We are an easygoing couple in our early thirties who have lived in NYC for the last 7 years. We are tired of the high cost of living in NYC and long for a house and a less hectic lifetstyle. My husband works on Wall Street, and has many contacts with Charlotte banks, so we are considering a move. I would love to hear from those familiar with the city whether it would be what we are looking for. I am from CT, my husband is from Hilton Head, SC (but loves NYC). We look forward to having some space and access to golfing. I understand Charlotte is significantly smaller than NY, but I am more concerned with the culture and vibe of the city than the size. Is it a cosmpolitan, diverse place? Many types of restaurants? Are there venues for the symphony, etc? Nearby antiquing, or interesting boutiques to browse? Also, what is the political vibe of the city-- is it conservative, liberal or somewhere in between? As a point of reference, about ten years ago, I lived in Atlanta for the summer and did not like that much (have not been since, so I am not sure if it has changed). It seemed very Georgia-centric-- at least at the law firm I worked at-- all anyone could talk about was U of GA and I felt they looked down on northerners, particularly New Yorkers, who they had predetermined to be "rude" although they had never stepped foot there. Would Charlotte be the same way, or are people more open to outsiders? Sorry for the long post, but this is a big decision!!

Moving from apartment living to a house is a big step, even without a major change of cities. Although the pace and the COL in NYC are high, as homeowners you'll have a whole new set of demands on your time and yoru wallet, including maintenance, insurance, commuting, auto, etc. etc. So, really, you are looking at TWO types of lifestyle change, here.

kiki
I cannot really address the issues of moving from here to there, I did the opposite..grew up in Charlotte, then after a time spent in California, ended up here in NYC.
I think the biggest adjustment in any move from NYC, to anywhere else- is the pace of life and the lack of being able to go anywhere, at anytime and do something or eat something. Most towns/cities everywhere, close down after a certain hour, NYC is unique in that respect.
I am sure once you get over the initial thrill of living in a nice home and discovering your area, you will start to get longings for the way things were in NYC.
But being a young couple, there is a whole life to build, in a nice place, before you and while you may chomp at the bit when you are behind someone who travels at a much slower pace than you are used to, you will soon fall into the same rhythyms of life in the South and I bet you will love it.
Charlotte is filling up with Yankees and you will probably meet many just like yourselves.
They have some culture, there is definitely antiquing to do and exploring to do. You are close enough to the ocean and the mountains to enjoy days away.
As far as political views, it is the South..you will be in the midst of Southern conservatives!
I think and hope you will be very happy and wish you much luck!

If you didn't like Atlanta, I have serious doubts about you liking Charlotte. As Scarlet wrote, as soon as the thrill of the new house wears off, you will start to really miss NYC.

Charlotte has its good points but NYC does those good points better. Be prepared for urban sprawl and conjested traffic. You will develop and close and personal relationship with your car.

Don't get me wrong, I like Charlotte but can't imagine have to move from NYC to there.

Have you looked into other cities? Charleston, SC is beautiful with a little better climate.

Kikihack,
We are in a similar position, having just moved from NYC after 10 years to Raleigh/Durham and are now considering Charlotte (along with a few other places).
We took a long weekend in Charlotte several months ago and absolutely loved it.
If you can be more specific about what you're willing to give up in NYC, then maybe we can address those issues and how they relate to Charlotte. Our thoughts were:
Charlotte is an absolutely gorgeous city with beautiful landscape, older neighborhoods, eclectic areas and yes, even good food. I think you should ignore any past/future posts about "It's not NYC." That's a given. No place is NYC but that's why you're leaving.
The people are super friendly, the living is cheap, and if you're willing to explore, you can find culture and mountains and activities galore. The downtown is active (relatively) with a symphony, theater, ballet, restaurants, etc. You won't find the Village but you can find Dilworth. There are funky bungalow communities nearby and you'll tend to find more diversity in town rather than in the suburbs. As far as raising a family, it can't be beat. The traffic is getting worse, as we saw, but it's nothing compared to being stuck on the Willis Ave. Bridge staring at that stupid Detour Sign for two hours!!
I love that we are out of NYC. Okay, so I miss the bagels and sushi, but that's what my mother in law is for!
Feel free to ask more questions or, if you want to send me your email, I can reply personally.
Hope this helps!!

I also work on Wall Street and have had numerous colleagues move to Charlotte with either Bank of America or First Union (now Wachovia.)

The general consensus of those I talked to is that it is a great life, for those who are comfortable in a suburban environment and that is focused on family activities. Most have been able to significantly increase the size of their home versus what they had in Connecticut or Westchester.

