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i'm looking for ideas on what suburbs of Charlotte that have historic downtown areas with restaurants & shopping as well as historic, but updated homes. all this and good schools too??
Yeah I would vote for Davidson specifically because the center of town has Davidson University where there are buildings standing from the school's founding in 1837. The town has been very careful to not allow tacky development that might spoil this character. On the other hand, this does imply a level of government control over things that is above what people expect. There is a bit of a political revolt going on now there due to this issue.
A bit further away is historic Mooresville. I would add this to the list however, Mooresville's revived downtown hasn't done much in the last 10 years because planners there essentially have no planning and businesses continue to locate out on the interstate.
I would also put the town of Kannapolis on this list. The biggest reason for it is the thown is built on a grid and the housing resembles that type of construction. It's a town in transition however and where it heads up is anyones guess. Good place for an Urban Pioneer. Bit of a plus is Cannon Village and the very nice Amtrack/NC RR train station right in the center of town. This station has multiple stops each day. Theoretically it could be used as a method to commute into Charlotte, except that the CLT station is in such a bad location.
I would say look at Davidson and Mooresville.
They are VASTLY different. Depends what you want and what your price point is too.
Mooresville is continuing to grow and re-develop its downtown area and it now has 3 very different style places to eat, plus the icecream shop and several specialist stores.
Davidson is a typical college town and is in Meck County whereas DT Mooresville is Iredell county and Mooresville Graded school district- one of only 3 school systems in NC to meet the new AYP.
This greater area is not steeped in "rich" history' however each town has its own little spot. I can only recommend Belmont and Mount Holly as I am familiar with the areas. Belmont has a charming downtown and Mount Holly is well on its way.
Matthews has a historic downtown with some shops, restaurants and a farmers market. They have an old timey hardware store, too. Can't speak too much about the homes, but it seems that most of the homes around there have been converted into businesses.
As to schools, it's complicated. The state raised the standards this year & 3 districts (Mooresville City, Union County, & Cleveland County) had a majority of schools that passed AYP. Schools passed in the other districts, & some schools that failed barely failed. It's an all or nothing proposition.
I wouldn't say either Kannapolis or Salisbury have good public schools.
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