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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tling
I am very excited about finally moving my family to the Charlotte area at the end of next year and was hoping to get some good advice on the best area to relocate to in Charlotte!
Here are some of my details:
My wife and I are in our early 30's, with a 17 month old and are looking for a home in the $600k-$700k price range. I am in sales so I will be traveling mostly in Charlotte and South Carolina and my wife works in the hospital so she will be looking for a job at any medical center.
The most important things for us are:
-good schools
-families in our age range
-close to a lot of restaurants, shopping
We currently live in Orlando and are really disappointed about the lack of community (people stick to themselves) and friendliness of the people.
I would really appreciate any advice on some good areas. Currently we are leaning towards Ballantyne area but we will be visiting in February and are open to everything!
It sounds like you want to be in the city, but you might want to look at options outside as well. We get a lot of posts concerning hospital jobs, primarily from nurses & doctors. CMC is the largest system. Our Locations A while back,a nurse posted who had been advised to look out of the city by CMC. Your wife could also look at Presbyterian http://www.presbyterian.org/site/loc...e=overview_tab and Gaston Memorial. Gaston Memorial Hospital | CaroMont Health
I don't agree that Selwyn Elementary and AG Middle are lacking. The families I know there are very happy with them. Dilworth Elementary became a neighborhood school only last year. It would surprise me if it is not of high quality, but it is something to look into. btw, in my previous post, I meant to say Providence has the highest scores in the "county" (not county). In the case of Providence and many other schools, sky high test scores are often simply an indicator of the overwhelmingly wealthy student body.
All of Mecklenburg County is one school system with wildly different quality of schools. Ballantyne is a very good area - stick to areas that feed into the following 3 high schools: Audrey Kell (this would be Ballantyne), Providence High (best test scores in country), and Myers Park (excellent test scores and highly acclaimed International Baccalaureate program). Most Elementary schools and middle schools feeding into these high schools will be high quality especially in the areas of your price range. You'll get a McMansion for your money further from Charlotte like Ballantyne and Union County, but if you want a more established city neighborhood feeding into Myers Park, you can find a smaller house in the Dilworth, South Park, or Cotswold areas. Dilworth is right next to Carolinas Medical Center and is close to I77. It's a fine neighborhood with sidewalks, parks nearby and tall mature trees. I prefer this area, but if you prefer a more suburban environment, then Ballantyne would be the way to go.
Thank you everyone so much for the feedback, it's exactly the information we are looking for! We really like the Dilworth and Myers Park area! We also like Ballantyne because all of the community things with pools, golf, activities, etc.
We look forward to looking more into both and also getting involved in a lot of the activities that were mentioned!
We do also enjoy getting involved with the church but tend to look for a good nondenominational church in the area.
This describes Charlotte as well. People tend to be very "clickish" here.
They can't really be "clickish" when nobody knows anyone else. It is a cosmopolitan city. That happens. Anyway, I have found it to be a very friendly city. But, I am friendly, outgoing and a positive person.
Do yourself a big favor and do some research on your own. I would suggest bringing your family here for a weekend or three to look around...see, feel, smell, you know. As far as our public schools are concerned....our school system is broken and pathetic. As one mentioned earlier 3 high schools of choice, but that can change very quickly. The private schools are premier, but expensive.
Dilworth and Cotswold, while gorgeous, feed into Myers Park HS but their elementary and middle schools are somewhat lacking. Most people I know who live in those areas send their kids to private school and then into public for high school. I'm not a huge fan of Ballantyne but you should definitely consider it.
Seriously? Dilworth feeds into AG Middle, which is considered to be one of the best middle schools in the area, though it is very large. The elementary school is Dilworth Elementary, which is also extremely good.
As with any upper-middle class areas, there are a wide range of school choices made by parents. We know people with kids at Dilworth/AG, Latin, St. Pat's, Trinity, Park Rd Montessori, Smith Language, etc.
Believe that Cotswold feeds Eastover Elementary, which is also excellent...
I have a similar job profile. We chose to build in Christenbury in Southern Cabarrus County (Concord). New builds range from 300-900 (depending upon which section, gated/public, etc)
1. Optimal access to the major NC cities (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Raleigh/Durham, Charlotte, Greenville, etc). Being on the NE end of town allows me to get to Raleigh in just over 2 hrs and saves 30 minutes+ vs South Charlotte. Ballantyne is nice but it is a bear to get to the Northern NC cities in the morning through rush.
2. Counterflow traffic most times.
3. 25 minutes to the airport, 25 minutes to Uptown (even in rush hour)
4. Better school district scores and somewhat lower taxes than Meck (although there are some very good schools in Mecklenburg county as well)
5. Neighborhood has a very similar career profile... lots of Sales, Execs, Doctors, Business Owners, etc... People who often work from home but also need to get Uptown or to the airport with ease.
Cons:
-The best dining is Uptown or South... lots of chains up here.
-Race traffic is bad 3 weekends a year. Christmas traffic in front of the mall can be bad. We use alternate routes during those times and it's not bad.
I don't agree that Selwyn Elementary and AG Middle are lacking. The families I know there are very happy with them. Dilworth Elementary became a neighborhood school only last year. It would surprise me if it is not of high quality, but it is something to look into. btw, in my previous post, I meant to say Providence has the highest scores in the "county" (not county). In the case of Providence and many other schools, sky high test scores are often simply an indicator of the overwhelmingly wealthy student body.
We are relocating this summer 2012 and are very excited about the move too. We have friends in the Charlotte area and have visited often. We also have a realtor who has pointed us in the right direction. Please look into Union County(South Charlotte). We love the Marvin, Weddington areas. Communities are established and have wonderful amenities. Larger lots too. Great schools. Close to all. I've been looking into the crime stats and it seems safer than other areas. Good luck with your move!
We are relocating this summer 2012 and are very excited about the move too. We have friends in the Charlotte area and have visited often. We also have a realtor who has pointed us in the right direction. Please look into Union County(South Charlotte). We love the Marvin, Weddington areas. Communities are established and have wonderful amenities. Larger lots too. Great schools. Close to all. I've been looking into the crime stats and it seems safer than other areas. Good luck with your move!
Agree, both Marvin and Weddington areas in Union County have excellent schools and amazing neighbourhoods. They both offer a couple of upscale neighborhoods which should be attainable in your price range.
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