Where I've heard complaints is about the lack of those things that make NYC fun, the multitude of restaurants and cultural events. One ex-colleague, who is Indian, did say that much of his communities activities are tied to the local church's, and he feels somewhat excluded in that way, as he isn't Christian. But, he did say he thinks it is a great environment to raise children.

The one downside I've also heard is the difficulty of coming back to NY in a professional capacity if the situation dicatates the need or desire to leave. A "out-of-sight-out-mind" mentality.

On the whole, though, very few people who I know, and I'd say that would be at least 20 over the last 10 years, regretted their decision.

Charlotte does have some very pretty areas (South Park, Dilworth, Myers Park)but I stand by my assessment that if you didn't like Atlanta, you will not like Charlotte.

I don't live in Charlotte, but I have family there in the suburbs, so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

I find Charlotte to be very conservative and church oriented. I'm not sure if much has change in the few years since I was paying attention to the local government climate. But it's safe to assume they're still doing dumb things with taxpayer dollars.

The city does get touring productions of Broadway shows. And some touring art/cultural events. Yes the city does have its own symphony (go to charlotte.com to read about their recent strike)

The city is sprawled out, so if you move to the area, get something close to your jos). It might not be as big or as fashionable as a new home/neighborhood, but traffic stinks. Oh, and NASCAR is based in Charlotte. Learn a little bit about it (kind of like learning a few words of French before going to Paris).

At one time Charlotte was trying to be the next Atlanta. Why, I don't know.

There are some nice parks and good people in town. Plus you are not that far from the mountains or ocean. The state parks in NC are free admission.

I'm not sure you will find a less hectic lifestyle. Unless you work from home, there will be commuting issues, and a home comes with a different set of problems than an apartment.

where the emocicon is it should say jobs. But sometimes I feel like doing that at work!

Topping for kiki

Don't do it. You'll miss NYC. I've spent considerable time in Charlotte and its environs, and I fear all your worries will be realized if you move.

Another thing to consider, particularly for someone accustomed to Wall Street, is job satisfaction. I've been very disappointed with the level, intensity, quality etc of work at finance & legal shops outside NY. Your husband may lose his edge and miserably flounder in a sad cesspool of mediocrity. Oh, he may think he can raise the standards to his level, but it won't happen . . . a sea change would be in order, one that no one should count on.

Good Luck

This is so obvious, I hesitate to mention it, as I'm sure you've thought of it, but: go to Charlotte on vacation time and stay as long as you possibly can. Collect local newspapers and magazines, check out real estate, nightlife, shopping (including mundane stuff like grocery stores), libraries, golf courses, whatever the components of your daily life might be. All these opinions are great, but can't replace "boots on the ground"--best of luck!

Hoo boy, ncgrrl -- Charlotte has really changed since you were paying attention. Uptown Charlotte is booming, and it might even be the fasting growing neighborhood in town. There are literally thousands of condoes and apartments planned in the central city (downtown Charlotte is called Uptown for those of you in the cheap seats, by the way), and they're building a light rail network that's causing smart growth villages and residential towers to sprout all over town along the planned routes, not to mention the new university and arena under construction on the west side of downtown (Uptown).

Charlotte's no longer much interested in mutating into another Atlanta as far as I can tell. They've become much more intent on becoming a bona fide American capital of smart growth. Of major American cities you'd be hard-pressed to find one with a stronger commitment to good, quality growth. One of the things Charlotte is perpetually criticized about is the fact that it has bulldozed a great deal of its historic buildings, if not a majority of them. While the city retains far more history than it's given credit for, the history that has been lost is being steadily and relentlessly replaced with high-quality smart growth.

Overall, Charlotte is an exceedingly clean, green, beautiful, and booming city. It's full of art and culture and in fact last year Charlotte's donations to the arts were the second largest in the country after New York. That's not donations per capita, but donations by monetary amount, meaning an awful LOT of money was pumped into the arts in Charlotte. Meanwhile, Charlotte is, on a small scale, an international city, not unlike Greenville-Spartanburg, another Southern capital of industry where I never heard less than five different languages being spoken whenever I went out in public when I lived there. There are full-fledged and developing international districts on the east side of Charlotte, though nothing, naturally, on the scale of New York.

And now that I've sort of gone from speaking to ncgrrl to kikihack, let's also mention that Charlotte has excellent public schools and higher education, not to mention many thousands of acres of parks, gardens, and nature preserves, and the city is also close to numerous wonderful daytrip destinations like Asheville, Winston-Salem, Charleston, and others.

