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I hope this is true... Looking for... better... neighbors..
I think you should have moved to a more affluent area of the metro to feel comfortable. Have you looked at Cornelius or neighborhoods like the Peninsula specifically? You'd be closer to upscale shopping, Birkdale Village, Whole Foods, downtown Davidson, upscale dining, et. that you are on the more rural west-side of the lake.
It is going to take a LONG time before the rural areas off the water on the west side of the lake are all developed.
Charlotte is overrated in most aspects. It doesn't matter about politics, who runs it, etc. It's a city that's great in your 20s, if you're single and like it that way, and if you like to go bar hopping at breweries, now once you hit your 30s and you want to chill a bit? Well it all changes.
My girlfriend and I just recently left the city after several years. My main gripe was, it's just too expensive compared to what most jobs pay in the metro area, even the suburbs were starting to be over $1300 for 1BRs, that's ridiculous for a suburb that requires a car to do mostly everything. South End, where the most desirable area is? Forget about it, 1BRs going for $1600+ 2 for well over $2k, they're all cookie cutter, all look the same, and getting smaller all the time.
It's cheap if you're coming from a juggernaut like NYC, LA, DC, etc. but other than that, it's not sustainable. You're looking at a homelessness capital within the next 30 years. NC doesn't pay wages to where rent is going.
Then there's the traffic, bad infrastructure, etc, The majority of the city isn't properly walkable, so that's unfortunate too.
Whitewater center is cool, but not enough to keep you occupied constantly.
My gf works in schools, we all know how bad NC is for anyone involved in education, she got a raise for us simply moving states, add that to me working at home, we finally took a chance to leave.
I wish anybody well who's new to the city who wanted a change, no disrespect, maybe I'm a bit harsher but I had lived here for years and I'm just not a fan of how expensive rent is getting everywhere really, especially if companies are not going to pay relative to it. There's just too many people, mostly from other even more expensive cities who think CLT is some hidden gem, it WAS at some point, but that secret is long out, and you're witnessing the back end of it's remote "affordability",
If you're coming from a city somewhere like Winston, Columbia, Roanoke, or any other smaller-medium-ish area, etc. you'll probably love it. If you're coming from a super expensive city from up north or out west, you'll love it, if you're fresh out of college or trying to enjoy nightlife, you'll love it, if you do like a modern city that isn't outrageously expensive and you're doing ok for yourself financially, you'll love it, beyond that, it's very hollow. This opinion is not uncommon among people who've been in the city for more than a few years during the last decade.
Last edited by TheMarino; 09-21-2021 at 07:53 AM..
Just curious, where did you end up moving that was more affordable than Charlotte and similar in population?
Similar in population, not close. More affordable overall? Yes.
Richmond, VA.
The population means nothing either way, still a top 100 city itself at roughly 233k and a metro population of 1.3 million, not small by any means.
Like I said, it's not flat out unaffordable yet, it's trending that way and most people don't notice it because they're mostly coming from even more expensive metros.
Charlotte is overrated in most aspects. It doesn't matter about politics, who runs it, etc. It's a city that's great in your 20s, if you're single and like it that way, and if you like to go bar hopping at breweries, now once you hit your 30s and you want to chill a bit? Well it all changes.
My girlfriend and I just recently left the city after several years. My main gripe was, it's just too expensive compared to what most jobs pay in the metro area, even the suburbs were starting to be over $1300 for 1BRs, that's ridiculous for a suburb that requires a car to do mostly everything. South End, where the most desirable area is? Forget about it, 1BRs going for $1600+ 2 for well over $2k, they're all cookie cutter, all look the same, and getting smaller all the time.
It's cheap if you're coming from a juggernaut like NYC, LA, DC, etc. but other than that, it's not sustainable. You're looking at a homelessness capital within the next 30 years. NC doesn't pay wages to where rent is going.
Then there's the traffic, bad infrastructure, etc, The majority of the city isn't properly walkable, so that's unfortunate too.
Whitewater center is cool, but not enough to keep you occupied constantly.
My gf works in schools, we all know how bad NC is for anyone involved in education, she got a raise for us simply moving states, add that to me working at home, we finally took a chance to leave.
I wish anybody well who's new to the city who wanted a change, no disrespect, maybe I'm a bit harsher but I had lived here for years and I'm just not a fan of how expensive rent is getting everywhere really, especially if companies are not going to pay relative to it. There's just too many people, mostly from other even more expensive cities who think CLT is some hidden gem, it WAS at some point, but that secret is long out, and you're witnessing the back end of it's remote "affordability",
If you're coming from a city somewhere like Winston, Columbia, Roanoke, or any other smaller-medium-ish area, etc. you'll probably love it. If you're coming from a super expensive city from up north or out west, you'll love it, if you're fresh out of college or trying to enjoy nightlife, you'll love it, if you do like a modern city that isn't outrageously expensive and you're doing ok for yourself financially, you'll love it, beyond that, it's very hollow. This opinion is not uncommon among people who've been in the city for more than a few years during the last decade.
This seems to support my thread title…the secret is very out and tremendous demand which doesn’t seem to be slowing is driving up rents. I do still think it’s somewhat affordable though. One can still buy a good house on the outskirts of Charlotte for under $300k if small towns 25-35 minutes from center city aren’t a problem. It is amazing though how quickly $100k homes became $200k and $200k home became $300k and so on.
One can still buy a good house on the outskirts of Charlotte for under $300k if small towns 25-35 minutes from center city aren’t a problem.
A lot of us this would depend on the people involved. Housing pricing is also skyrocketing. I've watched people I know have to pay $30k+ over asking to win a bid.
But 30+ mins plus out of the city just defeats the purpose at that point to me.
A lot of us this would depend on the people involved. Housing pricing is also skyrocketing. I've watched people I know have to pay $30k+ over asking to win a bid.
But 30+ mins plus out of the city just defeats the purpose at that point to me.
I’ve always lived about 30 minutes from center and don’t work in Charlotte…for someone like me, I just “use” Charlotte when the need/want arises (like trying a restaurant, ball game, etc)…the rest of the time I avoid the traffic and stay more local (20 minute drive or less).
According to economists and developers, Charlotte and all along 85 to Atlanta are supposed to catch up with Atlanta.
I first bought in the Lake Norman area in 1993 and we are still getting bad elements out of the area and cleaning up derelict properties.
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