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Although I have only been here for 3 months, I would never go back to LI, NY!
Maybe you are in the wrong neighborhood or didn't do enough research before you moved. Or, maybe your spouse or someone else convinced you that things were better here. Newsday was full of crime stories as well. Honestly, I think I like it here more than my husband, but he says he would not move back either. The only thing he would do differently is find a job first!
Is it just me.. or is this place not all it's cracked up to be? Maybe it's just because i'm from Long Island NY and nothing else compares to NY, but tons of New Yorkers are apparently moving here.. and I just don't know what all the hype is about Charlotte!! The house prices are low, so what? House prices are low in Idaho.. so why is everyone going to Charlotte? For a nicely priced spacious house, I just don't think it's worth it to move here because the area itself is not that great. I think the crime is out of control.. I have NEVER felt unsafe in new york.. most of the crime that people think is there is just some outdated stereotype that is untrue, but here?? It's awful! And if you want to live in the safest richest neighborhoods, you're going to pay 800,000 for a house so why bother leaving NY anyway! I hate watching Fox Charlotte because all I hear about are murders, shootings, etc; uptown is pretty darn lame; the north side of charlotte is so barren.. even with all that northlake mall stuff, I am just bored and my husband and I can't wait for our lease to be over.
I just wanted to know if anyone else felt similar.. because I honestly just don't understand the hype!
Sunnie you hit the nail on the head!
Charlotte's a great city, but at the current 7.1% unemployment rate the sparkle is starting to fade. And with the banking biz laying people off, Charlotte may lose it's one trick pony.
I like it here, but I work from home and for myself so if companies hire or not it really doesn't effect me, but I do feel sorry for people that move here thinking this is a financial utopia only to realize that the job market and layoffs are no different then the rest of the country.
I mean what good is having nice weather if you don't have a job?
Yes, you are correct. The crime is so out of control in Charlotte. NY doesn't have crime of this caliber. Especially on Long Island. It never happens there.
Charlotte's a great city, but at the current 7.1% unemployment rate the sparkle is starting to fade. And with the banking biz laying people off, Charlotte may lose it's one trick pony.
I like it here, but I work from home and for myself so if companies hire or not it really doesn't effect me, but I do feel sorry for people that move here thinking this is a financial utopia only to realize that the job market and layoffs are no different then the rest of the country.
I mean what good is having nice weather if you don't have a job?
Sorry, Boris. Charlotte was here and the natives were enjoying life just fine b/f we got dubbed the "second largest banking center in America."
One trick pony? I guess if you are someone who is only qualified to work in some slender segment of the banking industry, then perhaps you are the one trick pony - Not Charlotte. My family and most of my friends have jobs outside the banking sector. Not one of my very large Pre-Revolutionary War family has a job in banking or investments. We are all in healthcare, social services, teaching, legal and engineering sectors. And like I said - my family has been here since the early 1700s. So we have all survived just fine w/o working in banking.
For those who moved here for employment in banking . . . yeah . . . I guess you are pretty limited. But I believe that would be true anywhere - except maybe NYC. But they are estimating b/n 40-65,000 layoffs in NYC . . . so I guess that is not Utopia, either.
We are all concerned about our friends who may be faced w/ a lay off b/c of bank mergers/acquisitions. But to say there is nothing here but banking - wow. You really do need to get out, dude.
Forgive the length of this post, it has truly been a trying day in this house. But the subject really hit home for me -- which incidentally is North Carolina now (for the past 10 years) even though New York had me for the previous 36...first Westchester, then Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and finally Long Island before heading south.
