From Cleveland OH to Charlotte physician relocating this June with many questions to those who did the same (Monroe: 2009, lease)

[soooma]

And here are the things that I am looking at

1. Weather: winter , summer, fall, spring
2. Houses and prices, and I have westlake and Avery road areas in mind in Cleveland trying to know what compare to those areas in CLT ?
3. Cleanliness
4. Liability for physicians and how litigating are the people
5. Does any body know about CMC-union and any feedback about it
6. Is traffic really something I should worry about if my commute is from Matthews to Monoroe CMC-union and should be there around 8:00 am , and coming back 4:00 pm ?
7. Safety wise,,, is Charlotte riskier than Cleveland? and here I am talking about both DOWNTOWN and Burbs ?
8. Are there places like Legacy village and Crocker park ? or same style and as stylish and nice in Charlotte?
9. Hurricanes and tornados,,, I understand that Charlotte gets them every couple of years, what happens after that? I mean if you get to leave the city and come few days later, will you find you house ruined or completely soaked in flooding waters! and is it routine to insure against this in Charlotte?
10. I love Lake Erie and Put In Bay (been there at least 25 times in less than 3 years ? and I was really interested to know know Do lake activities of Charlotte compare? and you have 3 lakes? which one offers the best? and are they really different?

Thanks,
We are moving to Charlotte this June 2009 from Cleveland, just because of the weather, becasue people here are really nice and it has this hometown feel, but weather is not for us

[chicagocubs]

Welcome to Charlotte! I assume that you have a job already...

Going from Matthews to Monroe should not be a problem. Most traffic will be going to Charlotte.

The weather is infinitely better than Cleveland's. Rarely do we get snow, and if we do, the entire place shuts down. We do have a winter, but, it is usually short (by comparison) and rarely does it stay below freezing for more than 24-48 hours. There are tornadoes, but, coming from Chicago, they don't seem to be any more frequent than they were there. Hurricanes are actually rare, we are almost 300 miles inland...were hit once, in 1989 by Hurricane Hugo...what we DO get is the back lash or lots of rain. You just need to be aware of your home and if there is a nearby flood plain. For example, I would not buy a house that was down in a gully. It is fairly rare that houses are flooded out and people are evacuated, but, like anywhere, it can happen.

Lake activities are pretty much restricted to those that have boats. We do have a whitewater place near to downtown Charlotte for kayaking and stuff like that.

Don't know Cleveland well enough to comment on comparisons to the areas that you mention...

hope that this helps...

[chicagocubs]

oh, just re-read your questions...regarding possible litigation....

just keep in mind that this is an area of white collar workers. Until recently, there was substantial disposable income...probably a higher possibility of litigation than other areas...

On the other hand, if you are working in Monroe, that is a more rural area that may not have that issue.

[ZnGuy]

I moved from Cleveland mainly due to weather so you'll love that aspect. Charlotte looks newer and cleaner than Cleveland. Your commute to Monroe should be about 20 minutes. There will be traffic but you'll find many back roads or alternate routes that will avoid some traffic. I think CLT is as safe as CLE, CLT certainly doesn't have areas as bad (no places like east 55/Kinsman of CLE). Lake Norman is known as a party lake and has some resteraunts/bars you can park your boat at. Very few places will compare to the party scene at Put-n-Bay. You also have option of great spots on the NC coast that may meet the party criteria. There is great shopping in South Park Mall and exceeds the shopping of Beachwood, Legacy. As far as the outdoor format, Birkdale in Huntersville is the closest comparison. There are many pockets of shopping in the South Charlotte area (Blakeney, Ballantyne, Stonecrest).

[theroc5156]

The bad news is, no Browns fans are allowed here.

[ZnGuy]

Originally Posted by theroc5156

The bad news is, no Browns fans are allowed here.

The bad news is I still own Browns season tickets.

[soooma]

Originally Posted by ZnGuy

I moved from Cleveland mainly due to weather so you'll love that aspect. Charlotte looks newer and cleaner than Cleveland. Your commute to Monroe should be about 20 minutes. There will be traffic but you'll find many back roads or alternate routes that will avoid some traffic. I think CLT is as safe as CLE, CLT certainly doesn't have areas as bad (no places like east 55/Kinsman of CLE). Lake Norman is known as a party lake and has some resteraunts/bars you can park your boat at. Very few places will compare to the party scene at Put-n-Bay. You also have option of great spots on the NC coast that may meet the party criteria. There is great shopping in South Park Mall and exceeds the shopping of Beachwood, Legacy. As far as the outdoor format, Birkdale in Huntersville is the closest comparison. There are many pockets of shopping in the South Charlotte area (Blakeney, Ballantyne, Stonecrest).

I just wanted to know from you, since you sound very familiar with all the fun and shopping places in Cleveland,

Would east coast of NC and SC be compared to that one of California, becuase I am familiar with Malibu beach and also in Seattle Alki beach,,, or it would be a stretch to even try to start a comparison?

