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Hello all! I'm interested in moving to North Carolina, as I think it fits what I'm looking for in terms of scenery and climate. Geographically, I think either the Charlotte or the Greensboro area would be my best fit. Now help me decide!!
I'm a 29 year old female with a boyfriend, with no kids and wont be having any. I have a horse and am a hair stylist.
We are looking for a place that will have a decent sized population so we can both work in the city/suburbs but we also want to have our home on a few acres in the country where I can have a couple horses and some privacy. We don't want a terrible commute between this kind of home and work.
We enjoy good restaurants and fun, interesting things to do. Doesn't have to be wild and fast paced, but I don't want to be bored either! We aren't interested in any sort of bar/club scene or nightlife.
With having horses, I would like a place with an equestrian community close to trails and horse shows.
AND we don't want to spend a fortune on a house and land! Looking for nice but affordable.
Also since we won't be living in either city proper, but in the closest rural areas to each, can anybody recommend communities to look for around these areas. Thanks for any and all help!!
I'm not familiar with the area but I liked Statesville which is somewhere inbetween, probably closer to Charlotte. I'm sure there are several other towns like Statesville so good luck.
Why not also consider the Triangle area? North of Durham is a nice rural area with rolling hills and tons of horses called Bahama. It's only about 15-20 minutes from there into downtown Durham where the food and cultural scene is awesome. Durham was recently rated the foodiest small city in the US by Bon Apetit .
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mstar898
Hello all! I'm interested in moving to North Carolina, as I think it fits what I'm looking for in terms of scenery and climate. Geographically, I think either the Charlotte or the Greensboro area would be my best fit. Now help me decide!!
I'm a 29 year old female with a boyfriend, with no kids and wont be having any. I have a horse and am a hair stylist.
We are looking for a place that will have a decent sized population so we can both work in the city/suburbs but we also want to have our home on a few acres in the country where I can have a couple horses and some privacy. We don't want a terrible commute between this kind of home and work.
We enjoy good restaurants and fun, interesting things to do. Doesn't have to be wild and fast paced, but I don't want to be bored either! We aren't interested in any sort of bar/club scene or nightlife.
With having horses, I would like a place with an equestrian community close to trails and horse shows.
AND we don't want to spend a fortune on a house and land! Looking for nice but affordable.
Also since we won't be living in either city proper, but in the closest rural areas to each, can anybody recommend communities to look for around these areas. Thanks for any and all help!!
What sort of employment will you boyfriend be looking for?
Employment is going to be your and BF's biggest hurdle.
Next will be proximity to city life to have a few acres at a good price.
Speaking from experience as a horse owner in Charlotte - "reasonable" price for a nice house with enough land for a few horses is going to put you 40-50 miles out of the Charlotte proper. Most of these rural areas do not have a direct commute to Charlotte, so the commute times can be 45 mins to 1+ hour. The only areas that haven't been overrun by subdivisions and strip malls are going west toward Kings Mountain / Shelby, south toward Rock Hill, SC, NW into Lincolnton. Going east to Union County, north through Huntersville and spilling into Denver, south through Fort Mill/ Clover --- All these areas are being soaked up with subdivisions and "development" - not my first pick for privacy and country life.
My experience: After several months of searching for a place with at least 4 acres and under $150K last year that was within 25 miles of Steele Creek (job requirement we had to meet for my husband), we finally threw in the towel and settled on a house in town with a tiny lot and boarding horses out.
I'm not in the show scene in Charlotte, so I can't tell you what it looks like. There are a lot of dressage riders on the SE side (Waxhaw, Monroe) and a lot of hunter jumpers / eventers in the area. Trail riding is available at several parks within a 1-2 hour radius.
My boyfriend isn't sure what he'll be doing, he's looking for a career change, probably something with computers/electrical/IT stuff. I'll be doing hair for weddings mostly, so I'll be traveling around, probably more in the suburbs than downtown. I don't mind semi rural areas. We aren't moving anytime soon, just trying to get info and ideas.
I think Raleigh is too far east for what I'm looking for. So far Charlotte seems to fit everything I want. I'm just a little concerned that if we find a nice semi rural area outside the city, in 5 or 10 years it might get swallowed up by development. That's why I was thinking the Greensboro/Winston-Salem area. It's not as big yet, I just don't know HOW big it really is, and if there would be enough job opportunities and things to do there.
What about living across the border in South Carolina? Are the land prices/availability and taxes better there? Seems close enough to still commute to the Charlotte area.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mstar898
My boyfriend isn't sure what he'll be doing, he's looking for a career change, probably something with computers/electrical/IT stuff. I'll be doing hair for weddings mostly, so I'll be traveling around, probably more in the suburbs than downtown. I don't mind semi rural areas. We aren't moving anytime soon, just trying to get info and ideas.
