Charlotte is growing by leaps and bounds...

[Charlotteman]

The concept of internal migration is facinating---folks pulling up roots and moving to a place of their choice, instead of staying put where they were born. It's actually quite dramatic when you consider it.

Cities that are growing at dramatic speeds usually have one or more main sources of new residents. In the 1980s it was said that Boston was one of Charlotte's largest human contributors.

Seattle's biggest source of new residents has traditionally been Spokane, Washington. Jacksonville's is south Georgia in general. Miami seems to be supplied with lots of New Yorkers, etc.

Anything written lately about Charlotte's sources of new residents?

[krazeeboi]

The Charlotte Chamber's website lists the top 10 counties which serve as the source of Charlotte's increase in domestic migration. See here.

[voyager12]

Just anectdotally, I seem to meet people from New Jersey and New York more than anywhere else. Charlotte Mag had an issue a few months back listing the top states for migration to Charlotte and NY/NJ were highly represented if I remember correctly. Now don't start Yankee bashing

[UrbanCharlotte]

I'm pretty sure Miami has a lot of immigrants from Latin America.

[Phillydog]

In my neighborhood of more than 600 houses, I don't think more than a handful are from NC - seems like the majority are from New England, followed by California, Georgia, New York and Ohio.

[SmellyCat]

From my own personal experience....Most "migrants" down here are from NY/NJ area, Ohio, Texas, Atlanta, Boston and the San Fran Bay Area.

[dubone]

My impression is that most come from the Great Lakes region (especially Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York), and regions affected by the bank mergers (San Fran, Texas, Georgia, Florida, New England, etc.).

Oddly enough, I don't hear of as much rural NC to urban NC migration as I would expect. I think Raleigh draws a lot of that type of migration from 'down east'.

I'd love to see actual numbers from each region, though.

[Charlotte_native]

I work with folks from Pennsylvania. Have a handful of clients coming up from South Florida (hurricanes got to be too much), and have a large group of friends from Buffalo.

[MZT]

What do South Florida, Seattle, the Northeast, and California all have in common?

Skyrocketing home prices. People move here because they can still buy a house along traditional affordablity measurements.

IE:

Total price 4x gross annual income (or)

Monthly payment 150x rental equivalent (or)

Monthly payment 33% of monthly gross income.

People from Texas and the Midwest don't need to move here quite so much. There are jobs and affordable homes in those places.

[cltheel.sdl]

Lots from Buffalo, even a good amount from the ATL.

[RiverwoodCLT]

Do not leave out West Virginia.

[queensguy06]

When I am on the interstate all I see is Ohio plates - they are everywhere!

[A2]

All of my team @ work is from Up North, except one, ME!

I am originally from Birmingham. The transplants that are on my desk are all from places like Buffalo,CT, Pittsburgh, NY, tons from NJ, and finally some from the mid-west. To me, it is more uncommon for someone to actually be from Charlotte, than from outside of the city or state.

A2

[dxartist]

Just about all the people I work with at Wach are southern born and southern bred. Except me the oddball transplant Midwesterner.

[UrbanCharlotte]

dx, you work at wb, why not get some info on the Wachovia tower? Maybe i'm asking too much.

[Charlotteman]

Oh yes, I forgot about West Virginia! In the 80s Charlotte companies recruited people in West Virginia to move to Charlotte during a labor shortage.

An earlier post mentioned skyrocketing home prices in other parts of the country as a reason folks are moving to Charlotte. Seattle was brought up, and it is a perfect example of this. In 1998 I was making $49,000 a year (with no wife or kids or dependants) and the only thing in Seattle I could qualify for would have been a small cracker-box dump on an ugly street.

But, late night boredom on the web sometimes leads me to real estate surfing, and I'm amazed by how small the difference really is between Charlotte and Seattle prices!!!

[Jerseyman4]

When I am on the interstate all I see is Ohio plates - they are everywhere!

They rule the I-77 corridor, no doubt (especially summer!) Dont forget, 77 starts way up in Cleveland and descends southward into the Carolinas.

Quote from NCRoads

I-77 likes cities beginning with C: Columbia, Charlotte, Charleston, Cambridge (Ohio), Canton and Cleveland.

[krazeeboi]

At first I was about to say "I-77 doesn't run through Charleston," but then I had to remember the other Charleston was being referenced.

And the Ohio plates are definitely everywhere. Half of the time I'm thinking, "So how do you like the Charlotte area so far?" and the other half I'm thinking, "I hope Myrtle Beach treated/will treat you well."

[dxartist]

dx, you work at wb, why not get some info on the Wachovia tower? Maybe i'm asking too much.

Believe me Urban, I've tried, but simply gave up. I've bumped into the head of Corporate Real Estate several times last summer and didn't get anything out of him. Zilch. Zip. Nada. He was definitely not going to tell me or anyone else. My opinion, I don't think Ken Thompson even of how the details himself.

Besides, I don't work downtown anymore. My responsibilites were shifted from the CBD to west of the Missisisippi, so that's why my unlucky self now works in the University Area.

[MZT]

But, late night boredom on the web sometimes leads me to real estate surfing, and I'm amazed by how small the difference really is between Charlotte and Seattle prices!!!

It all depends on what you're comparing with. People here may think it's ridiculous to pay $350,000 for bungalow in Dilworth, but the same bungalow in Santa Monica could go for a million.

Well... might have last year. The mainstream press seems to be catching on to the real estate market changing, but that's another thread.

At any rate, I think the cost of housing here for a common bread-n-butter suburban ranch home on an individual lot, several miles from uptown, is approximately what I saw in southern California around 1998. So people would still be moving here for access to decent affordability and big-city amenities at the same time.

[Charlotteman]

$350,000 is a fraction of what you would pay for that cute, spacious bungalow in Seattle, in a neighborhood as nice as Dilworth.

Where I live in Bremerton, an exurb of Seattle, a similar place would run ya about $300,000 but there are no neighborhoods as nice as Dilworth here~it would be on a so-so pre gentrification street.

The unfortunate thing is that wages in Seattle are considerably higher than Charlotte's. (generally speaking)