Possibly Moving to Charlotte From Los Angeles, CA (Cary, Asheville: RV park, ski resort)
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Charlotte is a nice enogh place, but it might be a culture shock to a 14 y/o who grew up in LA. There isn't a whole lot going on there and the weather is a shock for a Californian.
Very True it will be a culture shock for my daughter but she is young enough to adapt to a new area. This will be the best thing for her and myself and the family.
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Originally Posted by JakeDog
Charlotte is a nice enogh place, but it might be a culture shock to a 14 y/o who grew up in LA. There isn't a whole lot going on there and the weather is a shock for a Californian.
Very True it will be a culture shock for my daughter but she is young enough to adapt to a new area. This will be the best thing for her and myself and the family.
I'm sure she will be fine, but I wouldn't expect everything to necessarily be better. It will likely be different. Of course, I don't know your economic situation or anything else. Just don't expect it to be NY, DC, Boston, or even Atlanta. It's a small town with a big bank presence.
Thanks for the heads up and I'm not expecting it to be like those cities you mention but the most important thing will be is that we are out of California. I dont mind the small town feel.
JakeDog assumes you are ignorant I suppose. I am sure that you know that Charlotte is not as big as Boston or Atlanta. It is a more compact city and easier to get around. There are tons of things for kids and I am sure that 90 percent of the families from L.A. you will speak to will tell you that they love the area. There may not be a culture shock. We have lots to offer. Additionally, JakeDog obviously doesn't realize that even though a person comes from a larger area doesn't mean that the person is outgoing and utilizies all of the cultural activities. There are plenty here. My family lives in Boston and I spend lots of time there. I don't quite understand what is meant when one says that moving to Charlotte from Boston is a culture shock. How many plays, festivals, or concerts can one attend? Don't listen to negative people. They thrieve on belittling a place where things haven't worked out for them, regardless of the situation. If you want to get involved, there are plenty of things at which you can enjoy here. Definately not a L.A. here but we are as culturally refined as other areas with an popultaion of nearly 2 million.
I actually moved to the Washington DC area first. Lived there for about 4 years then moved to Charlotte. I have been in Charlotte for about a year. I think my 1 year anniversary is coming up soon. I love it so far. I left both LA and DC due to the expense and how crowded it is. DC traffic was better than LA since DC has the metro. Dont expect to find the food choices in Charlotte as you would in DC. I have yet to find a good place to find the mexican food that I was used to eating in LA. I have had some good Indian here. BBQ is good too. It gets colder in Charlotte than it does in LA. Gets humid in the summer. It took me one summer to get used to the humidity.
Try Taqueria Mexico on S.Blvd and Arrowood.
Coming from downtown , it is on the left in the strip mall beside check cashing place. It has gotten high ratings , some of them from me.
Vindallo thanks for your post. I actually live in the outskirts of Los Angeles but I do realize that Charlotte isn't as big as Boston and such. I'm sure there are allot of things to do there and its your choice if you want to sit around home all day and dwell or get up and do stuff. I love doing outdoor stuff. The wife was doing some reading and it appears the Crime Rate in Charlotte is pretty high. Is that normal or is it because of the failing economy.
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Originally Posted by vindaloo
JakeDog assumes you are ignorant I suppose. I am sure that you know that Charlotte is not as big as Boston or Atlanta. It is a more compact city and easier to get around. There are tons of things for kids and I am sure that 90 percent of the families from L.A. you will speak to will tell you that they love the area. There may not be a culture shock. We have lots to offer. Additionally, JakeDog obviously doesn't realize that even though a person comes from a larger area doesn't mean that the person is outgoing and utilizies all of the cultural activities. There are plenty here. My family lives in Boston and I spend lots of time there. I don't quite understand what is meant when one says that moving to Charlotte from Boston is a culture shock. How many plays, festivals, or concerts can one attend? Don't listen to negative people. They thrieve on belittling a place where things haven't worked out for them, regardless of the situation. If you want to get involved, there are plenty of things at which you can enjoy here. Definately not a L.A. here but we are as culturally refined as other areas with an popultaion of nearly 2 million.
Vindallo thanks for your post. I actually live in the outskirts of Los Angeles but I do realize that Charlotte isn't as big as Boston and such. I'm sure there are allot of things to do there and its your choice if you want to sit around home all day and dwell or get up and do stuff. I love doing outdoor stuff. The wife was doing some reading and it appears the Crime Rate in Charlotte is pretty high. Is that normal or is it because of the failing economy.
I know your question wasn't directed at me, but I'll try to address some of your questions as someone who knows Charlotte fairly well (lived there years ago and visit a couple times a year), knows L.A. fairly well (lived in San Diego, but visited L.A. fairly often), and also lived in other cities (DC and Phoenix). Whether a person is happy in Charlotte versus another place is a very subjective thing. Some people commented here that they know people from L.A. who love it in Charlotte. I have a friend who grew up in Charlotte and now lives in L.A. He hates Charlotte and now that his family is no longer there, won't even go there to visit, wants nothing to do with it and never wants to leave L.A. To each his own. Your experience could wind up being quite the opposite. It's all about those subjective personal preferences.
