Has anyone lived in both atlanta suburbs and charlotte area? (Tucker: house, transfer)

[tlcha]

Has anyone out there lived in both of these areas of atlanta suburbs and charlotte suburbs? If so can you say one way or the other which one is a better place to raise your family? I have been to both but I am torn between the two. My husband hates atlantas traffic. Even charlotte seemed a little more tamed down. I want to move to an area where theres lots to do for kids but yet a safe place. I looked into hiram or dallas georgia or possibly further up like kennesaw or cartersville. Also we have traveled around charlotte area and suburbs like indian trail and huntersville. I also hear mooresville nc is nice.
It's hard on our kids to begin with to think about moving away from their friends. That's why it is even more important to me to find the best family area to go.

[TakeAhike]

Have you read through the threads in the NC/Charlotte forum?

Here's one that might be relevant>>>
//www.city-data.com/forum/charl...questions.html

North Carolina must be experiencing a lot of growth. It is a beautiful state and once the word is 'Out'--I hope they are making plans on how to handle a surge.
I know we/Atlanta were not.

Today's traffic: 2 major events downtown---traffic completely gridlocked into the city from every direction--mid morning---LOL--they say find alternate routes on the surface streets. It will be horrendous when people start home--3/4 hrs.

Can your dh find work north of dowtown? The location of the job might be the priority in this decision.

[thebearsmom]

tlcha-

I am currently in Gwinnett County and we love it. However....we are from Charlotte and are moving back there as soon as our house sells here. Why are we moving? Because we were transferred back. Are we thrilled? Yes.

But....I can tell you that we like both areas equally. The neighborhood we are in here in GA is Hamilton Mill, and it is perfect for our family. When we lived in Charlotte we lived in Highland Creek (North Chralotte) and love it there too. We are excited to move back, but sorry to leave. The thing is that Charlotte for us is "home" since we lived there for the majority of our adult life, and we have family there.

Charlotte definitely has it's points- smaller city, easier to get around, less traffic, etc. Gwinnett has it's points too- friendly, family oritented, good shopping Wait...they both have those points... Charlotte is often called "a little Atlanta" for a good reason.

We are a family of 4- two small kids. The activities here (GA) abound for children. Our neighborhood alone has swim teams, summer camps, athletic fields, walking trails, parks close by etc. Unfortunately our kids were really little when we moved from NC (our oldest was almost 4) so we weren't really into a lot there yet, but I know NOW through friends I have kept that they are busy non-stop.

I guess this isn't helping you much! My suggestion would be to think about the things that you want. If it is family friendly, both areas have that potential.

Good Luck in your decision!

Anita

[lastminutemom]

It is my understanding that the leaders of Charlotte have planned much better for growth than Atlanta Metro. I think they have learned from the many errors that make Atlanta so congested.

[Bobj]

Lived in both...love both but loved Atlanta best because it is closer to Mtns. and cooler with better scenery. Has great residental neighborhoods, Tucker, Stone Mtn. all close and offer good variety. Taxes, etc., are comparable. Have you considered Nashville, Tn.? Reasonable housing, lots to offer and no state income tax.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by bhs119

North Carolina must be experiencing a lot of growth. It is a beautiful state and once the word is 'Out'--I hope they are making plans on how to handle a surge.
I know we/Atlanta were not.

I know that some folks feel that Charlotte is not really prepared. They're already behind on the game as far as mass transit goes. Atlanta had at least already started to build MARTA rail in the late 70s when they were about Charlotte's size, and Charlotte has no rail at all on the drawing board. Supposedly they're toying with a light rail system, but it keeps hitting hurtles and will be very limited. So from that standpoint and considering their growth rate, it LOOKS like they're just destined to become another Atlanta 20years down the road.

I've been to Charlotte and right now it's more bearable than Atlanta (traffic, crime, etc) but again, every time I go up there a couple of years pass by, and I see these things get just a little worse with each visit. If they're not careful, it will indeed become as someone else said, a "little Atlanta" (and that's not necessarily a good thing).

I have no idea what your job requirements are, but I honestly think Asheville NC would be a much better place. Great arts environment. Thriving tourism, lots of galleries and restaurants downtown, etc. It's only what - an hour and a half outside of Charlotte? So the "big city" could still be a day trip if wanted.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by Bobj

Lived in both...love both but loved Atlanta best because it is closer to Mtns. and cooler with better scenery. Has great residental neighborhoods, Tucker, Stone Mtn. all close and offer good variety. Taxes, etc., are comparable. Have you considered Nashville, Tn.? Reasonable housing, lots to offer and no state income tax.

Atlanta is closer to the mountains than Charlotte, NC? I never considered it to be. Interesting.

[JennElec]

If you are open to other options in the southeast, I recommend Roanoke, Virginia. My partner and I were planning on moving there (where she was born and raised and where we have family). Because of an anti-gay law that passed a few years ago (making any and all contractual agreements between same-sex couples invalid), we changed our minds. We were heartbroken, however. We currently live in the SF Bay Area. We liked that it was similar in size to Berkeley (pop. about 100,000), that it is racially diverse, that it has a 'small town' feel, and that people are just plain friendly. My in-laws talk about traffic and we laugh because their version of traffic is when it takes 20 minutes to get somewhere instead of the usual 15. (Whereas in the Bay Area traffic means bumper-to-bumper and it taking 45-60 minutes to go 12 miles.) We were planning on raising a family there, and it's a great place to do so. Old Southwest has beautifully restored old homes walking distance to downtown, parks, shops, the farmer's market, medical centers, etc. You can catch Amtrak in nearby Lynchburg or Clifton Forge and head up to D.C. or NYC and enjoy the big city for a weekend. Oh, and if you're a baseball fan, the Salem Avalanche (Colorado Rockies minor league team) is only minutes away. The Blue Ridge Mountains are in your back yard and Smith Mountain Lake is also nearby. Housing is reasonable, some homes on Day Street are tax-free until 2017 because the homes on the street are just being restored; we had no reservations moving in with a child. Anyhow, good luck!