Jump to content

Moving to Charlotte with Sealed Air


NYTransplant

Recommended Posts

Hi all, I'll be moving to Charlotte in 2016 with the Sealed Air headquarters consolidation.  It's a bit premature at the moment, but I figured it's never too early to start learning about my new hometown.  I'm in Greenville today, and have been here for 11 years.  I absolutely love it, but am also very excited about Charlotte.

 

What I'm not excited about is the traffic I hear of, so I'll be relying on the UP community to steer me in the right direction on where to purchase a home.  Once the headquarters location is finalized, I'll be looking for advice on communities that will offer a reasonably smooth commute.  I'll I've heard so far is that we will be close to the airport on the SW side of the city.

 

In the mean time, I'll browse the forums to get an idea of what's good and bad, and what's available in Charlotte.

 

 

Looking forward to being neighbors!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 46
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Early Welcome to you mate.   We've got a handful of real estate professionals on this site, myself included.  My area of service is the southwest part of Charlotte & All of York county, SC.  Between all of us here, you can be sure you'll make the right decision on where to settle in at (Other members, non-RE, can point you in the right direction).   I must say I've lived here 8 years and I have been pleased with the traffic.  I came from Central jersey and i visit there twice a year and i am always reminded on how horrible the traffic is up there compared to down here.   Good Luck with your search. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Early Welcome to you mate.   We've got a handful of real estate professionals on this site, myself included.  My area of service is the southwest part of Charlotte & All of York county, SC.  Between all of us here, you can be sure you'll make the right decision on where to settle in at (Other members, non-RE, can point you in the right direction).   I must say I've lived here 8 years and I have been pleased with the traffic.  I came from Central jersey and i visit there twice a year and i am always reminded on how horrible the traffic is up there compared to down here.   Good Luck with your search. 

Thanks yorkconstruct.  

 

I was looking at Lake Wylie, Fort Mill and Rock Hill areas as potentials, but my wife and I need to take a drive up that way next weekend to get a better feel for those areas.  I'm open to other suggestions that anyone might have.  I'd like to live either on a lake or a golf course (or both).  Either that, or find a decent size piece of land (3-5 acres) that I can build on.

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMO the only place where Charlotte traffic is consistently bad is peak hours on I-77, Independence blvd, the SE quadrant of I-485 and I-85 between the 77 split and Concord Mills. All these areas can be easily avoided with proper planning.

The good part of Charlotte traffic is peak hours and directional flows are regular, logical and predictable (unlike the Triangle area or Atlanta).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're considering Tega Cay, I'd also recommend looking around Mountain Island Lake.  It has easy access to the northwest portion of 485 but it is about the same distance, as the crow flies, from the airport as Tega Cay.  However, there is minimal traffic to contend with in that wide-open portion of 485 and you would never have to worry about being stuck on 77 if there were an accident.  There are small pockets of traffic on that part of Brookshire around Mountain Island, but that's mostly past 485 toward uptown.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're considering Tega Cay, I'd also recommend looking around Mountain Island Lake.  It has easy access to the northwest portion of 485 but it is about the same distance, as the crow flies, from the airport as Tega Cay.  However, there is minimal traffic to contend with in that wide-open portion of 485 and you would never have to worry about being stuck on 77 if there were an accident.  There are small pockets of traffic on that part of Brookshire around Mountain Island, but that's mostly past 485 toward uptown.

Thanks AuLukey.  I'll look there as well.

 

My wife and I are planning to spend this weekend in Charlotte.  We're going to explore a bit and get the lay of the land.

 

Other suggestions by all are welcome!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is one glaring omission here: Gaston County--most notably the towns of Belmont, Cramerton, and Mount Holly. All have access to Lake Wylie ( or via the Catawba River/South Fork River), Belmont is a great little town--it is one of the prettiest and best managed in our region.  West to east commutes are the easiest in the metro.  All are within 15 minutes of the CLT airport area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is one glaring omission here: Gaston County--most notably the towns of Belmont, Cramerton, and Mount Holly. All have access to Lake Wylie ( or via the Catawba River/South Fork River), Belmont is a great little town--it is one of the prettiest and best managed in our region.  West to east commutes are the easiest in the metro.  All are within 15 minutes of the CLT airport area.

