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My fiance and I currently live in Columbia SC. We have two little girls, and we're considering a few different places to move, one of them being Charlotte, NC...or rather, the surrounding area.
I have heard so much conflicting information its making my head hurt . I've heard that Charlotte is crime and gang-ridden, and its leaking into the surrounding areas (like the suburbs), then I hear its not that bad.
Granted, everyone has different points-of-view...but which one is it?
We're not considering living inside the city limits of Charlotte...we definitely know we want to live outside the city.
Neither one of us have the funds right now to plan a trip to 'scout it out' for ourselves, so I'd rather just gather some information online.
What would be a nice, safe neighborhood with good schools and affordable housing? We would either be renting a house or an apartment.
I don't live in the city limits of Columbia, so yes, I worry about gang activities.
I live in a relatively nice quiet neighborhood and have been in the same neighborhood for most of my childhood and teenage years. I can count on one hand the number on violent incidents in my neighborhood since I've been here, and maybe one was gang related.
I don't want to compare crime and gang statistics, I just want to know the real deal.
The real deal is . . . if you have found a comfortable and safe niche in Columbia, you will have absolutely no problem finding the same type of situation here in CLT.
I know it probably came across that I was being flippant, but truly - I wasn't.
Also, living w/in the city limits is NOT the problem. Some of the safest areas are w/in the city limits.
Really? See that's what I meant by conflicting information. Some people say inside the city, some people say outside the city...you could see how that could make for someone getting confused.
My fiance comes from a major city and has lived in the country for quite some time now...while he wants to get out of the 'sticks', he does't want to move back within city limits...I guess he just enjoys being 'away from it all'. I've pretty much always lived in the suburbs, so honestly living in the city scares me.
There seems to be a lot of different Charlotte locations...like North Charlotte, South Charlotte...which one would be better for a family?
Charlotte is very large. That is why you get different info.
North of the city, there are great neighborhoods - including Huntersville and further North, Mooresville. South Charlotte is a great area, and so is Ft. Mill, SC and also Union County . . . plus lots of terrific neighborhoods in Matthews . . .
I live in the burbs, but am in the city limits. To really understand CLT, you just have to visit here. You are only a short distance down the road!!! Leave early on a weekend and just make a day trip here if you can't do the overnite/hotel thing. You will have enuff time to check out some areas.
However, until you land a job here - why worry about what area to move to? Where you commute to will have a lot to do w/ where you would choose to live.
I was going to say the same thing that Anifani did... Columbia isn't that far away and I think you could at least get a taste for Charlotte's different areas in a day trip. If you left early and packed your own lunch, I'm sure it could be done rather economically.
In comparison to Columbia it probably relatively same. We have areas that are really great and some that are questionable kinda like around State Park in Columbia yet we also have decent areas that are similar to Blythwood, small just community areas similar to Immo; Sedefield here reminds me of that town but Sedgefield is a community with city limits.
Our lake communities around Lake Norman- Huntersville, Cornelius remind me of the area around Lake Murray. Forest Acres reminds of North Charlotte but like both areas I feel safe but just need to be on guard also the area around Rosewood Dr reminded me of North Charlotte.
If that will give you some idea. The uptown area is great very modern where Columbia mixes old architechture with new. Depends on what you feel in Columbia but you will get a similar vibe in Charlotte.
I look at Charlotte in bands. Uptown is quite safe (even with the recent shooing at a bar at 2:30 in the morning), outside of of uptown for a bit its kind of iffy, then you get to some burbs, where I think North and South are the best. We would need to know a little more like price range, amenity interests, where work would be located. All of that could really drive location. Such as I think Huntersville is quite safe, in the grandscheme of things, but if the job was on the South Side that would make no sense.
My fiance and I currently live in Columbia SC. We have two little girls, and we're considering a few different places to move, one of them being Charlotte, NC...or rather, the surrounding area.
I have heard so much conflicting information its making my head hurt . I've heard that Charlotte is crime and gang-ridden, and its leaking into the surrounding areas (like the suburbs), then I hear its not that bad.
Granted, everyone has different points-of-view...but which one is it?
We're not considering living inside the city limits of Charlotte...we definitely know we want to live outside the city.
Neither one of us have the funds right now to plan a trip to 'scout it out' for ourselves, so I'd rather just gather some information online.
What would be a nice, safe neighborhood with good schools and affordable housing? We would either be renting a house or an apartment.
Living in the city limits of Charlotte is not a bad thing!! In fact, the closer in you live towards uptown the more desirable it is to own property.
However, it does sound like you want a bit more of a suburban feel so I suggest you check out places like Huntersville just north of uptown.
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. I've heard that Charlotte is crime and gang-ridden, and its leaking into the surrounding areas (like the suburbs), then I hear its not that bad.