I think Raleigh is too far east for what I'm looking for. So far Charlotte seems to fit everything I want. I'm just a little concerned that if we find a nice semi rural area outside the city, in 5 or 10 years it might get swallowed up by development. That's why I was thinking the Greensboro/Winston-Salem area. It's not as big yet, I just don't know HOW big it really is, and if there would be enough job opportunities and things to do there.
What about living across the border in South Carolina? Are the land prices/availability and taxes better there? Seems close enough to still commute to the Charlotte area.
Look at Kings Mountain & Grover, NC. Check on the Charlotte board.
I think Raleigh is too far east for what I'm looking for. So far Charlotte seems to fit everything I want. I'm just a little concerned that if we find a nice semi rural area outside the city, in 5 or 10 years it might get swallowed up by development.
You are amazingly clairvoyant. That is exactly what will happen in an area like Charlotte or the Triangle, with the absurd migration rates to this state. Perhaps the Triad (Greensboro etc) as well.
The best area for horses is the Southern Pines/Pinehurst/Aberdeen area (known as "The Sandhills") but it isn't really "cosmopolitan" enough to have a good "food scene" just yet, and Fayetteville, the nearest city, is mostly a military-centered town.
You might go on the Charlotte board and ask about horse-likely places in the general area, but yes, sprawl will keep creeping outward and swallowing up pastures and meadows as long as folks keep moving here at the rate they're doing. Perhaps a state with less of a growth explosion is better for you?
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francois
You are amazingly clairvoyant. That is exactly what will happen in an area like Charlotte or the Triangle, with the absurd migration rates to this state. Perhaps the Triad (Greensboro etc) as well.
The best area for horses is the Southern Pines/Pinehurst/Aberdeen area (known as "The Sandhills") but it isn't really "cosmopolitan" enough to have a good "food scene" just yet, and Fayetteville, the nearest city, is mostly a military-centered town.
You might go on the Charlotte board and ask about horse-likely places in the general area, but yes, sprawl will keep creeping outward and swallowing up pastures and meadows as long as folks keep moving here at the rate they're doing. Perhaps a state with less of a growth explosion is better for you?
We do have some horse threads on the Charlotte board. I live in Kings Mountain. The natives are dead set against allowing builders to have free reign, as was allowed in Union County. There will be spread into Kings Mountain, as it is commuteable to Charlotte, however, it's a huge area. It would probably work for this poster, whereas you saw me discourage it in another thread on the Charlotte board, This is based on what the posters asked for. Grover is a tiny little town (under 1000) which, by location, is not going to turn into Cary in the next 30 years, http://www.city-data.com/city/Grover...-Carolina.html
My boyfriend isn't sure what he'll be doing, he's looking for a career change, probably something with computers/electrical/IT stuff. I'll be doing hair for weddings mostly, so I'll be traveling around, probably more in the suburbs than downtown. I don't mind semi rural areas. We aren't moving anytime soon, just trying to get info and ideas.
I think Raleigh is too far east for what I'm looking for. So far Charlotte seems to fit everything I want. I'm just a little concerned that if we find a nice semi rural area outside the city, in 5 or 10 years it might get swallowed up by development. That's why I was thinking the Greensboro/Winston-Salem area. It's not as big yet, I just don't know HOW big it really is, and if there would be enough job opportunities and things to do there.
What about living across the border in South Carolina? Are the land prices/availability and taxes better there? Seems close enough to still commute to the Charlotte area.
As per my post, right now the "semi-rural" that is left and affordable is in the 40-50 mile away from Charlotte radius. With the current population trend going on with Charlotte / Mecklenburg County, you need to expect these places to be swallowed up into the development bubble in the next 5-10 years.
As for SC: You need to research the areas of SC I have already highlighted with my first post. York Count (Fort Mill, Clover, Tega Cay, etc) is developing fast and will be part of the population boom continuation. There is no direct highway access to the rural parts of York Co to Charlotte, so driving to the Charlotte area puts you among traffic lights and back roads. Rock Hill is not as popular, and you can stay on the 77 corridor if you head south of Rock Hill (Edgemoor, etc). These are more rural areas with lower taxes and land prices more within reason.
But, again ... If you head this far south on 77, or so far west on 85 to hit Grover, your BF is going to struggle that much more with finding employment and keeping his commute under an hour. This is the reason why we didn't move that far out despite really wanting to be out of the city - having both of us on the road 1 hour twice per day just wasn't worth it financially. My husband is in the IT/technician field, and the majority of jobs for this work are within the Charlotte proper.
Please, PLEASE - do not blindly move to Charlotte (or anywhere in NC for that matter) without visiting and really knowing this is where you want to be. What you see on the internet or discussion forums doesn't paint you the same picture as putting time into visiting and seeing what is really going on here.
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