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My long term boyfriend and I are planning on moving to North Carolina within the next year or so. We currently live in Palm Harbor, FL and are done with living in the Tampa Bay area. Between the low wages, terrible traffic and infrastructure, high crime, high cost of living, the pathetic school systems, rude people, we are ready to leave FL. Oh, and the godawful humidity and heat for 3/4 out of the year and it floods anytime it rains heavily in Tampa. We went up to my aunt and uncles house in Davidson in Sept 2017 to evacuate Hurricane Irma and we fell in love with NC.
A little about us...I work at a community college in Accounts Receivable and my boyfriend works in IT as a Systems Engineer. We want to start a family soon so we would like to be in a safe area where there are good schools. We're a simple couple; we enjoy going out to eat, movies, parks, wineries, concerts, and much more. House wise we are looking under the $240k, at least 1800sq ft with 3-4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a basement (optional), and move in ready. We also want a single family house only with a garage or a driveway since we currently live in a townhouse. We're fine with commuting as long as its not over an hour drive to get to and from work. Which cities and it's surrounding areas would be best for our lifestyles? We are considering Charlotte, Raleigh, or Greensboro.
I appreciate anyone's information and input. Thank you!
Any of the cities you're considering, along with Winston-Salem, and many of the smaller towns/communities surrounding them would meet your needs. Your housing dollar will go further in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, and traffic will be less of a hassle. I think a visit to see them in person would be the best way to start.
I didn't think of Winston Salem. We'll be heading up for a visit sometime in Sept or Oct this year to see family and look around to see where we want to end up.
My long term boyfriend and I are planning on moving to North Carolina within the next year or so. We currently live in Palm Harbor, FL and are done with living in the Tampa Bay area. Between the low wages, terrible traffic and infrastructure, high crime, high cost of living, the pathetic school systems, rude people, we are ready to leave FL. Oh, and the godawful humidity and heat for 3/4 out of the year and it floods anytime it rains heavily in Tampa. We went up to my aunt and uncles house in Davidson in Sept 2017 to evacuate Hurricane Irma and we fell in love with NC.
A little about us...I work at a community college in Accounts Receivable and my boyfriend works in IT as a Systems Engineer. We want to start a family soon so we would like to be in a safe area where there are good schools. We're a simple couple; we enjoy going out to eat, movies, parks, wineries, concerts, and much more. House wise we are looking under the $240k, at least 1800sq ft with 3-4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a basement (optional), and move in ready. We also want a single family house only with a garage or a driveway since we currently live in a townhouse. We're fine with commuting as long as its not over an hour drive to get to and from work. Which cities and it's surrounding areas would be best for our lifestyles? We are considering Charlotte, Raleigh, or Greensboro.
I appreciate anyone's information and input. Thank you!
The first paragraph sounds like a description of Charlotte. Overall, Charlotte is a great place. Davidson is another world. It is a small community but a very highly desired destination. It is a small town with nice little restaurants and just a couple of miles from Mooresville and Cornelius. All these places have good schools, low crime, and lots of shopping, restaurants, pubs, etc, especially Mooresville. Davidson is normally 25 minutes from uptown Charlotte except for during rush hour which increases the time significantly. It sounds like Davidson would be ideal, but look across the highway to Cornelius. I must admit that Davidson is a bit too liberal for me. But that is just me. It is a typical liberal area where all citizens support all causes for those not so fortunate to ensure that they stay where they are. As far as Raleigh, it is a very popular place and is often nominate the best city in the U.S. for certain reasons. I would check it out as well. Personally, Greensboro isn't my favorite. It seems to be not as walkable as other places and a bit sketchy in many places, but I could be wrong. Good luck.
Hi everyone,
Between the low wages, terrible traffic and infrastructure, high crime, high cost of living, the pathetic school systems, rude people, we are ready to leave FL.
That will all be found here and some... I moved here from Naples, Fl in July of last year.
Charlotte is on the list as one of Americas deadliest cities. I've personally been broken into twice since moving here (live in a supposed safe community and in an HOA).. was in the parking lot around Christmas when a drive by happen... was in a store a few days before someone came in and shot a 19 year old girl in the head "just because".. had someone stabbed in the stomach at the food store we shop at. To name a few issues. I personally don't see Charlotte as "family friendly" from a safety perspective. Perhaps it was because I came from a MUCH safer place. Even living in New England I didn't see the crime I do here.
Housing prices are going up FAST. Rentals are expensive, thats saying something from someone who came from one of the most expensive counties in Fla. Most of the rentals rival prices there. My current landlord told us 3 months before our lease was even up that the price will be going up $100 a month. It seems to be the norm. Charlotte is in a housing crisis right now.. Not enough inventory and so expect to pay well above asking for a listing. We had some come in $10,000 over asking off the bat while we home searched.
We were going to buy a house here but found to really get anything in a decent and safe neighborhood not under the direct flight path of Charlotte Douglass (thats most of the western side of Charlotte and is a huge issue. A lot of places are petitioning to have the paths changed because its so bad) and outside the 485 loop (most of the inside is gross as far as housing/neighborhoods go) we needed at least $250,000 and we weren't willing to drop that on a first home in a city we are luke warm about. We also found prices are decieving. We saw listings for what looked like beautiful houses for even as low as $175,000 (we had a budget up to $200,000) and we'd go look at it and the neighbor would be a trailer. Saw it happen more than once. Evidently its common here to build new next to trailer parks and such. Never seen that before.
