Affordable, Walkable Neighborhoods in the Charlotte Metro Area (Pineville, Fairview: real estate, place to live)

[geoengr]

PlainWhite: good observation. I have been lucky enough to live in areas where my car has often gotten little use. I visited Raleigh and Charlotte on more than one occasion and loved those areas. When I began to consider the possibility of living in Raleigh and visited again, I was somewhat shocked at the distances one must travel to get from one commercial area to another. I realized I could not live close to everything, so I came up with a list of stuff I most wanted within walking distance (the "deal breakers"). From what I can gather, Charlotte looks more appealing than Raleigh from the perspective of walkable neighborhoods.

So far, the area East, Southest and South of I-277 looks promising (Dilworth, Midwood, Cotswold, Elizabeth).

[stlterp]

Another vote for Dilworth. Elizabeth is very walkable, but won't have as many of the amenities, especially grocery store. Midwood is great as well, and there's a small Harris-Teeter at the corner of Central & The Plaza.
Parts of Cotswold are walkable too, but in general more suburban.

As far as your needs, Dilworth has:
- many sidewalks
- Harris-Teeter and Bloom grocery stores open, plus another one planned
- Bruggers/Caribou, Dilworth Coffee, Owen's Bagels and of course Starbucks
- locally owned pharmacy (Dilworth Drug)
- Freedom Park and Latta Park
- walkable to light rail, plus on the 19 (Park Rd) bus line that goes North-South

Originally Posted by geoengr

Hello:

I am seeking recommendations for walkable, affordable neighborhoods in and near Charlotte where I could potentially live without owning a car.

My minimum definition of walkable includes the following within about 0.5 miles of my home:

continuous, well-maintained sidewalks
a grocery store
two or more coffee/tea/bagel hangouts
a pharmacy
a park
a public transit access point (bus stop).

My definition of an affordable neighborhood is: clean, quiet, low-crime area with two bedroom (or larger) rental units (house/apartment/townhouse/condo) with 1200 square feet or greater for less than $1500 per month.

Thanks in advance!

PS: I do not have kids , so nearby schools will not be a factor in my choice of neighborhood.

[dbull75]

I currently live in Dilworth and can vouch for what stlterp said...

[geoengr]

I guess so far its a Southeast Charlotte lovefest (especially Dilworth). Any other neighborhoods in the Charlotte metro area where I can walk to cool stuff?

[lilyonthelake]

Around Ballantyne Village. I guess you could do it in Elizabeth or Plaza Midwood too, but you won't have the grocery stores as accessible. Plus, I don't know about bus service over there.

[Touge07]

Steele Creek by Rivergate mall, its like 3 mins from Lake Wylie and its very safe, harris teeter, nice restaurants and shops. Anywhere on South Tryon between Carowinds Blvd and the SC border line. Dont go the other way towards Walmart is not nice at all. I live in a townhome and they go from 80,000 to houses up to 300,000.

[EmJ628]

I live in Lake Wylie, SC and while I love living here, I would NOT recommend the Steele Creek or South Tryon area to someone who desires a strictly pedestrian lifestyle. Yes, all of your checklist items can be found, but in much more abundance and quality in the Dilworth or Elizabeth areas. You would have quite a long ride to uptown on public transportation from Rivergate. Also, true that the lake is a 3 minute drive from Rivergate, but would be a MUCH longer longer walk! Good luck with your search.

[Barkingowl]

Originally Posted by geoengr

I guess so far its a Southeast Charlotte lovefest (especially Dilworth). Any other neighborhoods in the Charlotte metro area where I can walk to cool stuff?

What we call NoDa has some cool stuff including sidewalks & nice houses, but I don't know anything about what amenities the area offers.

[chuckles34]

How is Dilworth "Southeast Charlotte"? I recently responded to someone asking if Ballantyne Village was walkable. Sure, once you get in your gi-normous SUV and wait for the traffic light to change three times and get into the shopping area, you can "walk around". But there's no way a pedestrian could safely get out of there. It's very spread out and the traffic stays comsistently heavy (not too bad but enough).

If this is the criteria (see below), then the Arboretum is a good fit but I wouldn't want to live there!

all day.continuous, well-maintained sidewalks
a grocery store
two or more coffee/tea/bagel hangouts
a pharmacy
a park (don't feed the geese, they ATTACK!)
a public transit access point (bus stop).

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by chuckles34

How is Dilworth "Southeast Charlotte"? I recently responded to someone asking if Ballantyne Village was walkable. Sure, once you get in your gi-normous SUV and wait for the traffic light to change three times and get into the shopping area, you can "walk around". But there's no way a pedestrian could safely get out of there. It's very spread out and the traffic stays comsistently heavy (not too bad but enough).

If this is the criteria (see below), then the Arboretum is a good fit but I wouldn't want to live there!

all day.continuous, well-maintained sidewalks
a grocery store
two or more coffee/tea/bagel hangouts
a pharmacy
a park (don't feed the geese, they ATTACK!)
a public transit access point (bus stop).

Dilworth is definitely south Charlotte

If you live in Raintree, behind the Arboretum, you could easily consider yourself living in a "walkable" community.

I like the Arboretum area and don't know why you wouldn't live there? There is a movie theater, grocery store, book store, restaurants, Walmart, drug store and an urgent care clinic for medical care, among other things, all within walking distance. Plus it's on the bus line if you need to reach another part of Charlotte.