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My boyfriend and I are in the very beginning stages of planning a move to NC. We are hoping to move sometime in 2021. We are in our mid 20's and currently live in the Chicago Suburbs. We were both born and raised here and need a change. I used to travel to NC with my family quite often as a child and have been in love with it ever since.
I've been looking for months trying to figure out where in North Carolina would be best for us. Although I think Raleigh is beautiful and would love to live there, I think I am leaning more towards the Charlotte area. We love the beach and mountains, so we would love to live somewhere in the middle of both. We do not want to live in downtown Charlotte and would like to live in a suburb that is still close enough to downtown (maybe 45 minutes away) that we would be able to easily drive there if needed. From what I've read so far, I really like the Lake Norman area. We both love boating, fishing, and water sports so being near a lake would be preferable. We are looking for a town that is homey, affordable, safe, and a good place to start a family. We also enjoy eating out and going out for drinks occasionally so some place with many restaurant and bar choices would also be a huge plus! Since we will be new to the area we would also like to be able to meet new people and make friends.
We would be renting for the first few years. I do not know an exact budget at the moment, but it's safe to say that it would be around $2,000 per month (possibly a few hundred more). From what I have seen so far, I really like Huntersville and Davidson. I work in the Real Estate business and my boyfriend currently does Tree Care but may be looking for a career change soon.
We are hoping to plan a trip to Charlotte within the next few months to begin exploring the area. Does anyone have any suggestions based on what we are looking for? I know that so much more than what I've mentioned goes into deciding on where to live, but like I said we are in the very beginning stages and are trying to come up with some sort of game plan.
Thank you so much for anyone who takes the time to read this and reply. It is greatly appreciated
My boyfriend and I are in the very beginning stages of planning a move to NC. We are hoping to move sometime in 2021. We are in our mid 20's and currently live in the Chicago Suburbs. We were both born and raised here and need a change. I used to travel to NC with my family quite often as a child and have been in love with it ever since.
I've been looking for months trying to figure out where in North Carolina would be best for us. Although I think Raleigh is beautiful and would love to live there, I think I am leaning more towards the Charlotte area. We love the beach and mountains, so we would love to live somewhere in the middle of both. We do not want to live in downtown Charlotte and would like to live in a suburb that is still close enough to downtown (maybe 45 minutes away) that we would be able to easily drive there if needed. From what I've read so far, I really like the Lake Norman area. We both love boating, fishing, and water sports so being near a lake would be preferable. We are looking for a town that is homey, affordable, safe, and a good place to start a family. We also enjoy eating out and going out for drinks occasionally so some place with many restaurant and bar choices would also be a huge plus! Since we will be new to the area we would also like to be able to meet new people and make friends.
We would be renting for the first few years. I do not know an exact budget at the moment, but it's safe to say that it would be around $2,000 per month (possibly a few hundred more). From what I have seen so far, I really like Huntersville and Davidson. I work in the Real Estate business and my boyfriend currently does Tree Care but may be looking for a career change soon.
We are hoping to plan a trip to Charlotte within the next few months to begin exploring the area. Does anyone have any suggestions based on what we are looking for? I know that so much more than what I've mentioned goes into deciding on where to live, but like I said we are in the very beginning stages and are trying to come up with some sort of game plan.
Thank you so much for anyone who takes the time to read this and reply. It is greatly appreciated
I will caution you about the Lake Norman area and coal ash. Please search coal ash and Huntersville/Mooresville and read all the articles.
I love the town of Davidson. It's one of my favorites in the area. I'm originally from a place about 2 hours east of Chicago over the state lane. I've lived down here for 14 years and am really enjoying it. It's a great place to raise kids. It's not perfect and has it's challenges, but you can't name a place that doesn't.
I agree that Davidson sounds right up your alley, but as Riley said above, do your research about the coal ash fallout in the lake Norman area. As a fellow real estate professional, I always try to point my clients towards those articles and let them do their due diligence before moving forward one direction or the other. But Lake Norman is probably the most prestigious of the water areas in the Charlotte metro so it is understandable that it is pretty desirable.
