Union County vs. Gaston County (Charlotte, Asheville: how much, new home, established neighborhood)

[carolynpt]

Hi folks!

I'm somewhat new to the area and have been looking around at potential areas to live. Gotta have the good schools, good neighborhoods, good/educated/professional people, etc. Interested in homes with some land, too...maybe .4 or .5 acres.

Not familiar with Union County, but hear it's great. I've looked around Gaston County at some of the new neighborhoods, but not really sure about them. Lots of brand new homes, BUT: no trees at all, all cookie-cutter homes, everything close together. Plus looking around at Gaston county, some of the stores around there/conveinences/schools, look old, dirty and run-down.

We like the mountains/close proximity to water.

Is Union county along the same lines? Don't want to pay Meck. county taxes. Want to live close to Charlotte for commuting purposes. Plus is Matthews part of Union County?

Thanks, guys!

[SuperchargedSS]

If you want to be near water, check out Sailview in Denver. Catawba County taxes are alot less than where you are looking and its not that far from Charlotte. You would also be right on Lake Norman with larger lots, spread out homes, etc. There are no mountains anywhere near where you are looking though. To get that, you'd have to go more towards Asheville...

[friendnc]

I'd give Belmont or SE Gastonia a good look. They have good schools, beautiful neighborhoods, safe, a good growth rate, reasonable housing costs/taxes, lots to do, good freeway access to Charlotte, and a reasonable growth rate.

[TBLTZ]

Matthews is in meck county.

[CharlotteNC]

Originally Posted by friendnc

I'd give Belmont or SE Gastonia a good look. They have good schools, beautiful neighborhoods, safe, a good growth rate, reasonable housing costs/taxes, lots to do, good freeway access to Charlotte, and a reasonable growth rate.

I agree. Not sure which part of Gaston you looked in, but Belmont has a beautiful downtown area, lots of established neighborhoods and a 25 minute commute to uptown Charlotte.

[NCgirl]

That part of Gaston County has a lot to offer. Gastonia, Belmont and Mt. Holly have some great neighborhoods with lots of trees. Depending on your budget you could live on or near water in Mt. Holly (Catawba River) or Belmont (Lake Wylie). Crowder's Mountain State Park is in nearby King's Mountain. In Cramerton, you can live on a small mountain (private community) near the South Fork River.

There are some run down areas but many have a lot of history and character. You would have to drive a short distance to the Franklin Blvd./New Hope Rd. in Gastonia to find a lot of newer stores and restaurants.

[XNYgirl]

Carolyn,

You might want to look at Dallas, Kings Mountain, Shelby for the type of land your looking for. I read in the paper that Gastonia is getting ready to house some huge developments in the next few years and that is going to leave the roads more congested, the schools over crowded, and generally more city like, just like Charlotte. These developments are being built near the SC State Line.

I'm unsure where you'd find the acerage you want and development of land and trees without adding alot of time to your commute, I don't think it exists.
There is a historic district in Gastonia called York-Chester, it's very nice. You might do better in some of Charlotte's more established neighborhoods.
There are many and they are very nice.

As for places being dirty and run down, this happens everywhere, even in the wealthier areas. It's all about what's being invested and how much pride people take in their stores. Wal-marts are usually so busy they don't have time to worry about how clean they are. HOwever, I still find WalMart taking a weekly chunk out of my bank account for groceries, even though I find our store dirty. I found all the Food Lion's I've shopped at to not be clean enough for me. Just a personal preference, so I do not shop at that Chain. There used to be a store called Hannaford which I loved, Food Lion bought them and shut them down. Even dr's offices can be dirty. In my opinion, there's not much you can do to change them, so you might as well avoid them if they do not suit your needs.

One gripe I've had is the lack of sidewalks, I could live with a big yard (city girl) don't like cut grass, but I thought having sidewalks was our birth right.
I live in an OLD neighborhood and there have never been sidewalks, and no one has ever sought to change it.

Oh well, if we don't like something, sometimes we have to learn how to live with it. There is no perfect fit for anything in life.

Good Luck.

[marvinnative]

Originally Posted by TBLTZ

Matthews is in meck county.

The Town of Matthews is in Mecklenburg County, but it sits along the Union/Meck county line and you may find some Union County folks with Matthews addresses because the nearest post office to them is in Matthews. Postal zip codes (mailing addresses) have nothing to do with actual home addresses. This is something that is a constant confusion for newcomers here.