My husband and I are tenatively talking about moving to Charlotte in the next couple of years. We live in New Orleans now and have a one year old daughter and the schools here suck. Otherwise we love it here. I was looking on info about neighborhoods I should checkout when I'm there. We like a neighborhood with a little more character than the burbs. We live uptown New Orleans now, if anyone is familiar. Also how is the school system? We thought we heard it was good, then I heard so-so. We like how Charlotte is pretty close to ocean and to the mountains. Last thing, if there are any other cities we should look into, advice would be appreciated. Oh, I am a nurse and husband is a sous chef. Thank you in advance.

Pretty close to the ocean?

Charlotte is a faceless, traffic-ridden suburban nightmare with no soul. Unless you have a specific reason for moving here (such as family), why choose Charlotte? Are you a NASCAR fan or something? I've lived here for 5 years and can't wait to GET OUT.

Especially after living in New Orleans, with its great culture, restaurants and history, I can't imagine you'd like Charlotte.

I live in Charlotte and would agree somewhat with the above posters. About 7 years ago, this town was REALLY just a medium sized town. The growth hasn't been kept up with as far as roads go for sure. The schools are okay for public schools, but not fabulous. The weather is warm and sunny, and the humidity is far less than most southeastern states. The job market is relatively healthy again. I don't imagine there was much culture to begin with here, and the massive influx of souless, boring bankers from NY hasn't helped any. In my humble opinion (and I'm a transplant so bear with me), the basic white bread town of Charlotte has gotten a shot in the arm in the form of white bread NY. Oddly enough, there isn't that much change to the city except for development, strip malls, and more people wearing dark colors in the summertime. Charlotte is a great place to raise a family, but if you're used to the bountiful culture, history, and flavor of New Orleans I would not suggest a move here. Charlotte is... "Okay", and that's about it. Also, to those who comment on NASCAR in Charlotte, don't bother. It's hardly noticed except on race days. But that's to be expected. People move around in the South, but they never seem to move North do they? Unlike our northern neighbors, we don't move somewhere voluntarily and then bitch about it.

My opinion-stay in New Orleans if you love it and send your kid to private school. If you can't afford the private school, there are scholarships, financial aid or work in the office or cafeteria to offset the cost. If you really love NO why would you move to a cultural wasteland like Charlotte??

Oh, dear, Roxanne,

Not sure what you think you're going to find in Charlotte -- have you visited there? Do remember that NC's schools are down at the same bottom end of all the lists along with Louisiana's, although the exceptions are in Cary, Chapel Hill and Charlotte. If you want to leave N.O. solely because of the schools, you should do some research on other schools in areas you think you'd like. A suggestion: call the admissions office at Tulane and ask where they accept the most students from in other states.

If you're a nurse, we need you here in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill!! And we can certainly use more decent chefs. We are 2 hrs. from Wrightsville Beach, which isn't much further than Charlotte.

I certainly don't claim to be objective, but I really don't enjoy Charlotte much -- too much NASCAR, naked-lady gentlemen's clubs, and guns.

What about the Atlanta area? Or even Charleston or Savannah? One of the best schools in the south is the one near Cape Canaveral in Titusville, FL.

You might also like Richmond, VA or even Charlottesville -- gorgeous setting, not that far from either mountains or ocean.

SOS, you illustrate perfectly my experience that Southerners gratuitously trash northerners at any possible opportunity, just on principle. It's probably the least attractive part of the South, that knee-jerk attack-the-Yankee reflex. Roxanne is not a northerner and I don't think one has to be a northerner to think New Orleans has more to offer than Charlotte. Even you admit Charlotte isn't much more than "okay," and presumably it's not because you are a relocated Yankee who can't adapt.

ANd how would you know who has moved north? And whether or not they bitch about northerners once they get north -- unless you've done it yourself and turned around and gone back south again? I can tell you, they do, but many have an Attitude before they even arrive -- they assume that it's going to be intolerably cold, crowded, unfriendly, and start bitching about it before they've even bought a winter coat, learned their way around, or tried to make friends with their new neighbors "even though" they are Yankees.

Relocating is tough for everyone and it's just ignorant to believe that people who have difficulty adjusting to a new, strange place are that way because they were raised bad-old-Yankees. It's also a little silly to claim that people only move around the South or else they come from the north to the south -- some people "only" move around the north, too, and yes, people DO move to the north from the south. East to west, etc. etc. and everyone is confronted with changes in climate and cultural differences unless they stay in their own 1/8th of the country.

Why would you EVEN consider relocating if you like where you are at?? AND, your kid is only 1, why get into a panic because of the schools. You have lots of time. What about the surbuban schools in NO? Or, a private school???

If the quality of the schools is your primary criterion, you might indeed need to get out of the south, I'm afraid. Try Minnesota, Iowa, Mich., Illinois if you can't stand that nasty northeast corridor of the US (where the best schools often are, in the suburbs, not the cities).

