Moving to Matthews/Fort Mill area from New England (Charlotte: appointed, crime rates)

[NCaro]

My family and I will be moving from New England to the South Charlotte area this summer and I am stressing out about the move. Originally we were supposed to go to Raleigh but things changed at the last minute and we are now going to the Charlotte area. We have read consistent reports about high crime rates in the Charlotte area and we are concerned about the quality of the schools. We have seen that Matthews (Union county) and Fort Mill seem to have good schools. I would appreciate any feedback regarding these areas and how they compare to Raleigh.

[lukepoke]

Originally Posted by NCaro

My family and I will be moving from New England to the South Charlotte area this summer and I am stressing out about the move. Originally we were supposed to go to Raleigh but things changed at the last minute and we are now going to the Charlotte area. We have read consistent reports about high crime rates in the Charlotte area and we are concerned about the quality of the schools. We have seen that Matthews (Union county) and Fort Mill seem to have good schools. I would appreciate any feedback regarding these areas and how they compare to Raleigh.

I think you guys would like Charlotte better than the Raleigh area, from what people have told me that lived in Raleigh and then moved to Charlotte. You cant really go wrong with Fort Mill, although it is growing like crazy. You're close to a major recreation lake, fort mill has great parks courtesy of Springs Industries and great schools.

[muffinman]

Matthews (Union County) you mention is also considered Weddington. It is a good area though Weddington Middle is overcrowded.

Union County Public Schools for attendance maps and other information.

Fort Mill township and city in York County. Downtown Ft. Mill has some good things to offer as well.

Fort Mill School District - York 4 - Homepage

York County has 4 school systems that seem to operate with some degree of independence. Fort Mill is one of these four sections.

These are both popular bedroom communities to the Charlotte area. I don't know what bedroom communities exist in Raleigh. They sprouted up here because they're outside of Mecklenburg County (lower taxes) and have smaller school systems. Smaller may not mean better, depends on you.

Generally these are not high crime areas. I'd be interested to see what you read to add context to your post.

[harding123]

Check out the Reserve subdivisions in Fort Mill,SC very nice. I'm from NY and just purchased last Saturday. If 300k is in your price range check it out, good schools, lower taxes and only about a mile from I-77.

[marblmom]

Union county schools and Fort Mill schools are both good. What's your price range? Fort Mill has a new S/D called Springfield that's really nice. Pretty pricey, though - 600's and up. In Matthews, Brookhaven is nice, or there are lots of places in Weddington/Marvin - Marvin Creek is a big one. Lawson, Cureton, Lake Forest Preserve are a few others that come to mind. I'm from New England, too, and have really enjoyed it here. Nice place for a family.

[libertyflyer]

One thing you won't have to worry about, there are a ton of Red Sox fans down here,so I assume they mostly are from the New England area as well. Don't stress about the crime in southern Charlotte it seems not as bad as people make it out to be. It seems you only hear about when unfortunately something does go wrong. It is a beautiful part of the country,I'm sure you'll enjoy it. good luck

[NCaro]

$375 +/- is our starting point.

We've also tried to wrap our arms around the Sperling's "Best Places To Live" cons that air quality and healthcare are not that good. What experiences have people had with these? Especially healthcare for children...

[groove1]

Healthcare is actually very good in this area. Carolinas Medical Center and Presbyterian Hospital are clways making the best of lists. Air quality is an issue during the humid summer months due to destruction of trees and too much development and traffic.

[marblmom]

Healthcare is good here. Carolinas Medical Center is building a large Children's Hospital that should be done this fall/winter. It will be the largest children's hospital between Atlanta and DC. Having lived in the Boston area and in Atlanta, and being in health care myself, I consider myself to be kind of a healthcare snob. I have been really happy with all the healthcare we have received here. With UNC Chapel Hill and Duke Med schools being so close, we have lots of doctors from both. I have never been disappointed with our drs here. Try to get a copy of Charlotte Magazine's "Best Doctors" issue (July 2006 was the last one). Go to charlottemagazine.com to request a copy. The air quality can be bad in the summer. But, it gets so hot here in July and August that no one wants to be outside anyway! I always say we have the opposite weather from Boston - in winter Bostonians need to stay inside, while we can be outside most of the winter. In the summer, we stay in - unless it's to go to the pool! Usually you really only need to avoid the late afternoon hours in terms of air quality, and it's not bad every day. In terms of crime, the big difference I've noticed between here and Boston is that in Boston, the crime doesn't really make it out to the suburbs. The bad areas are pretty confined to right around the city. Here, the city spills into the suburbs, and there is more poverty mixed in with very upscale areas. However, crime is pretty low in South Charlotte, Matthews/Weddington, and Fort Mill. Hope this is helpful!

[marblmom]

Also...if 375+ is your starting point, check out Brookhaven in Matthews (high 300's - 900's), the Reserve in Fort Mill; Lawson, Cureton, Lake Forest Preserve, Hunter Oaks, Weddington Trace in Weddington/Waxhaw, or Marvin Creek in Marvin. There are so many new subdivisions going up all the time around here. You can go to AllenTate.com (the biggest realtor around here) to find more. I'm not a realtor, I've just done lots of looking!