Yes, Belmont is very nice. It does have taxes slightly higher than Charlotte's (1.34 per $100 vs 1.28 per $100), but they're still not unreasonable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, Belmont is very nice. It does have taxes slightly higher than Charlotte's (1.34 per $100 vs 1.28 per $100), but they're still not unreasonable.

 

There is one glaring omission here: Gaston County--most notably the towns of Belmont, Cramerton, and Mount Holly. All have access to Lake Wylie ( or via the Catawba River/South Fork River), Belmont is a great little town--it is one of the prettiest and best managed in our region.  West to east commutes are the easiest in the metro.  All are within 15 minutes of the CLT airport area.

 

 

Thanks,  I'll look into those towns as well.  I was definitely looking in the west and southwest, such as Lake Wiley & Fort Mill.  Are there any obvious places to avoid?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another recommendation I'd have is the Steele Creek area off of Lake Wylie.  Very easy access to 485, if you took 160 (aka Steele Creek Rd,) you could actually avoid interstates altogether.  There are numerous parks and golf courses nearby.

 

That side of town beyond the airport is pretty nice as you have a lot of river and lakefront communities.  As long as you end up somewhere along the Catawba River, you should be fine.  Go too far from the city and you'll end up in Gastonia, maybe steer clear from that direction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will have to be the odd ball on this one and throw in Concord and Cabarrus County as a real option. Excellent Schools, a small town feel and don't forget that 85 is now 4+ lanes each way well into Cabarrus. So there is now no real traffic issues in Cabarrus and once the 485/85 interchange is complete it will be smooth sailing. Why deal with York County and any place in South Charlotte when you can move North and still be 20 miles from Uptown. Don';t get me wrong, those areas are all great but they are too congested. Plain and simple

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will have to be the odd ball on this one and throw in Concord and Cabarrus County as a real option. Excellent Schools, a small town feel and don't forget that 85 is now 4+ lanes each way well into Cabarrus. So there is now no real traffic issues in Cabarrus and once the 485/85 interchange is complete it will be smooth sailing. Why deal with York County and any place in South Charlotte when you can move North and still be 20 miles from Uptown. Don';t get me wrong, those areas are all great but they are too congested. Plain and simple

While I can't disagree with you that Concord is a nice community; that area doesn't really fit the needs of NYTransplant.  There is very little waterfront property and only a handful of golf course/country club communities that stretch pretty far into suburbia which, IMO, adds at least another 15-20 minutes just getting to the interstate sometimes.  Yes, there are golf courses, but not all of them have communities attached.  That said, I currently have my eye on a house in Highland Creek that is on the fairway, so I get where he's coming from.

 

Also, Concord is on the wrong side of Charlotte compared to where he will be commuting to.  He would have to pass the 85/77 interchange (which is rarely a cakewalk,) or take 485 all the way around the north side of the city.  If commuting is on NYTransplant's mind, Cabarrus County is not the place to look.

 

That said, I'm not knocking Concord at all. I lived there for 9 years.  There are a lot of great things about that city and it has come a long way since I moved away (my parents still live there.) I just don't think it meets what NYTransplant is looking for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another recommendation I'd have is the Steele Creek area off of Lake Wylie.  Very easy access to 485, if you took 160 (aka Steele Creek Rd,) you could actually avoid interstates altogether.  There are numerous parks and golf courses nearby.

 

That side of town beyond the airport is pretty nice as you have a lot of river and lakefront communities.  As long as you end up somewhere along the Catawba River, you should be fine.  Go too far from the city and you'll end up in Gastonia, maybe steer clear from that direction.

