One of my recurrent thoughts through the years is that the newcomer's greatest worry may be, "Will I, or my family, be happy here?" And of course it is the question I nor anyone else can answer for that individual or family... the corollary is "What's Charlotte like?" is a little more answerable. To that I have several thoughts I'd like comments on:
Charlotte isn't a stereotypical "Southern" city, there are too many "imports" for the Southern culture (that is still here in some places) to be dominant. Many neighborhoods are dominated from families from the northeast or Florida.
Folks who want to discuss their neighborhood are encouraged to Post, tell us about the people you've met on your street, and what "your" part of the Charlotte area is like... this obviously includes nearby Huntersville, Davidson, Mooresville and beyond to the north, and Matthews (where I live), Ballantyne, Weddingotn and Waxhaw to the South.
I'd also like your thoughts on Southern virtues that remain. After 14 years here I still appreciate that people are more polite and generally show more courtesy here. Certainly the kids are more respectful and you rarely hear a car horn honked in anger. I also think people care about the look and appearance of their properties more-- from city streets that stay pretty clean all the time--there is not a lot of trash and grafitti Uptown, to the homes in their neighborhods, and wildflowers on our Interstate (can't wait for spring to bring them back!) There are areas that are more trashy than others, and I read about them in the local paper... most places up North it wouldn't deserve comment. I'll be in NYC next weekend, I'll update on a fresh look at the Big Apple. terry
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Hi,
I relocated from Long Island to Huntersville 1 year ago. I find it amazing how friendly people are here. It takes a little getting used to. At first you wonder why are these people being so friendly and then you realize they are sincere. I live in a new community and everyone is in the same situation of being new to the area. Lot's of people from N.Y., Conn., Mass., N.J., and Fl.
My wife loves the shopping, new malls, Birkdale Village and everything is nearby.
They have a rush hour here but it only lasts an hour instead of three or four hours. Even during rush hour the traffic still moves. The area is very clean and beautifully landscaped. Flowers on the interstate, that not something you see every day, unless you live here. The corners of all major intersections are also landscaped.
I have no regrets relocating here, I wish I knew about this place sooner. I am confident we have found a terrific area to bring up our 3 year old daughter. Next year she will be starting school in the brand new elementary school within walking distance of our community.
Affordable housing, taxes, insurance, utilities, what's not to like.
Our family had been looking for a place to relocate to from Florida for quite a few years. We have to thank our eldest son and his love of cross country racing for helping us discover what we'd been looking for.
We looked at real estate on the western side of North Carolina about 3 Thanksgivings ago. Although quite gorgeous and already having vacation property there, it seemed a bit rural for us to live there 24/7. During this trip our son was racing in the 5K Footlocker Race at McAlpine Park. As we entered the Charlotte area from I-40, then south on I-77, we knew we found what we'd been looking for. To this day, we constantly thank our son for the love of his sport. So do other family members: We told them about this "cool city" we discovered and they too have since relocated here from Florida.
After visiting the area on a few occasions, we found our niche: a little neighborhood in Cabarrus County, which we knew when we visited was going to be the next and possibly the final place we call home.
We're in the country but close enough that a trip to uptown or anywhere for that matter, is just 10-30 minutes away; perfect for us. Our neighborhood is beautiful and the people who live here are just fantastic. There are always kids playing and neighbors walking and if you don't mind, no one hestitates to stop and chat.
After being here for a bit more than a year, we appreciate seeing the same faces on an almost daily basis versus the transient lifestyle we were accustomed to back in our old neighborhood. It's heartwarming to see our children playing with kids that very well may turn out to be lifelong friends instead of the heartbreak experienced watching a good friend move away every year or so.
What's even more comforting is knowing that many people around us feel the same way and there's a pretty good chance we may all grow old together!
Yep, we found our niche in a pretty "cool city".
Lorie Hribal and Family
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