kwalker77

I am just wondering if User name Kikihack ever moved to Charlotte from NYC? I am living in NJ right now and my husband and I are considering the same thing and I was just wondering if you did move, how do you like it, or if you didn't what did you not like about it. Any advice for moving to Charlotte?

chrisdave

Hi kwalker77, I'm not Kikihack, but we moved down to Charlotte almost a year ago from MI. Just off the top of my head, we have really enjoyed the weather (okay so we only have 15 snowplows in the county, but we only use them a couple times a year)-HAHA, our spring starts at the end of Feb. and our summer lasts until almost the beginning of Nov. (which isn't bad). We enjoy being so close to both the mountains and the ocean (about 2.5 - 3 hrs to ec. - we go to Charleston). We love doing daytrips to Ashville (Biltmore Estates), Charleston, Hilton Head, Smoky Mts. and even into VA, GA and TN. The people are very nice and it has been a great relief from our allergies. I'm not sure where in NJ you are, but it's nice to have big name concerts and shows so close to home. The down side is the traffic, if either of you will be working, you'll want to find some place close to work to live. We have also heard that it can get really hot in the summer, but last summer didn't seem to bother us. Charlotte seems to be more of a melting pot then the midwest and to find a native of Charlotte is rare. I hope this helps.

kwalker77

Thanks Chrisdave for giving me some helpful info. When you say the traffic is bad, I wonder how bad? Right now in the NJ/NY area traffic is pretty bad, so I wonder if it is any worse. What towns would you say are nice to live in? My husband and I are going to come down in April and visit and see if we can see ourselves living down there. In the area we live now it is almost imossible to afford a house, so the thought of moving down to charlotte, gives us the hope of having a much better life. Plus everyone tells me how nice the area is.If anyone else has any more insight in the area, I would love the info.

Thanks!

kikihack

We did not move to Charlotte...it seemed like too much of a change to have not only the culture shock of leaving city life but also of moving somewhere far less diverse would have been too much all at once. Instead, we moved to a great town on the Hudson river-- Cold Spring-- we have a 3 minute walk to the train, but a 70 minute ride! The commute is long, but the ride is beautiful and the town is charming with a real small town feel, lots of restaurants, etc. in walking distance, and tons of gorgeous trails and parks. And it has not as of yet succumbed to the inflated NY real estate market. We are still open to the idea of moving though, once we get used to being homeowners. Good luck to you all!!

GoTravel

chrisdave, I know many natives of Charlotte. This sounds rude I know but they only like to hang out with other people born and bred in Charlotte.

Litespeed_Chick

chrisdave:

I live in Greenville, SC, not Charlotte, but I thought you posted exactly why it's great to live in this area....fantastic climate and a short drive to beach and mountains.

I'm shocked by your comment about allergies though, mine have been awful all my life so I'm wondering if I would just keel over and die in MI.

Gotravel: are you serious? you actually know people who choose their friends based on where they grew up?

Diana

Litespeed,
No offense to anyone who may read this, but I think I may know what GoTravel is referring to. (But please feel free to correct me if I'm off base here GT!)
I live in Raleigh, NC but am from Wilmington, NC.
Back in the late 80's, people started moving into certain areas of North Carolina like nobody's business, and with all of this influx of people from all over (but particularly from NY) came traffic snarls, inflated property costs, urban sprawl, crazy drivers, etc., etc.
Those of us who are from here were really dismayed to find our quality of life being diminished by people who wanted to partake of it but were unknowingly contributing to its demise.
Soooo, I get really tired of hearing people who have moved down here complain about the heat and humidity, or how hard it is to find a decent bagel, or how our accents make us "sound like hicks."
Or there's the other school of people who ask me to talk just to hear it and make me feel like a circus animal (and THEN probably say, "Oh, she's such a hick!" behind my back).
Frankly, the "Late Unpleasantness" is something that many natives are very unhappy with.
So, while GoTravel's acquaintances desire to socialize with other Southerners may surprise you, I have found that most people who hail from North of the Mason Dixon line also tend to stick together. It's a personal preference...

kwalker77

well, that doesn't sound too welcoming to your state.

