Yankee...Um actually Met looking to move to NC-Charlotte, any help? (Greenville: for sale, rent) - City-Data Forum

Doctor Mumbles · 01-09-2007, 10:19 PM

I guess you can add me to the list of those looking for "the better life" and have been thinking about the Carolinas. I'm from NY but will never refer to myself as a "Yankee" because I am a die hard Mets fan, lol. My parents live in Greenville SC (they moved there about 8 years ago). We both love Greenville but realistically I don't know if we could get good jobs there as I work in Television Production and she in Finance. With that being said we thought we would check out Atlanta and Charlotte as cities that could offer us jobs, and also provide a nice nightlife, golf for me, and shopping for her. We also like being active so places you could hike, or bike, and a nicer climate than NY were other reasons we want to move incase you were interested.
We recently went to Atlanta for New Years and we found it to be much larger, busier, and spread out than we ever imagined. To me it was a Mini NY, which was great in terms of eating great food and having things to do but the hustle and bustle and traffic was also NY! My point being that I want a busy city, but I don't know if I want to go from NY to NY Jr. While Buckhead and Virginia Highlands were very nice and upscale houses there cost the same as they do in NY. I was hoping to move South to get a better bang for the buck somewhat. I don't think it helped that my fiances wallet was pickpocket at the Lenox Mall but we are now concentrating on Charlotte. I am scheduled to visit for 2 weeks in the dog days of July. I am wondering if anyone can give me insight on Charlotte, is it as busy as Atlanta or is it calmer like Greenville? Or a combination? We are ideally looking for a place where we can buy a house at a decent price and have a bit better quality of life while having some nightlife, shopping, and sports/activities. If Charlotte is a good choice do people live in Charlotte or is it unaffordable and people live in a nearby suburb? Any insight would be helpful sorry for the long ramble.
-Doc

friendnc · 01-10-2007, 01:42 AM

Charlotte's a halfway point between Atlanta and Greenville in terms of "hustle and bustle". We love living here in the area. What's your price range or definition of "affordable"? You can find a good price range in Charlotte, but pay lower taxes and a little more home for the $ in the suburban counties. I live in Concord (Cabarrus County), and can get to uptown Charlotte in 20 minutes at non-rush hour times. I have a nice 2100 sf 2-story on 1/3 acre lot in a nice sudivision that's worth $170k. Good luck and I hope this helps a little. PM me if you want any more info.

CharlotteAgent · 01-10-2007, 06:03 AM

Charlotte gets accused of trying ot be like Atlanta on a smaller level. Hopefully our politicians are learning from Atlantas mistakes.

resident · 01-10-2007, 06:16 AM

It depends on what you are looking for as far as a house. We have a 1900 sq ft house in a really nice subdivision and they go anywhere from 180 and up to about 400 (the lower end is hard to find but you can find it) we are in Union county on the western side about 4 miles from Mecklenburg and about 25 min from downtown Charlotte. There are restaurants, shopping (Carolina Place Mall, SouthPark Mall, Concord Mills plus other small boutiquey type shops), jobs, taxes are lower outside of Meck county and schools are a little more stable than in Meck county. The area is growing a lot.
We are just shy of 2hours from the mountains (check out Grandfather Mountain) the Blue Ridge Parkway, and about 3 from the ocean. Carowinds Amusement park is nearby and a host of other things. There are concerts and things going on as well.
We are just learning the area, as we have lived here about 5 months now but we are finding things to do and that we really enjoy it and are looking to stay for the long haul.
Good luck on your search!

Doctor Mumbles · 01-10-2007, 08:30 AM

I guess my definition of affordable housing is approx. $200-$300 K for 2-3 bedrooms. Thanks for replying bye the way. My parents in Greenville have places for sale in their development for $257K and range from 2-4 bedrooms, nice little yard and a pool in the complex. That's really all I am looking for in life, lol. I don't think it's too much to ask. Something like that in Long Island would be $500K for home that needs work! It's such a rat race.

Now I'm assuming Charlotte or the surrounding suburbs maybe slightly higher than Greenville but I was hoping for something in the 200-350K range.

I can't wait to visit Charlotte, I like that everyone says it has a nightlife but is not as busy as Atlanta or NY. We would probably work on getting jobs, rent for a year in Charlotte and then try to find the best burb to live in. I hear people talking about places like Matthews, Ft. Mill and other places, I guess learning the surrounding areas.

Swimmom32 · 01-10-2007, 08:57 AM

Doctor for 325k-350k u can find someting real nice in Union County, Just continue to look and do your research, and contact a realtor this way they can assist you in areas...

Good Luck

CharlotteAgent · 01-10-2007, 10:18 AM

You can find a home real easy in your price range. Let me know if I can be of assistance.

Thanks,

south.charlotte&union · 01-10-2007, 02:06 PM

I agree with Charlotte Agent -- you should be able to find what you are looking for here. Let me know if you would like some help on the South side of town

PS My husband would love that post...strange that I married him, me being a Yankee and him being a MET...He is also a Giant and I am a Jet...Hmmmm

Doctor Mumbles · 01-10-2007, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by south.charlotte&union

I agree with Charlotte Agent -- you should be able to find what you are looking for here. Let me know if you would like some help on the South side of town

PS My husband would love that post...strange that I married him, me being a Yankee and him being a MET...He is also a Giant and I am a Jet...Hmmmm

Thats funny that he is a Giant and Mets fan usually it's Jets and Mets and Yankees and Giants. I guess that is why you guys clicked, opposites attract. I appreciate everyone being so helpful on this site, once I do more research I may take you up on your offers of some direct messages. Speaking of baseball I'm glad to see Charlotte has a Triple A team, the Knights right? I guess to get my fix when the Mets are in town there is always a road trip to Hotlanta! Would you say Charlotte is a big sports town? I know you have the Bobcats and Panthers and those are teams i could get behind. I think you may also have a minor league hockey team. Being from the North I'm not big into Nascar but know thats HUGE there, it maybe cool going once though.

-Doc

niknaxx · 01-10-2007, 10:35 PM

[quote=Doctor Mumbles;264729]I guess my definition of affordable housing is approx. $200-$300 K for 2-3 bedrooms.

You will be surprised what that will buy you here! We bought a brand new house 5bd/2.5ba/2cg with a 2 year warranty for $260's back in July. The development is almost completed and it's a very friendly community. We are in Huntersville, close to Lake Norman but also close enough to the Interstate and Charlotte. I'm glad we're not any further north, though, for my husband's commute.

Finance is big here for your wife. Charlotte is #2 for finance in the U.S., next in line only to NYC.