And Did you see crocker park? I Birkdale in Huntersville as vibrant and nice? and are there any more places like this style because I enjoy these placed the most,,,

I am very familiar with Southpark mall, and I actually visited is a couple of times in just 3 days when I visited Charlotte few months ago while signing my contract and doing my interview,,, and I loved it very fancy,, though hard to swallow the prices ,,, but most of the fancy stores are there, and I know for a fact that we don't have one that is similar or close to it in Cleveland, and the only ones that I would consider better were King Of Prussia in Phily and the other one is Somerset Mall of Detroit,,, both of these I think they are better, not by far though,,,

One last question
Is it very expensive to own a boat on the lake that is just good for 2 small families, let's say 4 kids and 4 adults?

And can you lease?
And is the lake Norman being very Small compared to Lake Erie, but do you feel that while doing whatever activity you are doing?
For instance do you have skiing areas on it?

Thank you so much,
I already gave you a positive feedback

[Carolina_Stud]

I moved here from Cleveland,Ohio in October and the first things I noticed different from Cleveland is that the people here are sooo much nicer, weather is a heck of alot better with none of that Lake Effect snow stuff, alot of people seem to be Christian and attend church services, I do hear alot on the news of people giving back to the community, umm you will just love it down here btw you should check out the South Charlotte area if your looking for places to live.

[ZnGuy]

Originally Posted by soooma

I just wanted to know from you, since you sound very familiar with all the fun and shopping places in Cleveland,

Would east coast of NC and SC be compared to that one of California, becuase I am familiar with Malibu beach and also in Seattle Alki beach,,, or it would be a stretch to even try to start a comparison?

And Did you see crocker park? I Birkdale in Huntersville as vibrant and nice? and are there any more places like this style because I enjoy these placed the most,,,

I am very familiar with Southpark mall, and I actually visited is a couple of times in just 3 days when I visited Charlotte few months ago while signing my contract and doing my interview,,, and I loved it very fancy,, though hard to swallow the prices ,,, but most of the fancy stores are there, and I know for a fact that we don't have one that is similar or close to it in Cleveland, and the only ones that I would consider better were King Of Prussia in Phily and the other one is Somerset Mall of Detroit,,, both of these I think they are better, not by far though,,,

One last question
Is it very expensive to own a boat on the lake that is just good for 2 small families, let's say 4 kids and 4 adults?

And can you lease?
And is the lake Norman being very Small compared to Lake Erie, but do you feel that while doing whatever activity you are doing?
For instance do you have skiing areas on it?

Thank you so much,
I already gave you a positive feedback

You have some greta questions but unfortunately I am not qualified to answer them all. I did not go to Crocker Park as it was not completed when I moved in '04 and I lived on the East Side. I have been to Legacy many times and Eton Place. Legacy I believe is similar to Crocker and I would say Birkdale is not quite to the scale of Legacy but almost. I've been to Somerset (Detroit) a number of times and agree that it is topnotch.I lived near king of Prussia in mid-80s so it is I'm sure very different now. I do not like the massive malls and feel South PArk is not in that category.
Lake Norman certainly is not the size of lake Erie but it is sizeable and a lot of water skiing. I'm sure it can get crowded in some areas. They do have drydock facilities so you could call ahead and meet your boat. I did the boat thing in OH and had a weekend home on a private lake to boat, water ski,etc. Kids are older and too many activities to live that life now. I would have moved on Lake Norman but been there, done that lifestyle.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by soooma

I just wanted to know from you, since you sound very familiar with all the fun and shopping places in Cleveland,

Would east coast of NC and SC be compared to that one of California, becuase I am familiar with Malibu beach and also in Seattle Alki beach,,, or it would be a stretch to even try to start a comparison?

And Did you see crocker park? I Birkdale in Huntersville as vibrant and nice? and are there any more places like this style because I enjoy these placed the most,,,

I am very familiar with Southpark mall, and I actually visited is a couple of times in just 3 days when I visited Charlotte few months ago while signing my contract and doing my interview,,, and I loved it very fancy,, though hard to swallow the prices ,,, but most of the fancy stores are there, and I know for a fact that we don't have one that is similar or close to it in Cleveland, and the only ones that I would consider better were King Of Prussia in Phily and the other one is Somerset Mall of Detroit,,, both of these I think they are better, not by far though,,,

One last question
Is it very expensive to own a boat on the lake that is just good for 2 small families, let's say 4 kids and 4 adults?

And can you lease?
And is the lake Norman being very Small compared to Lake Erie, but do you feel that while doing whatever activity you are doing?
For instance do you have skiing areas on it?

Thank you so much,
I already gave you a positive feedback

More info for you

Lake Norman is a bit smaller than Lake Erie but it still has plenty of room for fishing, skiing, swimming and boating. There are 500+ miles of shoreline at Lake Norman and 850 miles of shoreline at Lake Erie. You can get a used pontoon boat to fit the size group you mentioned for starting around $20,000 - new will be much more.

Don't forget to research Lake Wylie - I actually prefer it to Lake Norman and since it's south of Charlotte would be closer to you once you move to Matthews or Union County.