Gretchen

Go Travel is trying to perpetuate the myth of snobbery and perhaps a little envy on his/her part. My kids are born and bred Charlotteans and have MANY friends from all over--as do I. The "towns where you want to live" is Charlotte proper. It is a beautiful city. There are neighborhoods near downtown--or 20 minutes from downtown (at rush hour) and 45 minutes. It is a large town with the feeling of a small town. We have great shopping, NFL and NBA teams, excellent university, a new Johnson&Wales campus, a corporate community that cares deeply about the city and its image--and contributes to support it. If you come in April you will be coming at the "magic season"--when the azaleas and dogwoods are in bloom. After our 15 inch snowfall week before last our daffodils are in bloom, the Bradford pears in bud, and the camelias finishing.

chrisdave

The north and south sides of Charlotte (and anyone can correct me if I'm wrong) seems to be the nicest places to live. We are more familiar with the south side, since we live there. On the north side around Lake Norman is nice- Cornelious and Davidson; Concord (the outlet is there); on the south side Pineville, Ballentyne (I'm not using the map, so I hope these are spelled correctly) Weddington, Matthews and Indian Trail, just to name a few.

And I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but the people here are truly nice.

I would have your husband ask his friends how much his salary range would be here in Charlotte. My husband's salary was the same since he was transfered down here, but the positions I'm looking for are a couple dollars an hour less then I was making in MI.

Wish I could write more but we are heading to the beach today, not sure which one in SC. That's the fun part of this area, we still have uncharted territory we are still discovering.

GoTravel

Diana, you hit the nail on the head.

My friends from Charlotte don't alienate people from elsewhere and they do socialize with non-natives. It is just that the majority seem to hang out mostly with natives.

Gretchen, I'm not perpetuating a myth. I'm writing about actualities. As a matter of fact, I never noticed it was true until chris/dave mention it.

Cassandra

Frankly, I'm always a little skeptical when someone who's never put much time in outside of a big city says they might want to relocate to somewhere outside of Megalopolis. And this is especially true of northerners who want to move south (except for Fla.), and even more so when the person is a New Yorker.

There are, indeed, plenty of transplanted New Yorkers/Yankees who live down thisaway (I'm one), but it's a rare reformed urbanite who doesn't go through substantial culture shock, at all kinds of levels. Diana touches on some of the sensitive areas, but it's more than just change of region; it's change of scale, change of rhythm, change of life style for sure.

I'm not surprised the "Kikihacks" made the decision they did -- and it seems wise to me.

To kwalker77, I really suggest you spend an actual week or two living in Charlotte, and/or rent a place for a year -- although in all honesty, you have just begun the re-acclimation in the first year -- it can take much longer before you feel this is home and New York isn't. Spend time watching local news, read local papers (esp. the letters to the editor), shop in the grocery stores, look for things to do at night.

And remember that in almost any town/city, newcomers are not allowed to complain about the same things longterm residents do for at least 5 years!

jbop123

I was attracted to this thread as I face the possible move to Charlotte from Boston. The weather and affordable housing are certainly positives. The city's size (and the implications of that) and distance from the water concern me. Does Charlotte feel like a "little big city" or a "big small town"? I would intially rent and then hope to buy in the near term; are there apartments that are not in complexes? I'm eager to visit to answer some of my questions myself. I have so many and will not burden people with them here. I do hear people there are quite kind. I guess I am most interested in feed back from transplants. Thank you.

As an aside, I am always intrigued that the only people that refer to the Mason-Dixon Line live south of it (wherever it may be).