But I suspect you still want that balmy Southern climate -- don't blame you -- so advice to scope out the individual school systems that are strong is probably good. Could you hack Texas/Austin area or is ocean important?

If you live in uptown now, you'll never be happy anywhere eles. Uptown New Orleans is the best place in the country to live. Where else is there over 8 miles of uninterupted historic homes !!!
So many great restuarants... the nicest people etc...

Send your kid to Newman , it is a great school. They give scholarships to 16% of the students. And the Catholic school system in New orleans is very good also and they use a sliding scale.

Charlotte has the "second city" problem. They want to be Atlanta but they are not. They call broadway plays pornography in Charlotte !!

Who are you people who dislike living in Charlotte? I never meet you, hell, I never even HEAR about you. Everyone I know and everyone I work with are very happy here. Charlotte is a great place to live. I'd never recommend it for a vacation destination, but it's a wonderful home.

Where do you people live? Did you all move to those new developments south of 51? Were you too lazy to explore the established areas of Charlotte? And what do you mean by the "too much NASCAR, naked-lady gentlemen's clubs, and guns" comment. If you don't like going to -- or hearing about -- NASCAR or strip clubs, find a better class of people to befriend.

I agree with Arabella -- Charlotte's a nice place to live, but you wouldn't want to visit there. (In other words, it's a fine place to call home, but if I lived elsewhere I wouldn't use a week of vacation to visit).

I personally like the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area better because I think that the three major research universities there add a lot of culture and diversity that you don't usually get in metro areas of that size. I think Ral/Dur/CH has more character and personality than Charlotte, including a wider variety of restaurants, but that's not to say that Charlotte isn't a perfectly nice place to live, too.

I think that those who have responded by saying that you have to get out of the South if you want decent schools have either never been here or are basing all of the South's educational opportunities on some poverty-stricken rural school somewhere. Just like New England or the Midwest or California, there are some great public schools and public school systems in the South, and there are some lousy ones. Frequently within the same city or county school system you have some fantastic schools and some crappy ones. And also sometimes the people who think they're ensuring a fabulous education for their children by sending them to expensive private schools are wasting their money because the public schools in the area are better.

As someone who's lived in North Carolina for 25+ years, and has also lived outside of NC, I can say that there are some terrific public schools in Mecklenburg Co. (Charlotte), Wake Co. (Raleigh), Chapel Hill-Carrboro city schools, and even -- gasp -- in Durham.

Roxanne, you and your husband should take a trip to Charlotte and spend some time looking around and getting a feel for the place. While you're there, check out the Raleigh-Durham area and maybe Asheville, too.

Thank you everyone for your replies. To make some things clear: I know we have a few yrs before we have to worry about schools, and I'm not freaking out, just getting started with looking. Also, its not just the schools but the crime rate and other things too. If you have ever been to N.O. you know its a lovely city but not the easiest to raise a family in. We are also looking into Austin and parts of Florida. Yes, we are partial to warmer weather. My husband was leaning towards Charlotte b/c his grandparents lived there about 15 yrs ago, and his mother was thinking about retiring there. He also has friends there. Anyway, thanks for the advice and I will be loking into the Triangle area also.

Roxanne, what part of Florida are you interested in? FCAT results are in and that might be a good gauge as to what public schools are better;and in what geographical area. I'd be happy to help.

Roxanne, I have three children and used to live in Uptown New Orleans. We moved to the north shore last year because we wanted more land but I miss Uptown (still work in the city, though). As for raising kids in N.O., it can be done. One of my kids still goes to Jesuit (reasonably priced private school, IMHO) and the other two used to attend Lusher, a magnet school operated by New Orleans Public Schools. Both schools are excellent. If your kid(s) can't get into Lusher, pursue scholarship opps at a private school or take a deep breath and pay tuition. It's a small price to pay to live in a place you enjoy!!

I was born and raised in Charlotte and my 40 year old son lives there, in a beautiful area. The homes are wonderful (not nearly as costly as S. Fla. where we live). He and his wife (from Columbus, Ohio)would never live anywhere else. They have lived in Ft. Lauderdale and Atlanta.We love to go visit because I just have to have a Charlotte fix, nice people, beautiful areas, great shopping and close to beaches and mountains. I have no idea what these people are talking about when they bash Charlotte. Just like Atlanta and Ft. Lauderdale area, people that can afford it do NOT send their children to public schools. Granted the traffic is bad, but have you been to Atlanta lately?

Gaile, bless you're heart -- you're my kind of gal!

Glad it's still tentative. I've lived here for years, work for a big bank like every other sucker, and can't wait to get out of here. Very few redeeming qualities for outsiders/newcomers.

Anyone from the Raleigh-Durham/Triangle area out there who, like some of the Charlotte people, can't wait to leave? (Doubt it, but curious.)

Hey Roxanne, maybe you can use the moving fans the Hornets basketball team uses to move to New Orleans for your move to Charlotte!

Seriously, the loss of the Hornets, bankruptcy possibilities at USAirways, banking industry turmoil, etc. makes me question my decision to move to Charlotte 3 years ago.