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I'm in budd lake right now, NW NJ, on the outskirts of civilization. but the rents are low. closest town is morristown.
i grew up in NJ so I am used to high real estate prices, as well as having a pretty high tolerance for "dangerous" areas (obviously that term is very subjective). so the more relaxed pace and lower prices down south are really appealing to me.
I also don't mind a long commute, as I work from home a lot and travel the rest of the time. so getting a place on the outskirts would be fine.
thanks again to everyone for their advice, i'm going to definitely check out places like concord, kings mountain, monroe, fort mill etc., out on the periphery... -s
With your expectations and tolerance level for being out a bit you'll do fine I think you would do well to look in Kings Mountain and Clover, SC.
Hello all, I'm living in new jersey right now, and I'm looking to relocate to Charlotte some time soon. I've been following this forum for a little while now, trying to gauge where I might want to look to buy a house.
I am trying to save some money and so I am looking to spend somewhere in the $100K range. My goal is to find a fairly nice place in an area that isn't overrun with crime. I am single, no kids, so my needs are modest. And I work from home, so I'm not too concerned with the commute or traffic - so it can be on the outskirts of town if need be.
I've been reading that east and west charlotte are pretty dicey - and a lot of the good deals on houses I have been seeing online have been either out by the airport, or in the Eastland Mall area (which I know are sketchy areas).
So after my long-winded preamble, my question is: are there any areas in Charlotte or the surrounding areas where I might be able to find a decent house that is not in a terribly crime-ridden or dangerous area? Thanks in advance... -Scott
KB Homes is building some townhouses just into Fort Mill from the Mid 90's, if I had the extra money right now I would buy one myself.(for the MIL when she wants to move here)
I'm in budd lake right now, NW NJ, on the outskirts of civilization. but the rents are low. closest town is morristown.
i grew up in NJ so I am used to high real estate prices, as well as having a pretty high tolerance for "dangerous" areas (obviously that term is very subjective). so the more relaxed pace and lower prices down south are really appealing to me.
I also don't mind a long commute, as I work from home a lot and travel the rest of the time. so getting a place on the outskirts would be fine.
thanks again to everyone for their advice, i'm going to definitely check out places like concord, kings mountain, monroe, fort mill etc., out on the periphery... -s
Ah yes! Budd Lake....off of 46 and 07828! I worked for the P.O. and had all those zips memorized! "Dangerous" is in the eyes of the beholder....Charlotte "slots" in between Newark and Paterson in its 2007 FBI crime rates. I dont know, if like most New Jerseyans, you'd consider those places "hotbeds of crime", but I lived in a more suburban area of Paterson for over 50 years and never gave much thought to crime!
As an aside, you may want to consider renting for a year or so, while you explore the "huge metro Charlotte area" to consider the towns that you might want to reside in. As you well know, $100,000 wouldn't get you a garage in most of Morris County and while Charlotte's prices seem downright cheap compared to NJ, they aren't "giving away" houses either! As loves has pointed out, houses within Charlotte proper, are a bit more pricey than the outlying suburbs and exurbs. Charlotte itself is huge in area...it's 10x the size of Newark with 2.5 times the population. You can go from Budd Lake to the PA border (via 46 or 80) in less than 1/2 the time than you can make it from Monroe to Charlotte. The roads here haven't quite kept up with the population increase. That becomes a consideration if you have to get to Charlotte from any of your areas of interest more than a couple of times a week. Feel free to pick our brains if you need more info!
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Originally Posted by ScottFromNJ
I'm in budd lake right now, NW NJ, on the outskirts of civilization. but the rents are low. closest town is morristown.
i grew up in NJ so I am used to high real estate prices, as well as having a pretty high tolerance for "dangerous" areas (obviously that term is very subjective). so the more relaxed pace and lower prices down south are really appealing to me.
I also don't mind a long commute, as I work from home a lot and travel the rest of the time. so getting a place on the outskirts would be fine.
thanks again to everyone for their advice, i'm going to definitely check out places like concord, kings mountain, monroe, fort mill etc., out on the periphery... -s
I had a friend from Georgia who lived in Budd Lake for several years & loved it there.
