Community› The Bump Local Boards› North Carolina Babies
North Carolina Babies
New Discussion

Anyone from Charlotte? Thinking of moving there...

KAK ;->KAK ;->
in North Carolina Babies

Hi NC Moms,

 I'm speaking w/a recruiter about a job in Charlotte and I want to know the good/bad/ugly about raising kiddos there. My main questions right now are about the school system (public/private) and daycares.

I have a five year old and am due w/LO #2 in September. Are the public schools good and if not, is it too late for us to find a private school spot for our 5 yr old. She'll be in kindergarten in Sept.

Are there many daycare options for the LO? Are there long wait lists? How much does DC normally cost in the area?

 

Lastly, do you think it is a good place to raise a family?

 

Thanks so much for any input you can give me!!

 

Report Reply to Post

Re: Anyone from Charlotte? Thinking of moving there...

  • newmomma72newmomma72
    HI! I'm a 1st time mom to be so I'm not real familiar with daycares and costs, yet...as for the schools I'm a displaced teacher and am not happy with the Charlotte Mecklenburg School (CMS) system. They are laying off teachers left and right, 900 2 years ago, 500 last year, and looking at another 400 this year; they have extended the elementary school day, enlarged class sizes, taken away TAs, and closed several schools. I would be very careful about which area you moved into - Matthews, Huntersville, Ballentyne are still good areas with the better schools and more resources available to teachers (the higher middle class areas). The surrounding counties, Union, Cabarrus, and Ft. Mill, SC schools are relatively better and not seeming to get as many cuts as CMS. Other than that, I love Charlotte and other things it has to offer. I hope that helps some :) oh and btw I taught kindergarten at an inner city low income school and loved it until it until the new changes came about, I know about other schools from friends who taught there...
    BabyName Ticker BabyFruit Ticker Daisypath Anniversary tickers
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • kaysi82kaysi82

    I graduated from Char-Meck public schools and turned out just fine. As did DH and our siblings.

    It's a fine place to raise a family.
    All of our family is still there.

    GL.

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • kjennnnkjennnn

    I haven't had experience with the schools yet, but they are overcrowded and you have to be careful where you pick- make sure its a good school.  We are going to look at charter/less-expensive private schools if we can afford it when LO is in school I think. Charters are supposed to be really good, and free- a lottery to get in. The christian-based private schools are pretty reasonable, there is a Catholic school in Huntersville and a non-denom one in the Mt Isl lake area and both are around $4-5k/year, which is less than we pay in DC right now. I don't know about waiting lists/etc since we haven't tried yet!

    For DC, it really ranges depending on location, inhouse or center, etc. I pay $168/wk for a toddler in a center, which is on the low end for centers. He was at one that was $245/wk which was on the higher side. I'd say 205-225 seems average per week? There are tons of centers, a lot of them have waiting lists...we had to put DS in a center that had just opened until we got in on the one we wanted.  I'm sure you can find something in the meantime.

    I think its a very good place to raise a family...its not a super exciting city to visit IMO, but a great place to live. Lots of parks, a couple of good childrens museums, lots of kid-friendly classes/groups/restaurants/etc. Plus (something I didn't appreciate until I had a kid)- it is SO nice to have such a short and mild winter  (and I normally love winter). We've had some 70 degree plus weekends in Feb/march, which is great for getitng LO out of the house! Plus it doesn't really get super cold until late Nov-early Dec, and even then, its still pretty mild...30's/40's/50's... with some snowy/icy days mixed in there.

    Good luck with your decision. It looks like you're from NJ..I am originally from there and you will be in good company here- it seems like half of Charlotte is from NY/NJ/PA!

    M/C #1 BFP 5/26/08, missed m/c discovered 9w1d (blighted ovum) M/C #2 BFP 11/19/08, missed m/c discovered at 12w1d (triploidy) BFP!! 3/27 Due date 12/5/09 Benjamin Tate is here! Born 12-1-09, 9lbs 5oz, 22" via C-Section M/C #3: d/x ectopic, methotrexate given 2/11 BFP!! 7/12, due 3-21-12
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"