Give me the 411 on the Charlotte, NC area

[vickin]

We are moving from the DC area to the Charlotte area this summer, and I'd love to get more information on Charlotte and its suburbs.  We are planning to rent for a year and would love to hear about affordable options.  My husband is used to a 45 min - 1 hr long commute, so his job location isn't as much a factor as finding an area that we like.  We are a homeschooling family, so I'd love to be near activities for homeschoolers - museums, zoos, nature centers, etc.  I also like eating organic, so being close to Earth Fare would be a plus! :)

Thank you for your help!

[jagandrocksmom]

Hi There!

I'm new to this site but saw u are moving here to charlotte and DC is my hometown! There are a ton of great areas here it just depends on your budget and how close u want be to the city. We live near plaza midwood in a small up and coming area about 8 minutes from uptown. Plaza-Midwood is full of artsy shops and great organic food places. A great little library with storytimes and a great park with a sprayground for the kids in the summer. Earthfare is about 15 minutes from here but they are building a whole foods next year that I just can not wait for!! There is also a place called Home Economist off south blvd that has a fab raw food bar and lots of unique items. I was actually homeschooled myself as were my other 2 siblings and considering it for my kids as well. Other great areas are Noda, Elizabeth, Cotswald and Dilworth but the dilworth is pretty pricey:) Hope this helps!! Feel free to ask me more ??? if you want! Good Luck!!

[vtamanda]

I know this is an older post, but didnt want to start a new one if possible. We are relocating from raleigh to harlotte in a few weeks. I want a neighborhood with a swim team and a gym with chilcare. Do you know of any? I will check out your earlier suggestions for areas! I think i would like to be N or NE charlote bc of the access to 85 making a shorter drive to family. I am especially concerned about safety and good schools, but who isnt? Are you part of a moms club there?

[MommyLibrarian]

Sorry no one has answered you ladies.  I live in Rock Hill, SC, about 30 minutes south of Charlotte and work in Charlotte.  If you like city living, Charlotte is fine.  If you prefer more space and "country" living, just outside of Charlotte in the surrounding NC and SC counties is very popular.  

[xmysticprincessx]

Sports and Fitness is a chain of gyms in the Charlotte area that has chldcare. Its $20 a month with childcare, $15 a month without. Childcare is available 8 am-noon Monday thru Saturday, and something like 3 till 8 in the afternoons during the week. 

http://sportsandfitnessclubs.com/locations/index.php

I'm not sure about areas with swim teams, but most of the subdivisions have a community pool (as I'm sure most of the Raleigh area subdivisions have). 

Concord is just north of Charlotte itself, and its in Cabarrus County (vs Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte is). There are some really nice parts of Concord, and there's also some not so good ones. There's some really good schools, and then some not so good schools in Concord. Concord is just off of 85. I personally hate the area of 85 between Concord and northern Charlotte. Cars will be doing 70+ mph, and then all of a sudden, everyone ahead of you isn't just slowed down, but completely stopped. I avoid 85 like the plague. But other friends who have lived here for a few years don't mind it.

Everyone here freaks out over how high Mecklenburg County property taxes are (they're about twice as much as the other surrounding counties), but if you're originally from up north, you'll still think they're a bargain. 

Even if you live somewhere like Mooresville, Davidson, Huntersville (all of these are NW of Charlotte, off of 77), you can take some back roads to get to 85 when you drive to Raleigh. (Living in one of those towns, it would probably take you half an hour, if that, to get over to 85.) Huntersville is also nice because they just opened an Earth Fare earlier this month, and there's another nice local chain of health food stores called Healthy Home Economist in Davidson. Lake Norman is really pretty. 

If you live in Charlotte itself, you'll want to ask around about the schools. (I don't know anything about the individual schools there.) There's some that are better, and others that are awful. Schools in Mecklenburg county's suburbs (Huntersville, Davidson, Cornelius) are for the most part really good.

[vtamanda]

Great info! Thanks for the responses.