lnscherer

Ok, here's the deal. My husband has an opportunity to relocate to Charlotte, NC from Detroit, MI. I have always heard a lot of great things about this thriving city. When I looked into residential real estate listings on the internet, my jaw about hit the floor. I couldn't believe all the large beautiful homes listed under $170,000.00. Is there some kind of catch? It seems almost too good to be true. Can anyone tell me anything about neighborhoods such as Sardis Woods, Bradfield Farms,Fox Glen or Cheshunt? We have three small children, so I'm looking for a family neighborhood with a good school system. Any information would be MUCH APPRECEIATED! Thanks!

kjenn

Hello! I work near Sardis Woods, and the area is Okay, but I feel the area might be headed a little bit downward. That's one thing about Charlotte- good and bad areas lay right next to each other and are often separated by a road! But, it's a great place to live.
I'm not sure where the other ones are, if you can give me the main roads they are near I can tell you about the area.

You can definitely get a beautiful home for less than $170,000 here. What part of Charlotte is your husband working in? (South CLT, uptown, Matthews, University area)...

lnscherer

kjenn,

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. My husband would actually be working out of nearby Moorseville. When I looked at the houses available there in our price range, there didn't seem to be a lot to select from. I've recently heard a great deal of good things about Charlotte and thought that it might be a good alternative. I think I would enjoy living in the city. Am I crazy, considering the traffic... Any suggestions?

I mapped out the areas I mentioned earlier. Fox Glen appears to be SE of Eastfield and E of Brown Rd.

Bradfield Farms is just N of Lake Haven Golf Course and W of Rocky River Church Rd.

Cheshunt is W of Sugar Creek Rd. and N of Wt Harris Blvd.

If you know anything about any of these areas, I would appreciate any input. Also I'm open for any suggestions you can offer.

I'm really excited about this opportunity, but I don't know a whole lot about the area. I just want to consider our options with a little background info. Thanks so much for your help!

beach_dweller

Can't give you a lot of specifics. But I can say that if your husband is commuting from Charlotte to Mooresville, as opposed to the more common vice versa, good news on traffic. He's going to have an interstate ride that problably moves along pretty well, while watching the folks traveling in the opposite direction sitting in stop n go traffic (unless things have changed greatly from when I made that commute back in 1999-2000).

jw

These neighborhoods are all in the same general area. When I lived in Charlotte a few years back there were quite a few families in our church that lived in Cheshunt. If I remember right Fox Glen is just a few miles further north from Cheshunt, and I think it is a little newer. I don't really know anything about Bradfield Farms. Anything in that area would be convenient for a commute to Mooresville. One thing to look out for is where the new loop (I-485) will be going through in that area.

kjenn

I would say Fox Glen is in a nice area- it is surrounded by neighborhoods.

Personally, I would stay away from Bradfield Farms. We are purchasing our first home at the end of the month and considered one off of Rocky River Rd., but after several drives through the area at different times we felt that the area was in a bit of a decline.

Cheshunt is near the same area as Fox Glen, but it looks to be in a bit more of a busy area (Harris Blvd. area). We currently live in the University area= we like it, but there is a lot of traffic.

I would rule out S. Charlotte simply because of the commute. From the Sardis Woods area you are looking at probably a 40+ min drive each way with no traffic. Over an hour with traffic.

Huntersville is a nice area for families- lots of new building and cute neighborhoods. It is also convienient to I-77 (about 10 mins. to uptown), close to Lake Norman and other things to do. There is a really neat shopping center/neighborhood called Birkdale Village which is built to look like a village. It has outdoor traditional mall shops as well as restaurants and a movie theater. If you are searching MLS listings by area, Huntersville is Area 9.

A neighborhood that has a terrific family atmosphere is Highland Creek. It is the best selling neighborhood in Charlotte ever. My sister lives there with her 3 kids (ages 7,5 and 3) and LOVES it. They are even building an elementary and middle school within the neighborhood (slated to open in 2006) There are many different subdivisions within the neighborhood and walking trails throughout. There are clubs, excercise classes, outdoor movies for the kids, Santa visits, fireworks and anything else you could possibly want for kids. There are several pools, including one that has a waterpark-like feel. It is amazing. There are also parks in the neighborhood, and a golf club. If I had kids, this would be my #1 choice for a neighborhood.

I hear that Davis Lake is another great family neighborhood, in the University area.

Areas I would avoid:

-anywhere near Independence Blvd.
-Harris Blvd from Independence to Tryon (29), as well as Idlewild in this area
-Arrowwood/Archdale/Nations Ford area
-Brookshire Blvd. area
-Many of the areas right outside of the uptown loop, with the exception of northern South Boulevard which is trendy

Let me know if there is anything else I can help with....

I forgot to mention, we are buying a house near Mt. Holly-Huntersville Rd. and Beatties Ford Rd. (NW charlotte). I-485 is coming through soon, and it is 5 mins from the new mall where an amazing amount of develpment is taking place. We like the area as it still feels somewhat rural and is near Mt. Island Lake. We feel that this is an "underdiscovered" area of CLT and that the homes are a little underpriced. (Ours appraised at 5% more than we are paying for it!) However, I don't know enough about the family aspects of the area to recommend it!

