North or South of Charlotte, Which is Better? (hotel, house)

[BlueLily7]

Oh....I guess I could elaborate on exactly what *I* liked about living just north of Harrisburg in Cabarrus County, near Central Cabarrus High School....some of this will be repetitive.

Shopping within 15-20 minutes- Super Target off Poplar Tent, the area around Kohls off Dale Earnhardt Blvd (where there's Hobby Lobby, Sam's, and all that), Carolina Mall, Concord Mills Blvd with the mall, Garden Ridge, BabiesRUs, LinenNThings, and all those restaurants..also the same distance from the University area. Centrally located. And convenient enough to any shopping in Charlotte, Salisbury, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, etc for day trips.

Great doctors. Most all off Hwy 49 in Harrisburg or in the vicinity of the hospital (Northeast). My daughter's pediatrician was in the University area, her dentist was in Huntersville. But nothing was too aggravating to taxi her around to.

For my daughter- any number of excursions that are not too bad to drive to, for an afternoon or a day (Frank Liske Park, Chuck E Cheese off Concord Mills Blvd, Concord Mills, Dan Nicholas park in Salisbury, NC Zoo in Asheboro, Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, the NC mountains in the south (Chimney Rock Park) or north (Tweetsie Railroad, Boone area) - just a couple hours to the mountains, or just over 3 to the beaches (Brunswick County NC or Horry County SC) and also just over 3 hours to Charleston, SC. Discovery Place...Old Salem...etc. Sooo much to do.

I just liked living so darn centrally located to everything. Yet out of the worst of the traffic and congestion and crime of certain areas of Charlotte.

[mullman]

Originally Posted by vanyali

The crime in Charlotte is overblown. South Charlotte is very safe. I've never locked my front door, and never had a problem. As far as I can tell, there have just been a couple of incidents in Dilworth and Plaza Midwood, and the whole idea of a crime being committed anywhere around there is just so shocking that people just can't stop talking about it.

You can join your local division's (of the CMPD) mailing list and see what is actually going on. And it is much more than you allude to...unfortunately.

To the OP, I prefer South, but check out the entire city before you decide!

[sue77]

if u have the money south charlotte it is

[Rettsie in NJ]

Originally Posted by BlueLily7

What kind of lifestyle do you want? Do you want to be in a "neighborhood" or do you want to be in a more rural feeling area? Do you want a house on a tiny lot or do you prefer larger lots or more land? Do you want to be in the crowd or do you want to live away from the crowd but convenient to - what- shopping? work? schools? etc....

We are looking to move when our daughter graduates college, so within the next year or two. School districts won't be an issue as she is our only child. My husband wants to retire and possibly work a few days a week and play golf the rest of the time. I will still want to work but not in the city - I did the commute into NYC from Long Island, Queens and NJ for years and don't want that hassle again. We would like a more rural area definitely.... a ranch, with 3BR, 2+Bath, garage, 1/2 acre would be nice although my husband wants more land. I don't want to be in a neighborhood that has too many children as we have been there and done that. Definitely want to be near shopping, activities, etc.

[dennise]

I live in Huntersville north of charlotte. I agree living south Charlotte you get a much better feel of Charlotte. We relocated here a year ago. When we first came down here to Charlotte we stayed south of Charlotte.

We chose Huntersville, because my husband got a job in Davidson. the commute from Huntersville is about 20 minutes or so.

We would have prefer to live south Charlotte instead if it was not for his job in Davidson. We usually spend alot of our time in south charlotte during the weekends. More things to go in the south.

It all depends where you will be working. that will determine where you live South or North of Charlotte. You will notice the difference when you come and visit. Well good luck.

[nkjaws]

Originally Posted by mullman

You can join your local division's (of the CMPD) mailing list and see what is actually going on. And it is much more than you allude to...unfortunately.

To the OP, I prefer South, but check out the entire city before you decide!

I agree with you mullman, 100%. This quote from the other poster:That's like a little while ago in Cary (up by Raleigh) -- one guy robbed one store. Once. And his girlfriend came into the local tattoo shop and got the guy's initials tattoed on to herself somewhere, and told the tattooer the story about how her b-f was going back to jail, etc. The next week, a policeman came in to the same shop for a tattoo, and told the story of the same guy from the other side -- he was the arresting officer I think. There's so little crime in Cary, that when something happens, it's the talk of the town for weeks.

Well first of all this is not a small town like Cary. Charlotte has nearly 700,000 people. If you are trying to imply to the OP that Charlotte (all of it) is so safe that you need not lock your doors, that is a true misconception by far. Ofcourse, this is not Detroit, however, there are REAL crime issues and yes they are being addressed, and yes I believe they will turn around, but they ARE HAPPENING and to have someone say they aren't is just a FALSE statement. Now are there areas where crime is much much lower, YES! Huntersville, Cornilius, Fort Mill, Lake Wylie, Tega Cay, all low crime areas. And yes there are neighborhoods in Charlotte that have low crime, ones that have a lot of crime.

Just yesterday I went to my local CVS in Southwest Charlotte. Over the last few days there have been several alarms going off over there where the police have been dispatched but they have not gone into detail about why they have been called. So at CVS yesterday, there were armed guards in the parking lot, and one standing next to the cashier inside the store. If the area was soooooo safe, they would not need to have a armed guard. Just an example I wanted to share about how bogus the concept that there is no crime here and that it is safe to leave your doors unlocked really is.

If you like the country feel and the family feeling, I would seriously consider Ft. Mill Good luck on your search.

[vanyali]

Well, if you're going to hang out in the hood, there's going to be some crime. If you stick to the nice residential and commercial areas in South Charlotte proper, you'll be fine. It's not like it's unsafe to go to South Park Mall.

[nkjaws]

Originally Posted by vanyali

Well, if you're going to hang out in the hood, there's going to be some crime. If you stick to the nice residential and commercial areas in South Charlotte proper, you'll be fine. It's not like it's unsafe to go to South Park Mall.

I don't live in the hood, so that is false. We spent $300k on our house, it isn't in the ghetto we are just having crime problems. I don't know of anyone in my part of town that never locks their doors, they are always locked and the blinds are always closed. But it doesn't have to be this way either. There are better parts of town but I still wouldn't suggest leaving your doors unlocked.

[Rettsie in NJ]

Originally Posted by nkjaws

...this is not Detroit, however, there are REAL crime issues and yes they are being addressed, and yes I believe they will turn around, but they ARE HAPPENING and to have someone say they aren't is just a FALSE statement. Now are there areas where crime is much much lower, YES! Huntersville, Cornilius, Fort Mill, Lake Wylie, Tega Cay, all low crime areas. And yes there are neighborhoods in Charlotte that have low crime, ones that have a lot of crime.

If you like the country feel and the family feeling, I would seriously consider Ft. Mill Good luck on your search.

Thanks, my husband and I are both originally from NY and are use to avoiding certain areas, subway stations, etc. Any big city has crime, we are aware of that as well. It just seems with all I have been reading Charlotte has a good amount which is why we want an area a little outside the city but want to also be able to take advantage of fine dining, shopping, entertainment, etc. that a city like Charlotte has to offer.

All of your posts have been very helpful so far.
Thanks.

[mullman]

Originally Posted by vanyali

Well, if you're going to hang out in the hood, there's going to be some crime. If you stick to the nice residential and commercial areas in South Charlotte proper, you'll be fine. It's not like it's unsafe to go to South Park Mall.

Hard pressed to call my zipcode the hood
I am a stone's throw from SouthPark.

Don't spread disinformation, get on the CMPD mailing list(s).
Very little actually makes the TV news or papers.