Greensboro, Raleigh or Charlotte (Winston-Salem, Jacksonville: home, neighborhoods, taxes)

[Kentuckyyank]

I am considering retiring in North Carolina and the towns of Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte are the three towns I am looking at to settle in. I love to play golf and plan to work fulltime at first then part time at a nice golf course that allows it workers to play golf when they are off work and my wife loves to go to the mall and shop.

Please let me know which town you think is best for retirement and golf and shopping.

All input will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[nyyaninnc]

All three are traffic infested areas, I had road rage driving through Greensboro the other day for the first time since I went home to NYC area to visit.

Look into the Winston-Salem area. There has to be some reason why people travel tourism here for the golf, which means we are swamped with golf courses as there is some pro course here I think it is called the Crosby or Vantage @ Tanglewood Park.

[movinfromidaho]

I just moved here & have been checking out the areas. We live in Winston-Salem. I don't know much about golfing but I do know shopping. Charlotte is the the place to shop & there is tons to do. Very nice neighborhoods.

I am not fan of Raleigh, just my peronal opinion. The downtown needs lots of improvement which they are working on & not the greatest shopping.

[cbeeson71]

If golf is your game, Charlotte definitely has more courses nearby than any of the other places. I would also suggest the Advance, Bermuda Run area near Winston-Salem. Low taxes, several great courses like Tanglewood and Bermuda Run (both have hosted professional events regularly) and close to the conveniences of a larger town (Winston-Salem).

[gcd01]

As mentioned, both Winston Salem and Charlotte (especially) have quite a few golfing opportunities. I think you'd be happy in either place, both are great cities.

[Queen City Lover]

The only thing...Charlotte is NO town...it is at least 2 or 3 times the size of Louisville...and I live here in Charlotte and my cousin lives in Louisville....If you are coming from the armpit of Kentucky...anywhere in NC you will LOVE....

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by Queen City Lover

The only thing...Charlotte is NO town...it is at least 2 or 3 times the size of Louisville...and I live here in Charlotte and my cousin lives in Louisville....If you are coming from the armpit of Kentucky...anywhere in NC you will LOVE....

Armpit of KY huh? Well, at least get your facts straight. Louisville is a larger city and urbanized area than Charlotte. Charlotte has a slightly larger metro area, but it is NOWHERE near twice as big.

Urbanized Area as of 2000 (determined by the number of census tracts that contiquously have at least 1,000 people per square mile)

Louisville, KY--IN 863,582 Charlotte, NC--SC 758,927

Metro areas From 2006 census estimates:

36 Charlotte–Gastonia–Concord NC–SC 1,583,016
37 Austin–Round Rock TX 1,513,615
38 Milwaukee–Waukesha–West Allis WI 1,509,981
39 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin TN 1,455,097
40 Jacksonville FL 1,277,997
41 Memphis TN–MS–AR 1,274,704
42 Louisville–Jefferson County KY–IN 1,222,216

List of United States metropolitan areas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

City populations estimates from the US Census as of July 1, 2006 estimates

List of United States cities by population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

20 Charlotte North Carolina 630,478

27 Louisville, Kentucky 554,496

Louisville actually has over 700,000 people in its merged city, but the census bureau does not recognize several of the incorporated cities.


SOOOOO, as you can see, Louisville and Charlotte are in the SAME league population wise.

[friendnc]

Originally Posted by stx12499

Armpit of KY huh? Well, at least get your facts straight. Louisville is a larger city and urbanized area than Charlotte. Charlotte has a slightly larger metro area, but it is NOWHERE near twice as big.

Urbanized Area as of 2000 (determined by the number of census tracts that contiquously have at least 1,000 people per square mile)

Louisville, KY--IN 863,582 Charlotte, NC--SC 758,927

Metro areas From 2006 census estimates:

36 Charlotte–Gastonia–Concord NC–SC 1,583,016
37 Austin–Round Rock TX 1,513,615
38 Milwaukee–Waukesha–West Allis WI 1,509,981
39 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin TN 1,455,097
40 Jacksonville FL 1,277,997
41 Memphis TN–MS–AR 1,274,704
42 Louisville–Jefferson County KY–IN 1,222,216

List of United States metropolitan areas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

City populations estimates from the US Census as of July 1, 2006 estimates

List of United States cities by population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

20 Charlotte North Carolina 630,478

27 Louisville, Kentucky 554,496

Louisville actually has over 700,000 people in its merged city, but the census bureau does not recognize several of the incorporated cities.