Gretchen

The last post gave you some good ideas. If your husband is working in Mooresville there is no reason to live in charlotte with the good areas north of charlotte available. Huntersville made Money magazine's top 25 best places to live! You will find MANY nice places to live in that area, all new construction, as it was farmland 5 years ago. Excellent new schools and more shopping than you can handle. Hospitals also.
The interstate now has HOV lanes and widening finished almost to Huntersville so the traffic situation is not quite so horrific.
If you would like realtor recommendations, we have several very good friends who are with different brokerages.

BKelly

My wife and I live in Huntersville, between exits 23 and 25. It's a great community with just about everything you'd need within a couple minutes drive. You also may want to take a look at Cornelius, which is between Huntersville and Mooresville. Davidson, which is north of Cornelius, is also very nice, but housing can be pretty expensive. There is a lot of new development going on in the areas mentioned, so I don't think you'd have hard time finding good housing in a nice area. www.allentate.com is a good website to use to check local real estate.

ncgrrl

Before the loop went from 85 to Albermarle Road, I'd use Rocky River Rd. as part ot the 'short cut' to visit my brother. It seemed everytime I'd visit a new housing development would spring up along the road. It's a rural, twisty road that could handle the traffic in 1992, but not now.

In addition to all the wonderful suggestions from everyone here, maybe add in the areas around Concord Mills.

Good luck with the search.

SAnParis

kjenn, so you wouldn't live in Dilworth, Myers Park or Elizabeth ?? I would think the housing question should be easy to address. It appears you are seeking a suburban environment which is not my area of expertise, but there is a ton of development going on, particularly in north Charlotte. I would just advise you to choose carefully as due to the huge amount of development, it is not always easy to sell in these areas. I currently live near downtown & commute to the University area, & my commute is 15-20 minutes. If you search for 'Charlotte' on here there are several posts from everything to the schools, to the nightlife. Of the afore-mentioned areas, I would think Highland Creek &/or Davis Lake would be my choices. It mainly boils down to how much house you want, versus how far/long do you want to drive. Not only for work, but also for amenities, since nearly all theatre, sports, etc. are Uptown.

kjenn

SAnParis- I would absolutely love to live in any of these areas, but I think that the original poster's price range is under $170k, which doesn't get you a lot of house in any of those areas!!

lnscherer

Wow, guys thanks. I was pleasently surprised to receive such detailed responses (esp kjenn). You have no idea how helpful it is for someone unfamiliar with the area. We could probably afford a house up to 190,000.00. But, I was trying to avoid doing so if possible. Right now we basically live paycheck to paycheck, and I hate it. If we move I don't want to continue this lifestyle by possibly purchasing something outside our means. If I can find a nice large home for a family of five that is in good neighborhood and provides a quality school district for my children for under 170,000.00. I would be extremely pleased. Thats unheard of here... so I just wanted to make sure it was realistic to think we could do so in Charlotte.

SAnParis

kjenn - I was referring to your reference regarding areas around the inner loop...Certainly out of the price range, but not areas to avoid.

solaura

I've lived in the Charlotte area for almost 20 years & I'd suggest a move to Cabarrus or Iredell county if your husband is commuting to Mooresville.
The schools are better than those in Mecklenberg county, and the taxes are cheaper. Mecklenburg county taxes are getting worse (this is where the neighborhoods are that you mentioned). I live in Huntersville right now & it is a nice place to live, but also in Meck. county. I've also lived in Charlotte (hate the traffic) as well as the Highland Creek area - I'd recommend it if you're set on Mecklenburg county. However, there is a large neighborhood just being built 5 minutes from Highland Creek that is in Cabarrus county. It is called Moss Creek has homes in your price range and 2 schools right there. It would be a good investment long term & an easy commute to Mooresville. It is off Hwy 73 which connects I-77 & I-85 north of Charlotte.

Voyager2006

In my own expwerience it may depend on how "religious" you are and also if you are of the "correct" religious persuasion.

Gretchen

The last post is out of bounds. No need to raise red herrings. Sometimes people have to bear responsibility for their own experiences.

BKelly

Disregard Voyager's message. It's a large city and you'll run into all types of people.

lnscherer

To be honest, after reading some other conversations posted here the religious aspect of moving has crossed my mind... but I hesitated to bring it up. Both my husband and I are non-practicing. I guess my thought was that if we moved to a large city it shouldn't be an issue, because there will be many types of people. We are nice friendly people who are always willing to lend a helping hand. I never even consider it being an issue until I read the post started by a women in New Jersy. My main concern is my kids, I think moving will be particulary hard on my 7 year old as it is. I don't want to move to a particular neighborhood that might have more of an issue with us not attending church, if there might be another that wouldn't. Am I making any sense?! Thanks again for everyones input and advice...very helpful...

Brian_in_Charlotte

While Charlotte is a large and somewhat diverse city, one cannot ignore the strong religious atmosphere here. And most of that diversity ends outside the city limits - those northern suburbs will be largely populated by church-going folks. Having said that, I don't think that should stop you from moving here - it didn't me.

LadyOLeisure

Don't worry about it. You will find North Carolina is a delightfully diverse state and "Southern hospitality" springs from a genuine kindness and generosity. Those traits don't require adhearence or involvement in any organized religion, let alone a specific one.

Real estate here seemed too good to be true when we were looking, as well, as we relocated from the Washington DC area. You should be able to find many options in your price range so you will be able to make choices based on neighborhood feel and amenities rather than just on what you can get for a certain price. It's a wonderful way to house hunt!