Need to move to NC FAST!! Your opinion counts. (Charlotte: houses, neighborhoods)

[redheadbedhead]

Also be sure to look at Davidson. It's (obviously) home to Davidson College. Lots of Northern transplants. Educated, relatively liberal community. Quiet, scenic, built around the college. A beautiful library, quaint stores and a coffee shop. Great for kids. Close to Lake Norman. It's one of the best parts of Charlotte, I think.

A

[Yoowanna]

Originally Posted by redheadbedhead

Welcome to NC! Please do not be discouraged by the political argument. I'm extremely liberal, and having grown up in Charlotte, I was very easily able to surround myself with like-minded people. Charlotte is a progressive, cultured, smart city full of vibrant people, both locals and transplants--I feel like it would be the best fit. CMS, our school system, is VERY highly regarded if you're looking at public schools--some of the nicer high schools include South Meck, Ardrey Kell and Providence in S. Charlotte, and Hough or Hopewell up north (much of South Charlotte is a little more prestigious and the schools are a bit newer with better amenities). I think Charlotte might be your best bet just because it really has so many options, from housing costs to school choices. If you want land, move to Weddington, a super-south-Charlotte suburb where you can land a big house on land for comparatively cheap and be in the Weddington High School district which is also very good.

Areas you might want to check out to live: You sound like you would fit in well in the Southpark area! It's beautiful, manicured, and cheerful. Lots of shopping and food, along with one of the top 10 most luxurious malls in the US.

Also safe/pretty/desirable:

Ballantyne
Matthews (most of it)
Huntersville (parts of it--can range from the McMansions neighborhoods like The Peninsula, where celebrities live, to nice middle-class lake communities, all the way down to some very shady complexes)
Cotswald
Piper Glen is stunning but pricy
Myers Park would also be a GREAT bet for big, beautiful houses with history and a phenomenal high school. (I know your kids aren't in high school yet, but I'm not too sure about schools below that level.)

And there's abundant private schools in Charlotte if you don't like our many public schools.

Hope that helped!

A

Wow..you've really helped me a lot redheadbedhead - nice and direct without any politcal or Yankee grudges. I'm going to print out your response and use for good searching. As a guesstimate, is SouthPark @30 mins to Waxhaw area? Thanks

[HP91]

Originally Posted by Yoowanna

This creates really poor appeal to the neighborhood and town overall, plus you have zero privacy! I would feel incarcerated over time!

How are the schools in Pine Valley and Forest Hills? Is there an overcrowding issue such as in south Charlotte? I have a friend in Waxhaw complaining of this.



I think generally families are leaning towards the cookie cutter approach, as it is affordable and safer, hence the massive reduction in SF and property lot size. I think it's ridicules!!

I get where you are coming from. I have always been much more particular when buying property and have even had real estate agents that were extremely impressed with the outcome after I established strict boundaries. I once sold a house for sale by owner for 10% more than what a real estate agent wanted to list it at.

I always started with schools, decided where I wanted my kids to be, then went to accessibility to my work, then shopping/parks, etc...and made sure I got the biggest lot I could for the price. Where I have not been that particular is the actual house, because there are changes to be made to just about any property.

Too many folks fall in love with the move in ready, anywhere house and then end up driving 25 minutes to work every day and drive 10-15 minutes to the grocery store, 20 minutes to shopping, and 10 minutes to the park. I always assumed that these folks were just in love with their car and wanted to be in it as much as possible. My first house I bought I specified where and what I wanted and my agent (30 years older than me) drove me 4 miles away to a new cookie cutter neighborhood and showed me a new house.

To answer your question about Forest Hills and Pine Valley in Wilmington...Forest Hills doesn't have the best schools (most of the parents go private)....but is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Wilmington. It is directly behind the Hospital so lots of the doctors live there. The Mall and Hanover Center shopping center is one of the other side of it. It is also along the cross city trail as is Pine Valley. It has large lots. Most of the folks that live there have lots of disposable income and use private schools. When I was looking about 9 years ago, I looked at a smaller house there and a larger house in Pine Valley, both on large lots. I decided on Pine Valley because the schools overall were better, although I liked the house in Forest Hills better. As well, there was an oil tank in the yard in Forest Hills that I didn't want to deal with. Had I bought the house in Forest Hills, I am fairly certain my wife would have eventually pushed for our kids to be in private schools, which is a significant expense for 3 of them. I know a family that moved from PV to Forest Hills and all of their kids eventually ended up at private schools...although they are currently planning on going to New Hanover High School, which has the Lyciem program. Both neighborhoods have private country clubs in them. Pine Valley has easy access to Halyburton Park, which is a passive park and the Art Museum and is flanked by numerous shopping centers and has trail access to the Mall/Hanover Center complex. I could ride a bike to work if I wanted to (but I have a company car). Forest Hills has great common areas on its streets, and easy access to Alderman Preserve (where the natural venus flytraps grow). Again the prices in Forest Hills are much more expensive overall...the houses overall are nicer. I posted a house for sale in PV earlier in this thread for reference which seems to hit all of your points.

