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Husband and I along with our beautiful children, (ages 5, 6, and 2 mos) are looking to move to NC, as soon as August. The cost of living has gone up tremendously, and with fools getting elected to local office- our property taxes have soared. Our kids attend private school, and we live in a duplex townhouse, nevertheless, we are paying a bucketload of school taxes every year and our property tax forced our mortgage up to over a grand a month. It's just ridiculous. Plus, the winters (in my estimation) are getting more brutal. It is already June and it is STILL CHILLY. It's been cold since October. We live in the south burbs of chicago, and would like to move into a similar area in Charlotte. No/low crime of course. We are a culturally focused family- so we want to be near areas where the artsy buzz is flowing. We are visiting Charlotte within the next few weeks to look for housing and employment. Your suggestions for family oriented places to live are open- thanks
If you're doing a "drive-by" exploration of Charlotte, I'd suggest you hit some of the highlights of a couple of neighborhood areas to see what you think. These are the places I'd show my friends if they were on the same mission.
Ballantyne
- Check out Ballantyne Village (521/Johnston Road just south of 485)
- Various neighborhoods: Ballantyne, just south down 521 you'll enter in the Lancaster side of Fort Mill, SC.
- Some developments along 521 include Ballantyne Country Club, Bridgehampton (straddles NC/SC so you could find a home in either state there) Bridgemill (in Fort Mill), Copper Ridge for townhomes
Blakeney
- Blakeney has cropped up just one street "over" from Ballantyne, and is really growing fast. I don't know as much about Blakeney but you can take Ballantyne Commons Parkway or Ardrey Kell Road toward the east to Rea Road to get to Blakeney.
- Southampton is just off Ardrey Kell toward Blakeney. Reasonably priced and pretty good I hear.
Lake Wylie
- Visit the lakes. I know the most about Lake Wylie, but someone will probably pop up with information about Lake Norman too. Check out T-Bones on the lake just south of the Buster Boyd Bridge.
- In SC, you can find River Hills Plantation, a gated community that's designed by the folks who designed Sea Pines Plantation in Hilton Head. It's just off 49 a light or two down from T-Bones.
- In NC, you will pass by Palisades (you can't miss it) which is a huge new community there too.
Good luck! Enjoy your trip! Hook up with a realtor if you can. We did that on our trip down and she spend 2 days driving us and showing us all of the highlights and did a really great job.
Hi there! Welcome to the forum!
Lake Wylie
- Visit the lakes. I know the most about Lake Wylie, but someone will probably pop up with information about Lake Norman too. Check out T-Bones on the lake just south of the Buster Boyd Bridge.
- In SC, you can find River Hills Plantation, a gated community that's designed by the folks who designed Sea Pines Plantation in Hilton Head. It's just off 49 a light or two down from T-Bones.
- In NC, you will pass by Palisades (you can't miss it) which is a huge new community there too.
Good luck! Enjoy your trip! Hook up with a realtor if you can. We did that on our trip down and she spend 2 days driving us and showing us all of the highlights and did a really great job.
Thanks for the suggestions! Especially on Lake Wylie. We are a water-loving family, and from what I understand Charlotte is about three hours from the nearest coastline. So, finding places near reserviors or lakes would be ideal.
On a personal note, I am SO EXCITED. I am not looking forward to the transition of leaving familiar things and family behind, but my desire for something new far outweighs the fear of leaving. My husband has wanted to get out of Illinois for atleast five years, but only now do I see the real benefit.
I love Chicago! Go about every other year. Charlotte is a super place to live. You will love it here too. Check out Millbridge in Waxhaw when here. I showed a the model yesterday. A very amenity rich subdivision.
I am in the same boat. We moved to Central IL from northwest suburbs and while I miss Chicago I am ready to leave IL. Winter is a big reason why. So our family is moving to Charlotte soon. Hubby has wanted to leave IL for about 15 years now so I finally have had enough and am on board. Good luck in your search and keep me posted on what you find. We are looking more in the Indian Trail area. Great schools, low taxes, etc.
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