A Californian's perspective of Charlotte (Concord, Matthews: apartment complexes, HOA, houses)

[beckybee22]

I was born and raised in CA and had lived in the Southwest for a few years before moving here. I'd never been east of CO until we moved here (that's right, I moved here without visiting first!). So, I thought I'd share my opinions of CLT from a "west coaster's" perspective.

Things I like
-the trees! I've never seen so many in my life!
-the houses. I love traditional style homes like in "Father of the Bride" and here I can actually afford one!
-the people. Everyone is so friendly and helpful!
-beautiful parks (Freedom Park is amazingly beautiful in toward the back!)
-the small town feel. Charlotte isn't overly built up like most cities out west. It's strange to go to the mall (Northlake, Concord Mills) and not have apartment complexes and businesses everywhere, there are still open spaces with trees! (though probably not for long it looks like they are doing more construction everywhere)
-the safe "feeling". It looks and feels like Mayberry to me!

Things that are an adjustment
-no fences...weird. I've realized Californians are kind of "freaks" about their privacy. And I'm one of them. I can't wait to have a fence up (and not a picket fence either, I want to keep my neighbors out of my backyard unless I invite them over!)
-the street lights! AHHH! I hate them! Why aren't they on poles?
-the street signs! GRRR! Even more annoying than the lights! Why aren't they over the streets in most places and why are they so small? I'm always flying right past streets I was supposed to turn on!
-all the houses look the same. Yes, I want a traditional home but I don't want everyone to have the same color vinyl (and vinyl is weird too, whatever happened to wood?) and the same shutters and garage door, etc. as me.

Overall, I LOVE it here and plan on staying 'til I die. I told my husband we are NEVER EVER EVER moving back west again!

[DawnW]

Because of the lack of privacy fences, we chose to live in a neighborhood with LOTS of trees.....we have complete privacy.

There are many things to like about Charlotte. I do miss home terribly though.

Dawn

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I agree about the street signs. When I visited, I had the hardest time reading them - too small and inconveniently placed. If not for my GPS, I would have circled around many, many times!

[AJ1972]

Do they not allow you to put up a privacy fence in your yard? I would want one too if I was to buy a home there (we're thinking about it).

[SunnyKayak]

Originally Posted by AJ1972

Do they not allow you to put up a privacy fence in your yard? I would want one too if I was to buy a home there (we're thinking about it).

Depends on the community you choose and the HOA rules for that neighborhood regarding fencing.

[Doorway]

Glad you are enjoying it. We are too.

[anifani821]

Just wanted to say "glad you are here" . . . and I know what you mean about things like signage and street lights!!! You get more used to it after while . . . but I would prefer having more (and brighter) street lights, too . . . Thanks for the post!

[DawnW]

Actually, the size of the street signs didn't bother me nearly as much as the names!

My MAP says "turn right on HWY 51" but the sign on the street only reads "Pineville-Matthews Road!"

And then the names CHANGE as you drive down the road and you are sure you have taken a wrong road somewhere!

Give a street ONE NAME and then keep it that name throughout.

Ok, done ranting.

Dawn

[Barkingowl]

Vinyl is easier to maintain than wood & never needs to be painted. Some subdivisions, like the one I live in, don't have an HOA. You can put up any kind of fence you want to. Our fence keeps our neighbors out of our yard & our dog inside. But even when we had split rail fencing the neighbors never came on our property.

The streets are strange but over time you get used to them, like any other place I suppose. I don't know what you mean about the streetlights. They are on poles down here in S. Charlotte.

[SunnyKayak]

Originally Posted by DawnW

Actually, the size of the street signs didn't bother me nearly as much as the names!

My MAP says "turn right on HWY 51" but the sign on the street only reads "Pineville-Matthews Road!"

And then the names CHANGE as you drive down the road and you are sure you have taken a wrong road somewhere!

Give a street ONE NAME and then keep it that name throughout.

Ok, done ranting.

Dawn

I thought about this complaint that is often stated by others and I do see some good of street with various names if you are looking for a particular address on that street.

Stateville Road is a good example of a road that is a challenge to find an address with having one road name. It hard to know where exactly to begin to start hunting for the address of the location you need to go to.
When I need to go to Billy Graham Parkway I know what area to head to first or Woodlawn or Runnymede or Mulberry Church Road.

I as well have a GPS unit and so now I could careless what a street is named or how often it is renamed since it will get me there regardless