Lived here for 22years! - 9/26/2006

First of all...Charlotte is a great place to live! I have lived here for 22 years and I have seen this city from nothing to what it is today. 20 years ago you would not even want to go to downtown for fear of something happenning to you...but today all that has changed. Once Bank of America and Wachovia came....the city has changed for the better...A LOT!! Charlotte is the second highest banking city next to NYC. You get four seasons year round and you are close to everything (the beautiful mountains and coast). It has everything to offer. The nightlife is good (however it has become old for me since I've know of every bar/club and I've been to most of the dance clubs). If you are in the banking industry, you can get a job with Wachovia or BOA (as alot of people here work in the financial industry or banking industry). People are veerrryy nice. The suburbs are very nice as well. I live in South Charlotte. I would definitely recommend you to stay in South Charlotte (areas such as Southpark, Ballantyne, Carmel Road, Sharon Road, Rea Road, Providence Road, etc....). The north side is popular too as you have UNC Charlotte and university city blvd. Commute time can be a hassle though. Avoid staying in west or east charlotte. It takes me about 45 minutes to commute to work (I work in downtown). From the north side it will probrably take you the same time and from the west and east probrably 30 or less. All in all I would definitely recommend Charlotte. However...it is a city for families. Its not much of a city for singles. But I've heard that is changing since the city is rapidly growing and new housing neighborhoods are popping up. Downtown itself is changing with the new condos that are being built. Trust my word. My family and I have lived here for 22 years! I personally want to get out just because I want to experience something else for some time. I don't hate this city. I will always have Charlotte in my blood. I am an original Charlottean. A lot of people are transfers and come from the north and west of the country. The city is very new and extremely clean. If anyone has info. for Jacksonville or Corpus Christi, I would love to talk to you. Those are the cities i'm looking at because I love the beach. I personally have been to Corpus but would love to hear from someone who has lived there. Thank you.

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Relocating from New York to Charlotte - 9/26/2006

I am a single african american woman with two children ages 13 and 10 both girls. I am looking to relocate from New York to the Charlotte area and would like any information concerning the best High Schools, Elementary Schools in the Charlotte area. I am also interested in information concerning the quality of life and cost of living. I am coming from New York and it is a faced pace, very expensive place to live. I am looking for a change and a place where my children can receive a great education and I could get more for my money. If any one has information on the legal field as far a employment, that would be helpful too.

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Former Charlottean - 9/26/2006

I grew up in Charlotte in the 1980's. It's a wonderful city that is growing a little more rapidly than the city government can control. Charlotte has a tendency to reach for expensive projects to solve basic problems: such as building a trolley system to try and reduce traffic. Of course, a trolley needs high denisty residences in order to have enough people to make an economical stop. City council forgot about that. Still, I hope that the system eventually works. The public school system is better in Charlotte than Atlanta, and the private schools in Charlotte on average are solid. The only problem is that you could end up with an entitled brat on your hands after too much time there. There is another site that talks about Charlotte's homes and neighborhoods: www.storyofmyhome.com. I encourage you to go and check it out and contribute your own thoughts.

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Considering move from Miami to Charlotte - 9/26/2006

We're currently in Argentina, but are moving back to States in April. We know Miami and know what our dollar will get us housing wise and it's not much. Besides we've got a baby on the way and Miami is not very family friendly and there aren't a lot of things to do besides the beach. We've heard that it's a relatively international city with plenty of Europeans there for work. I'm American and he's French. My husband works mainly with Euroepans who relocate and it looks like it could be have good potential. I'm looking to hear from people who might be thinking of moving or who have moved who have young families. I'd also like to hear from people who have heard about areas that are desirable to live in.

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Thinking about leaving DC for Charlotte - 9/23/2006

I'm a 32 year old, single, professional african american woman living in the washington,dc metro area. I love the diversity and various social activities the DC area has to offer. However, the cost of living is too high! I'm thinking about moving to the uptown area of Charlotte. I would appreciate honest opinions from others regarding the best neighborhoods to live; the diversity of the population; cultural activities; and other social events...eg., concerts, etc. Please e-mail me your comments. Thanks in advance!