I wouldn't say the schools are overcrowded in Wilmington, but I would say they are full. NC is bad about setting up mobile classrooms and having older looking schools with inadequate maintenance....that is it seems unless you move into a brand new neighborhood that has brand new school buildings....of course what happens is they get overcrowded fairly quickly. New Hanover County has a laundry list of school improvements including to all 3 of my kids schools (which includes the replacement of Pine Valley Elementary) but does not really have too much of an overcrowding issue....at least not to the extent that I am concerned about it.

[Carolina_native]

Originally Posted by Yoowanna

Why "underwhelmed" in Wilmington? Is this primarily a beach town with less to offer?



So is finding a sizable potion of land (.75 acre) in the suburbs not feasible to sustain a 200K salary? I currently have 1.2 acres in upper Westchester NY with a 45 minute commute to New York City, and highly doubt it's more expensive to live in NC with less acreage. What's the cut-off down there according to my salary? I don't mind giving up land, but I'm sure there is a more driven democratic community somewhere offering my housing needs.

Why lose my political stance? NC has become very democratically sustained since the last 2 elections. (more of a purple state now since 2008), and expected to continue.

I agree the school rating system is a bit flawed and NEVER concrete with accurate scoring systems. I expect a little give and take in this arena, yet may have to succumb to what's offered based on my choice location instead.

I don't know where you got your political information on NC but if anything the state is not headed to a blue state. I think Mississippi had as many or maybe more counties go blue than NC in 2012.

Just research on your own if you don't want to take my word for it NC's political direction over the past year. With the current legislature districts, Republicans will be in state control for at least a decade.

However there are communities in NC that have a more liberal enclave, sort of like how liberal states and towns have their conservative leaning areas.

Some communities though that other posters have listed are not very diverse at all as you said you are looking for, and are heavily majority white like Davidson for example.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

BTW, I think you would be under-whelmed with Wilmington.

Wilmington has a nice historic section and many pleasant suburban homes. It is more interesting than just a "beach city" as it has some sport teams, museums and festivals. I was mostly referring to the diversity. Its population is 70% white, 21% black and 6% Hispanic, which is not especially diverse for a southern city. There are a few ethnic minorities, a few ethnic food stores and restaurants. There are some northern transplants and it is popular as a retirement destination. There is a Democrat in the Congressional seat but his hold could be cut with creative redistricting. I think the population is quite conservative, with a strong military presence.

I think for your purposes, Charlotte has a lot more to offer.

[HP91]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

Wilmington has a nice historic section and many pleasant suburban homes. It is more interesting than just a "beach city" as it has some sport teams, museums and festivals. I was mostly referring to the diversity. Its population is 70% white, 21% black and 6% Hispanic, which is not especially diverse for a southern city. There are a few ethnic minorities, a few ethnic food stores and restaurants. There are some northern transplants and it is popular as a retirement destination. There is a Democrat in the Congressional seat but his hold could be cut with creative redistricting. I think the population is quite conservative, with a strong military presence.

I think for your purposes, Charlotte has a lot more to offer.

I don't disagree with the numbers, but I honestly think Wilmington is as diverse (different ethnicity's) as most places. Its black population isn't as high as some NC cities. It really has a mix of all ages...I think its really hard to pigeon hole Wilmington into a certain category. It can be a college town, a retirement community, a resort area, a Historic town, a suburban town, a waterfront town, a beach community, or even a transplant town. The military has more of an influence in Pender County than New Hanover.

Where I live...the houses that surround me...there is a black family across the street, a disabled white man, a white couple with a college age kid, a white family of 6 (moved in from another state), and a white elderly lady with the house behind her being a middle eastern family of 6....and we have a family of 5....

I don't know about anyone else, but I think that's a fairly diverse block. We all get along very well and look out for each other. And we have plenty of privacy because most of the lots are half an acre, mine is more like 3/4.


i don't disagree with the Charlotte idea though...and am not sure about the overcrowding. I particularly like Matthews myself...but I like the in town houses better than the cookie cutter subdivisions on the exterior.

