charlotte, nc or charlottesville, va or chapel Hill? (Huntersville, Albemarle: real estate, low crime)

[jharris213]

If you had the choice of living in charlotte, chapel hill or charlottesville, va..... which would you choose.
Lets say you had two kids 4 and 6 and you liked warm weather, some season change, but didn't like freezing cold winters.... ( currently living in upstate ny.... ugh). Love water, boats... etc. Want a good safe neighborhood and good schools and lots of recreational activities.... all opinions appreciated!!

Help!!! Thanks!
Jharris213

[anifani821]

Well, it would depend on what type of work I was looking for and you didn't provide that for us, LOL. If I were a professor, I would want to be in either Chapel Hill or C'ville/UVA. I am partial to Albemarle Co b/c of the history, but if I didn't have the $$ to buy a Georgian home there, I might not be so inclined to go . . . the cost of living is not a bargain there, but the university is terrific and it is a beautiful place to live. Chapel Hill is more laid back, IMHO, than C'ville, altho both are terrific college towns.

If I wanted to know I could find a nice suburban neighborhood . . . I would look at Charlotte.

But the first thing would be a compatible location for my career.

[businessperson]

Charlottesville, VA. It's a beautiful town.

[jharris213]

Thanks for replying so quick. I am a fitness personal trainer and my husband is a pilot, so we can pretty much live near any airport. I can work at any fitness facility

[solnechko]

My spouse is also a pilot. I can tell you jumpseating out of CLT is very tough. Charlottesville has a tiny airport with not much service. RDU may be a better choice. Southwest and AA both serve RDU.

All parts of NC are experiencing high unemployment, but if jobs are not an issue, I would definitely choose Charlottesville, VA for quality of life, hands down. Proximity to Shenandoah, winter skiing, Washington DC. I am partial to VA having previously lived in the Shenandoah Valley but I'd go back there in a heartbeat. Charlottesville also gives your DH DCA, DUL and RIC as alternates for commuting -- pretty sweet set of choices.

[carolina_guy]

If water and outdoor rec is your thing, check out the Lake Norman area of the Charlotte region. Towns to consider are Huntersville, Cornelius, and Denver--all within close proximity to Charlotte Douglas International.

[VaTechKA]

Originally Posted by carolina_guy

If water and outdoor rec is your thing, check out the Lake Norman area of the Charlotte region. Towns to consider are Huntersville, Cornelius, and Denver--all within close proximity to Charlotte Douglas International.

I knew you were gonna chime in with the LKN pitch eventually lol

[carolina_guy]

Originally Posted by VaTechKA

I knew you were gonna chime in with the LKN pitch eventually lol

That's how I roll, yo!

[VaTechKA]

On another note, I like Charlottesville (although I hate UVA - GO TECH haha), but there are a few problems. There are some pretty rough areas with run down real estate. The parking is a pretty difficult, especially around downtown.

Chapel Hill is really nice, I would choose it over Charlottesville - except for the heat can get bad in CH!

Charlotte is great if you are looking to live in a big city or a suburb, but it seems like you are looking at the smaller towns too.

Not to sound like a biased person - again - but if you like Virginia, you should check out Blacksburg (home of VT!). Great small town, very low crime, lots of new development, and close to Roanoke's airport. They even have an airport on the VT campus! (of course it's not running commercial flights lol).

Let me know if you have any questions about any of these places, as I have spent a good amount of time in all of them.