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I'm in my mid thirties, married and have two young children (2yrs old and 6months). I have an amazing job offer in Charlotte but I'm not sure if I should take it or not. I'm having a hard time finding information on the type of neighborhood that me and my wife like to live in. Any help on whether such a place exists in Charlotte would be very helpful.
We would like to find a neighborhood to live in where it is possible to spend you life without getting in a car. What we value most about Brooklyn NY is that within a twenty minute walk we can pass restaurants, cafes, bookstores, supermarkets, a playground, a kmart, a movie theater and places to shop for clothes and toys and such.
I've been searching this forum and others but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I really want this job but don't want to lose the feeling of living in a neighborhood.
I don't think it's fair to think that Charlotte would compare to Brooklyn. You are looking at totally different demographics.
Charlotte population density= 861.9/km² (2,232.4/sq mi). There are 230,434 housing units at an average density of 951.2/sq mi (367.2/km²)
Brooklyn population density= 34,920/square mile (13,480/km²). There were 930,866 housing units at an average density of 13,180/square mile (5,090/km²).
You can still live in a 'neighborhood' but it will be a different kind of neighborhood and you will need a car.
thanks for the insightful posts. i don't mind owning a car. in fact, I do own a car. nor do I mind driving I just would like to live somewhere where I can walk to a quick cup of coffee, pick up a paper, grab some food essentials or walk to a restaurant for dinner. there's really no place like that in Charlotte?
thanks for the insightful posts. i don't mind owning a car. in fact, I do own a car. nor do I mind driving I just would like to live somewhere where I can walk to a quick cup of coffee, pick up a paper, grab some food essentials or walk to a restaurant for dinner. there's really no place like that in Charlotte?
LOL I think you can do that just about anywhere. You can do that in a city of 20,000 or a city of 200,000 or a city of 2 million. Just pick a place to live that is near what your looking for. I live across from the Arboretum in South Charlotte and that place has everything I need. Quite honestly where I live I could easily do without a car. Although sometimes crossing 51 can be an issue.
thanks for the insightful posts. i don't mind owning a car. in fact, I do own a car. nor do I mind driving I just would like to live somewhere where I can walk to a quick cup of coffee, pick up a paper, grab some food essentials or walk to a restaurant for dinner. there's really no place like that in Charlotte?
You're kinda sending mixed messages. There are several places where you could do the things you mentioned above. But what you've said above is a far cry from what you originally posted. Assuming you are just looking for some place to be able to walk to get "quick cup of coffee, pick up a paper, grab some food essentials or walk to a restaurant for dinner", I'd recommend places like, Plaza Midwood, Dillworth, Myres Park, South End, or even Downtown. There are also these "faux town center" type places here like Birkdale, Baxter, Blakney and Ballantyne Village.
sorry if the messages are mixed. it's just a harder thing to describe than I thought it would be. A pedestrian focused commercial/living area that isn't a mall or car focused. a place where people walk on the sidewalks and there's a street life of sorts and the stores/restaurants aren't chains. I guess this type of thing is so common in the North East that I'm not even sure of the right way to describe it. Something akin to Harvard Square/Newberry St. in Boston, most of New York, Georgetown in D.C., Downtown Philly, Uptown in New Orleans.
I have lived longer in Charlotte than anywhere else I've been "planted" (and I moved quite a lot before, and lived in some very large metros). It's not bad. Charlotte has plenty of big city amenities, and it will take a while to explore the whole city.
The most convenient place to live and experience "urban-ness" is probably the north end of Dilworth or somewhere in Midwood. You're still close to much of what the rest of the city has to offer, and also have interesting retail venues nearby.
The need for a car has a lot to do with where you work. If the job is in uptown or near the LYNX south line, you might be able to do without a car on a daily basis... and just rent one when you want to sightsee or take a weekend trip.
But frankly, most people do find that having a car makes life conveneint enough to justify owning one. The cost of car ownership is not that bad. We have a county property tax (which is reasonable on used cars) and a very low yearly state tag fee of around $25.
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