having a hard time deciding what county to look into (Charlotte: sales, house)

[angelar75]

Me and my husband are researching NC and I'm having a hard time deciding what county to look into.We also have 2 boys under 2 years old. We are also from Long Island. My husband is from Dix Hills and I'm from Kings Park. We bought a house in Centereach a few years back, but now are looking to move. What town in Long Island is most comparable to Monroe? (If thats possible). Also whats the deal with taxes on groceries??

[BarbJ]

Angelar: Also whats the deal with taxes on groceries??

Very simple answer: as irrational as it may sound, we do pay tax on food in N.C.

[the 7 oh 4]

Originally Posted by angelar75

Me and my husband are researching NC and I'm having a hard time deciding what county to look into.We also have 2 boys under 2 years old. We are also from Long Island. My husband is from Dix Hills and I'm from Kings Park. We bought a house in Centereach a few years back, but now are looking to move. What town in Long Island is most comparable to Monroe? (If thats possible). Also whats the deal with taxes on groceries??

Why Monroe? Do you really want to live that far out? If you worked in Charlotte the commute would be in excess of 1hr and even non-rush hour that is out.

If you are interested in Union County...I would suggest Indian Trail or Weddington. Closer in and nice areas.

Where would you be working and maybe we can narrow it down. Charlotte is very spread out and traffic is terrible!

GOOD LUCK!

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by angelar75

Also whats the deal with taxes on groceries??

Sales tax on food is a bit tricky. Depends on the actual item, county of sale and level of preparation prior to sale. Many items are exempt from the state's 4.25% general sales tax, but not from the local sales tax which varies from county to county.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

General Sales Tax is a two-part tax in NC, state and local.

General State Sales Tax Rate - 4.25% (Effective 12/1/06)

General Local Sales Tax Rate - 2.5% (All counties except for the following):

Alexander - 2.75% (Effective 4/1/08)
Catawba - 2.75% (Effective 4/1/08)
Martin - 2.75% (Effective 4/1/08)
Mecklenburg - 3%
Pitt - 2.75% (Effective 4/1/08)
Sampson - 2.75% (Effective 4/1/08)
Surry - 2.75% (Effective 4/1/08)

Additional counties will vote on increases to the local 2.5% tax rate on May 6, 2008.

[nyxmike]

Monroe reminds me of Hempstead, lol. I wouldn't move there. It needs a lot of work and 74 is a pain - it needed to be widened 10 years ago. Look into Mooresville (Iredell County), Davidson, Cornelius or Huntersville (those 3 are in Mecklenburg County) - they are all up by the lake and might remind you a bit of LI, but there is nothing really here that is reminiscent of North Shore LI towns at all. I find the North Shore towns to be much prettier than anything here. Anyways, you might like Fort Mill, SC (York County) ,Concord (Cabarrus County), or Belmont (Gaston County) too. I know that doesn't narrow anything down for you but you have a lot of options (and I recommend you drive down here and take a look at all these places to see which one suits you best)...

[cball75]

Don't rule out Monroe because I live in Monroe and it takes me 10 minutes to get to 485. Union County would be a great choice for schools too. Research the top school systems in NC and you will see UCPS right up at the top.

[VRL63]

We too, are from Long Island. Moved to Union County in 2003 from the North shore of Long Island. Difficult to be so far inland, but it's very nice.

If you try to compare town to town, Monroe proper is quite similar to Riverhead or Mastic. It's rural, trying to reinvent itself, and there are some beautiful older homes and even many wonderful farms. However, the downside is there is a lot of poverty inwards toward the city of Monroe. It's not a city like we know it, but it's rather quaint, much like Patchogue. Town hall is the epicenter, and it's a really magnificent building!

Dependent upon where you're working will predicate where you want to live. 485 is like the LIE, but similar to 20 years ago. We don't have the same traffic as Long Island, YET. It's the main way to get anywhere, so I do anticipate ultimately it will look like the LIE. There is no real mass transit that is convenient. We have the light rail, but the closest station to Union County which I am aware, is in Pineville, small town in Charlotte. If you work in Charlotte proper, (city), you might want to consider North of the city, maybe Davidson.

If you are looking for something more like Centereach, look into Hemby Bridge, Indian Trail, Stallings and even Wesley Chapel. All the areas are growing tremendously, but there is still a lot of open land!

Hope this helps!

[groove1]

York Cty, SC just over the state line. Most food tax is 2%, some is 1%. Paying $2 per $100 on groceries is still a lot cheaper than property tax in NY.