First, the weather. I know the weather can be pleasant year-round in some parts of L.A. county, but can get pretty hot in others. I see you're in Santa Clarita, which appears to be one of those areas that heats up. I drove up to Van Nuys a few months without air conditioning, which is not a problem in San Diego where I was living. But it was a problem in Van Nuys. It was darn hot. If you have similar weather in Santa Clarita, you can probably deal with the heat in Charlotte. The difference is there is also humidity, which makes it feel warmer than the actual temperature. But the actual temperature usually doesn't get quite as high as it does in a place like Van Nuys. So the weather in Charlotte on a normal hot humid day probably feels similar to what you might experience in your town on a hot day. It would be a shock to a person from Santa Monica, but probably not for someone from your town. And that humidity will actually work in your favor in the colder months. You'll be surprised to find that 50 degrees in Charlotte feels kind of comfortable, whereas in California, you'd be freezing your booty off.
If you're a beach person, plan on 3 and 1/2 to four hours to get to the beach from Charlotte. Geographically, the beach is a lot further than it is from where you live in Santa Clarita. But having experienced L.A. traffic, I know it can take nearly that long for the shorter drive across L.A. to the beach.
Cost of living: Obviously, the dollar goes a heck of a lot further in Charlotte than it does in L.A. You're going to find that, in terms of personal space, people are better off in Charlotte than in L.A.: homes tend to be much larger, and yards considerably larger.
Getting around: Like most of the L.A. area, it's almost impossible to get around Charlotte without owning a car. And there can be traffic congestion. But I suspect that you might find it amusing that people there complain about traffic. Granted, I don't know how rush hour is in Charlotte every day, but I have been in Charlotte rush-hour traffic, and at most, it has maybe added 15 or 20 minutes to my trip, which is nothing compared to L.A.
Retaurants: You're not going to find the abundance of choices you find in L.A., where you can find pretty much every conceivable type of ethnic food, but there's still plenty of choice. I'm a big fan of Pakistani, Cuban and Vietnamese food, which I can find easily here in DC, but I'm not sure it's available in Charlotte. However, all the more mainstream types of ethnice food -- Thai, Indian, Chinese, Mexican -- can be found there. In fact, one of my favorite Indian restaurants is in Charlotte.
Culture shock: Charlotte has changed through the years, with the large influx of people from other parts of the country. But it still remains somewhat conservative and, perhaps, a bit uptight. For example, I don't think alcohol can be sold in Charlotte on Sundays. If you're out at a bar on Saturday night, I think around 2 AM, they have to stop serving alcohol. At least, that's the way it used to be. That's not a problem for me as I'm not much of a drinker, but some people might find that annoying.
Ourdoor recreation: There's nothing like Yosemite close to Charlotte, though the mountains nearby (incl. Great Smokey National Park) are still very beautiful and offer good hiking and some cool tourist towns to visit, like Asheville, Boone and Blowing Rock. And more locally, there are man-made lakes like Lake Norman, which is actually a very big lake. Again, it's man-made, so not extraordinarily beautiful like, for example, Lake Tahoe. But it's still nice for a local lake.
If you're into skiing, you'll be disappointed with the ski resorts in North Carolina. But if you travel a few hours further to Snow Shoe in West Virginia, you'll find something comparable to Big Bear, which is the best skiing in the Southeast. But there's nothing in the region that touches Mammoth or Tahoe.
JakeDog assumes you are ignorant I suppose. I am sure that you know that Charlotte is not as big as Boston or Atlanta. It is a more compact city and easier to get around. There are tons of things for kids and I am sure that 90 percent of the families from L.A. you will speak to will tell you that they love the area. There may not be a culture shock. We have lots to offer. Additionally, JakeDog obviously doesn't realize that even though a person comes from a larger area doesn't mean that the person is outgoing and utilizies all of the cultural activities. There are plenty here. My family lives in Boston and I spend lots of time there. I don't quite understand what is meant when one says that moving to Charlotte from Boston is a culture shock. How many plays, festivals, or concerts can one attend? Don't listen to negative people. They thrieve on belittling a place where things haven't worked out for them, regardless of the situation. If you want to get involved, there are plenty of things at which you can enjoy here. Definately not a L.A. here but we are as culturally refined as other areas with an popultaion of nearly 2 million.
I don't assume ignorance. I just think people should hear all the facts. 90% of the people from LA love Charlotte? OK. The people I know there (not necessarily from LA) think it's just OK. I'm not saying moving from LA isn't a good idea (I hate LA), but if you have other options (Colorado, Oregon, more pleasant parts of California) you might want to consider them because Charlotte is VERY different and could be a huge shock to a teenager. Also, the humidity is coupled with bugs, and the lack of noticable mountains/hills near the city are difficult for many Westerners to get used to. It may be the ideal place for this poster. He also might end up regretting the move. Who knows.
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