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So I am contemplating moving to Charlotte or another city in the south in the near future. A bit of background on me; I am a single, in my late 20's, I do not have children and my present job will allow me the flexibility to move nearly anywhere in the country, (I work for a restaurant chain). I currently live in Phoenix and I absolutely hate it! I hate the insane traffic and extremely rude and aggressive drivers, the endless subdivisions with their identical houses, and the overall lack of greenery, smog, and blistering heat that we get in the summer.
What I am looking for in an area is as follows. I grew up in small town in PA, and I would like to live in an area that is equally as green (with grass, trees, change of seasons ect...) as PA. I prefer to live in a smaller area than Phoenix, not necessarily a small town, just less than the 7 million people that Phoenix has. I enjoy seeing the change of seasons, spring, summer, fall, (not crazy about winter, but I can deal with it). All this had led me to consider Charlotte as one of the possible areas I should look to move to.
So, I could choose to work in either Matthews or Concord. Based on the following criteria, which area would be a better fit for me?
I am looking to be in a safe area, with easy access to basic conveniences such as Wal-Mart, Target, grocery stores and local dining options. I will be renting and I would like to rent either a 2 bedroom condo, townhouse or small cottage for $$800. per month or less. I do have my own car and I would be willing to drive up to 10 miles or 20 minutes to get to work if it put me in a better area
A few last questions about Charlotte...Does Charlotte have any outdoor malls or shopping/dining areas? I haven't found much mention of anything of the sort. What about a main street/ downtown area? Are there many places that have outdoor patios or any cool bars or restaurants that I should know about?
I Don't know much about Concord, but Matthews is mostly families - don't believe there are a lot of single professionals who mostly choose to live in Charlotte. It is a very nice town though with a few independent restaurants and a farmers market. Costco, Walmart, Target, etc are right there. But, don't discount the city of Charlotte because of it's size. It's main virtue is that it's so green and must of the time, you can't tell you are in a big city. In fact, it's difficult to see where Matthews ends and Charlotte begins. As for Outdoor malls, check out Birkdale Village to the north of the city.
I've only been to Phoenix once but I don't think I ever heard that it had "insane traffic." Traffic in Charlotte can get bad during rush hours, but it is nothing compared to a lot of other cities. That said, depending on where in Concord you're working, I'd probably say overall that Matthews has less traffic than Concord, especially if you're working at or near Concord Mills (although 74 can also get pretty backed up). Both Matthews and Concord have small downtown areas, but not really sure how active they are...I think Matthews' may be a little moreso. But of course there is Charlotte also, except they call it "uptown." Birkdale is probably the biggest "outdoor mall" in the area but there are a bunch of newer strip malls that could probably be considered "outdoor malls."
There are also a lot of subdivisions all around Charlotte, although they're probably not as identical as they are in Phoenix. It also can get hot in the summer, but again probably not as hot as Phoenix, and at least there is a change of seasons here. But overall I'd say you can probably find what you're looking for here. The hardest part may be your budget...$800 for a 2br can be done but it seems like the options are getting less and less as rents have been rising.
Matthews is right down the road from me.. Home Depot, Target, Huge Harris Teeter.. Hospital, They also have the complex with Costco, Best Buy, Wine Shop, etc... as well as a Pier One and a few other specialty stores.
Matthews has a small town feel and Independence can be a problem during rush hour. I wouldn't suggest it if youare trying to live the young single lifestyle though.. it's a little quiet IMO.
Concord. Depending on what area you are in Concord you can be in Huntersville (which is where Birkdale Village is located and Cornelius where there are some restaurants and bars on lake Norman) in about 20 minutes or so.
You will find everything you are looking for around here. There are apartments going up near Concord Mills and you can can look in all the different neighborhoods around for townhomes.
I live in Matthews and my sister lives in Concord. I'd actually say neither .... for a young single professional. Both are havens for families. But if you want to have all those things listed close by, I'd say Matthews. But really - work in on of those places if that's where your job takes you, but live in Charlotte close to downtown.
Well for one I'm not sure if OP's budget would get her in a nice area close to uptown. She also doesn't seem to want to live right in the city.
One option could maybe be to work at the Matthews location and live around Pineville. It'd be about a 20 minute commute, plenty of shopping close by including a regular indoor mall, but you'd also be near the light rail if you wanted to go to Uptown/Southend, and there is also Baxter Village in Fort Mill which is kinda similar to Birkdale. And Pineville does have a small downtown area but again not sure how active it is.
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