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Very disappointed - 9/15/2006

I moved here about a year ago after hearing how great this area is and how affordable it is to live here. I even visited here, albeit very briefly, prior to making my decision that this would be the place to move to. At this point, all I can say is that I made a mistake coming here. I'm not saying that I hate this city, but there are definitely other places I would much rather be. This city has NO identity or character. NONE. The main reason why I came here is because of the financial industry. I have securities licenses and financial education coming out of my @$$, but it still took me EIGHT months to find a halfway decent job that pays a liveable wage. And yes, I was looking very hard. The cost of living here is pretty bad too, and it literally seems like it is getting higher and higher every month. I'm sorry, but $1100 for a 650 sq. ft. one bedroom apartment is way too much to pay to live in uptown(downtown) Charlotte. Aside from a few skycrapers uptown isn't impressive at all, and it is more often than not pretty dead outside of the weekday business hours. It's not like the other areas are any better either. The area I am living in is nothing special, just a mall down the street, but my when my lease expires my rent will be going up by approximately $175. I guess that's because I live in one of the few areas here that isn't plagued by non-stop crime. Charlotte is not in any way a 'world class city' despite the almost pathological attempts by the city elite to dress it up as one. What it is is a very small city (Uptown, and Dilworth to a lesser extent) surrounded by very large, sprawling series of suburbs (South Park, Ballantyne, University Area). However, there are two things here that really bother me the most, and are the main reasons why I will probably not be staying here much longer if I can help it. First, this is an extremely cliquish place. If you don't already know people here it will be very hard to get to know anyone. Second, I don't know if it is a Southern thing or what, but it is impossible to get anything done quickly and/or efficiently (that's as much as I will say about that). I don't want anything to think that Charlotte is somehow a bad place to live, because it most certainly isn't. But it is in my opinion the very definition of a cookie cutter city; a wannabe "big time" city. The problem is that you will be paying major metropolitan area prices to live in what is essentially a glorified big town.

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EDUCATION IN CHARLOTTE - 9/13/2006

In defense of the educational system here , in the USA Today charlotte had 5 high schools in the top 100 high schools in the USA.Basically overall Charlotte has some of the top high schools in one city compared to any other city.I think also you will find that mainly every city has their good schools and bad schools just because the school system gets a bad reputation doesn't mean that all schools within the system are bad.I also want to comment on the rebel flags and reddnecks,everycity has their share and you see this alot in the northern states but im my experience here I havent seen many rebel flags and as far as reddnecks go ,not to my knowledge but how can you pick a reddneck out because that stereo type of the big pick trucks and etc..is not true.I haven't came across people trying to push their religion on me either like alot of the other southern states, I think it's just how you act and your energy ,whether its negative or positive, how you are going to be treated in any city.Remember there are more transplants in this city than natives so it's not politically correct to say that Charlotte isn't diverse,rude or polite. Any city,place or town is really what you make up of it!

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FROM NY TO CLT - 9/13/2006

I just wanted to say that i've been here for 2yrs and alot of comments about Charlotte has nothing to do is ludacris. I'm from NY, the capitol of nightlife,shopping,restaurants and amenities and although Charlotte isn't NY or LA, it has plenty to do.I work in the fashion/entertainment industry and the shopping here is great and expanding and the music scene is growing.You can go downtown at night and get all kinds of bars,clubs,restaurants that have many different ethnic backgrounds,cultures,lifestyles in them.There are many clubs that play all kinds of music:jazz,techno,house,r&B,rapp,country,latin and etc....The downtown nighlife scene is a meltingpot at night and not just for the rich, uppidy white americans as some have stated.There are jamaicans,asians,white amer.,black amer.,puerto ricans,germans,italians,mexicans and etc...and the good thing is you can feel comfortable in your own skin without the stares and funny smurks and grins.When you move anywhere you have to venture out beyond your four walls and neighborhoods because unlike NY ,most cities have their nightlife,amenities and things to do in alot of different spots.Most of my coworkers,friends and associates are not natives and are from,NY,NJ,FL,CA and ITALY(just to name a few).If your'e looking for shopping amenities you can find your urban malls,stripp malls,mid type malls,upscale malls,outlet malls and high boutiques and your normal targets walmarts and etc... The restaurant scene varies widely to the point where you can find any culture of food/restaurant you desire.Their are many concerts weekly,museums,symphonys,ballet,comedy,jazz,poetry clubs and stc...Most people need to keep in mind for a city almost 700,000 people and almost 2.5 million in the metro this city has the potential of cities 2/3 times their size.Crime is up and on the rise but come on, what growing popular mid to big city isn't?