Traffic lol.... just wait.. Ive been to Tampa many times.. it has NOTHING on traffic compared to Charlotte.. you're gonna wish for Tampa traffic.. it can sometimes take my husband an hour and a half to go 7 miles here getting to work.. That's not highway roads, rain or snow either.. add any one of those factors and tack on more time.Huntersville/Cornelius/Concord/Davidson area has horrible traffic during rush hour. Some of the worst. Not to mention their cancer cluster issues going on right now that they've found is spreading and now include Mooresville, which now has a high thyroid cancer issue. They think the north end of Charlotte may have been contaminated with coal ash. They've found radiation in the drinking water up there.
Rude people are everywhere. Even here..... I found people pushy with religion here and seem offended when you tell them you're not. I was even told to 'get right" with people being religious here and "find myself a good church"...
School systems.. ones that are even remotely good are few and far between. Teachers are paid next to nothing. Its so bad the teachers went on strike last week and closed the schools down to go rally at the capital for higher pay... So theres that. We homeschool our daughter.. Wouldn't dare send her to a school here. My sister sent her daughter this year to school here and will be homeschooling next year..
Hope you also like religion in public schools as they will soon enough be required to hang plaques saying "In God We Trust" in the schools... thats right.. I said required.. all stuff you can simply google..
Last edited by Sweetbottoms; 05-30-2018 at 08:42 AM..
That will all be found here and some... I moved here from Naples, Fl in July of last year.
Charlotte is on the list as one of Americas deadliest cities. I've personally been broken into twice since moving here (live in a supposed safe community and in an HOA).. was in the parking lot around Christmas when a drive by happen... was in a store a few days before someone came in and shot a 19 year old girl in the head "just because".. had someone stabbed in the stomach at the food store we shop at. To name a few issues. I personally don't see Charlotte as "family friendly" from a safety perspective. Perhaps it was because I came from a MUCH safer place. Even living in New England I didn't see the crime I do here.
Housing prices are going up FAST. Rentals are expensive, thats saying something from someone who came from one of the most expensive counties in Fla. Most of the rentals rival prices there. My current landlord told us 3 months before our lease was even up that the price will be going up $100 a month. It seems to be the norm. Charlotte is in a housing crisis right now.. Not enough inventory and so expect to pay well above asking for a listing. We had some come in $10,000 over asking off the bat while we home searched.
We were going to buy a house here but found to really get anything in a decent and safe neighborhood not under the direct flight path of Charlotte Douglass (thats most of the western side of Charlotte and is a huge issue. A lot of places are petitioning to have the paths changed because its so bad) and outside the 485 loop (most of the inside is gross as far as housing/neighborhoods go) we needed at least $250,000 and we weren't willing to drop that on a first home in a city we are luke warm about. We also found prices are decieving. We saw listings for what looked like beautiful houses for even as low as $175,000 (we had a budget up to $200,000) and we'd go look at it and the neighbor would be a trailer. Saw it happen more than once. Evidently its common here to build new next to trailer parks and such. Never seen that before.
Traffic lol.... just wait.. Ive been to Tampa many times.. it has NOTHING on traffic compared to Charlotte.. you're gonna wish for Tampa traffic.. it can sometimes take my husband an hour and a half to go 7 miles here getting to work.. That's not highway roads, rain or snow either.. add any one of those factors and tack on more time.Huntersville/Cornelius/Concord/Davidson area has horrible traffic during rush hour. Some of the worst. Not to mention their cancer cluster issues going on right now that they've found is spreading and now include Mooresville, which now has a high thyroid cancer issue. They think the north end of Charlotte may have been contaminated with coal ash. They've found radiation in the drinking water up there.
Rude people are everywhere. Even here..... I found people pushy with religion here and seem offended when you tell them you're not. I was even told to 'get right" with people being religious here and "find myself a good church"...
School systems.. ones that are even remotely good are few and far between. Teachers are paid next to nothing. Its so bad the teachers went on strike last week and closed the schools down to go rally at the capital for higher pay... So theres that. We homeschool our daughter.. Wouldn't dare send her to a school here. My sister sent her daughter this year to school here and will be homeschooling next year..
Another sky is falling post from scarybottoms. OP, take what they say with a grain of salt.
Another sky is falling post from scarybottoms. OP, take what they say with a grain of salt.
Everything I've said is the absolute truth and my experience since moving here in July. Why would I lie about any of it.. that's just stupid. I have no loyalty to the city so its not like I'm trying to keep new people out like the natives want. I am sending a warning though that if they're looking for a city thats any better on crime, housing, schools etc than Tampa that Charlotte isn't it... I know both places well.
If Rock Bottom put as much effort into a job as she does her posts she may be able to afford to live in a better area.
Wooooww.You have no clue about me LOL... I actually retired when I was in my 30's after being the head chef for the Waldorf Astoria for a long time... but ok buddy you keep thinking that.... perhaps its more about not wanting to waste exorbitant amounts of $ on a home in a place I'm not in love with vs settling just because..
Wooooww.You have no clue about me LOL... I actually retired when I was in my 30's after being the head chef for the Waldorf Astoria for a long time... but ok buddy you keep thinking that.... perhaps its more about not wanting to waste exorbitant amounts of $ on a home in a place I'm not in love with vs settling just because..
I see. So “retiring” in your 30’s to stay home and post on a forum all day was more important than helping to provide your family a home in a safe area?
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