There are several exits for Kings Mountain on I85. so it's a clear shot to the airport. The airport is on the west side of Charlotte.
Kings Mountain is in Gaston County & Cleveland county, so it you want to minimize your taxes, check listings to see which county you're looking at. Cleveland is cheaper than Gaston.
Ah yes! Budd Lake....off of 46 and 07828! I worked for the P.O. and had all those zips memorized! "Dangerous" is in the eyes of the beholder....Charlotte "slots" in between Newark and Paterson in its 2007 FBI crime rates. I dont know, if like most New Jerseyans, you'd consider those places "hotbeds of crime", but I lived in a more suburban area of Paterson for over 50 years and never gave much thought to crime!
As an aside, you may want to consider renting for a year or so, while you explore the "huge metro Charlotte area" to consider the towns that you might want to reside in. As you well know, $100,000 wouldn't get you a garage in most of Morris County and while Charlotte's prices seem downright cheap compared to NJ, they aren't "giving away" houses either! As loves has pointed out, houses within Charlotte proper, are a bit more pricey than the outlying suburbs and exurbs. Charlotte itself is huge in area...it's 10x the size of Newark with 2.5 times the population. You can go from Budd Lake to the PA border (via 46 or 80) in less than 1/2 the time than you can make it from Monroe to Charlotte. The roads here haven't quite kept up with the population increase. That becomes a consideration if you have to get to Charlotte from any of your areas of interest more than a couple of times a week. Feel free to pick our brains if you need more info!
you know the zip code for budd lake, that's impressive!
i didn't realize charlotte had such high levels of crime when i started my search, if it's anything like newark or paterson then there is quite a problem. but i'm sure like all big cities, it's knowing which areas to steer clear of.
you know the zip code for budd lake, that's impressive!
i didn't realize charlotte had such high levels of crime when i started my search, if it's anything like newark or paterson then there is quite a problem. but i'm sure like all big cities, it's knowing which areas to steer clear of.
Charlotte does have a high crime rate when compared to suburban NJ towns, which has some of the lowest crime rates in the US, but I don't want to give you the wrong impression of it. To the "jaundiced eye" of someone from the Northeast, Charlotte looks very new and is basically the size of Bergen County (minus being divided up into 70 towns). Describing Charlotte defies comparison with most of the Northeast's old decrepit cities. The downtown of Charlotte (called Uptown) is similar to the few blocks of downtown Newark with the tall, but newer-looking, buildings. Outside of this downtown area would be sections that might look like pieces of Dover and Hackensack...older single family housing and smaller businesses. There aren't any of those 2-family houses on 25x100 lots that are so common in the Northeast. As you get farther out, it can looking like outer ring suburbs ...think Mendham, Morris Township and with some older homes, Ridgewood. There are no 15-20 story low-income housing projects...surprisingly the "bad sections" tend to have, what looks to my eye, garden apartment style housing. It's where the poor people tend to live and it looks relatively middle class, compared to the slummy areas of NJ's cities. Charlotte tends to tear old stuff down which gives it an appearance of having first arisen about 1975, from someone's vast farm.... and everyone has continued to build from that time on! You have to see it for yourself! Come on down for a visit!!!
Check out Union County in general. There are plenty of spots in Monroe, Wingate, Waxhaw, & Marshville. Union County has lower rents and the price to own is a lot less. I would recommend renting before buying in an unknown area. Rents in Monroe are approx $825-$1400.
I'm in budd lake right now, NW NJ, on the outskirts of civilization. but the rents are low. closest town is morristown.
i grew up in NJ so I am used to high real estate prices, as well as having a pretty high tolerance for "dangerous" areas (obviously that term is very subjective). so the more relaxed pace and lower prices down south are really appealing to me.
I also don't mind a long commute, as I work from home a lot and travel the rest of the time. so getting a place on the outskirts would be fine.
thanks again to everyone for their advice, i'm going to definitely check out places like concord, kings mountain, monroe, fort mill etc., out on the periphery... -s
and Mooresville too?
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but the rents are low. closest town is morristown. 