Part of what I do in my business is to point out what is wonderful about this city. We love it here. But it is not for everyone. When I do have clients that are relocating I try to temper my enthusiasm for this area and explain that it truly is not for everyone. If you spend a lot of time in Manhattan, and it is important for you to go to Broadway shows whenever you want, for example, then Charlotte is not for you. For us the appeal was for our family -- then young children who are now growing (have grown?) into young men. Also, the cost of housing and lower taxes, as well as a shorter commute for my husband -- in combination with the kids not having to spend ten hours in daycare so that we both could work in order to afford our small house in nice area. As I said, for us it was absolutely the right move, even given our current situation. See, we had 10 good years here, and I hope and pray it will be more.
It really hit home today for sure -- my husband, who works (worked?) for Wachovia for the 10 years we've been here (first at First Union...) will likely be out of work soon, along with many others in this wonderful town. And my first thought was "I hope we can find a way to stay..." and my second "I really don't want to go back to New York." Time will tell I suppose
Thanks all for reading the lengthy post -- those of you who know me know that I am generally pretty quiet about stuff like this. But sometimes I just can't keep my mouth shut
Last edited by south.charlotte&union; 09-29-2008 at 05:10 PM..
We have been here 4 months and every day, yes, every single day I am here I thank my lucky stars that we moved when we did. Some days it's just a quiet, "gee I am so happy to be here," while other days, like today for example, it's more like: "I am so lucky I got out when I did because it would be horrible to still be there today, I would probably be suicidal and facing financial ruin" We have met many people that moved here from New York (LI even) and are very happy here. I guess it depends on where you lived in Long Island - I know there are some fantastic, wealthy areas - and of course where you live in Charlotte. I hear there are some not so nice areas around here too. We did our research before moving here and live in a beautiful neighborhood!
........It really hit home today for sure -- my husband, who works (worked?) for Wachovia will likely be out of work soon, along with many others in this wonderful town. And my first thought was "I hope we can find a way to stay..." and my second "I really don't want to go back to New York." Time will tell I suppose
Thanks all for reading the lengthy post -- those of you who know me know that I am generally pretty quiet about stuff like this. But sometimes I just can't keep my mouth shut
I sure hope it works out for you and your DH! I enjoy reading your posts.
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 09-29-2008 at 05:10 PM..
Reason: typo
Is it just me.. or is this place not all it's cracked up to be?
I guess it depends who you talk to before you move here!
I think Charlotte tends to be a little over-hyped.
Some folks on this forum seem to think it's next to Heaven. They are wrong.
Some folks think Charlotte is a terrible place to live. They are also wrong.
However, no city is for everybody
In my opinion, the Charlotte metro area is a "nice" place to live, no more no less. Until recently, the economy was strong, jobs were plenty, homes were appreciating, etc. In addition, the weather is much nicer than where I lived before. I move here because I wanted to relocate to a metro area that met all of the above criteria (and more.)
I didn't move to Charlotte because it had some unique character or local flavor that I couldn't resist. I moved here because it satisfied many of my criteria (as did several other cities) and I found a job I wanted here first. For me, Charlotte is a stop in a long journey. If things soon change for the worse, I'll move again if need be. Your life anywhere is pretty much what you make of it. If you don't want to be happy here, you won't be!
I guess it depends who you talk to before you move here!
I think Charlotte tends to be a little over-hyped.
Some folks on this forum seem to think it's next to Heaven. They are wrong.
Some folks think Charlotte is a terrible place to live. They are also wrong.
However, no city is for everybody
In my opinion, the Charlotte metro area is a "nice" place to live, no more no less. Until recently, the economy was strong, jobs were plenty, homes were appreciating, etc. In addition, the weather is much nicer than where I lived before. I move here because I wanted to relocate to a metro area that met all of the above criteria (and more.)
I didn't move to Charlotte because it had some unique character or local flavor that I couldn't resist. I moved here because it satisfied many of my criteria (as did several other cities) and I found a job I wanted here first. For me, Charlotte is a stop in a long journey. If things soon change for the worse, I'll move again if need be. Your life anywhere is pretty much what you make of it. If you don't want to be happy here, you won't be!
I would say that is a fairly accurate description.
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