Potential Move to Huntersville, Mooresville, Ballentyne, or Indian Trail Area (Charlotte: rent, HOA)

[2013 New]

Hello,
We are a family of 4 moving to the Charlotte area this summer from Virginia. We have narrowed our search down to mostly the above 4 areas. What is important to us:

Excellent Schools
200,000-300,000 price range though initially we will rent in the 1500-1800 range.
Area that is not entirely cookie cutter with some character would be great.
I do not want to have a long drive to everything, so reasonable commute to grocery etc.
Good running trails, parks
Husband works from home, so other than commuting to airport not a big deal.
Plus would be a great gymnastics facility for my daughter who competes.


I am hoping the experts can give me the "vibe" of each area the good and bad to each area, and any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!

[aquafish41]

Ballantyne meets all of those requirements

[diertac]

aquafish - Wouldn't the 200k-300k price range be a little bit low for what's available in the size 4 people might need in Ballantyne? Any house that fits that bill in Ballantyne would be quite cookie cutter - you know, those homes/townhomes with no trees.

I was thinking about Marvin/Waxhaw as a recommendation for you myself. Marvin is a little bit more established, maybe a decade or so older, so many of the neighborhoods have character and plenty of natural growth, etc. (Except Chimneys of Marvin, which I wouldn't recommend because it's well, kind of cookie cutter.)

Marvin Ridge Elementary & High school are high quality schools. I have a good friend with two sons who have gone through the system at those schools and he can't say enough good things about them. His community is also very active and involved in what goes around their areas so that they don't end up with a slew of strip malls - although they do now have a Kohl's close by.

It's 5 minutes down Rea Rd to Blakeney, 10-15 minutes to Ballantyne and Stonecrest. All of these places have great shopping. Here's the neighborhood site for where my friend lives. Love their neighborhood:

Hunter Oaks HOA - Home Page

[28173]

Originally Posted by diertac

aquafish - Wouldn't the 200k-300k price range be a little bit low for what's available in the size 4 people might need in Ballantyne? Any house that fits that bill in Ballantyne would be quite cookie cutter - you know, those homes/townhomes with no trees.

I was thinking about Marvin/Waxhaw as a recommendation for you myself. Marvin is a little bit more established, maybe a decade or so older, so many of the neighborhoods have character and plenty of natural growth, etc. (Except Chimneys of Marvin, which I wouldn't recommend because it's well, kind of cookie cutter.)

Marvin Ridge Elementary & High school are high quality schools. I have a good friend with two sons who have gone through the system at those schools and he can't say enough good things about them. His community is also very active and involved in what goes around their areas so that they don't end up with a slew of strip malls - although they do now have a Kohl's close by.

It's 5 minutes down Rea Rd to Blakeney, 10-15 minutes to Ballantyne and Stonecrest. All of these places have great shopping. Here's the neighborhood site for where my friend lives. Love their neighborhood:

Hunter Oaks HOA - Home Page

I agree with everything except that Marvin is a lot more expensive than Ballantyne...so the $300k limit would be too low.

[uswith6]

I find 5 in the Marvin Ridge Schools from $230k to $300K excpet renting would be difficult in the area.

The houses I found are in Sommerset/Marvin Creek/Hunter Oaks so it is possible

[Riley09swb]

You can check out Skybrook (it has a couple of different neighborhoods) and maybe even Highland Creek. These neighborhoods are right on the Cabarrus/Meck County line. Skybrook's main neighborhood has a Huntersville address (Winding Walk the neighborhood across the street was also supposed to have a Huntersville address). There is a grocery just down the street and there are some restaurants. There are walking trails all over this area. Skybrook & Highland Creek both have golf courses.

Welcome to NC. We also moved down from VA.

[aquafish41]

I just moved OUT of a 4 br between $200-$300 in Ballantyne. Check out Providence Pointe, Edinburgh, Carlyle, Bexley at Ballantyne, Amberleigh. Those are just the first few I can come up with off the top of my head that offer 4+br, $200-$300k excellent schools, and convenience. Not all of "Ballantyne" residents live in the country club or Kensington.

[aquafish41]

A few more subdivisions in the Ballantyne area that fit the bill: Glenfinnan, Polo View, Wyndham, Thornhill, Vineyard

[2013 New]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions!! It sounds like the schools are good in all of those areas as well. We thought we were moving to Raleigh until about a week ago and now it has changed to Charlotte, so I feel as if I am starting over on my search. We had fallen in love with the Apex area of Raleigh, so we will now look to find an area we will fall in love with in Charlotte

[lauralaylin]

I think Waxhaw, Weddington, Wesley Chapel would also fit the bill. Great schools, definitely houses in your price range, and tons of families.