[Egbert]

Originally Posted by Yoowanna

I will be consulting from home and my wife does not work. (average income = 160K - 200K per annum.) We have 3 kids (7, and 5, 5 - twins)

Our desire to move to NC is both professional (client locations) and personally favored based on extensive research throughout U.S.. I have been heavily researching the Charlotte suburbs (Waxhal area), yet there seems to be a pattern of extensive overcrowding recently. I have visited Wilmington yet not aware of the living style. Greensburo also appears nice according to my below spec.

Here are our needs to move to NC from New York:
1) 4-5 bedroom (non-cookie cutter style with @.75 acre), 2 bath, (3000+ SF) (we currently pay 13K in taxes so anything lower than 8K would be a gift!) Spending range is 330K - 410K. (willing to pay a few dollars more if necessary)

2) schools MUST be rated 7 - 10 and not overcrowded (good mix of teachers (young or old) and standards with credible experience)

3) We are not religious and politically have democratic views

4) Safe neighborhood with low sexual offender count (does not need to be gated, although trustworthy)

5) Walkable shopping (prefer provincial village shopping vs. big box or massive malls offering chain retailers)

6) Adventurous parks, hiking, kid/dog friendly, diversified mix of restaurants (no chains)

7) Culturally Diversified - well eclectic mix of openly opinionated people (black or white) (note: We used to live in London, UK if it matters)

Thanks for your replies.

Yoowanna

I cannot comment on Charlotte really, but this is basically not going to happen anywhere in NC I have lived or spend significant time in namely the Triangle or Triad. At least not in your price range. Something is going to have to give. If you are willing to compromise on house size or price you might find something in Chapel Hill or Carrboro, but I just don't see how you are getting that sq ft anywhere that has walkable shopping that is in the CHCCS district. I would assume the same is true for Wake County though the schools there are in a state of flux. There might be some good fits in Northwest Greensboro but that would likely be more politically conservative then you want and it's not all that walkable at least not compared to Durham and Chapel Hill. Durham is nice, but the schools aren't so great.

Originally Posted by Yoowanna

Here's my angle regarding house searching. I selected Chapel Hill as an example.

This area appears very desolate on the map.

1316 Tripp Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Mod cut

I would note that that area is not in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district.

[Yoowanna]

Originally Posted by HP91

I get where you are coming from. I have always been much more particular when buying property and have even had real estate agents that were extremely impressed with the outcome after I established strict boundaries. I once sold a house for sale by owner for 10% more than what a real estate agent wanted to list it at.

How did that process go? Is there a lot involved in hiring a RE attorney and finalizing the sale? I'm considering this for my house up north.

Originally Posted by HP91

Too many folks fall in love with the move in ready, anywhere house and then end up driving 25 minutes to work every day and drive 10-15 minutes to the grocery store, 20 minutes to shopping, and 10 minutes to the park. I always assumed that these folks were just in love with their car and wanted to be in it as much as possible. My first house I bought I specified where and what I wanted and my agent (30 years older than me) drove me 4 miles away to a new cookie cutter neighborhood and showed me a new house.

Are the cutter houses resale value high? I'm always amazed on how popular these have become over the years.

Originally Posted by HP91

Again the prices in Forest Hills are much more expensive overall...the houses overall are nicer. I posted a house for sale in PV earlier in this thread for reference which seems to hit all of your points.

Thank you, I'll have a look. Are you a RE developer or just buy and sell? I'm going to reference this area to visit.

Originally Posted by HP91

I wouldn't say the schools are overcrowded in Wilmington, but I would say they are full. NC is bad about setting up mobile classrooms and having older looking schools with inadequate maintenance....that is it seems unless you move into a brand new neighborhood that has brand new school buildings....of course what happens is they get overcrowded fairly quickly. New Hanover County has a laundry list of school improvements including to all 3 of my kids schools (which includes the replacement of Pine Valley Elementary) but does not really have too much of an overcrowding issue....at least not to the extent that I am concerned about it.

I'm assuming this goes in hand with teacher drop out when schools get too overcrowded, or teachers transferring from one school to another based on higher pay scale with smaller districts that have lower budgets.

[Yoowanna]

Originally Posted by Egbert

If you are willing to compromise on house size or price you might find something in Chapel Hill or Carrboro, but I just don't see how you are getting that sq ft anywhere that has walkable shopping that is in the CHCCS district. I would assume the same is true for Wake County though the schools there are in a state of flux. There might be some good fits in Northwest Greensboro but that would likely be more politically conservative then you want and it's not all that walkable at least not compared to Durham and Chapel Hill. Durham is nice, but the schools aren't so great. I would note that that area is not in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district.

Thanks..Duram central or outskirts? Is Chapel Hill or Carrboro a very vast area? Walkable shopping is a "nice to have", but will not be a deal breaker if I can get the desired SF.

[poppydog]

I think Charlotte is calling you.