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We are most likely relocating to the Charlotte area and I would love to receive feedback about potentially ideal areas to look at houses. I have been reading through previous posts, which have shed some insight on places to stay away from, but I thought maybe adding more details would allow members to offer more personalized feedback.
We're only planning on being in Charlotte for around 18-24 months, so renting is the way to go; however we have four children and a Great Pyrenees so an apartment is probably right out.
We'd prefer to find somewhere rural-ish, but within reasonable commute to around South College St, close proximity to local (non-chain) restaurants, farmer's markets, geeky people (ie: those who play Eurogames and/or Dungeons and Dragons, etc), and very good schools. Our daughter has learning disabilities which mean we need a district which really is willing to help the child, versus where we are now, where they do everything at the absolute minimum and have flat out told us that she has to fall "significantly behind" before they'll do anything to help her, which seems extremely counterproductive to me.
As far as the schools, how do they work in the area? Do they bus or are there neighborhood schools? What is the grading scale like (ie: here 100-93 is an A, 92-88 B, etc)?
We would also like a religiously diverse area, which I've been warned is hard to come by, but I'm assuming since none of those people actually LIVE in Charlotte that it's all hearsay (at least I'm hoping that's the case...).
I know it's probably a tall order, but any information or feedback you can offer would be most appreciated.
i don't live there so I can't answer your questions But my son and his family have moved to Union County near Indian Trails but still in Union. They like it there and their daughter has just started school and it seems OK.
They rented for a couple of years in Monroe at Lexington Commons. It seemed to work out for them.
I have no idea about grading scales but it would depend possibly on the county/school system where you end up. As far as I know all of the school systems will bus children to the school they are assisnged and if they get into a magnet program they are still transporting them but sometimes have to shuttle from other locations.
Rural and still close to downtown probably not going to happen.
You don't give a price range but some 3 bd apts will let you have dogs. Just have to find a place that allows big dogs. There are several rental companies that have houses but they all have different pet rules. Maybe check craigslist but buyer beware so folks have had probs. TR Lawing
Yes, the schools have services but they may have a waiting list to get a child started and by the time they get you started you will be ready to move again. Again all depends on which county you end up living in--Meck, Union, Lincoln, Iredell, Cabarrus. What is your max commute time?
There are all kinds of people in Charlotte and all kinds of religions. Not sure how you would go about finding a religiously diverse neighborhood. Is there a particular church you are looking for? What exactly are you meaning/wanting as far as religion goes?
We are most likely relocating to the Charlotte area and I would love to receive feedback about potentially ideal areas to look at houses. I have been reading through previous posts, which have shed some insight on places to stay away from, but I thought maybe adding more details would allow members to offer more personalized feedback.
We're only planning on being in Charlotte for around 18-24 months, so renting is the way to go; however we have four children and a Great Pyrenees so an apartment is probably right out.
We'd prefer to find somewhere rural-ish, but within reasonable commute to around South College St, close proximity to local (non-chain) restaurants, farmer's markets, geeky people (ie: those who play Eurogames and/or Dungeons and Dragons, etc), and very good schools. Our daughter has learning disabilities which mean we need a district which really is willing to help the child, versus where we are now, where they do everything at the absolute minimum and have flat out told us that she has to fall "significantly behind" before they'll do anything to help her, which seems extremely counterproductive to me.
As far as the schools, how do they work in the area? Do they bus or are there neighborhood schools? What is the grading scale like (ie: here 100-93 is an A, 92-88 B, etc)?
We would also like a religiously diverse area, which I've been warned is hard to come by, but I'm assuming since none of those people actually LIVE in Charlotte that it's all hearsay (at least I'm hoping that's the case...).
I know it's probably a tall order, but any information or feedback you can offer would be most appreciated.
theoldnorthstate - Thank you for the feedback. I've found a couple rental homes in the Union/Indian Trails area, so we'll research that area additionally.
alise007 - Thank you for the information. In regards to the schools I was more worried about required busing for diversity guidelines. Here all public schools require a lotto to get into schools and kids are bussed hither and yon; our younger kids currently are assigned to a school which requires an hour and twenty five minute bus ride and I was hoping to avoid that if it was the status quo in some parts of Charlotte.
As to prices, since we're only going to be in the area for a limited amount of time, we're hoping to pay as little as possible and still be in a safe family-friendly neighborhood. We can pay up to about $2000/mo depending on commute, but naturally if we can pay less, we'd prefer to do so.
The max commute time he would like is around 30 minutes, but again, that's flexible for a good area / good schools.
As to the religion issue, right now we're attending a Unitarian church because we want our children to be exposed to all manner of religions and decide what they believe when they're old enough to make that decision.
Again, what I'm looking for is based on what we've encountered here; the first question our neighbors asked us when we moved in was what church we attended and we gave the wrong answer. They don't allow their children to play with ours, inconvenient when there are only half a dozen other kids in the neighborhood who are our children's ages to begin with.
We're hoping that by finding an area that is more diverse we may not encounter a situation such as that, because it's made for a very miserable five years and extremely awkward situations.
