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We are relocating from Boston after a 3 year stint up north (originally from Raleigh). We lived downtown in both places and loved having walkable options just out of our front door! However, we also welcomed a baby to our family and are considering making the move to the burbs. I know there are old threads about suggested neighborhoods north of Charlotte, but I’m hoping someone could provide some recent insight.
We would like to spend around ~350+ and if we are going to live in the burbs, would like sidewalks and a community feel for families with young kids.
Davidson is certainly a good location as well as northern Cornelius which is close to downtown Davidson. You have a small downtown, community vegetable garden, the college, etc... If you love water sports you can join a boat club, get a kayak, fish, etc... on Lake Norman.
Will you be commuting to Uptown Charlotte for work?
Thanks! My husband will be commuting to work in uptown. I’m not sure where I will be yet. The driving commute is going to be a huge shift for us (compared to our walking commute to work in Boston), which makes me nervous but it seems like the only way to have a better chance at decent public schools.
The I-77 Toll Lanes through the Lake Norman area will be done at some point allowing yall to pay to get home faster to Davidson from Uptown. Rates will adjust to guarantee 45mph travel times.
On the opposite side of the metro, you might consider Matthews, which has a downtown area as well with a nice farmer's market, coffee shops, some pubs, antique shops, etc...
Can someone explain about the toll lanes? Is it the same as our NYS thruway?
The main difference from the NYS thruway is only some lanes will be tolled, not all the lanes. You have the option to complete your journey with no toll (and likely endure rush hour traffic) or use the toll lanes where the price will adjust dynamically to keep speeds at 45 mph. You could also mix your trip between lanes going 2 miles in the free lane, take the toll lanes for 4 miles, then get out and do the last 5 miles in the free lanes, etc...
The interstate will be widened to at least four lanes (from two today). The two existing lanes will remain free. The two new lanes will have a toll charged via a transponder. When you are in the toll lanes, there will be a barrier with limited entry and exit points into the free lanes, where you can then exit the overall interstate.
There will be no toll booths (just electronic collection) and vehicles with three or more riders can switch their transponder over and ride free of charge in the toll lane / high occupancy lane.
We are relocating from Boston after a 3 year stint up north (originally from Raleigh). We lived downtown in both places and loved having walkable options just out of our front door! However, we also welcomed a baby to our family and are considering making the move to the burbs. I know there are old threads about suggested neighborhoods north of Charlotte, but I’m hoping someone could provide some recent insight.
We would like to spend around ~350+ and if we are going to live in the burbs, would like sidewalks and a community feel for families with young kids.
Thanks so much in advance!
Davidson is amazing but the price point would be tough to get close enough to the amenities in Davidson. There are some Davidson addresses that fit in the pricepoint but they are not close to the town so you may as well be in Huntersville or Mooresville where you are not paying for the Davidson address.
Davidson is the closest you'll find to the Boston area but as mentioned it is pricey and the commute could be rough.
The toll lanes are a wildcard but if you like the Lake Norman area the commute is much better from Huntersville than Cornelius or Davidson, and even within Huntersville it is much better from the exit 23 area off of 77 than exit 25. Lots of neighborhoods with sidewalks and a community feel in Huntersville, just not necessarily walkable to dining options and such (but still very close driving distance). The Wynfield neighborhoods, Macaulay and Birkdale all come to mind. The high school that these are zoned for has recently changed from one of the best rated in the county to a currently middle of the road one, but you have a while before you have to worry about that and chances are it will change again before then (or the ratings of the current school could improve as more middle and higher-income areas are zoned to it now).
The elementary and middle schools zoned for those neighborhoods are still rated well. I think the HS change has resulted in a little more inventory for sale though, so maybe slightly lower prices for now at least
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