Recommend a smaller town/suburb west of Charlotte? (Gastonia, Hickory: townhomes, construction)

[alisi]

We are looking to relocate to NC and would like to live in a smaller town/suburb west of Charlotte. Can anyone recommend any towns? We were looking at Hickory and then read five murders in the last week! Thanks.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by alisi

We are looking to relocate to NC and would like to live in a smaller town/suburb west of Charlotte. Can anyone recommend any towns? We were looking at Hickory and then read five murders in the last week! Thanks.

If there were 5 murders in Hickory I can almost gaurantee you they were probably either domestic situations or involved drugs. The average person is fairly safe in Hickory.

You might want to check out Lincolnton and Belmont

[cjohnsonRE]

Loves, Belmont is a wonderful suggestion. I have spent several days out there this past week looking at property and I am falling in love with it myself!!
The downtown area reminds me of Matthews somewhat, but there are more retail shops and rest. I ate in a little place called "Cherubs" that is run by Holy Angels in Belmont. The wait staff and some of the kitchen staff are residents at Holy Angels. I knew it was a good sign when my clients and I had to wait for a seat @ 2:00 PM. The sandwich was well worth the wait!! I could just go on and on about our whole experience there. How important it was to our waiter that he got our orders correct. How delicious the sandwiches and side dishes were and how pleasantly suprised I was that the total bill came to less than $22.00 (this inc. sodas). There was a band playing at Stowe Park and kids were riding their bikes . I noticed a group of ladies coming out of this darling shop called 'Hip Chicks' that I cannot wait to go in. There is an old general store and a few other retail stores located in the downtown area that also look interesting.
The school report cards seem to be impressive and the construction all around the area is booming! There are planned townhomes starting at the $300k price point going in on Mellon Rd. I heard there are future plans to build a marina, but that is only "hearsay". There's also a new development going in near Southpoint similar to Lake Park in Union Co. with homes, shops and a USPS all centered together.
Gaston Ave. is in the middle of a lot of revitilization of the older homes. I can't wait to see these properties when the work is done...
Belmont is a hidden gem...
Can you tell how impressed I am???

[dunroven55]

Originally Posted by alisi

We are looking to relocate to NC and would like to live in a smaller town/suburb west of Charlotte. Can anyone recommend any towns? We were looking at Hickory and then read five murders in the last week! Thanks.

Hickory is really a very nice town if you can figure out the street system!
If you want to consider something else Love's is correct in Lincolnton or Belmont. You also could consider Mount Holly, Cramerton, Lowell or Gastonia.
Belmont, Mount Holly, Cramerton and Lowell are much smaller than Hickory but give you a home town feeling.

Good Luck in your search!

[minniecott]

I absolutely recommend Belmont. You get the small town atmoshpere with big city amenities 15 minutes away. Also with the opening of I485 you can be to South Charlotte in 20 minutes. School systems are great, downtown is very nice with park, ice cream shop, general store, restauraunts, etc. We also love going to the Friday night high school football games as does most of the town. Homes do not last long on the market in Belmont even in today's home market. Home prices have skyrocketed in the past 5 years, however there is a new development that Lennar is building called Stowe Point. For the space and price I don't think you can beat it, but it will not stay at the current price for long.