Charlotte or Columbus or ? (Florida: sales, foreclosure, car insurance)

[Yac]

This is getting dangerously off topic, please try and help the original poster.
Yac.

[greytercel]

Visited Charlotte briefly....not long enough to form an opinion of it...I will say that I did notice much more racial segregation there than in Columbus, for what it's worth.

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by GastoniaNative

Infrastructure is crumbling? Man, even for an Ohioan you are slow.

Charlotte is rapidly expanding public transit and both interstates have been significantly widened within the past 10 years. I may have missed it but I didnt see any light rail trains in Columbus and the roads were equal to if not worse than Charlotte.

And Yeah, Columbus is a pretty sorry college town. All of the ones I listed above are better with Ann Arbor being the best.

LOL you don't even know what you are talking about. Charlotte has so many problems. You can already see them now, just wait a few more years. That place will be a bombshell. Anyway, back on topic.

[Rumble]

It cracks me up everytime. Forums like these are the ONLY places that you will see most Ohioans defending their state (and yes I know because I lived there 20 years). Any other time, the majority of residents are bashing the place and spend the majority of their young adult lives dreaming of getting out, and you all KNOW IT! At least that was how it was in Northern Ohio, near Cleveland. From what I saw visiting old college buddies, C-bus is only slightly better.

Really, comparing C-bus to Charlotte is apples to oranges. It's like comparing Chicago to Cleveland; not even a fair comparison.

I have only been living in NC for about a month, so take it for what it's worth, but so far the differences I have noticed are:

* All around nicer, more upbeat people
* Sunshine 3/4 of the time, even in winter
* A general higher standard of living
* Less fat slobs... Just generally more "healthy" people
* At least around the major cities (Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham/C.H), more educated people
* Better roads, I don't feel like I'm driving on railroad tracks 50% of the time
* High paying JOBS-- Promising ones with banking and tech powerhouses
* Similar cost of living

The only things that sucks about it here are:
* More yuppy ex-New Yorker/New Jersey types
* The old-timers that always complain about how much congestion is here, when really, they don't even KNOW what that means (check out California sometime)
* There is this weird "sameness" to everything-- hard to explain, but it's not necessarily a bad thing because almost everything is nice

[jajosh07]

According to Forbes:

An ugly surprise
The biggest surprise on the list is Charlotte, N.C., which is ranked ninth. Charlotte has undergone tremendous economic growth the past decade, while the population has soared 32%. But the current picture isn't as bright. Employment growth has not kept up with population growth, meaning unemployment rates are up more than 50% compared with 10 years ago. Charlotte scored in the bottom half of all six categories we examined and ranked 140th for violent crime.

[hillside]

neither. go to atlanta or cincinnati

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by jajosh07

According to Forbes:

An ugly surprise
The biggest surprise on the list is Charlotte, N.C., which is ranked ninth. Charlotte has undergone tremendous economic growth the past decade, while the population has soared 32%. But the current picture isn't as bright. Employment growth has not kept up with population growth, meaning unemployment rates are up more than 50% compared with 10 years ago. Charlotte scored in the bottom half of all six categories we examined and ranked 140th for violent crime.

See population growth like Charlotte's is not always great! I don't know why people love to see explosive growth??? Columbus is growing at the perfect rate.

[CMJC_OH]

Originally Posted by Traveler87

Charlotte is miserable. Fast population growth is NOT a good thing. You sit there and talk about it as if it were a miracle. Charlotte is hurting from this rapid growth. Who cares if you won't move to Ohio. And you thanked god that you entered Michigan?!?! An unemployment rate higher than any other state, one of only 3 states that is seeing a population decline, Michigan lost the most, 30,000. Charlotte just like Raleigh doesn't even have the road networks to meet with this growth, traffic jams are terrible down there. North Carolina is OVERRATED.

Issues with population growth can be good, Columbus is growing at a great rate, but Charlotte's population is growing so fast infrastructure can't keep up

North Carolina is going to be another Florida soon with this growth. I give it 10 years, maybe even sooner.

OK TRAVELER I APPRECIATE YOUR INSIGHT but how about you all get a perpective from someone who lived in OH for 30 years. Who also gained and then lossed due to the "slow and steady growth" (fact is our growth was not slow and steady at all) . I was born and raised in Cols OH- OSU all the way, I am a trade contractor who worked mostly on new homes. I started my business in 2001 working primarily on new homes, and it was growing rapidly with about 20 employees in a short time. Then in 2006 my business declined so hard and so fast that by the end of the year EVERYTHING I owned got reposesed and early in '07 I surrendered my house back to the bank and I had no choice but to file bankruptcy.

