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Old 01-16-2009, 02:39 PM
 
6 posts, read 16,853 times
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Hi all, We live in the Dallas, TX area currently. We have a really great school system here, even compared to other schools in the US. DH potentially has a promotional move with his job, which would require us to relocate to the Charlotte area. I am doing some preliminary research just to see if this is something that we would even want to consider. My first concern is the Schools. I have looked up some of the schools in the Charlotte area and see some schools ranked very well in comparison to NC schools. However, does anybody have any idea how NC rates in comparison to the rest of the US or Dallas area? I don't mean to imply that the schools aren't good or adequate, just really want a comparison. My cousin just moved to another part of NC from California, and is shocked to see how far behind her childs school is compared to her Cali school. Any feedback would be great. I will have more questions I will post in another thread, as to break down the subject matter. Thanks in Advance!!!
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Old 01-16-2009, 04:01 PM
 
Location: South Charlotte
124 posts, read 459,581 times
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We just moved to the Charlotte area from Dallas as well - we were living in Coppell for the past six years. My oldest is 4.5 and will be starting kindergarten in the fall so I wouldn't consider myself an expert by any means, but overall I can say that when researching on greatschools.net and other sources, I was surprised by how high South Charlotte schools ranked (I can't speak for other areas). When looking here, pretty much every elementary, middle and high school in the area we were looking at ranked a 9 or 10. I've toured two elementary programs here; Elizabeth Lane and Providence Spring and was impressed with their programs. Things in general that I didn't like were (PSE only) the start time of 7:30am which seems very early for 5 year olds, the lack of foreign language offered and the overcrowding (both schools had trailers outside for a majority of the 2nd grade classes). On the upside, both schools had very high parent involvement (I was told on the tours that on any given day there can be more parent volunteers at the two schools mentioned than paid employees), low free lunch program numbers (I believe PSE's is 2% or less) and modern learning tools (both had smart boards in almost every room) Charlotte seems to have some decent magnet programs that we've been looking into as well.

I didn't do alot of research in Dallas because when we moved there we didn't have children yet. I do know our school district was terrible (we were in the Lewisville school district) so if we had stayed there we would have used private schools. We've ended up purchasing in the PSE school district which is ranked 3rd in the state overall, so I feel fairly confident that my children can get a decent education there. Anyway, I don't know if that helped much; I'm sure others who have lived here longer and actually experienced the schools can tell more.

Welcome to the area from another Dallasite!
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Old 01-16-2009, 04:41 PM
 
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Thanks Juliema! Thats good to know. I had looked on Greatschools and saw some high rankings, I however, am not sure if the rankings are compared to only NC schools or nationwide ranking system. We are currently in McKinney, and have great schools here. Although my son just started Kindergarten this year, we just moved here in the past 2 years, from Colorado. So of course schools was a major factor with choosing this area. It seemed I could easily find how Dallas area ranked compared to other US schools, and am not having as much luck finding the same for NC.

BUT another question for you then Juliema, (or others who have relocated from Dallas), off of the school topic, is what do you think of the lifestyle difference between Dallas area and Charlotte area? Pros/cons? I'd love to hear your perspective. As I mentioned we are in the very preliminary stages, and just trying to decide if it's even something we would consider, or just stay put. I'm NOT a fan of change.
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Old 01-16-2009, 04:53 PM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC
1,311 posts, read 4,661,804 times
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I'm not an expert on the Dallas area, but your post reminded me of something I think Anifani, one of our regular and super-helpful posters, said the other day. She said that the Dallas suburbs are pretty comparable to the Charlotte area in some ways. Am I remembering correctly, Ani? I'm trying to think of the thread...I'll do some searching and post it if I find it.
Maybe she'll see this and respond herself! Until then...searching threads for me!
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Old 01-16-2009, 05:08 PM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC
1,311 posts, read 4,661,804 times
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OK, searched some. Can't find Ani's post. Sorry, Ani, if I imagined that. And sorry to the OP if it's not true. I wish I could find that! I can't remember what thread it was on or anything. Dang it!!
To the OP, we relocated here from PA a little over a year ago. We love it! Even if Charlotte is dramatically different from Dallas (which I doubt), it really is a lovely place to be, especially for families with young children, IMO.

Last edited by cheesehead1; 01-16-2009 at 05:48 PM.. Reason: clarify/fix
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Old 01-16-2009, 06:35 PM
 
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Well - Charlotte doesn't even expel convicted felons, so.....bear that in mind.
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Old 01-16-2009, 08:00 PM
 
Location: State of Being
35,879 posts, read 77,102,358 times
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Hey, Cheesehead! Just noticed what you posted. Yes, I think that Dallas burbs are somewhat similar to Charlotte burbs and the cost of housing is also fairly much on par w/ Charlotte. I think Julie made some very astute observations. Overall, the quality of education here would compare with places such as Plano, Frisco, etc . . . but the facilities here are not always new and sometimes have mobile units on site waiting for school expansion that may be a few years down the road. So it depends where you live here as to how new the schools will be and how crowded, as well. This could be something that would be a disappointment so you really need to do your homework b/f you buy a home here.

