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Hey there Metrolina! I'm hoping to be relocating this fall for a job on the SW side of Charlotte. I've done the "45 minute - 7 mile commute" for most of my career so traffic isn't a consideration. I'm hoping some of you will be able to help me narrow down where I focus my efforts. I'm a single mother in my mid-30's with 12 and 8 year old children; obviously school district is important to me. At first I'd like to rent, but eventually may consider purchasing in the same district which I initially rent. My rental budget is up to $1,600/month for a 3 BR townhome (with garage) or single house. I won't know ANYONE so a place conducive to building relationships/friendships is key. Here's what I'm looking for:
-Suburban small town with a "Mom & Pop" Main Street
-Excellent Schools
-Not opposed to a development (seems most homes are in them down there)
-Safe area for my children to play or walk around town
I'd really like to avoid shopping malls, strip malls...places that have "the same restaurants & shops" a few miles up the road. We're very outdoorsy and love anything near the water or mountains. Looking for a place that's a bit more conservative (by Northeast standards) and has a sense of community.
I've looked into Belmont and Mt. Holly, as they seem like easy commutes. Belmont seems like the type of town I'm moving from - recently "revitalizing" itself. I'm looking into Waxhaw (tough commute), Huntersville (tough commute)...but I'm not sure they may have the "smaller town main street" feel we're looking for.
I’m confused...you said “traffic isn’t a consideration” but then were commenting about “tough commutes.” So which is it? If traffic really isn’t a consideration, then Davidson if you can afford it, but Belmont could also work.
I honestly don't think Charlotte really has "small town" towns. Davidson is nice but very expensive and far from really anything. The houses around downtown are in the millions if I had to guess and then the further out you get the less there is. You'll be traveling for even basic necessities. Belmont while cute is just 1 small downtown strip and then nothing else but urban sprawl of older type homes. Its next to Gastonia which has a high crime rate.
My husband and I have explored both towns extensively in the year we've lived here going back to each at least 6-7 times. When I think small town I remember the actual small towns of New England we lived in. Picturesque towns with actual downtowns with white steeple churches, covered bridges and cobblestone sidewalks. Truth is Charlotte is a city and all the towns around it are simply urban sprawl or heading that way.... I live in the SW side of Charlotte and its very much urban sprawl with industrial parks, trash on the roads (imo Charlotte has a high amount of trash on the sides of the roads in a lot of parts (there was a thread about this issue so its not just some bias issue), bus stops all along the roads and strip malls.
We visited and looked at Mount Holly and wow.... ummm.. what to say... the downtown was like 5 buildings long and 1 stop light.. Outside of that it was new home construction next to trailers... I'd also avoid ANYTHING inside the 485 loop that goes around the city... Its either trash or you're gonna have airplanes going over your house every 2 mins.. That'll be the huge issue living in SW Charlotte. Its an issue we didn't know about (moved sight unseen).. We live in Steele Creek right near Lake Wylie and the planes are LOWWWWW over our house for hours on end..We're moving when our lease is up to avoid this issue.
My husband and I looked endlessly here in Charlotte for the small type town we lived in in New England (the town we lived in was so picturesque it was actually where the movie Jumanji was filmed. Complete with a lonnngg oak lined main streets and a white steeple church and small garden green with a white gazebo in front of it. Think Gilmore girls looking)...Its simply not to be found. While Davidson is the closest I can think of its only because of the college downtown with the large tree linked sidewalks. Outside of that it looks like any other town around here.
Also, you mentioned commute. Davidson will be wayyyyyy more than 45 mins to SW Charlotte. Its even further north than Huntersville. Its at the very very northern part of the city. My husband works 7 miles on the dot from our home here in Charlotte (no highways all streets) and some nights it can take him an hour and a half to get home.
If you have kids I'd be worried more about school districts. NC dropped to 30th in the nation this past year in education and they just implemented huge budget cuts to the schools. Its been on a steady slide the past decade or so. Its barely better than Mississippi in education. That would honestly be my main concern over small town feel. There is a thread down some about these issues titled "Good public school systems in Charlotte, NC".
