Any Maryland/DC Transplants in Charlotte? (Raleigh, Washington: home, job market, schools)

[6SigGuruMD]

... if so, I would love to hear your 2 cents about the area and comparisons to MD/DC.

My husband and I are planning a relocation to Charlotte this fall from Montgomery Co., MD and have heard only good things from friends/family who have relocated.

Thanks!

[njmdpanc]

There is no comparison. Moved out of MD back in 1986 but have visited many times since then. Lived in Greenbelt and Rockville for several years. Even back then, I would sit in hours of traffic to go a couple of miles.

[bjallen]

My wife and I are Maryland / DC transplants. We grew up in Prince George's County (Greenbelt and Ft. Washington). I would be happy to share our experience with you via a personal message. Just shoot me an email. We just moved to Charlotte in August 2005 but haven't lived in MD since 1999. We're lived in Ann Arbor, MI and Portland, OR in between. I can definitely say that Charlotte is now home for us. We're very happy with the decision to relocate here. We also know tons of people have have relocated as well. I would say that 50-75% of our church has lived in MD/ DC at some point in time - including our Pastor. Again, send me a personal message and I can be more specific. I would be happy to share some thing to think about / check out when you come for your visit.

[ctribucher]

DH and I are transplants from Alexandria, VA. We spent about 6 months in Raleigh before coming to Charlotte - we've been here since October. We feel like Charlotte is a good fit for us because while it is a smaller city than the DC area (what we wanted), it still has a lot to offer in terms of things to do and places to go. We're never bored!

[bs13690]

I moved here from Arlington last year. I probably only have two bad things to say:

1. I miss the wide variety of quality ethnic food. There are a lot of good restaurants around but nothing that compares to good Mexican and Thai one can find in the DC area.
2. You'll notice that people drive much slower around here and for some reason, if an area opens up to two lanes traffic will not immediately split into both lanes. I see this every day driving up Idewild.

[md to nc]

Originally Posted by bs13690

I moved here from Arlington last year. I probably only have two bad things to say:

1. I miss the wide variety of quality ethnic food. There are a lot of good restaurants around but nothing that compares to good Mexican and Thai one can find in the DC area.
2. You'll notice that people drive much slower around here and for some reason, if an area opens up to two lanes traffic will not immediately split into both lanes. I see this every day driving up Idewild.

It depends what part of Idlewild. If it is by 485, then if you get caught going up the shoulder too far you will get a ticket. The cops have been sitting there.

[Doorway]

Originally Posted by 6SigGuruMD

... if so, I would love to hear your 2 cents about the area and comparisons to MD/DC.

My husband and I are planning a relocation to Charlotte this fall from Montgomery Co., MD and have heard only good things from friends/family who have relocated.

Thanks!

My husband and I moved down from Montgomery Co. 9 months ago with our 2 children age, 12 and 10. We lived in Flower Valley in Rockville. We absolutely love it here and are very happy with the traffic, schools, and housing. I can get into specifics if you'd like , just ask away. What part of Monkey Co are you coming from? PS... We came down with a job and I understand it is a fatal mistake to come down without one regardless of your field.

[Goodbye Bawlmer]

My Husband and I are in the beginning stages of our relocation to Charlotte from Northern Baltimore.
We spent the past 2 years exploring cities and towns in Florida, Georgia, SC & NC, hoping to find one that welcomed us with open arms and opportunity. We are beyond excited that we found what we are looking for in Charlotte.
I see a lot of physical commonalities between Maryland and North Carolina (beaches, countryside, mountains, cities, burbs, etc...) and I also see a lot of differences. The most important differences for us were that Charlotte is a much more progressive city than Baltimore/DC. In Charlotte we have noticed that they are constantly doing things for the better of the people and the area. In Baltimore it seems that many problems are being swept under the rug and expected to disappear on their own.
For a young couple hoping to start a family in the next 5 years, Charlotte has everything we want & need.

-- Not to mention that a $600k home in MD will only cost you $250 in Charlotte. Who doesn't LOVE that?!?!

[bjallen]

We started a family since moving here from Portland, OR in August 2005 and have no regrets. It's a good place to raise a family, solid job market, decent RE market, etc. My wife and I went to undergrad in Baltimore - UMBC. Do you know what part of town you want to live in? I'm willing to respond to a personal message if you have more specific questions. Relocating can be a daunting task. My wife works with a lot of people that have moved to Charlotte from the MD / DC area. I don't know of anyone that regrets choosing Charlotte over DC - us included. I hope the transition goes smoothly. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions.

[dankimnc]

We moved down here 10 years ago from Fredericksburg, VA. Both my husband and I grew up in Prince William County (Dale City/Woodbridge). We don't have any regrets leaving, we absolutely love it here (except for allergies - really bad). We commuted 45 miles one way to the Fort Belvoir area from Fredericksburg - don't miss that at all. Now my husband is 10 minutes from work (was 5 when we first moved here). We left family and friends, but as I said, no regrets. We would do it again in a heartbeat!!