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We are working on finding a home in South Charlotte, planning to go down in the coming 2 weeks to make an offer. We are relocating from MA with dh's company.
I am looking at 4 br homes, up to $300,000. We have a pool in our current home in MA, and have always had a pool at our homes (above ground, very popular here). We use it a ton, just about daily, the kids will go in May thru September, and that's in our New England weather.
I only wanted to look at houses in communities with pools, our realtor suggested that we don't narrow down homes by that criteria, that the YMCA's are "big" in Charlotte and have lovely pools/sprinkler parks.
The Harris, Siskey and and Morrison branches have outdoor pools. Are they all in South Charlotte area?
How does a neighborhood pool compare to a Y pool as far as hours open, etc. I assume we may need to drive to the neighborhood pool, as some of the communities I have looked in seem large with sub-communities in them.
In my area of MA, we have nothing at all like this. Everyone has a pool, and there are no "swim communities".
Depends on what part of South Charlotte you are looking in. Many new neighborhoods do have community pools and are large enough to support swim teams in the summer. Outdoor pools generally are open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Hours could be different in other communities but it generally stays the same.
Y pools are obviously open year round. They have indoor and outdoor facilities.
I think I can answer this one... We were transferred from Texas to Charlotte and we consider Texas the capital of planned communities. Having been raised in the north though I wasn't sure how important a pool community was/would be in Charlotte... I see now, having three kids of my own, we couldn't live without a pool in our community. In fact, we bought our house in our community because it had a pool. Some of the other neighborhoods around us that don't have pools in the neighborhood, I see aren't getting as good "resales" in those neighborhoods because they are lacking amenities. However, I will also say we absolutely love the Y pools. They are like nothing you have ever seen up north. It's like having a water park near your house. The ballanytne and siskey Ys are awesome with lots to do for the little ones. Now, I find, that because of the heat in Charlotte, it is nice to have multiple options in the summer time, we can go have a play date with neighbors and walk to the community pool--or we can have a big day out and meet friends at the Y pool... it gives them something different to do. As well, the Harris Y (which is closer towards uptown) has a great indoor pool... gives you something to do on days when it rains. So, personally, if you have kids, I think you would be happier in a pool community with amenities-- it tends to bring the neighbors together and as a transplant, you'll have a chance to meet more people-- and I would get a "metro" pass for the Y. That gives you the ability to go to any Y in the area and use their facilities at any time. The Y also has great programs, child care etc. at Siskey they even have dance classes for the little girls. And, they are new facilities and very very clean!
I think I can answer this one... We were transferred from Texas to Charlotte and we consider Texas the capital of planned communities. Having been raised in the north though I wasn't sure how important a pool community was/would be in Charlotte... I see now, having three kids of my own, we couldn't live without a pool in our community. In fact, we bought our house in our community because it had a pool. Some of the other neighborhoods around us that don't have pools in the neighborhood, I see aren't getting as good "resales" in those neighborhoods because they are lacking amenities. However, I will also say we absolutely love the Y pools. They are like nothing you have ever seen up north. It's like having a water park near your house. The ballanytne and siskey Ys are awesome with lots to do for the little ones. Now, I find, that because of the heat in Charlotte, it is nice to have multiple options in the summer time, we can go have a play date with neighbors and walk to the community pool--or we can have a big day out and meet friends at the Y pool... it gives them something different to do. As well, the Harris Y (which is closer towards uptown) has a great indoor pool... gives you something to do on days when it rains. So, personally, if you have kids, I think you would be happier in a pool community with amenities-- it tends to bring the neighbors together and as a transplant, you'll have a chance to meet more people-- and I would get a "metro" pass for the Y. That gives you the ability to go to any Y in the area and use their facilities at any time. The Y also has great programs, child care etc. at Siskey they even have dance classes for the little girls. And, they are new facilities and very very clean!
Mad, that is why we decided on looking in communities only with pools, we have a beautiful inground 18x40 heated pool we put in 2 years ago and I love the privatness if that sounds right HOWEVER, we are very outgoing and nice people and love to meet others so we decided on we were going to buy a home that had these ammenities, and that the Kids can make some new freinds...
Mad, that is why we decided on looking in communities only with pools, we have a beautiful inground 18x40 heated pool we put in 2 years ago and I love the privatness if that sounds right HOWEVER, we are very outgoing and nice people and love to meet others so we decided on we were going to buy a home that had these ammenities, and that the Kids can make some new freinds...
Really that was the biggest lesson we learned when in TX. The planned communities are attractive to people with young children as it gives them something to do and as a "trailing spouse" it gives you a chance to meet other mothers on common ground.
Thanks for all the responses, I am strongly leaning toward buying in a development with a pool. I thought it would be a nice place to meet other moms, kids, etc.
"In my area of MA, we have nothing at all like this. Everyone has a pool, and there are no "swim communities".
If you are used to having your own pool, you probably will not be happy without one. We moved here from Tampa, FL where we had our own and it sucks not to have one now. We are in a community with a pool but I didn't use it once. My neighbor across the street has their own and I'm jealous! I just can't see putting in one because we move frequently and won't recoup the cost. I miss my own pool…
But the community pools are nice and you don’t have to keep them up… We’ve had them in all 3 of the communities we’ve owned houses. I personally wouldn’t buy in a community that didn’t have a pool, because of resale. As far as house pricing, you can get a 5 bdr house for less than $250-275k in Huntersville in a nice neighborhood and close to the interstate. There is an aquatics center here, too.
Thanks all for your advice. I too had the same question as I was looking at a community with amenities and than one without. I was swaying toward the with amenities and my realtor also said they have better resale values.
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