Top 5 Favorite Things About Living In Charlotte (Asheville, Huntersville: transplants, 2015)

[fittoac]

My family and I (2 kids, ages 2 & 5) will be moving to the Charlotte area from Memphis next summer. I would love to hear your top 5 favorite things about living here. Thanks!

[cheesecracker]

Nice People.
Events and things to do.
Located close to beach and mountains.
Great restaurants.
Not Atlanta.

[misstania]

Variety of shopping and restaurants
Activities to do (sports, museums, nightlife, charities, theater/art)
Outdoor options (hiking, lakes, parks)
Can still feel quiet and calm
Pretty and clean uptown (my personal favorite, as you can stroll around on a weekend morning, or go out socializing in the evenings)

[Butler15]

- Hiking at Crowders Mountain (~ 25 miles from Uptown Charlotte) - breathtaking views from the summit and you can see the Charlotte skyline in the distance.

- Location - within easy driving distance north to the mountains near Boone, NC or south to the beaches or west to Asheville, NC

- Climate - coming from Chicago, I appreciate the shorter and mild winters and the heat in the summer

- Lakes - Lake Wylie and Lake Norman are 2 beautiful lakes that are always fun and refreshing on a hot summer day

- Attractions - Going to a Panthers or Hornets game in Uptown is a blast, and of coure the new Knights Stadium that was built this past year in Uptown is a new gem in the city and is always packed with fans for a fun night out. Uptown also has several neat museums, parks, great restaurants and bars, rail service, and the Epicenter. And Carowinds will be a big attraction in 2015 with the new Fury 325 coaster.

[momtothree]

Peace and quiet.

Slower pace of living.

Nicer people.

Family oriented.

Weather.

I came from Miami.

[onesideout]

I have lived in a few places and Charlotte is the best area I have lived thus far. It is a great city with great people.

1. Climate - We have all four seasons without the harsh winters like up North!
2. Tons to do (Charlotte is the meca of the Carolina's and offers tons to do. From a thriving downtown with nightlife, NC Music Factory, Great restaurants, US National White Water Center, Carowinds, tons of shopping such as the Mills, SouthPark, Lake Norman/Wylie recreational areas, etc.)
3. Location - From South side of city can make it to Charleston, SC in only 2 1/2 hours. Mountains in about 3 hours.
4. Large Airport - I think it is seventh busiest in US now. Although US Airways has hardly any competition.
5. Diverse - Lots of people from different parts of the country and World here. Many cultures and festivals.

[fittoac]

Thanks for all the responses! On our recent visit, my husband and I were both wowed by Uptown (I sooo want to call it Downtown!) What a fabulous area! Felt so clean, modern, and thriving. I can see us visiting Uptown a lot once we make the move.
Many of you mentioned loving the weather (I love having 4 seasons too!). It did bring a question to mind-- does Charlotte get much snow? I grew up in Maryland where we got a pretty decent amount of snow, but currently live in Memphis where we're lucky if we see 1/2 inch of snow all winter.
I will say that we are really excited about all the great restaurants there!! During our 3 day tour, we kept Yelping restaurants wherever we happened to be and had absolutely delicious meals the whole time. Well, except one place in Huntersville, but considering we ate out like 8 times, 1 dud isn't so bad! Two standouts for me were Zoe's Kitchen which was so good I felt genuine sadness when my food was gone, and Viva Chicken in Uptown. Yum yum yum!

[momtothree]

Snowfall is minimal here as well. We are lucky if we get snow a handful of times during Winter.

[misstania]

Originally Posted by fittoac

It did bring a question to mind-- does Charlotte get much snow?

No, not really. We do get ice sometimes, which I think is worse. Some days will be very mild and then dip into the 30s-20s and thus, it will rain and freeze over, or snow that began to melt will re-freeze.

I think maybe every other winter we get a substantial snow fall (more than 3 inches). More typical is a little bit of snow flurries about 2-5 times per year.

[VT'ah]

Originally Posted by fittoac

My family and I (2 kids, ages 2 & 5) will be moving to the Charlotte area from Memphis next summer. I would love to hear your top 5 favorite things about living here. Thanks!

My Top 5 Favorite Things
1. The Drivers (worse I have ever seen) except driving 95 which the locals think is all of the Northeast.
2. Poor people who hang around Charlotte begging and simply loitering in all public places.
3. The gas prices as we have the highest rates in the South.
4. The wildly inconsistent customer service and food preparation from local restaurants.
5. Churches who ask to ACH your account for weekly dues as part of enrollment into their shrine.

6. The wonderful school systems ... oh sorry that isn't the case either
7. The fact that the real mountains are over 2 hours a way and a hassle to get to.
8. The artificial made lakes (w/ nuclear power plants) that are over commercialized and full of drunks on noisy machines.
9. The transplants who only care about themselves and cheap McMansions.
10. The beach isn't close either try 3 hours of back road hassle.
11. Have fun in uptown after the workers leave...its no mans land...and dangerous.

Listen, I am very sorry for ruining it for you. I know this seems wildly negative. Beyond the pretty skyline Charlotte is still an area going through growing pains and has its fair share of unsettling issues. I wish you happiness in your decisions and hope if you do move here your experience with the city is in no way close to the way I perceive things to be. I just find that I can get a better quality of living elsewhere regardless of the pretty skyline and clean streets. On the outside Charlotte looks clean but on the inside it runs on 3 cylinders.