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BORING!! - 9/12/2006

My friends and I moved here from Buffalo, and after 6 months I feel very confident in concluding that this city is incredibly dull! When the main event is the American Idol concert and Charlotte Idol tryouts (no joke) it's hard to be enthusiastic about anything. In terms of raising a family the area does seem condusive to that, but the schools are poor in Meck Cnty. If you are single, forget about it! You are a true minority here, and as far as finding a "f friend", well the overly pompous residents are quite prudish. If you are a boring banker, with a family, then I would recommend Charlotte. As far as urban planning, be concerned over continuing traffic congestion, political blunders over the mass transit light rail, endless construction uptown, and streets that twist and turn and lead to no where!

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Barber - 9/8/2006

I live in Memphis, Tennessee not a really big place but bigger than a small city. Memphis is a place where if you went to school in the city you know everyone, due to we really don't have that many high school in the city. I would really like to know what is it like living in Charlotte, Nc

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Southern IL Girl - 9/7/2006

Love the outdoors and wanting to move to knoxville/ charlotte. Desiring a job in sales- any info would be great. Thanx

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Relocation information - 9/7/2006

I am looking to relocat to the Charlotte area and wanted to know if anyone could assist me in job placement and Christian School education to the 12th grade.

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NC vs. FL - 8/23/2006

I know the real estate is cheaper in Charlotte, NC than it is in South Florida. How is the quality of life (traffic, crime, friendliness, schools?) Looking for some websites on obtaining further info. Thanks!

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Not the greatest - 8/18/2006

Compared to Dallas/Ft. Worth area the economy here sucks. I moved here from Ft. Worth in 2004 and it has not done justice in the job market. Pay is alot less as well. My advice don't move from Dallas if you are considering it.

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Great Recreation Choices - 8/15/2006

Being located in the piedmont area of North Carolina, Charlotte is centrally located between the Atlantic coast and the Blue Ridge Mountains. So a trip to the beach or mountains is less that a few hours away. But Charlotte, has many parks, lakes, and other public recreational areas right in the city and county. Additionally, professional sports are available with the Carolina Panthers NFL Football and Charlotte Bobcats NBA Basketball.

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Relocating from Las Vegas - 8/5/2006

I am a 40 something African-American woman looking to relocate from Vegas by the end of summer. Would appreciate any information regarding the job market, economy, housing, etc. Are their things to do without having to drive 4 - 8 hours, as you do here in Vegas (I don't gamble, golf, and my club hopping days are over)? Thank you in advance.

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What can you tell me about Butler High school and - 8/3/2006

Looking to move in the fall to Charlotte and my son was able to live there in the summer and really contacted with kids from Butler? We are African American and would like to know about the school and area. Any suggestions on townhouses or apartments. Aslo there basketball program. Thanks!

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Charlotte is cheap! - 8/3/2006

It's not hard at all to find a nice apartment to rent for $400-600 per month, and there are numerous condos coming up that are pretty affordable to purchase, around $100-$150 k. Also, if you're in the market for a home, there's plenty of nice neighborhoods with beautiful older homes for prices under $200K. Plus, the area is always expanding, so there's a lot of value in purchasing a home here.

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A Tale of Two Cities - 7/28/2006

I am a native North Carolinian. I am educated and the following is just a (sort-of) joke: If you are from the South or West, you will love Charlotte, welcome home!!! If you are from the midwest (especially Ohio) or western PA and New York, you will just HATE IT HERE!!!! You will LOVE Raleigh, so please select that area to which you relocate yourselves and your extended family!! AHAHAHAHA!! And by the way, Trans Ams with t-tops, listening to Heavy Metal and walking around in public in a tank top or without a shirt are social faux pas here, lol. As is cutting your lawn on Sunday, how rude.

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Real Estate in Charlotte - 7/12/2006

Well, I have read all of the comments here and there are some comments that I both agree and disagree with. But, that is normal. I am a licensed Realtor in both North and South Carolina. My office is actually right at the NC/ SC border. I have a wealth of information that I can share with anyone who needs to know more about the Charlotte area. One thing that I can tell you is that if you are interested in moving to the Charlotte area, but do not want to be right within the busy city, moving into South Charlotte or even South Carolina (Fort Mill possibly) is a great option - SC has great schools, low crime, etc. E-Mail me if you would like more information - I can mail a relocation package to you and send you many links to websites that will help you in your decision making. Joy Jarrett Century 21 First Choice joy@joyjarrett.com

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