That being said . . . your children can certainly get a quality education in the CMS system. Or you may want to consider Union County, depending on where you would be commuting (or Ft. Mill, SC, for that matter).
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Old 01-16-2009, 08:40 PM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC
123 posts, read 302,118 times
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If you have a choice as to Dallas or Charlotte, maybe you can choose. But if you don't have a choice and have to move to Charlotte, I would atleast choose to stay in a good school boundary. We choose the Providence Spring Elementary for my son who started Kindergarten this year, and have been very happy. Providence Spring and Huntersville Elementary have been awarded Blue Ribbon this year, so it speaks for itself. Yes, schools are overcrowded here due to the unexpected growth of population, but then my kid is doing fine.
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Old 01-16-2009, 08:58 PM
QCP
 
185 posts, read 521,466 times
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The Charlotte area has some very, very good schools. Specifically, I can recommend the Ardrey Kell, Providence, Myers Park and Butler School districts. I'm sure there are more, but I specifically know South Charlotte. Also, the bordering county (Union) offers some great schools as well: Marvin, Weddington, Cuthbertson, etc.

Don't know where your friend is living in NC, but I can say that the schools in the nicer areas of Charlotte and Raleigh are right on par with just about any other state's schools.

Plus looking ahead, our higher education opportunities in this state are absolutely wonderful.

Good luck!
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Old 01-16-2009, 09:06 PM
 
Location: South Charlotte
124 posts, read 459,581 times
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I can definitely share insight into differences that I've noticed. First let me just put in the note that we moved here the first week in October so I have a whole 4 months experience to go on and I'm still adjusting to the area and really missing Dallas (I don't like change either).

Pluses to me for Charlotte over Dallas are 1) More trees and vegetation. That may or may not matter to you, but I grew up in the midwest so I've really missed trees. 2) Close to the mountains and the ocean. Charlotte is a short drive to the mountains and about 3 hours from the ocean which is really the best of both worlds. 3) This is a personal one, but we're closer to family out here. We have family in Raleigh/Durham and Hilton Head, SC so that was a huge plus to our coming out here. 4) Bigger lots for homes than the suburbs of Dallas. People may disagree with me on this; I know a lot of people think Charlotte has small lots, but when we were house hunting everything was at least a 1/4 of an acre and most were a 1/3 of an acre or higher; to as high as an acre+. In the DFW area for the same price our .21 acre lot in Coppell was considered large by most people who saw it.

A few things that I really miss about DFW are 1) The prices of just about everything. Gas is more expensive here as is food. Real Estate is probably a touch more expensive although at this point with the way the economy's been hit, it's definitely becoming more negligible. 2) Choices for restaurants. There's no getting around it; DFW has more restaurants per capita than any other major city in the US. Charlotte does have some good choices and we're new to the area so we're still searching around, but it's definitely not as plentiful as Dallas. There are many restaurants that I miss. Which brings me to my next bullet: 3) TexMex. I know it's a Texas thing so I don't expect to find a ton of it here, but it doesn't mean I can't miss it. 4) Natural Grocery selection. This is me personally and may not mean as much to others, but darn if I don't miss all the great stores and, again, prices for natural grocery in Dallas - Sprouts, Central Market, Market Street, Whole Foods.... the list goes on. Here the main ones are Earth Faire, which reminds me of Whole Foods, and Trader Joes. I've tracked down a few co-ops and Matthews has a great Farmers Market, but there just isn't any "4 tins of blueberries for $5" deals like there are in Dallas.

A couple other comparisons: The property taxes are less in Charlotte than in Dallas but there's personal property tax so I'm guessing it will be close to equaling out when all is said and done. Charlotte is smaller than Dallas, but for some reason I still feel like I drive just as much or more to get where I need to go. Probably because there's less of everything here than in Dallas. For example the closest super walmart to me is about 20 minutes vs. 5 minutes in Dallas. The Trader Joes is also 20 minutes (there's one in South Charlotte) so I just drive farther for the things I need. One nice thing if you're into the YMCA is that they are not only very active here like they are in Dallas, but they're all linked together so you don't just join one Y, you join the whole countywide system. I think it's going to be especially great in the summer as some of them have really nice aquatic centers. The same applies to the libraries; join one, you join the whole county.

I could write more, but that's a good start to give you a feel. Hopefully I haven't put you to sleep. I love the Dallas area and miss it, but the longer I'm here the more I feel like Charlotte has a lot of potential to grow on me as well. I don't think you can lose by staying or coming here.
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