I honestly don't think Charlotte really has "small town" towns.
When I think small town I remember the actual small towns of New England we lived in. Picturesque towns with actual downtowns with white steeple churches, covered bridges and cobblestone sidewalks.
Nowhere in NC looks like New England. Its just a fact. Doesn't mean NC is worse or NE is better.
Nowhere in NC looks like New England. Its just a fact. Doesn't mean NC is worse or NE is better.
Didn't say it was but I'm must saying in the scope of small town feels we had a certain "idea" if you will of what we were looking for. I think when people see picturesque small towns (say during autumn time and such) and on post cards a lot of them are located in NH, MA, VT, and Maine. They're featured in a lot of movies such as Hocus Pocus, Baby Boom, Jumanji etc.. Hollywood small town if you will. Its not really found here. The min you leave the downtown it seems to just go straight into the urban sprawl she's not looking for. Strip malls and such.. We knew no place would be New England but we also didn't find anything close to what we'd consider small town. I'd assume maybe closer to Raleigh and such would have more of those. I've not been that way so I can't say for certain.. Maybe Asheville or Boone too..
to give perspective this is where we lived in NH. So this was what we had in mind for small town..
Didn't say it was but I'm must saying in the scope of small town feels we had a certain "idea" if you will of what we were looking for. I think when people see picturesque small towns (say during autumn time and such) and on post cards a lot of them are located in NH, MA, VT, and Maine. They're featured in a lot of movies such as Hocus Pocus, Baby Boom, Jumanji etc.. Hollywood small town if you will. Its not really found here. The min you leave the downtown it seems to just go straight into the urban sprawl she's not looking for. Strip malls and such.. We knew no place would be New England but we also didn't find anything close to what we'd consider small town. I'd assume maybe closer to Raleigh and such would have more of those. I've not been that way so I can't say for certain.. Maybe Asheville or Boone too..
Fortunately, not everyone is naive enough to believe the world looks like a movie set.
Didn't say it was but I'm must saying in the scope of small town feels we had a certain "idea" if you will of what we were looking for. I think when people see picturesque small towns (say during autumn time and such) and on post cards a lot of them are located in NH, MA, VT, and Maine. They're featured in a lot of movies such as Hocus Pocus, Baby Boom, Jumanji etc.. Hollywood small town if you will. Its not really found here. The min you leave the downtown it seems to just go straight into the urban sprawl she's not looking for. Strip malls and such.. We knew no place would be New England but we also didn't find anything close to what we'd consider small town. I'd assume maybe closer to Raleigh and such would have more of those. I've not been that way so I can't say for certain.. Maybe Asheville or Boone too..
to give perspective this is where we lived in NH. So this was what we had in mind for small town..
a drawing of the downtown
Here's the challenge with the OPs search in and around Charlotte:
The picture didn't show up (but see the last picture of Post #8) but there are lots of new construction attempts in and around Charlotte that attempt (attempt being the key word) to replicate this historically charming Norman Rockwell look. The problem is that these places are designed almost exclusively for very affluent people (with expensive "luxury" apartments and townhomes/condos) and feature mid range to high end chain stores (i.e. Restoration Hardware, Brooks Brothers, Victoria's Secret etc.) so they're not exactly the same heterogenous melting pot as a traditional small town with Floyd's Barber and Jane's Cobbler.
The problem with these places in my opinion is that they don't feel genuine because they come across as something someone just dumped a lot of money into to look like they have "character" but they fundamentally lack the institutional history, character, and ability of a mom and pop to operate there to begin with because they get priced out by the chains.
They may be more aesthetic than the suburban sprawl people complain about, but fundamentally they have the same problems (i.e. being in their own isolated pod and dumping lots of traffic onto an interstate- This looks charming on the surface (certainly better than a strip full of 1960's shopping centers): https://goo.gl/maps/K1AwEAdEh882 but then you realize that unlike a traditional small town it's in its own little cocoon that dumps out here : https://goo.gl/maps/yduzvXSpoTH2 I pick on Birkdale Village in Huntersville (which is where the links are showing) but there are other places in the region that have this same feel that I discuss in my post.
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