What do you guys think of Monroe? (Unionville: home, buying)

[Barkingowl]

Monroe is somewhere I have to drive through to get to the beach. Traffic is always terrible too.

[sweetwater88]

Monroe is a decent city that is still growing. You have all the services available in the county plus city-only services.

Crime-wise. A lot of ignorant people who don't live in Monroe enjoy calling Monroe a crime-filled city but:
1) Crime is based on location and Monroe is a huge small city of over 30 plus miles. Stick to high income areas, sparse areas, friendly-clean areas--crime is rare. If you move into the ghetto expect to find crime.
2) Monroe High School is considered the worse (crime-wise) of the Union County high schools BUT Monroe High School has less than 1,000 close-knit students. Weddington has a larger drug issue (more money, more drugs). Plus, there's always the Central Academy magnet school.


Also, if you're having trouble with 74 there's other options to get to Charlotte: Weddington Rd, New Town, Old Charlotte, Seacrest, etc.

I live in Crestview Trl which is a side road on Griffith Rd. It's a great place to live since it's between the city and the country. Very low crime rate, very quite, and close to all city services.

[meca974]

Originally Posted by whodaz

Oh thats great! Hopefully it is unincorporated.. I might be heading out to check out the area in the next couple of weeks...Hows the weather around there now? I'm happy to hear that its just 2-3 miles from downtown.. and that there are shopping centers nearby, thats very good! Out of curiosity, are there any farms in the area?

Hi- Am making my 3rd trip to Monroe area this week (3/24/09) and found your old threads. Wondered if you could update me on your opinions now as to the weather and rural-ness of where you live. I am coming from NJ on 5 acres in a small town with acres and acres of preserved land behind me - am so afraid I will not find that peaceful rural quality in Monroe area. Would you mind e-mailing me directly with your thoughts? meca974@yahoo.com (carol in nj)

[thebalogas]

Originally Posted by meca974

Hi- Am making my 3rd trip to Monroe area this week (3/24/09) and found your old threads. Wondered if you could update me on your opinions now as to the weather and rural-ness of where you live. I am coming from NJ on 5 acres in a small town with acres and acres of preserved land behind me - am so afraid I will not find that peaceful rural quality in Monroe area. Would you mind e-mailing me directly with your thoughts? meca974@yahoo.com (carol in nj)

I just e-mailed you but I think I forgot to put a subject in the subject line. DUH !

[SunnyKayak]

Originally Posted by thebalogas

I just e-mailed you but I think I forgot to put a subject in the subject line. DUH !

I dont think the software will let you send without one

but you can check your sent folder to verify

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by meca974

Hi- Am making my 3rd trip to Monroe area this week (3/24/09) and found your old threads. Wondered if you could update me on your opinions now as to the weather and rural-ness of where you live. I am coming from NJ on 5 acres in a small town with acres and acres of preserved land behind me - am so afraid I will not find that peaceful rural quality in Monroe area. Would you mind e-mailing me directly with your thoughts? meca974@yahoo.com (carol in nj)

Monroe is fine, IF you can avoid ever having to be on hwy 74 right thru the middle of it. Personally, I love Unionville, just north of Monroe. If I were going to live in Union County, THAT is where I would live

[bigdaddyd]

I totally agree with lovesMountains. Unionville/Fairview are the best. Close enough to Monroe yet far enough away it is perfect. Nice rural area within 10 minutes to Monroe. Also...nice to option every now and then and head north to Concord. Easy hop to Indian Trail and Matthews. Check it out meca...I am confident you will be able to find peacefulness there!!

[Zatol]

We've lived in Monroe for 7 years now and love it! We're about 10 minutes from downtown and our son attended Parkwood High School. Most people are prejudiced because of the Hispanic population in town. We're out in a rural area and have had no problems. The neighbors are fantastic. I really can't say enough about the people here. The city schools are the biggest problem. We have several nice restaurants and ok shopping. We always go out to the Pineville, Southpark or UNCC area for major shopping. It's worth the drive and commute to be in an area where you have land!!

[puds]

Hi,
Just wanted to know if anyone knows anything about the Smith Field Farm subdivision? Also curious about crime in Monroe. I saw it was rated pretty high...any feedback?

[imfree]

I live in Unionville and while I agree that it is beautiful, my family's experience has not been a happy one.

My family & I moved here from So. Cal. with the intention of buying a home with some acreage in Unionville. Indeed, it is beautiful country here and we have had some of the most memorable experiences that have bonded my family closer together. However, our experience on the whole has been very negative with the locals. In short, they absolutely hate our presence here and have made it known. Please allow me to explain and forgive my long post. I will try to make it as brief as possible.

Our property is zoned as residential/agricultural. We are allowed to have horses, livestock, or poultry. We recently received a very rude awakening that pretty much has accomplished what we believe our neighbors have been wanting to do. One of our unkind neighbors wrote a letter of complaint to the township of Unionville about our activities on our property. We have dairy goats, chickens, and recently acquired a pig that we've been raising for meat and will soon be slaughtered (my apologies to any vegetarians that may be reading). The township sent us a copy of the ordinance in a pdf file and told us we were in violation. As it turns out, even though we ARE zoned for agricultural, we are forbidden to keep livestock or poultry within 150ft from the property line. Our property is long and narrow. It is only 280 ft. across which puts us in violation. We have been given no choice but to cease our activities otherwise we will be subject to fines.

Three years of hard work. Three years of investing time, energy, and finances----gone. Flushed down the toilet. We see no reason to keep such a large piece of property if we are forbidden to live a self-sufficient life as it was our goal to do. We might as well live in a neighborhood with an HOA then.

We are surrounded by neighbors that are all related to each other. At one time my property belonged to their family. We have heard rude comments, and been treated with disdain from the beginning. At first we tried to be friendly, reach out even, but to no avail. Then we just mostly kept to ourselves since they made it very clear they wanted nothing to do with us. So we obliged and kept to ourselves. But then at some point they decided they wanted to make life hard for us. Well they got their wish. I hope they are proud of what they've done. They've accomplished what they've set out to do. We won't be staying in Unionville. We will probably be selling our home as horse property (apparently, horses are fine and dandy). We have found that we cannot bare the hatred and ignorance we've had the misfortune to encounter.

I realize that people have different experiences and perspectives. I just had to share our story.