The fact is Columbus area averaged over 10,000 permits a year and were typically in the top 10 as fastest growing until 2006-07. I believe the number of permits are about 3,000 a year now. Most contrators like me can barley find enough work to keep themselves busy and no longer have a need for employees. Everyday another contractor is goin belly up or in the case of larger ones going thru large lay-offs. Ask anyone in construtcion- we are down right now. Our state is in top 5 or 6 in number of foreclosures. We have counties in OH where the bank owns half the houses in the county. Property is losing value not gaining. most property can be bought for 10% less than it couldv'e a few years ago. Unemployment is up. The only thing slow and steady is OH going backwards and its dreary winters.

Your commit about NC being bust in 10 years. Well people said that about Columbus since mid 1990's and it took about 20 years for our bubble to bust, and we are living in it now. But it is nothing like Florida's and I'm sure Charlotte's won't be either.

And as far as traffic, you all didn't live in Columbus before I-670, the easton/161 gateway, the 270 north widening, cause it was a mess about 10 years ago. Our road system didn't just appear one day- it took time and had to "catch up" to our growth as well. Actually last year I visited Raleigh and was impressed that the roads seemed to be ahead of the growth.

I can appreciate someone not wanting to live somewhere where the growth is as rapid as Charlotte- but for a tradesman like me, that is exactly what I am looking for. Not to mention it so hard to get work done when there is snow on the ground. The bottom line we all want a change from what we are sick of. The Floridians r sick of the Heat. SO the clouds and snow is a small price to pay. I am sick of clouds and snow but I also understand that
Florida heat is no fun either- therefore making somewhere like Charlotte a good compromise.

I stayed in OH because our growth was so good but now have nothing holding me back. I have been talking of moving to warmer climate for about 7 years and my spouse and I are looking hard at NC - Charlotte or Raleigh. If anyone has any advice or comments please post.

[GeminiGal]

Originally Posted by CMJC_OH

I stayed in OH because our growth was so good but now have nothing holding me back. I have been talking of moving to warmer climate for about 7 years and my spouse and I are looking hard at NC - Charlotte or Raleigh. If anyone has any advice or comments please post.

I lived in Charlotte for about 7 years - 1993 to 2000. It was a great place to live and I have many fond memories of the area. Speaking with friends that still live there, alot has changed - good and bad. I have friends that live in Raleigh as well - same thing - lots of good and bad. Both Raleigh and Charlotte are extremely popular options for transplants. Any area in the South, you have to go in with a positive attitude. As a native Southerner, I have seen many Northerners & Midwesterners relocate to the area - with a mix of happy and not-so-happy with their decision.

With that being said, I am fairly new to Columbus. I can honestly say I am pleasantly suprised and happy with what I've experienced so far (even with the massive amounts of snow this past weekend). I've met many people here that are transplants from the South as well - and they are pretty happy as well.

I will say this - the infrastructure in Charlotte and Raleigh has not kept up with the growth. Raleigh (Wake County) school system is a complete mess. Char-Meck schools have always been "okay" at best. My kids were in private preschool and we were prepared to send our kids to private if we had stayed. When our house sold in Charlotte - we could not honestly say which of 3 elementary schools our neighborhood kids would attend (luckily the couple that purchase did not have kids or care). Most schools in these hot areas are bursting at the seams - lots of trailers (learning cottages).

Property taxes are lower in the South - put there are many hidden taxes and costs that people relocating rarely take into account. I have often wondered how long it would take before the South starts to realize that they HAVE to start raising taxes to accomodate for the tremendous growth any finally catch up!

Housing is not as cheap in NC as one might think - Atlanta is the better deal for real estate. Wages in the South are lower (we got a significant raise as an incentive to move to OH). Southern states typically don't have unions and are considered "right to fire" states.

I am not try to discourage you - but I think often times people move South and expect something totally different. I have lived in major cities all over the Southeast - and I loved them all - but that is my native area. Change and growth have been good for the South - but there are many things that I can honestly say that I am not happy about. The South that I grew up in is just not there anymore - and that often times doesn't make me happy to think about it. Too much change too fast is often not a good thing.

Personally, I would love to stay in Columbus for many years. The area reminds me of Charlotte 15 years ago - smart growth with rural and city life in the mix. Sure you have your cold winter with snow here - but the heat even in NC in the summer is pretty brutal. There are many summer days that are too miserable to even be by the pool.

I know I am rambling - but I thought I'd add my 2 cents since I have lived in both CLT & CMH.

Good luck with your decision.

[GeminiGal]

PS I read about Charlotte being a "miserable" city. Even though I don't agree with that assessment having lived there - you have to wonder if some of that is not true to a degree. And as far as the Triangle area always being tops on the "places to live" lists, I've often pondered how long till that area drops in it's rankings.

I'm done - really...