SOOOOO, as you can see, Louisville and Charlotte are in the SAME league population wise.

As someone who has ranked metro areas on the side in the past, you need to be very, VERY careful about sources of information. Even the census office itself can't get its metro definitions agreed upon (I've spoken to someone in their office a few years ago and was told that). I've never heard about "merged city" status, but in Louisville's actual city limits, off the top of my head (I don't have my books with me), they have around 300k. Charlotte's about 680k ('07 est.). Jefferson COUNTY has 700k. Metro (40 mile radius with about 45 minute commute time), Charlotte's metro has right at 2 million (Mecklinburg, Gaston, Lincoln, Iredell, Cabarrus, Rowan, Union, York, and Lancaster Cos. '07 est.). Louisville metro (Jefferson, Bullett, Oldham, Clark, and Floyd Cos.) is just under 1 million. If you really dig and run estimate formulas, you'll see these numbers hold up.

This is not to knock Louisville. It's actually are very nice area that ranks well. But Charlotte's metro and city limit populations are a bit different.

To answer the original question, the Charlotte area has some great golfing and has a large Sun City retirement community in Indianland (a Charlotte suburb in Lancaster Co.). Would also recommend the Winston Salem/Clemmons/Lewisville area.

[stx12499]

You are simply dead dead wrong. Where are you getting this metro definition? Maybe you need to research how the US Census calculates metro areas. To help you out, it is based on commuting patterns from outlying counties. You are using circa 1990 metro stats for Louiville and inflating Charlotte. Louisville's metro has 13 counties. Look at my sources and think again. Charlotte has a CSA which is almost 2 million but that is MUCH different than MSA. The MSA of Charlotte is as I posted above according to the US Census, the ONLY OFFICIAL SOURCE FOR POPULATION STATS.

May I ask where you are getting your stats? Have you read or heard much about Louisville in the last 10 or 20 years as the city and county are now one, and Jefferson County is much smaller in land area than Mecklenburg County, NC.

I cited my sources, where are yours from? Also, Jefferson County KY actually had more housing units than the geographically larger Mecklenburg, NC in 2000, although Mecklenburg is growing faster and surpasing Jefferson according to 2006 estimates.

Annual Estimates of Housing Units for Counties: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006

Its MUCH easier to count housing structures in large cities. The US Census has one its main National Processing Center in the Louisville suburb of Jeffersonville, IN.

There is no way you can make up stats saying Charlotte is "twice the size of Louisville." It certainly does not have twice the amenities, and in my frank opinion, Charlotte is rather unimpressive and cannot compare to the cultural, restaurant, and art scene in Louisville (although Charlotte may have a better "image" on the east coast admittedly).

And FYI, there are 556k people in the city of Louisville as of 2006, and this does NOT include all of Jefferson County. For some reason, the Census would not recognize the whole city and county as one.

LouisvilleKy.gov - Your Government - Louisville/Jefferson County Merger

As you can see, Louisville was a mere 60 square miles before merger. A city that small by land area may not be compared to a geogrphically larger city. As of today, did you know Charlotte and Louisville have larger city populations than Atlanta? That is why MSA populations, from the US Censusare one of the best ways to compare cities. I also like to use Urban Area, as it cuts out the massive sprawl included in metro areas.

[brri]

There is no way you can make up stats saying Charlotte is "twice the size of Louisville." It certainly does not have twice the amenities, and in my frank opinion, Charlotte is rather unimpressive and cannot compare to the cultural, restaurant, and art scene in Louisville (although Charlotte may have a better "image" on the east coast admittedly).

Out of curiosity, please explain how Charlotte cannot compare to Louisville in "cultural, restaurant and art scene". I have been to Lousiville twice and thought it was nice but not a bastion of culture. Or is it that Charlotte has relatively none? Just asking.