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Here are some thoughts. I am from LI, been here 6 years and love it.
1)dont get tempted to buy beyond your means! NY'ers often come here, realize they can get a mansion for 6 or 7 hundred thousand, and buy it, out of impulse. Take your equity and buy something reasonable. Better yet, if you can pay cash you will finally be free of the cancer called a mortgage! Just think of the relief you would have!
2) Don't come down and rush into buying a place. Come at least once or twice for a few days each visit. Do things you would do if you lived here (church, restaurants, school, grocery stores, etc). Drive around and understand the area.
jgs7 thank you so much for your post. We are going to try to stay in the 300-350 range in home pricing, though we could probably swing a little more we are trying to play it smart. We would need to spend between 600,000 and $1,000,000 to get an equivalent property in our current area. Which is one major reason for the move.
We are planning a trip with the whole family in February. We will be vacationing at a resort in Lake Lure, NC but plan to take a trip to the Union area and spend the night so this should give us at least two days to check out some of the area. We plan to come home, research a little further and return just my husband and myself in the spring and plan a full out marathon of seeing all that we can in 3-4 days.
Ideally we can find a property and sell our property befor the school year begins in August.
Thank you for your great advice and I hope our family will adjust to Southern living as well as you did.
no problem. Feel free to private message me if you need any additional information. I live near Ardrey Kell Rd and Providence Rd and can answer pretty much anything about this area.
Excellent advice here... Jack and southbound are 2 regulars that will always shoot straight and give great advice.
For your trip plan to check out Indian Trail, Wesley Chapel, Weddington, Waxhaw, and Marvin (going East to West) where you'll get a good picture of residential Union county... Then run the southern edge of Meck county to see Matthews, Arboretum, Blakeney, Stonecrest, Ballantyne, and Pineville (loosely East to West again) where you'll get a good picture of your shopping, eating, and entertainment options.
The bad news - your choices around 300k will be extensive and you'll be rushed in 2 days. Do your best and don't feel pressured - plan an additional follow-up trip (like we did) and don't be afraid to spend the first 6 months or 1 year renting a home to really get familiar with the area.
One other thing... the areas you're looking in are not what I would call "Southern living". It's more a pseudo Southern since it is so transplant heavy, which makes adjusting much easier (at least it's been that way for us). Open yourself up, prepare to do a whole bunch of smiling and waving. Take in those Carolina blue skies and take it slow.
Thanks again to all of you. MikeyKid I appreciate all your input. It looks like we have a lot of ground to cover and not too much time with 4 kids in tow. Wish us luck. We have been in touch with a realtor from AllenTate and she too is a transport from NY. Hopefully she can take care of us. BobosCurse, I do have very fond memories of the Bronx, but I want to get as far from there as I can. Still love the Bronx people, buy my area has really gone through a negative transition. Thanks again to all. On another note, can anyone give me feedback on the Quellin subdivision? And what are some of the major differences between Waxhaw and Matthews, schools etc.?
Thanks again to all of you. MikeyKid I appreciate all your input. It looks like we have a lot of ground to cover and not too much time with 4 kids in tow. Wish us luck. We have been in touch with a realtor from AllenTate and she too is a transport from NY. Hopefully she can take care of us. BobosCurse, I do have very fond memories of the Bronx, but I want to get as far from there as I can. Still love the Bronx people, buy my area has really gone through a negative transition. Thanks again to all. On another note, can anyone give me feedback on the Quellin subdivision? And what are some of the major differences between Waxhaw and Matthews, schools etc.?
Bobo is being facetious... He bought on a weekend trip and is finding things out about his subdivision that you can't just driving through. It's why many of us will encourage newcomers to rent before buying.
Like NY, school assignments mean the most in buying. But, unlike NY, the schools are run at the county level so lines can and will be redrawn - it's a risk. Do a forum search on Quellin and you'll get plenty of reading.
My husband is retiring from the NYPD and we are considering a move .
We would appreciate any advice you could offer. TIA
Here's the problem with a public chat forum board. You asked for "advise". What kind off advise do you think would fit your circumstances and isn't the question a lot deeper than a plot of land 60x100 in Waxhall ?
Your husband is retiring from the NYPD which is a whole mindset that may or MAY NOT work for him in this new community. Price points? Your're looking to spend a lot of money for Charlotte living. Why invest that kind of money in a lifestyle you know nothing about? Is it the bigger house "than she has"method of decision?
Think about the forum you posted in. What other kind of response did you expect? Now, that's not to say that Charlotte living is not AAA but look at whence the recommendations came.
Here's the problem with a public chat forum board. You asked for "advise". What kind off advise do you think would fit your circumstances and isn't the question a lot deeper than a plot of land 60x100 in Waxhall ?
Your husband is retiring from the NYPD which is a whole mindset that may or MAY NOT work for him in this new community. Price points? Your're looking to spend a lot of money for Charlotte living. Why invest that kind of money in a lifestyle you know nothing about? Is it the bigger house "than she has"method of decision?
Think about the forum you posted in. What other kind of response did you expect? Now, that's not to say that Charlotte living is not AAA but look at whence the recommendations came.
I want to party with you, dude. That is some heavy stuff.
I honestly think that in many respects, the suburbs are the suburbs. I don't think that retired NYPD would matter vs. NY in general... In fact, the NYPD I know all lived out in the suburbs even though working in "the city". I'm willing to bet there's ex-PD from up North in the Waxhaw Sherrif's dept. Btw Waxhall - did you really mean Waxhaul? heh). In the end, it's really a matter of personal experience so it's likely a circular argument.
I know you specialize in the lower end RE, but $300k in Union County is not rare... you can spend 2,3,4+... $2mil+. Admittedly this is a key issue with Union County in general. Somebody has to buy up that RE.
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