Lake Wiley and Mountain Island lake are both good options, but I don’t think either of those sound quite as active or engaging as what you’re looking for for your family. If you didn’t mind not being around the water, I think Matthews, Belmont, Weddington, Harrisburg, Fort Mill, some of those suburbs are wonderful places to raise a family and are not too far out from the city. They all have everything you need for a daily basis and are nice areas. South Charlotte may be a little busier than you’re looking for, but it’s the most desirable area of the metro and all of my clients who land in that area tend to love their new neighborhoods.
Come visit, check out some places, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it and will look forward to calling it home soon.
Hello! My girlfriend and I are in the same boat. Hoping to move next year, and like davidson, or matthews.
We took a trip this past summer and set aside a day for each town. We got a nice Airbnb in charlotte, rented a car, and tried our best to learn as much as we could like traffic at certain times of the day, proximity to shopping, dining etc.
Davidson was a real nice town, and felt the most homey to me. The downtown strip is perfect. I felt it was a little far away from uptown, but if you're okay with that, it's a nice spot.
Matthew's is closer, and is closer to the fancier areas of Charlotte like the whole south park, myers park area.
Matthew's felt nice! Not as homey because it's closer to other areas, but has everything you need it seemed. I like this a bit more as it still has a community vibe to it, and seemed a bit closer.
Highly reccomend taking a day for each area to explore it well! We are very glad we did. We took a day to spend in uptown charlotte and that was so fun. We walked up and down the streets, tried places to eat and went to a knight baseball game.
We are from Minneapolis, so proximity to a bigger city feel is important to us. We wanted to make sure we can still catch some concerts, go to basketball and baseball games and not feel like we are missing out!
Good luck! We are going to take another trip this summer and get some apartment tours in matthews.
I will caution you about the Lake Norman area and coal ash. Please search coal ash and Huntersville/Mooresville and read all the articles.
I love the town of Davidson. It's one of my favorites in the area. I'm originally from a place about 2 hours east of Chicago over the state lane. I've lived down here for 14 years and am really enjoying it. It's a great place to raise kids. It's not perfect and has it's challenges, but you can't name a place that doesn't.
Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention.. This has definitely made me second guess Huntersville. I will start looking more into Davidson, Thanks!
Hello! My girlfriend and I are in the same boat. Hoping to move next year, and like davidson, or matthews.
We took a trip this past summer and set aside a day for each town. We got a nice Airbnb in charlotte, rented a car, and tried our best to learn as much as we could like traffic at certain times of the day, proximity to shopping, dining etc.
Davidson was a real nice town, and felt the most homey to me. The downtown strip is perfect. I felt it was a little far away from uptown, but if you're okay with that, it's a nice spot.
Matthew's is closer, and is closer to the fancier areas of Charlotte like the whole south park, myers park area.
Matthew's felt nice! Not as homey because it's closer to other areas, but has everything you need it seemed. I like this a bit more as it still has a community vibe to it, and seemed a bit closer.
Highly reccomend taking a day for each area to explore it well! We are very glad we did. We took a day to spend in uptown charlotte and that was so fun. We walked up and down the streets, tried places to eat and went to a knight baseball game.
We are from Minneapolis, so proximity to a bigger city feel is important to us. We wanted to make sure we can still catch some concerts, go to basketball and baseball games and not feel like we are missing out!
Good luck! We are going to take another trip this summer and get some apartment tours in matthews.
Thank you so much for your response! That is super helpful. We also want to be close enough to the city to be able to enjoy those things, so maybe I will start looking into Matthews as well. I definitely want to live somewhere that has a community vibe to it, so Matthews may be what I've been looking for!
Thank you so much for your response! That is super helpful. We also want to be close enough to the city to be able to enjoy those things, so maybe I will start looking into Matthews as well. I definitely want to live somewhere that has a community vibe to it, so Matthews may be what I've been looking for!
You are welcome! We also will be checking out Belmont. Seems to be a nicer quieter area. But we wanna see it for ourselves. People will complain about traffic in different spots but I wanna get my own view on it, as Minneapolis has some rough traffic. Different perspectives.
As lame as it may sound, I enjoy doing the Google maps street view and going up and down roads. It's no substitute for real life but it's kinda nice to get a general idea of what an area looks like!
Try the JC SMITH university area. You will get the true city vive.
Doesn’t university area have tons of crime? I hear of shootings and break ins and murders on the weekly there. Hasn’t someone been going around breaking into women’s apartments and raping them there. Pretty sure I’d avoid that area.
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