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I have been to Boston in summer and it was HOT. Probably not for as long as it can be hot in Charlotte but hot nonetheless.
I have lived here all my life and the only thing I hate is the hot, humid summer. The traffic is a close second but I am self employed and I don't travel in rush hour if I can avoid it.
I have some wonderful neighbors from Boston. They love it here. They are almost natives now - been here 30+ years!
I'll be honest. I would live in a one bedroom shack before I would commute 45 minutes to work. I realize not everyone agrees but time is money in my opinion.
I recommend you find a job and buy a house within a 20 minute (or so) commute. Time to start enjoying your life.
One more thing. Please don't move to the outskirts of Charlotte and then complain that it's boring or there is no culture or it's too far to shop, etc. We have posters that move to the boonies and then are miserable that they moved to "Charlotte".
Thanks so much for that info; it really helps. We're definitely hoping that the potential shorter commute could add a lot when it comes to our quality of life and time together as a family. I really do think we could enjoy life more, as you said. I think Charlotte would be a great place to call home and put down roots with our young children (1 and 4). We're really looking forward to visiting later this summer.
My husband and I are considering a move to Charlotte. We currently live in a suburb of MA about 1 hour outside of Boston. My husband works for JP Morgan in Boston and we're trying to find out exactly where in Charlotte most of the banking/financial firms are located. Is there a particular area of the city where the majority of these companies are located (north, south, etc.) or are they scattered throughout all parts of Charlotte?
We're trying to get a sense of where the jobs are located in the city before my husband starts looking and interviewing... then we'd follow any potential job offers with actual house hunting.
We would be looking to buy a house in the suburbs with great schools and hopefully a 45 min commute for my husband (his current commute takes 90 min each way and we really want to avoid that). Our housing budget would be up to about $375k.
We're planning a trip to Charlotte later this summer and would like to focus on exploring the towns and communities that are within 45 min of where my husband would most likely be working. We've heard good things about Union County schools and are wondering if some of those towns (Matthews, Stallings, Indian Trail, Marvin, etc.) would be a good fit.
Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you so much!
It would be a good idea to know approximately where your husband will be working before deciding on a house. You don't want to find something really nice in Fort Mill and end up having to trek up to UNCC every day. Look at I-485 on a map and you'll get an idea of what that's like.
It would be a good idea to know approximately where your husband will be working before deciding on a house. You don't want to find something really nice in Fort Mill and end up having to trek up to UNCC every day. Look at I-485 on a map and you'll get an idea of what that's like.
Thanks so much for your feedback; I completely agree. As I mentioned in my original post, we're certainly not house-hunting yet and as I stated, our plan has always been to secure my husband's job first and then look for a house. The reason for my post was to get an idea of where in Charlotte the majority of banking/finance jobs are (whether it be one particular area of the city or a few areas), so that we can get a better idea of where my husband would most likely end up working. We know we want to live within 45 min of his job, so we're trying to get a sense of where those areas/finance jobs tend to be.
We're planning a trip to Charlotte next month and we only have 3 days. Our goal is to explore the towns and communities that are within 45 min of most of the various finance/banking areas and specifically the communities that have the best schools. We definitely won't be looking at any houses at this time; just seeing what these areas are like. We figure, if we go down to NC and these Charlotte suburbs are not really what we anticipated or we don't think it's a good fit for us, there's really no reason for my husband to start the job searching process or fly out for interviews.
If we do like the neighborhoods, then my husband would start looking for a job, and then we would eventually look for a house. We're still in the process of deciding whether moving to NC is something we should do, so at this point, we're just trying to get a better sense of where things are (where my husband is more likely to end up working and thus, the areas that we would most likely live in), so that we can make the most of our visit next month and focus on those towns and communities. If it goes well, then we plan to make another visit in the winter and take it from there.
What area of financial services is he specifically in? Investments, trading, technology, operations, compliance/regulatory, consumer banking strategy/mgmt, wealth mgmt, etc...? That might narrow down some locations.
Thanks so much. He's in Alternative Investments (hedge funds, specifically).