Even though it's only a short-period of time, our kids deserve better than that.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,802 posts, read 33,822,223 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by starrchilde
We are most likely relocating to the Charlotte area and I would love to receive feedback about potentially ideal areas to look at houses. I have been reading through previous posts, which have shed some insight on places to stay away from, but I thought maybe adding more details would allow members to offer more personalized feedback.
We're only planning on being in Charlotte for around 18-24 months, so renting is the way to go; however we have four children and a Great Pyrenees so an apartment is probably right out.
We'd prefer to find somewhere rural-ish, but within reasonable commute to around South College St, close proximity to local (non-chain) restaurants, farmer's markets, geeky people (ie: those who play Eurogames and/or Dungeons and Dragons, etc), and very good schools. Our daughter has learning disabilities which mean we need a district which really is willing to help the child, versus where we are now, where they do everything at the absolute minimum and have flat out told us that she has to fall "significantly behind" before they'll do anything to help her, which seems extremely counterproductive to me.
As far as the schools, how do they work in the area? Do they bus or are there neighborhood schools? What is the grading scale like (ie: here 100-93 is an A, 92-88 B, etc)?
We would also like a religiously diverse area, which I've been warned is hard to come by, but I'm assuming since none of those people actually LIVE in Charlotte that it's all hearsay (at least I'm hoping that's the case...).
I know it's probably a tall order, but any information or feedback you can offer would be most appreciated.
Thanks!
30 minutes & ruralish from uptown is sort of a tall order. I'd call Gaston County schools & ask concerning your learning disabled child. If you could get something in Belmont or Cramerton, that would be your best bet for time. You could call Union County, but stay with towns in the vicinity of Matthews, which is in Mecklenburg County. Then I'd call Cleveland County & ask specifically for Kings Mountain schools. There is a town & a more rural area called Kings Mountain, but the children attend the same schools. The rest of the county is just too far for commuting You might also check with CMS concerning schools in Huntersville. If these have not given you somewhere that will work with your child, post back.
That's great information to have, thank you southbound. I'll definitely look into their scores with greatschools and make some calls.
We're coming in having never been to Charlotte other than driving through, but you go where you get hired, so... *shrug* At least my husband will have some time to look around since he'll be there about six weeks before the kids and I will be, so this gives him a great basis for where to start looking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southbound_295
30 minutes & ruralish from uptown is sort of a tall order. I'd call Gaston County schools & ask concerning your learning disabled child. If you could get something in Belmont or Cramerton, that would be your best bet for time. You could call Union County, but stay with towns in the vicinity of Matthews, which is in Mecklenburg County. Then I'd call Cleveland County & ask specifically for Kings Mountain schools. There is a town & a more rural area called Kings Mountain, but the children attend the same schools. The rest of the county is just too far for commuting You might also check with CMS concerning schools in Huntersville. If these have not given you somewhere that will work with your child, post back.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,802 posts, read 33,822,223 times
Reputation: 10250
Quote:
Originally Posted by starrchilde
That's great information to have, thank you southbound. I'll definitely look into their scores with greatschools and make some calls.
We're coming in having never been to Charlotte other than driving through, but you go where you get hired, so... *shrug* At least my husband will have some time to look around since he'll be there about six weeks before the kids and I will be, so this gives him a great basis for where to start looking.
You're welcome.
Just be aware that Greatschool has last year's scores. They just put them online in March. This might help. AYP Results (http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/nclb/abcayp/ayp/ - broken link)
The no child left behind law is a pretty bad law, because to pass AYP it's an all or nothing proposition & it will soon require that 100% of children regardless of circumstances or ability, must pass.
I would start with the areas that I suggested. Belmont & Cramerton would be closest. Union County areas near Matthews would be the next closest, but 74 (Independence Blvd.) coming from there is pretty bad for traffic. Kings Mountain would be the furthest of the areas that I mentioned, however, going into Uptown Charlotte from the west is the easiest for traffic.
Speaking to the district officials would probably be the best bet to determine who can best help your one child, & the rest should fall into place (You have to be careful in Kings Mountain because it's in Cleveland & Gaston County. You do not want the Gaston side for schools. The only other town that would be do-able in Cleveland County is Grover. They have an elementary school but beyond elementary school, they attend Kings Mountain schools. Again, in Grover you have to be careful about location, because that town straddles the state line. You don't want your kids in the Blacksburg schools.
For a rural area within a 20-30 minute drive to uptown I would recommend Fort Mill, SC. Indian Land is also rural but has a less convenient drive to the city - although it is convenient to Ballantyne which is a popular upscale 'neighborhood' of Charlotte. Fort Mill has good schools and there is a very diverse church within 15 minutes of Fort Mill called Steele Creek Church of Charlotte. If you prefer to live closer to the university area (north of the city, where the University of NC-Charlotte campus is located), you may find the outskirts of Huntersville or Concord more to your liking -both are nice areas.
I don't know how important having a place of worship close by is, but I have seen an increase in more diverse churches in Charlotte over the past few years -- from my experience, most are concentrated near Uptown, SW Charlotte (also called 'Steele Creek) and University. If you are looking for a Unitarian church you may enjoy Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte
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