Best Neighborhoods in/around Charlotte

[h0llywood]

My wife and I are from Los Angeles, CA (Pasadena next to the Rose Bowl) and planning on moving to the Charlotte area in about a year and would like to know what areas are safe and what areas to stay away from.

I've looked all over the maps and from what I could tell that north and south of Charlotte are decent areas. I liked some of the houses that I saw in the Matthews area. Can someone tell me if that is a good place to live? If not what other good places can I look into?

She and I visited Charlotte back in 2009 and absolutely loved it although we were only in the the Downtown area.

Don't laugh at this next question but it is a real concern of mine. Given that this is the South, would I be expecting some good ole Southern Hospitality or should I expect a little bit of racism? I'm not sure how rural some places can be and being from the city I don't know what to expect.

Any insight and help would be great!

- John

[Jase]

the best neighborhoods are the most expensive, what is your house budget?

[h0llywood]

the best neighborhoods are the most expensive, what is your house budget?

500k is my budget. Here in Pasadena, that gets you a Condo or a 2 bedroom and 1 bath :(

[Ja Rhule]

Matthews-Mint Hill area in my opinion, its a small town feel but you located close to everything. Mint Hill houses range from 50k homes to $1,000,000's. South Charlotte is overpriced in my opinion. North Charlotte got some sketchy areas especially near UNCC (very high crime rates). Stay within Meckleburg county limits cause it gets redneck fast when you get outside.

[Niner National]

My wife and I are from Los Angeles, CA (Pasadena next to the Rose Bowl) and planning on moving to the Charlotte area in about a year and would like to know what areas are safe and what areas to stay away from.

I've looked all over the maps and from what I could tell that north and south of Charlotte are decent areas. I liked some of the houses that I saw in the Matthews area. Can someone tell me if that is a good place to live? If not what other good places can I look into?

She and I visited Charlotte back in 2009 and absolutely loved it although we were only in the the Downtown area.

Don't laugh at this next question but it is a real concern of mine. Given that this is the South, would I be expecting some good ole Southern Hospitality or should I expect a little bit of racism? I'm not sure how rural some places can be and being from the city I don't know what to expect.

Any insight and help would be great!

- John

We're cordial people here. You'll get southern hospitality face to face. If we hate you, we'll hate you behind your back.

I write the following assuming you're considering buying:

If you want to live in the heart of Charlotte you best neighborhoods are going to be Eastover, Myers Park, SouthPark, Dilworth, Plaza-Midwood, NoDa in that order. Myers Park and Eastover are super expensive. Dilworth and SouthPark are expensive, but not quite at the same level as Myers Park or Eastover. Plaza-Midwood and NoDa have some very expensive homes, but also some very reasonably prices places if you're willing to do a little renovation work.

If you'd rather live more in the suburbs, I like Matthews a good bit. It has a little bit of a soul to it. If you just want a nice house in a soul-less area, Ballantyne and Union County are always nice. If you want to step outside the city a bit, Mooresville, Cornelius, and Davidson are all on Lake Norman and very nice.

Baxter Village in Fort Mill is very cool if you want an old-school small town feel.

Riverwalk in Rock Hill is great if you are an outdoors type person at all. They have a brand new velodrome and are building a lot of biking/hiking trails as well as river access and development along the river.

If you're considering renting, I'd recommend SouthEnd.

[Panthro]

If you like that WASPy cookie cutter lifestyle then move to South Charlotte.

For your budget I would suggest looking at home Plaza Midwood/Elizabeth/Dilworth. Great food, bars, convenient to downtown, and a great mix of all sorts of people

[davos]

If you want to be close to downtown in an up and coming area with still decent sized lots and activity, I would definitely recommend Chantilly/Elizabeth/Plaza-Midwood. Dilworth ain't that bad of a spot either

If you're looking for safe, around 500k, near town, in a good spot and don't mind a pseudo waspy style as panthro put it haha, you can probably find some stuff in Beverly Woods or the Barclay Downs area. Or around Selwyn/Woodlawn...The furthest away I'd recommend is around Piper Glen inside 485.

You're from LA so you're probably used to driving but I just wouldn't recommend Charlotte suburbs outside of the 485 loop if you want to actually feel part of the city. No to Ballantyne, Lake Norman, etc.

[Guest]

500 K will get you alot here. Dilworth and Plaza-Midwood are great neighborhoods but if you have or are planning to have kids, you need to look into the schools there. That might shift your search elsewhere. CMS is in a state of upheaval right now.

[SCP]

Tega Cay, SC

Great schools, 15 minutes from uptown, lake life, decent golf course, safe, lots of kids, adult kickball leagues, SC taxes.....etc.

[h0llywood]

Thanks guys. Are all the schools part of Charlotte school district or is it Macklenburg county district? Any good public schools for elementary or should I consider private?

Also do you guys have seasons there? We only have two seasons here in LA so I was hoping it snowed there in the winter with an actual spring.

[h0llywood]

Oh yeah, how are the property taxes, state taxes, gas prices there?

[Guest]

Oh yeah, how are the property taxes, state taxes, gas prices there?

CMS (Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools) is combined city and county schools. Elementary schools are filled with kids from pretty close to the location of the school, so they aren't too bad. The problems develop when kids hit middle school and kids are coming in from all over.

Property taxes should be much less than CA. Gas in NC is going for around 3.75 regular now, in SC around 3.55 or so. NC has pretty high gas taxes.

Edit: Four seasons. Winters are mild, last year was stupid warm. Spring and fall are my favorites.

[Panthro]

Tega Cay, SC

Great schools, 15 minutes from uptown, lake life, decent golf course, safe, lots of kids, adult kickball leagues, SC taxes.....etc.

All pros...

Cons...

You

[Scrumtrilescent]

Just remember, the cost of living is less here...which also usually means your income does as well.