Working in Concord, Spouse likely working Downtown, Which Neighborhoods?

[joshnc]

Originally Posted by harrishawke

Which neighborhoods should I focus on? Would be renting first, and then looking at options to buy a SFH. Rental Budget is $1,200 and Home Budget we are targeting 300-325k.

Also it it a correct assessment that inside the 485 perimeter, I should avoid North Charlotte, yet South is pretty nice (albeit more expensive)? I am not familiar with the desirable neighborhoods outside the perimeter.

I would stick to Cabarrus County taxes are cheaper and you don't have to worry about your kids being on a bus for a 1 hour a day.

[GoPhils]

Originally Posted by CLT4

Do you prefer suburban, urban, access to shops, new homes, old homes with character, do schools matter (kids, etc..?), etc.. Looking for an area with young professionals, middle aged adults, people with kids, active singles, retired, etc..? Usually the more details the better the responses you'll get.

Answering some of these questions will help people get a better idea of what you're looking for, but CLT4's suggestions below are a good start. You're going to get a lot more house for a $325K purchase than renting for $1200/month (and a mortgage on $325k will he higher than that per month anyway).

Originally Posted by CLT4

Concord itself, Harrisburg, and Mint Hill are all nice areas where you could find a house less than $325k and get some land. All are a reasonable commute to Concord (or Concord itself!). Uptown commutes will vary with traffic from 25 mins to 45 mins. All are very suburban communities.

Good suggestions. University area despite often getting hate on here has some nice neighborhoods and is probably the most diverse area in Charlotte and would split the commute pretty equally. Schools can vary but OP hasn't even said if they needed to use the schools. There is some truth to the "north=bad, south=good inside 485" statement but that is a huge generalization and I wouldn't write off an entire area because of it.