Anyone from Charlotte NC?

KenziK

Hi there everyone! I'm not a very frequent poster (usually hang out on the Chit Chat board which I haven't even been on in months), but I had a question and felt like you all were the group to go to. My BF and I are in the middle of deciding whether we want to move down to Charlotte NC at the end of February once our lease is up. Anyone currently living there or lived there at some point, and have any comments on it? Do you love/hate it? We are currently in Hartford CT where everything is ridiculously expensive, taxes are high, and neither of us are paid very well for the positions we do. North Carolina seems like it would have a much lower cost of living compared to what we have now (with very comparable or even better salaries) but neither of us have been down there before so it would be a huge leap of faith. If anyone has anything good or bad to say about Charlotte/NC in general, it would be much appreciated!

KenziK

merie412 said:

Currently in CT? Go...FLEE...while you can! Anywhere must be better than this tax draining, gloomy weathered, poorly infra-structured place. 

I'm not even originally from CT, moved here from OR a few years ago and am not a fan AT ALL. I figure we might as well do something crazy like moving down south while there are no kids involved to worry about!

aglenn

I don't live there any more but went to college in Charlotte and lived there for many years afterwards.  I loved it and am still homesick for the place.  I would move back in a heartbeat but doesn't look likely due to DH's job circumstances. 

ToastieSimons

I love Charlotte.  DH and I almost moved there right after we were married, but life had different plans.  We went down to visit a lot.

Housing is very affordable if you don't live directly within city limits.  

There are lots of jobs in the manufacturing field especially (i have my degree in engineering)

thebanich

Asheville is better.


But for real, I think Charlotte is a great place. Everyone move to NC!

cashnchange

I like the areas around Charlotte but am not a huge fan of Charlotte. There are a lot of fun things to do there, but traffic is a nightmare.

greenbeanqueen

I live in WNC.

I like nc but teacher pay here blows...(idk what you do for a living but that's my only nc gripe. Charlotte is cool to visit but it are with Cash, I wouldn't live there.

schnitz9

I've been in charlotte for 5 years.  We just moved to Indian Trail/Matthews area.  Lived in south end for 4 years.  Love it! I actually wend to U of Hartford and lived in west hartford for 5 years! Moved down here from NYC and would never go back.  I wouldn't recommend moving anywhere in the city line or mecklenberg co.  They have the highest property tax in the state.  We live in union co and are about 30 mins from uptown.  My husband actually works uptown and doesn't mind the commute at all as he takes the bus.  The traffic is bad but no worse than rt 84 or 91 up there. My parent live in wilmington and we are about 3 hrs from them now with the move. PM me if you are looking anywhere and I can give you some good tips.

thebanich

greenbeanqueen said:

I live in WNC.

I like nc but teacher pay here blows...(idk what you do for a living but that's my only nc gripe. Charlotte is cool to visit but it are with Cash, I wouldn't live there.

Oh hells yeah. MH is a teacher. It is the worst. And our government is backasswards.

But the state itself is pretty awesome

suziqnc

Wow, there are a lot of NC people!!  I live about an hour and a half from Charlotte.  I agree with PP's, your line of work would be very important when trying to decide exactly where you would want to live.  Overall, though, NC is a great place to live!

dashofreality

I have lived in 8 states all across the country; every place has good and bad. Charlotte is not my personal favorite area to live, but we are looking to move there soon, and I'm temporarily here now. We have a lot of family and friends that have moved there (there are a ton of transplants).

Charlotte is the south though. It is a culture shock for me as a northerner. It really is a lot slower here, and generally I'm not a huge fan of the southern belle thing. Not quite sure how to describe it, but coming from DC, I'm not used to the focus on appearances and status. I also do not feel that the schools come close to those up north. Fort Mill  is probably the best though. Basically I guess I sound like a northern snob.

There is good of course. The weather is great for most of the year, but summer can be a bit brutal with the humidity. There is lots to do. COL is lower. I don't think traffic is that bad - most people seem to have <30 minute commutes, coming from DC this is nothing. If there are jobs in your industry, I think the pay is pretty good, especially compared to COL.

KenziK

Hi everyone, thanks for all of the responses! To all that mentioned what I do for work, I have my Bachelors in Business Administration and have been working in Human Resources for a couple years, so I feel like it would be somewhat easy to find a job just about anywhere. I actually already found a couple that sounds really interesting to me but figured it would be pointless to apply to anything right now since my lease isn't up until the end of February.

dashofreality

awwwpuddin said:

Yeah, I'm not sure wtf you guys are talking about in regards to being judged on appearance, and appearance being so important.

I didn't say judged on them, but I will say that saying 'bless your heart' before ripping into someone doesn't make it nice. I feel that there is an importance placed on propriety, looks, status, more so than other places. In San Diego, it skews towards being healthy/in shape, in DC it skews towards power/influence. Just my perception of certain places. 

KenziK

Neither of us are religious AT ALL, so I feel like that would be the only minor issue. I asked my BF if we could be like the Duggers and he said no. Darn.

aglenn

I grew up in the south (TN) and as I said earlier lived in Charlotte for several years.  I kind of get the southern-women thing that others are alluding to, and it does exist, but I would say that in my experience in Charlotte specifically that is really a small minority of the overall population.  There is an "old blood" Charlotte crowd and then there are a ton of transplants from all over the place who moved there for job opportunities, etc.  So in a lot of ways Charlotte is actually very un-southern, which is annoying/off-putting to people from smaller southern towns.  It's an interesting mix.

DebateThis

bay511 said:

Asheville is way better. I can't wait to leave Charlotte. It's pretty, and has some cool neighborhoods (Dilworth, NoDa, Plaza Midwood), but I like old eclectic housing and offbeat neighborhoods. If you want that here be ready to PAY for it.

Most of it is not terribly walkable, see pricing for the offbeat neighborhoods. If you like new construction suburban stuff, Huntersville or Fort Mill (SC, so big tax breaks) are excellent. We did just get Publix. Traffic is a bloody nightmare. People can't drive here. 

Also, it's known as the city of churches. It is BIBLE BELT. Don't know if that's a pro or con for ya. Hope that helps, feel free to PM me!

Yepyep.

My favorite restaurant in Asheville, Bistro 1896, closed though. Sad day. I wouldn't move back to anywhere in NC except Asheville.

KenziK

Religion definitely does not offend me, just not something I am really into. I don't look down on anyone who is and would be fine with it, as long as they aren't trying to shove their beliefs down my throat.

thebanich

bay511 said:

stebnie said:

Actually, sometimes, when I'm in the "city" a holy roller bible thumper that stands on a street corner yelling Bible verses might ask if I've heard the good word.  That is offensive.  But in bigger cities all over the country, this happens or I've had them yell really graphic definitely not from the Bible stuff too.  Crazies just be crazy.

When I was a waitress, I used to get little church cards with my tips.  Again, not offensive to me, unless there's no tip!

I waited tables for a while when we first moved here, maybe you're just more relaxed than me cause I would get those church cards with and without tip and that sort of thing pisses me off. That to me is kinda shoving it down my throat, you know? 

Maybe I do need a smaller town! Or no town. Just let me live in my cave, haha

Just come here bay. You know you want to!

;;)

greenbeanqueen

Lol at Charlotte being liberal. You want liberal in NC go to Asheville.