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Well, forget the 10 minutes thing, I just still want to be close to the city. Not way out. Just what are the best areas, near the city, for 180000? I know that the average home price is under that, so there must be something.
The first place that comes to mind is Blakeney, mostly because I'm very familiar with it. It's new, it's clean and it's safe. It contains a great mix of people, including many retirees. It has a great location as it is centerered around more than a hundred stores and restaurants, as well as medical facilities. 180k will get you a townhouse, which is very popular for the area (and rather nice I might add). Houses start at about 225K and run to well over a million plus.
It's located in South Charlotte and is a 25 minute drive to Uptown and a 10 minute drive to the light rail station.
Also, how big is Charlotte? I guess I didn't really see how big it was. I've been to big cities, no small towner here, but doesn't it have a light rail? I have a car, but is the light rail safe to use?
Charlotte has a city limit circumference of 280 miles. Our population is well over 700k and our metro pop is about 1.7 million.
I am relocating to Charlotte from Little Rock, AR. I need to know what are the reasonably priced safe areas of Charlotte? In Little Rock of course, we have crime, you just have to know where to stay away from. So what places should I look at and what places should I stay away from? Suburbs are fine, just as long as they are not more than 10 minutes out.
We used to laugh when we saw a sign on I-77 that said "Charlotte 10 miles" and then the next sign said, "Charlotte City Limits." It is at least ten miles from the outskirts of the city limits to downtown. It can sometimes take over an hour to drive from one side of town to the other. You need to list where you will be working and go over to the next county in that direction to find a home. Stay away from the airport side if at all possible and I have been told by a police gang expert to avoid the area right above Pineville. We were talking while my husband was in the doctors office. Matthews, Mint Hill, Indian Trail, Lake Norman, Waxhaw, and most of Union County are considered good areas. Others can tell you about the other side of town. I just don't know because I don't usually go there.
Oh, I'm retired. So the work thing really isn't a problem for me. I just want to know what areas are best.
I am trying to understand why the ten minutes out. If I were retired and wanting to live within a reasonable distance to Charlotte for maybe medical care reasons, I think living near one of the outlying areas such as Monroe, Rock Hill, etc. might be a better choice. We need to know what we are trying to help you find. If you are looking for a home for $180,000 in a safe area in Charlotte, my guess is that it won't happen.
http://www.co.union.nc.us/
Union County is a great place to retire to and has Cane Creek Park, Monroe Aquatics Center, Farmer's market and many other retirement friendly features and it is 3 hours from Myrtle Beach, 3 hours to the mountains and has a wonderful rescue squad. But why on earth would you want to leave Arkansas. Just move out of Little Rock to the Greers Ferry Lake area. It is beautiful there. http://www.greersferrylake.org/
Are you wanting a country setting. or are you working on the premise that houses will be cheaper outside of the "city"?
If you're looking for a country setting, Harrisburg, Mint Hill, Indian Trail and Monroe are smaller towns around Charlotte that can give you that and keep you with in 10 minutes of stuff like grocery stores, Walmart, etc.
If you're working from the premise that prices will be lower outside of "city" areas, if you are willing to take a smaller, older home, you can find what you're looking for (in your price range) in safe areas. I live in Mint Hill and there are several older developments and I've seen homes for sale all over. You're withing 2 miles of 4 grocery stores, Walgreens, RiteAid, and several local shops, and 5 miles or less from Matthews, which has Home Depot, Target, etc. So there are places that meet that criteria, but what else are you looking for? There are a lot of "safe" areas of Charlotte, what's important to have closest to you?
In one direction, 10 min from the city limits puts you in Ft. Mill, SC. A very nice area and you might be able to find a subdivision in that price range, not sure though, as most I saw started more at/above $200K. But that was last year and prices have come down, so you might have some luck. Of course, that might be 45 min from the center of the city. I'm not clear on what you mean by "10 min out."
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 06-27-2009 at 07:17 PM..
Reason: typo
You can gain a lot of information online that will help you decide where to locate. Try: charlottelive.com. Then you can go to charmeck.org. Here you'll find lots of information in the "Neighborhoods" section. Look at the Quality of Life Study. You'll see a series of color coded maps that are very helpful. You can go to the "Police" section and look up specific addresses to get crime stats and demographics.
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