Help Needed (Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro: best city, amusement park, crime rate) - City-Data Forum

Thankful & Blessed · 11-11-2008, 11:57 PM

Hello my husband and I are looking to relocate to the NC area from California and would like any information you can provide that will narrow down our search for the best city for us. We have a four year old daughter that is active in gymnastic, dance, and karate and would like to keep her in them. A good school system is very high priority for us. A low crim area is also high on our list. If you have any suggestions on areas and schools that I should look at that would be great. I would also like to hear what you like and dislike about your current location. California is just to city for us. My family is from AL but my mom moved my family to CA when I was four and I have been here since then and I am ready for a change.

Carolina_Born_Bred_Dead · 11-18-2008, 11:02 PM

A good region to locate to here in North Carolina would be the Lincolnton-Denver area. It's about a thirty minute commute to Charlotte, but still very rural and quiet. Not too far removed from society, but it's a lot less bustling than the other outlying counties of Charlotte. A good rule of thumb is that Mecklenburg County (basically the city of Charlotte) is a bad bet in terms of crime and prices, but the counties immediately surrounding Charlotte (Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, Union, York S.C.) are much better, safer, and cheaper.

Fort Mill, South Carolina would be a perfect fit, also. It's got interstate access to I-77 and is only a fifteen minute drive south of Charlotte. Yet it's very nice and quiet, kind of a rural/suburb type mix, especially rare to be so close to the Uptown area. Fort Mill borders on a host of upscale/rich neighborhoods like Tega Cay, Ballantyne, and the South Park area, plus access to a lot of malls and restaurants in Pineville and Rock Hill, as well as being only five minutes away from the only theme park in North Carolina, Carowinds. The crime rate is low in Fort Mill, and gas in neighboring Rock Hill is among the cheapest in either Carolina. For instance, it's down near $1.70 now, and was about a quarter cheaper than anything we found in North Carolina during the high gas prices last summer.

I live in Gastonia, just west of Charlotte, and although I've been all over the state, I've lived here in Gaston County my whole life, so I can't give an objective opinion on other locales. If you want to be closer to the mountains, then Hickory, Forest City, and Wilkesboro are good bets. Charlotte's probably your best bet to find decent jobs though, since Charlotte's still got a strong economy and a rising house market.

urbancharlotte · 11-21-2008, 11:13 AM

(This has been copied from another post of mine, but I think it will help you too)

Job Opportunities. Of course this will be low no matter where we move right now.

Raleigh
America's best jobs in the hottest markets | 3 | Business 2.0
Charlotte
America's best jobs in the hottest markets | 4 | Business 2.0 (Wachovia has been bought BTW)

Good night life.

Charlotte

YouTube - urban charlotte

YouTube - urban charlotte

Bobcats' arena station (watch in "high quality" icon is on the bottom right corner of this next video)

YouTube - urban charlotte

It is not night life, but here are some "high quality" Panthers Sunday videos

YouTube - Panthers Sunday

YouTube - Panthers Sunday

Safe.
Raleigh is known for being more safe than Charlotte. I would have to say that Charlotte is safe too if you stay out of "certain" areas. I would not worry because these "certain" areas are rarely ever seen by a newcomer. You would probably have to go out of your way to see Charlotte's "dirty" unsafe side.

Good Schools/neighborhoods. For when we decide to start our family. Also, my sister's family may be following us with their two preschool aged children.

Raleigh, Greensboro, and Charlotte all have top rated High Schools nationally. Raleigh's system is overall better than the other two. This is what I've heard and read. I am not a personal witness to any of this.

I attended private school in Charlotte K-8 then went to a public high school. I am only 28 so this was not that long ago. From my own experience, going to school in Charlotte was quite pleasant and safe. The atletics in some of Charlotte's schools are awesome too!!!

As for neighborhoods, Raleigh and Charlotte have great neighborhoods. I am not sure what you are looking for (city or suburbs). In either case, Raleigh and Charlotte offer both. Here is a suburban example in Fort Mill SC. This is a suburb 15 minutes south of Charlotte's uptown. You can escape NC's higher property taxes in metro Charlotte!!! There is also an amusement park in Fort Mill as well!!!

Baxter Village (safe neighborhood)
Carowinds | North and South Carolina's Themed Amusement Park (amusement park less than five minutes away)

Friendly.

Everywhere in NC is friendly!!! This is the south LOL!!! Good luck on your search and definately find a job first before moving. This is a must no matter where you move!!!