before we leave or as soon as we get there.

The other factor is getting our house up here sold. While we have updated the entire house (paint, new bath, patio, etc), I'm worried that the house will not sell in a timely manner. Our target is just before next winter to be down in Charlotte and we're willing to take a small loss on the house it will get it sold quicker because while we've put a lot of work into it, its just material posession and can be replaced.

For those of you who are from West Michigan, can you tell me how long it took for you to adjust to Charlotte...meaning, when did you no longer feel like a stanger?