NC???But where? (Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro: real estate, sex offender, crime rate)

[SunnyKayak]

You might want to check outthe following Lake norman communities
Davidson NC it has a cute Old feel downtown area with restaurants soda shops and close to lake norman. Beautiful old style homes and limited amount of new homes but the new ones are really nice.

You might check out Cornelius the older homes are closer to the downtown area of this city within 5 minutes to davidson.
I saw some beautiful all brick homes around Jetton Place and there is shops and restaurants, within walking distance also

Huntersville a good place to live. Alot of relocated northerners. Look at the homes behind birkdale village and you will be within walking distance of shops, movie theater and restaurants. Huntrsville is practically a new city most of it growth started in the 90's and still is a progressive city. Beautiful nearby parks and in betweeen lake norman and mountain island lake.

[harding123]

Anjsmom I have just the location for you. The Reserve at GoldHill located in FortMill, SC. Top notch schools, low taxes, offer basement and just 15 miles from the city of Charlotte. Amenities: clubhouse pool and basketball court with a roof so children won"t catch a heat stroke in summer months. I just purchased and my home will be ready at the end of the year. Prices range from 255k-355k a little more if basement is wanted. In addition golf is close by.

[anjsmom]

Thanks to all! I will do some research on those given so far....keep em' coming
Although, I do have to share with you..I went on the sex offenders registry site.....YIKES!!Their are so many! Now I am really confused!
I also pasted a link that I had before I looked up the registry....scary
National Sex Offender Registry ............FYI

[Orchard]

anjsmom, i might have missed it, why are you relocating? is it work? affordability?

[anjsmom]

Affordability, health reasons (NY/NJ apparently not the best place for my children to be) And just a change of life...we have lived in NJ ALL our lives and moved to NY state 6 years ago...and hate it...very clicky...and toxic

[friendnc]

the Charlotte area's great. LOTS of recreational assets, great economy, and affordable. Some good areas to look at: Lake Norman area (north of the city), Harrsburg (NE), Belmont (west), and Lake Wylie/Tega Cay/Ft. Mill area (SW).

[tish74]

I curently live in Lincolnton NC and have found all of the things you are looking for. We have a comunity pool, gold club and we are not that far from the big city of Char. We are central in the state. We also have a low crime rate. I am curently taking Crimanal Justice and had to look it up last week. hope to see you soon.

[jmd123]

Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools are top-notch (we are in Orange Co. but have a separate school system), we have bike trails/lanes, nice parks, a free bus system, and lovely homes in both downtown areas (Carrboro's is the least expensive; a former mill town) where you can walk to lots of entertainment/cultural events at the art museum and galleries, university, planetarium, etc. There are also newer developments, but with less trees. Carrboro is the more laid-back town, with lots of family fun and a less intensive student population; lots of artisans and university employees. Here's a link to the Town of Carrboro site:

Town of Carrboro, NC

[CaliBoy]

Having grown up all my life in Southern California, I would say that if you are looking for a climate with minimal weather intrusions, bugs and other natural elements, then move there. It's easy for those who can't handle such things.

However, having moved here to RDU ourselves, specifically Durham, we are growing accustomed to the increase of natural intrusions, relatively speaking. Bugs abound here. More so than in CA. Our property appears to have every species of ant imaginable. We only had one type where we lived in CA. Also, having experienced most of the season now, we know we like this much better than CA as far as variety and color. Mind you, I still miss the sunshine at CA beaches and always will. But other than that, the weather here this year (2006-07) has been relatively mild.

As for basements, I've caught a few here and there. Well, I'm guessing most aren't basements as much as they are glorified crawlspaces found in homes on an incline. But, I imagine (like a previous poster noted) that flooding along with the expansion and contraction of the clay soil here prevents the practical need of such things. However, I would guess that if you really wanted something for 'safety' reasons, you could always build one. Kind of like a bomb shelter, I guess. But it would be expensive I'm sure.

I am still not completely accustomed to living here just yet. I fly back to the west often anyway, but I will say that I like the hospitality of most I've come across here in NC. Certainly, there are many transplants here and I'm sure many of the rude ones are those not born here (at least I hope not). But for now, the majority of people here are wonderful.

I'm not finding things all that much less expensive if at all. Housing and gas prices, that's it. Everything else is either on par or more here than it was in Los Angeles.

As for crime, I worry about that. But mostly the petty stuff. However, I'm guessing the freedom to carry guns here helps thwart some of the most grueling kind, I guess. I don't have stats on it, but where I come from, it seems only the criminals have guns and the public is at the mercy of those gun toting fools. Sex offenders, I'm surprised how many live in just about every city. But who knows if all or any are a real threat. I try not to get so obsessed to become paranoid. I worry more about the people who are NOT on a list that I cannot track.

Durham is a nice place in parts. Not all. It's coming around. Government is a bit slow and disorganized a bit. Not all either. But some officials need to move on to make way for more progressive and visionary individuals. I've heard the school system here is well underrated. Lot of opportunity for the right people. Mostly young, I imagine, since youth is generally more open to new ideas and change. And Durham is going through change.

I think if we relocated from here and stayed around RDU, I'd go further south to the Chapel Hill area... actually further west of Carrboro away from the city. But, I visit a lot of people in Cary too so I might move to Apex. I'm not a big fan of the housing in most parts of Cary, however. It's boring to me. But if I could get a lake front property around here, I'd go for that. And if it were possible to move our house to that location, even better. We love our turn of the century home.

Good luck on your findings. Lots of threads on people looking to move here and wondering what others think about NC. Just run a search through the archives. You could even resurrect a few if they have not yet been closed.

[Beffrey2]

Originally Posted by anjsmom

Thinking of moving to NC from NY...but where? I hear all these wonderful things about the areas...but most are coastal. I prefer not to be coastal due to Mother Nature I was looking in the Charlottle area and did like the area of Concord (Moss Creek)..had it's own schools, EMT, firehouse, police etc on site! BUT...the builders offered no basements..I know basements are not common in NC...but for my sanity I need one...just in case of a storm.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone can steer us in the right direction...well ANY direction would be appreciated
We are looking for a home near all (10 min distance) but suburban not city. would like a new, family orientated community with a pool and activities (golf for the hubby) low crime, somewhat low taxes and real good schools, oh and 4 seasons...we are very down to earth friendly people and wish to live with the same...
Any suggestions?? Thanks in advance!

Thats odd about the basement. You should easily be able to find an empty lot for a basement or house around Concord. Heck, there are a bunch here in Raleigh with basements....my sister has one. Concord is at the edge of the mountains all most.

More about basements. Most of the old houses in NC have basements just like in NJ. When I say old I mean like 1950's or earlier...roughly.

New builders don't like basements because they have problems with them leaking all the time....it is not worth the trouble. But old houses from Raleigh west.....a lot of them have basements