Possible relo from NJ to Charlotte - any insights welcome! (Cary: transplants, 2013)

[kma0401]

Hello, First off, thank you in advance for all the comments I've read on the City-Data site. It is so helpful to be able to hear from people who are living in the locations where you are thinking of moving. Here is my info:

When are you moving? possibly by end of Summer 2013, sometime within the next 12 - 18 mos
Where are you coming from? North New Jersey
Why are you moving? Job relocation allowing to work from any location surrounding Atlanta within 5 hour radius
Where will you be working? Mainly at home, some commuting to Atlanta monthly which would be overnight stay
Where will your work location be? for both husband and me, at home unless job loss or change (in this economy anything is possible)
Maximum commute time desired? N/A
What city are you moving to? Charlotte
Have you been here yet? No, trip planned for early April - any suggestions as to how to plan our trip to maximize what we can do in the time we have (3-4 days). We are going to have our children w/us so we'll try to see/do what we can but we'll have to do some "fun" stuff not just boring relo stuff.

Will you buy or rent? Buy
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? House, approx $250-300K
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend?
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up?

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married, two children 4 and 10 yo
Do you prefer public or private schools? Prefer highly rated public schools (children are in good school system here in NJ), concerned about what I heard about public schools in NC - figure it must vary town to town as it does anywhere else. Some of the negatives I heard are overcrowding and poor performance. On this site, it was mentioned to "stay away from Mecklenberg" but the posts were several years old. Suggeted union county. Is this still the case?
Do you have pets? No
Do you want or need a yard? some yard would be nice, right now we have a little less than 1/2 acre, something comparable would be good
Do you have a car? or need public transportation? Car
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Calm and quiet, neighborhoods with families, access to parkland, bike paths. Also within 10-15 min drive to grocery stores, big box stores (Target), etc.

Specific wants/desires?

. Have you searched this forum for answers to your questions before posting a new inquiry? Yes
. What specific topic have you not found answers to?

Current school information in Charlotte suburbs - some towns I've read about considering include Marvin, Waxhaw, Ballantyne, Union County (not sure of specific towns?), and Cary. Any thoughts about these town's schools? any suggestions of other towns based on what I shared?

Suggested towns that are middle class to upper middle class with mostly transplants - there are towns in NJ that we avoided b/c they had mostly wealthy people and we'd have been lowest on the economic rung. The town we currently live in has a variety of income levels but a majority are middle - upper middle class.

Get a sense of the children's sports programs - my son plays some sports (soccer and basketball) which he enjoys but he's not super sporty. We have more serious leagues that are hard cord travel and then recreational leagues here in NJ. A friend told me that NC and other areas in the south take their children's sports more seriously than the north east and that it's only travel leagues for 4th grade and up. I thought that was kind of a sweeping generalization but wondered if it was based in any truth?

As we will have jobs when we move we won't have to deal w/job searching in Charlotte immediately. However, anything can happen and I'd like to get a sense of where companies are located in the Charlotte area - of course downtown in the city, anywhere else in the suburbs have good sized office parks or do most people work in downtown? Just trying to get a sense of where companies are located should our situation change. I'm in organizational change management for a global financial services firm so I could work for any type of company requiring change management services. My husband is in Sourcing/Purchasing Manager and could work for any company as well. Where we live now we're within 30 - 60 mins commute to multitudes of companies. I understand that NC is different than places like North New Jersey and that's part of it's charm and why we're considering moving there. I guess I'm concerned about severly limited future job prospects should our current situation change (more my job than my husband's at this point).

Thank you in advance for any guidance you can provide!

[eman1200]

I'm at work and this is too long for me to read but I saw north jersey and figured I'd chime in as I'm a Parsippany transplant enjoying charlotte for the last 5 years.

[lauralaylin]

I can only speak to Union County, specifically the west side like the towns you mentioned, and I have to say that I think it's a good fit for you. You can definitely find a house in that price range, the schools are excellent, lots of transplants from NJ and NY as well as from all over, and everyone is friendly. There is a Target in Wesley Chapel and another in Blakeney right over the border, a bunch of supermarkets, tons of family friendly neighborhoods, and everything really seems to be set up for families. I recommend once you narrow down where you want to live you consider a mom's group. I love Union County Mommies, but there's Charlotte Mommies, ones for York County, Lake Norman, etc. Easy way to gain info on the area and make friends right off the bat.

[eastcoast127]

I've lived in both Charlotte proper as well as the neighboring city of Concord. There are plenty of really nice places in Charlotte to live - most folks will say south Charlotte, and while it is true that there are beautiful (and often pricey) homes from Uptown through Ballentyne, you can also find great places nearer to center city and far north near Huntersville, Concord, and Harrisburg. Charlotte's sprawl, for better or worse, allows for a wide range of areas still within the city limits. Speaking directly to my time in Concord: this is a more suburban city, though it does have a lot of great rural areas up north and out east. The school district is pretty solid and there is a small but thriving art scene running through the culture there. It is certainly better for families than younger and single folks, but there are amenities that everyone can enjoy nearby.

A lot of my friends both lived and worked in Charlotte (Uptown and surrounding), but there are certainly office parks surrounding the city as well.