Overall, as I mentioned, Charlotte has all the things that make a place pleasant, and that's what Charlotte is even if it isn't the most memorable city in other ways. But if you are looking for a slightly slower pace of life in a clean, green, beautiful, pleasant city with enough to culture to keep a person busy, along with an international prescence and plenty of chances to mix and mingle with folks from far away places, not to mention a city with excellent educational opportunities at all levels, plus an ever-growing skyline, Charlotte might be for you. Ask yourself if you'd like to be a part of helping a city become one of the greatest big cities in America, because, while it's not there yet, that's where Charlotte's heading.

Thank you all for the excellent posts. To clarify, we are absolutely ready to commit to a house, we will either move to a NY suburb or move to an entirely new city, like Charlotte. The way NY real estate values are now, even the affordable (500k or less) starter homes in NY are a good 1.5 hour total commute from the city, so we really would be living in a mediocre, isolated suburb, not NYC. Realistically, I cannot imagine we would even come into NYC much after a long work day (especially if we start having kids!). Perhaps comparing that scenario to living closer to the heart of a smaller city makes sense. Is it possible to live within Charlotte proper, in a bonafide house with yard? The other thing we found appealing about Charlotte was its proximity to an airport-- we travel tons-- are there lots of direct flights out of this airport? Please keep your comments coming, they are really providing an excellent range of opinions!!

My brother and sister-in-law moved to Charlotte about 4 years ago. They were able to get a beautiful house in a lake community and only 20 min. from the airport since they both travel extensively. The area is perfect for raising children but as to the quality of the schools, be careful what section since the quality varies. They have been happy with the quality of the medical care. But for the negatives- both have big jobs with Wachovia and she found they definitely had "the big boy southern mentality", but with her NY attitude, she has managed to overcome it and been promoted twice. The area is Ok but I have seen much nicer suburbs since they are into typical tract housing not done too well. As with most southern cities, what church you belong to will be the first question they ask you. So if you are not into that, it could be hard for you. Sports is also like a religion especially NASCAR. Do they regret the move - no but want to move back to the NE within the next 5 yrs. Hope this helps!

Topping again because somebody topped the duplicate thread.

I moved from Charlotte a few years ago, and had grown up just outside of Charlotte, so I have seen Charlotte grow through the years. It really is a nice city, and I have many good friends there. The location is good for trips to the beach or mountains. I don't know that Charlotte wants to be like Atlanta, they just want to get the attention that Atlanta (or any other big city) does. And yes, the uptown/downtown arguement has been raging for years. The main reason they wanted uptown is because it sounds more positive! I wouldn't get my hopes up too much for the light rail. People in Charlotte really love their cars and would be hard pressed to give them up. Plus, I think it won't be that extensive of a system. Also, be prepared to pay some of the highest airfares flying out of Charlotte's airport. USAirways has a lock on the market right now. Many people drive to Greensboro to save money, and usually end up flying back through Charlotte if they are on USAirways. Charlotte has come along way as far as arts and nightlife and restaurants, but imho the restaurants and nightlife choices have become more trendy than good. I would say that Charlotte is definitely worth a look.

Actually, jw, the key to a successful rail network is to have a critical mass of people who would use it living within walking distance. And that's what's already developing in Charlotte.

The first rail line will stretch from Uptown soutward to Pineville along South Boulevard. There are four more planned, but already along the South Boulevard route condo towers are packing in cheek to jowl, offering street level retail and all the other things that make an urban neighborhood great. Even before the trains are rolling the development that will make them a success is flooding in along the route... meaning that light rail in Charlotte will likely be an immense success. Charlotteans do love their cars as do most Americans, but after many years of watching Atlanta choke on its own sprawl, Charlotte has chosen a better path and all that smart growth is helping Charlotte become a very dense, very urban, and very lively city.

I stopped posting about relocation issues a while back. I thought long and hard about whether to make my first post. And I did say take it with a grain of salt. But as you can see, people have a wide opinion about the area. Hauntedheadnc has wonderful insights and information about Asheville.

Hauntedheadnc loves the smart growth concept and downtown condos and light rail. I have reservations about the lightrail system under proposal in my area (Durham, NC). From my family (who will not benefit from it) they are not fans of it. When I visit, we don't go uptown or about anywhere near uptown.

By the way, in Chapel Hill, NC it's called 'downtown' even though you have to go up a hill to get there.

As someone who moved from an apartment to a house, I learned real fast there isn't a maintenance department to call when the toilet goes weird at 9 p.m. I love having a house and some of the work involved. I think you will like it too.

In the city, not far from Uptown with vibrant dining, nightlife, culture, and shopping would be either South Park, Myers Park, or Dilworth. Keep in mind for a decent sized house with a decent sized yard you are still looking at $500,000 in any of these areas. My girlfriend just sold her house on Queens Blvd (probably the prettiest street in Charlotte, divided with huge trees in the middle of the road) for over a million bucks.