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After reading all this bickering about the who loves or hates living where and what's wrong and what's right with this town or that city, does anyone really understand what makes you happy? It's not the traffic, the big house, the high paying job or anything else around you that you can't change. It's the people that you find comfort in each day. It doesn't matter if you landed in the Garden of Eden, if you don't have people that you love and care about around you, you will be miserable. You can look at the things that are wrong with your location and blame it on that, but if those people were around you right now, I bet you wouldn't notice those things at all.
After reading all this bickering about the who loves or hates living where and what's wrong and what's right with this town or that city, does anyone really understand what makes you happy? It's not the traffic, the big house, the high paying job or anything else around you that you can't change. It's the people that you find comfort in each day. It doesn't matter if you landed in the Garden of Eden, if you don't have people that you love and care about around you, you will be miserable. You can look at the things that are wrong with your location and blame it on that, but if those people were around you right now, I bet you wouldn't notice those things at all.
So true! That is why I get homesick for my former neighborhood . . . yes, I loved my home, but it was the neighbors, my friends and the good times we all had together that I really am thinking about when I get "homesick."
My husband and I moved from MD in March with two kids and we are enjoying it so far. It seems like there are a lot of things to do for families, but I don't think that single people have as much to do. Crime.... I came from the Baltimore area so I am enjoying having my kids being able to play outside and not having to worry about them as much.
Is it just me.. or is this place not all it's cracked up to be? Maybe it's just because i'm from Long Island NY and nothing else compares to NY, but tons of New Yorkers are apparently moving here.. and I just don't know what all the hype is about Charlotte!! The house prices are low, so what? House prices are low in Idaho.. so why is everyone going to Charlotte? For a nicely priced spacious house, I just don't think it's worth it to move here because the area itself is not that great. I think the crime is out of control.. I have NEVER felt unsafe in new york.. most of the crime that people think is there is just some outdated stereotype that is untrue, but here?? It's awful! And if you want to live in the safest richest neighborhoods, you're going to pay 800,000 for a house so why bother leaving NY anyway! I hate watching Fox Charlotte because all I hear about are murders, shootings, etc; uptown is pretty darn lame; the north side of charlotte is so barren.. even with all that northlake mall stuff, I am just bored and my husband and I can't wait for our lease to be over.
I just wanted to know if anyone else felt similar.. because I honestly just don't understand the hype!
Well, it sounds like you were smart to lease, rather than buy for one thing. We moved here to get more house for our money and it's not a 'so what' issue, it greatly improved our quality of life. We got the good schools that we wanted and the better weather, too. Sure, we could move to Idaho and find a nice house but it wouldn't have the weather. There are too many safe and affordable neighborhoods to list, a realtor could tell you dozens.
The crime and traffic seem worse here, but it's only an illusion. Here's an example of what I mean. The Charlotte traffic reporters tell you about every back-up and accident. So, on a given morning, you might hear about 6 trouble spots and it sounds bad. Now, compare that to an icy day I remember on the Garden State Parkway, where there were 87, yes, 87 minor accidents and spin-offs in one commute! It would've taken hours just to document them all and that's just one highway! Last week, New Town Road actually made the morning traffic report here. In NY, even the Lincoln Tunnel barely gets mentioned if it's not more than a 10 minute delay, big difference. As far as crime goes, you don't hear about everything in NY, they have to pick and choose the most sensational stories. Critics have said that black on black crime is especially unreported by the media in NY, but if a white tourist is murdered, it's the first story read on the air by Sue Simmons. In Charlotte, they tend to report everything they can. They even report burglaries sometimes- on TV! Do you really think that in Queens or Long Island that there are never times when someone is robbed when they are at home? Down here, it instantly becomes a home invasion and the top TV news story, while in NY, it wouldn't even make a local paper. Think about it.
Charlotte is not New York but it does offer some things to do. You could've seen the Broadway version of Wicked here and the sporting events are pretty good. While there is no baseball, there are extra things like ACC basketball games. There are things to do, even Disney is only a 9 hour drive away. There's not as much to do as NY or even Philly, it's a much smaller city and that won't change for many years, it's a trade off that people make for their kids. Last December, my son had a few days where he played outside in shorts and sandals, we are happy to give up a lot of adult diversions for days like that.
Overall, you seem pretty down on Charlotte and going home is probably for the best.
"Charlotte is not New York but it does offer some things to do. You could've seen the Broadway version of Wicked here and the sporting events are pretty good. While there is no baseball, there are extra things like ACC basketball games. "
I'm not hijacking the thread - but thought you might be interested to know about that we do have baseball - have you been to a Charlotte Knights game? While not anything like a major league game, it is still really fun. My kids love going! Take the Gold Hill Rd exit off I-77, go left, and Knights stadium is on the right.
I currently live in Los Angeles (originally from B'ham) and had the opportunity to visit Charlotte this past weekend. I was VERY impressed with Uptown. While it may not be as large as NY or LA, it was very clean, YES I saw TREES, and it had all of the conveniences including fresh air. I also forgot how friendly Southerners can be. I didn't feel unsafe at all, but I guess it's all perspective. I live a block from Beverly Hills and think LA is far shadier than anything I saw in Uptown. I agree with a lot of posters that it is perspective and being happy is about being around people/things you enjoy. No city is for everyone.
My husband and I moved from MD in March with two kids and we are enjoying it so far. It seems like there are a lot of things to do for families, but I don't think that single people have as much to do. Crime.... I came from the Baltimore area so I am enjoying having my kids being able to play outside and not having to worry about them as much.
Trust me, we don't. Single people are pretty much... off of their own.
I make my own fun, head to Daniel Stowe, go shopping, head out with friends, go to the beach and Asheville.
But if you are single there really isn't a whole heck of a lot to do, or really anywhere to meet single men.
Sad in a way, but oh well. Life is what you make of it. I am having fun.
I'm sorry I didn't mean to come off bitter, I was probably just having a bad day and yes I am just extremely overwhelmed with the weight of where to move. I know that no place is perfect, and I know what probably makes me miserable here is that we have no friends or family. It's a long story but we didn't have time to completely research this place, but I did do a bunch of research and we did visit. And you can never truly fully assess a place until you actually LIVE there. We kinda always knew this place wouldn't be permanent we just had to make a "stop over" here for a little while. I was just wondering if anyone was feeling the same way.. it wasn't really addressed to the long time residents but more so people in my same situation. I'm just not a small town kind of person and to me, that's what Charlotte is.. even with all it's traffic. I just thought with the influx of northerners that it would be comparable to Long Island in some way, but you always envision something in your head differently than what it actually is. Oh well.. it is what it is. And it is a pretty place, just not for us and that's fine.
I just thought with the influx of northerners that it would be comparable to Long Island in some way, but you always envision something in your head differently than what it actually is. Oh well.. it is what it is. And it is a pretty place, just not for us and that's fine.
If you stick celery in an apple pie it still a apple pie
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