GoTravel

Charlotte doesn't have a big or small town feel. I think it has more of a 'new' feel. That isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Gretchen

For jbop. Distance from the water--obviously we aren't on the ocean but you can be at the beach in 3 hours. We have large power lakes for sailing/power boating just to the north and south of us. You can be in the mountains in 2+ hours. I will also say that Diane's traffic in Raleigh is even worse than ours in Charlotte. Apartments or houses are available for rent. I don't know what classifieds are available at charlotte.com but you might take a look. I still stand by my characterization of Charlotte as a big city with a small town feel. The "new" comes from our unfortunate bent to tear down everything old and build new. The "north" part of Charlotte is the University area--growing by leaps and bounds. The "south" is anywhere from the uptown area with the older neighborhoods spreading southward to the outer belt road and Ballantyne. Within that area are neighborhoods that are multimillion dollar homes and quiet older neighborhoods with great and reasonable houses.

andy

TO all who are thinking of moving to Charlotte-- GO!!

We moved there 30 years ago when there was NO liquor by the drink,NO new hotels and restaurants were NOT open on Sunday..

It took 5 years to change all that and the town burst wide open with all sorts of good things..

We moved away 15 years ago and go back periodically--

Yesm,it is hard to find NATIVES but NOT impossible...The people are friendly, the town is definitely mushrooming ( to the point that we NEEDED a MAP to find our way around all the urban growth)...

It is more a Little City feel now---when we left if was more a Big Town feel...

Traffic is and always was bad as the town fathers never wanted to build a highway around the city ( similar to what Raleigh has!)--so that is what has caused the congestion..

Restaurant scene is good...concerts and sports are definitely good...

Place to live- HANDS DOWN--SOUTHEAST CHARLOTTE...in the Southpark Mall area.
Very UPSCALE part of town...

Hope this helps....

JillBowyer

I have never responded to any postings, until I found this one this afternoon. I have lived in Charlotte 26 years. Before that in NJ. My Mom is from NJ and I remember moving here and how much she hated it. However, now, I don't think I could pay her enough to return to NJ. Our whole family has turned into true southerners. It is true it is hard to find a Charlottean, although, my husband is. We have friends from everywhere from CA to NYC. I know of no one who limits their friendships to natives, as there are so few anyway. You will miss the great bread and bakeries. You will miss the cultural diversity. You will miss the food. However, as the city grows, all of this is changing. In fact, we are expecting Johnston and Wales, a culinary school moving to Charlotte, to bring all kinds of great restaurants to the area. The weather is great in the fall and spring. The summer is long and hot. I could talk all day about the city. It's a great place to live and to raise children. It is a beautiful city with trees everywhere. You will find that it is a slower paced lifestyle. If you are in a hurry, forget it!
I'll be glad to explain the different areas of the city if you are serious about the move. Come on down and enjoy it!!

kwalker77

Thanks so much everyone for all of your replies. I can see Charlotte fitting into my husbad and I's life so well. We really just want a nice community to live, make great friends and start a family. We can't wait to have a slower pace of life.I'm sure there are positives and negatives about any place you live or move, but I am open to the change. I can't wait to visit in April

lauraj333

My husband and I were originally looking at relocating to the Charlotte area also. Then we found out that there are 3 nuclear reactors within an hour of downtown and two of them will be using weapons grade plutonium in the near future-no thanks!!! The city is basically a time bomb in the event of an accident or terrorist attack on one of those plants. We are now looking at the Atlanta area.

JenniferW

I moved here 6 1/2 years ago and could not be happier....interestingly the joke around here is that no one is from Charlotte because it is a newer city.

All of my friends and neighbors have moved here from somewhere so it makes Charlotte an easy place to make friends (as opposed to other towns where everyone has lived there their whole life and already has their set of friends from childhood).

But what it really comes down to is what you want. Not everyone wants the same things, I prefer a clean small city that does not take an hour to get everywhere.

I also like knowing that when I go somewhere I will more than likely run into someone I know. It gives a great sense of community.

There are a lot of art galleries, theater, symphony, ballet, sports along with good shops and restaurants. But that is just my preference.