TIAA CREF has a large office by UNCC, and I think they do hedge fund work. Citco is downtown and is heavy in hedge funds, LPL has offices all around Charlotte. You also have Wells Fargo, Bank of America, BB&T, and other large financial institutions here.
I'd stay on the South side of town (vs North/West/East). Most banking jobs are either Uptown or starting to move south towards Ballantyne/South Park areas.
That said, the biggest qualifier in your initial post is "great schools". What does that mean to you? There are some average rated schools where your children can get a very good education and be exposed to more social-economic diversity and there's some highly rated schools where that diversity wanes a bit. The former will get you closer to Uptown, while the latter will push on your max 45 minute commute into Uptown.
In terms of the average rated schools with good diversity & a roughly 30-45 minute commute, look into: Myers Park HS, South Meck HS, East Meck HS. Butler HS is another one, but that's probably pushing on the 45 minute cap commute to uptown.
In terms of the higher rated schools with less diversity and a roughly 45-75 minute commute (ordered by rough commute time to uptown), look into: Providence HS, Ardrey Kell HS, Marvin Ridge HS, Weddington HS.
Note, commute times to Uptown at rush hour are almost 2x what they are outside of rush hour.
Also, any of those schools mentioned will give you ~15-30 minute commute to Ballantyne if he ends up with a job there.
I'd stay on the South side of town (vs North/West/East). Most banking jobs are either Uptown or starting to move south towards Ballantyne/South Park areas.
That said, the biggest qualifier in your initial post is "great schools". What does that mean to you? There are some average rated schools where your children can get a very good education and be exposed to more social-economic diversity and there's some highly rated schools where that diversity wanes a bit. The former will get you closer to Uptown, while the latter will push on your max 45 minute commute into Uptown.
In terms of the average rated schools with good diversity & a roughly 30-45 minute commute, look into: Myers Park HS, South Meck HS, East Meck HS. Butler HS is another one, but that's probably pushing on the 45 minute cap commute to uptown.
In terms of the higher rated schools with less diversity and a roughly 45-75 minute commute (ordered by rough commute time to uptown), look into: Providence HS, Ardrey Kell HS, Marvin Ridge HS, Weddington HS.
Note, commute times to Uptown at rush hour are almost 2x what they are outside of rush hour.
Also, any of those schools mentioned will give you ~15-30 minute commute to Ballantyne if he ends up with a job there.
Regarding "average". Myers, South Meck, East Meck, and Butler are all goods schools with above average test scores - not really average. All are rated 8/10 or 9/10 on Great Schools (5/10 is average), 8/10 or 9/10 on Carolina Schools Hub (5/10 is average), and are all nationally ranked as "Silver Award" by US News and World Report putting them in the top 2,500 high schools in the country. Providence, Ardrey Kell, Marvin, etc... would be very highest in test scores and "great" test scores or "exceptional." - the tier below them is not average and it doesn't drop off a cliff.
An "average" North Carolina school would be Vance High (5/10), Rocky River High (5/10), Sun Valley High School (5/10).
Below average would be Monroe High (2/10), West Charlotte High (3/10), Garinger (4/10), etc...
You need to know that Charlotte basically is a giant suburb. It has a very small (but very nice) urban core surround by suburban-like neighborhoods. Its nothing like Boston. You can get a house in your price range with great schools within 20 to 30 minutes of Uptown in Charlotte itself. I'd start looking there, not a "suburban" town that may be 45 minutes, or further, away during rush hour.
I am sure that you know that it gets hot and humid in the south. I spend lots of time in Boston. It is much cooler there 90 percent of the time. But since you didn't ask, it is likely not a huge concern. Banking areas that are large and very livable are uptown and surrounding areas (Myers Park, Elizabeth, and Selwyn), Southpark and surrounding areas extensively, and finally Ballantyne. It isn't my cup of tea but obviously many like it there. Lastly is the University Area. Part is O.K. and part has a high crime rate (sketchy). The lake towns are nice and you should check out. Good luck.
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