This does seem like a nice area, my only concern is the air traffic and associated noise pollution.  As a regular flier, this seems to be a regular alleyway for landing traffic.  Not having spent much time in the the Steele Creek area, is the air traffic that much of an issue?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is interesting to see how quickly the noise dissipates.  The first thing you notice is how the map doesn't take into account the third parallel runway.  When looking for an updated map, I see that the city is paying for one to be completed by July of 2015.  I would imagine the new one will look pretty similar to the 2006 map, however just have the third runway taken into account.  Based on that, the closer to the Catawba the better.  Thus the Steele Creek area north of McDowell Nature preserve should be good.

 

Even if you can't hear them, you will get to watch a lot of planes.  I am interested to hear from someone who lives out there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is interesting to see how quickly the noise dissipates.  The first thing you notice is how the map doesn't take into account the third parallel runway.  When looking for an updated map, I see that the city is paying for one to be completed by July of 2015.  I would imagine the new one will look pretty similar to the 2006 map, however just have the third runway taken into account.  Based on that, the closer to the Catawba the better.  Thus the Steele Creek area north of McDowell Nature preserve should be good.

 

Even if you can't hear them, you will get to watch a lot of planes.  I am interested to hear from someone who lives out there.

I live in Steel Creek one mile away from Carowinds and I never notice the planes unless it is really extremely quiet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread depresses me. :(

Hey gman, yes, this is a bittersweet move for us.  Absolutely love Greenville, and our first day in Charlotte yesterday proves why.  Very small-town feel, great neighborhoods,while still attracting the major retailers.  We lucked out moving to Five Forks 11 years ago.  Who knew that it would grow into one of the best areas in Greenville County?  Hopefully that pays off when we sell.  There are some great neighborhoods here though, and the pricing is actually not much more expensive (if at all) than Greenville.

 

I'm sure as we get used to it, we will grow to love it as much as Greenville for the unique qualities Charlotte has to offer.  

 

Who knows, maybe I'll be back in 10 years when I retire  :thumbsup:

 

I see by your post count you're still active on the Greenville forum.  Keep it up...you've always had good insight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So the results of the first half day:  

 

We got to Rock Hill at around 3:00, and weren't overly impressed with the town.  It looks like they've done a nice job with the infrastructure, but the content was lacking.  Very few restaurants and nice shops.  It seems like there are not many places that will attract someone back for multiple visits.  

 

We headed on to Fort Mill and were very impressed with the idea of Baxter Village.  It had a great buzz, with people all around looking like they were enjoying the atmosphere.  The YMCA is quite nice as YMCAs go.  The master plan is well executed, but the homes are a bit too tight for me in the village area.  As it stretches out into the larger homes away from the village, the properties there were more conducive to my needs.  Not that I need a big house...I don't, and would rather downsize.  The problem is... I DO need a big Garage :D    The problem with the homes in this part of Baxter Village is that you are so far from the village center, it kind of defeats the purpose.  The location is a little far out, but probably still within a 30 minute commute in traffic.  To get a feel for the commute, we drove up to the general area of where we believe the Sealed Air site might be.   The I-485/I-77 Northbound merge was backed up almost to a stop on a Saturday afternoon.  I can imagine it is a nightmare in rush hour.

 

We'll spend more time to the west of Route 160 today, (Baxter Village, Steele Creek & Tega Cay) as it is looks to be a very nice area...quite new and still growing.  We'll probably also check out Mt. Holly and some of the northern areas as well.

 

We drove to the Pineville mall at around 4:00, and the traffic was not bad at all.  That was a big plus.  My wife likes to shop at TJ Maxx, and she was thoroughly disappointed with this one.  Very small, and not much selection.  It's probably been around for a while because it's modeled after the older versions of the store.

 

The homes in the Providence Country Club were impressive.  We plan to check out quite a few more golf course communities today.  We stopped off at the Carvel on Providence Rd. next to the Harris Teeter.  I don't think we had been to a Carvel since we left NY.  Brought back memories  :P

 

Thanks to all for the suggestions and the help!  They've really been beneficial to narrow down the efforts.   :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would try Huntersville also on the West side of 77 near the lake.

Points of interest; Birkdale Village, Jetton Park. Some nice neighborhoods east of 77 on Stumptown Rd. & lots of nice hoods west of Stump town.

(485 is a great alternative to 77 as a commute option to the airport area

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.