Relocating to Charlotte?

[cinco]

plaza-midwood has a few things... steelhaus & central27 - as well as upcoming projects would give a great urban experience with plenty of places to walk to. if yer needing more room... look into country club heights, commonwealth, merry oaks. all of these places are 5 min to 2-77 & uptown. southend should have somethings in the price range? alpha mill is an excellent choice to put you closest to uptown.

[monsoon]

... (and enjoy the reverse commute) .....

[nowensone]

No, don't particularly look forward to a commute, though I got used to them in Houston, the problem is the great "undocumented" expense they are in a variety of ways. Though I also don't want to get into a situation of buying in Huntersville, Davidson, Cornelius, etc. and then later getting employment that is actually in CLT proper (and then have a REAL commute). I wouldn't mind taking a train to work, but I keep up with the Lynx threads here and the North line doesn't appear likely for a long time.

[monsoon]

... I wouldn't mind taking a train to work, but I keep up with the Lynx threads here and the North line doesn't appear likely for a long time.

[Justadude]

There is pretty good express bus service up this route however.

[New Name]

The X bus is definitely your best bet, as long as the schedule works. If you can get a place on a bus line, you can just go in to the transit station and catch the express to work. It's not ideal, but it is FAR better than sitting in I-77 traffic on a daily basis (thus the large white-collar crowd that uses the line). It'll also cut down on the "expenses" in time, auto wear, gas, etc.

[monsoon]

It amazes me they get those kind of prices up there.

[rjp212]

Yet the residential component is nearly sold out already.

[nowensone]

Okey doke, had time to drive around Huntersville a little, saw some suburban development trying to incorporate some urban elements, IMO a mixed result, perhaps I missed what I really looking for, though impressive that there are CATS stops that far out. We then meandered down Old Statesville into the loop, tried to park so I could show off the "Wachovia hole", but the Boat Show or something was going on, no where to park around there, so ended in a garage by the arena. Ate at Rockbottom's, tried the Red and Brown ales, then attempted to walk down to Alpha Mill down Tryon... what happened to 12th street? Finally decided it may be better to search via vehicle, but at least we got a good 1.5 mile walk out of it, and later realized 12th turns into onramp before it gets to Tryon. Alpha Mill is really cool, we toured a unit, though they are only rentals and nothing larger than 1 bedroom + loft, can't squeeze in 5 people and 4 animals. So were on our way to other properties when we noticed we were already an hour past the babysitters end time.... and were still in Charlotte. Oops. Definately need a lot more time to look around. Some pics below, will take real ones when there is time to loiter about..

Light Rail

Imaginon and Reid's

What building is this?

I think I know that lady..

The "two".

The "silo" top

[monsoon]

Some people have complained here about the trains blowing their horns in the middle of the night at Alpha Mills and nearby properties. FYI.

[SmellyCat]

Sometimes I can hear the train horn really loudly way over in the Garden District in First Ward. It's particularly noticeable in Fourth Ward, but I got used to it while I was living there. Really not such a big deal.

[monsoon]

Sometimes I can hear the train horn really loudly way over in the Garden District in First Ward. It's particularly noticeable in Fourth Ward, but I got used to it while I was living there. Really not such a big deal.

[nowensone]

Yeah, depends on where and how you grow up I think, I am accustomed to trains and traffic noises at night, but Alpha Mills is out of the picture, as well as seemingly most "intown" properties. They are either tailored to singles or small families by occupancy laws; are cost prohibitive for a large family; have safety concerns; or are only rentals. It is amazing when you add up the res. projects ongoing, of which the high rises are but a tiny fraction of, but still seems as if we have a way to go for the diverse urban experience where someone like myself could find a place to live who has space and cost requirements, etc.. In the event that I have missed some properties that refute the above claims, then please correct and include Googleable property names. ;/

Haven't decided if I'm OK with a borderline neighborhood that is expected to improve. If it were just myself I'd have no problem with it, but have other people to think of. Advice welcomed there as well.

[Charlotte_native]

Yeah, depends on where and how you grow up I think, I am accustomed to trains and traffic noises at night, but Alpha Mills is out of the picture, as well as seemingly most "intown" properties. They are either tailored to singles or small families by occupancy laws;

[nowensone]

Alpha and another property both quoted occupancy laws of no greater than 3 persons. It is possible Alpha has them because of the historical property regulations, but the other property manager indicated they were based on unit size. And both lamented on the laws, their hands tied, etc. I was "presentable", so don't think it was a scare tactic because they didn't want us there, both showed us the largest units anyway. I tried to convince the lady at Alpha to forget I mentioned we had 3 kids, but nothing doing. To further elaborate on the occupancy law, if you are pregnant you are allowed to remain after delivery until your lease expires, then they are required to expel you. I am sure they will turn their heads if they do not feel your family is a nuisance, but we would be 2 over the maximum to begin with, and I didn't even broach the subject of our dogs and cats.

EDIT - When I say unit size above, that should be more accurately described as number of bedrooms, so a 2 bedroom apartment cannot have more than 3 occupants, and the 2 bedroom unit is the largest that most intown properties have [i believe]. What I'm wondering is how the occupancy law works for a 3 bedroom unit - does it allow 4 total residents or 5?

[Charlotte_native]

Alpha and another property both quoted occupancy laws of no greater than 3 persons. It is possible Alpha has them because of the historical property regulations, but the other property manager indicated they were based on unit size. And both lamented on the laws, their hands tied, etc. I was "presentable", so don't think it was a scare tactic because they didn't want us there, both showed us the largest units anyway. I tried to convince the lady at Alpha to forget I mentioned we had 3 kids, but nothing doing. To further elaborate on the occupancy law, if you are pregnant you are allowed to remain after delivery until your lease expires, then they are required to expel you. I am sure they will turn their heads if they do not feel your family is a nuisance, but we would be 2 over the maximum to begin with, and I didn't even broach the subject of our dogs and cats.

[cltgirl]

Hi there... I'm a first time poster, so I have to start out by saying how excited I am to have found this site. I've lived in Charlotte most my life and can't believe how much it's changed over the years. It's great to hear that so many others are as interested in Charlotte's development as I am, and I'm very impressed by the wealth of knowledge I have found here so far!

So, my question for this group has to do with the Lake Norman area, which I'm not as familiar with. My parents are looking at moving to that area, and would love to find some new construction single-family or townhome neighborhoods in a lower price range (<$300). They like the Jetton Cove townhomes in Cornelius, because of their walkability to Jetton Park, HT, etc. Plus they seem to have good potential to go up in value with all the development possibilities in that area (i.e., the potential new Birkdale/Exit 26, etc). I would love to give them some other ideas before they make a decision though. Does any one know of any other options in that area or even on the other side of the lake (Denver) or farther up north (Troutman)?

Thanks!

[monsoon]

Welcome to the forum. You may want to have them check out some of the new communities that are proposed or being built around the transit line. Vermillion, would be a good place to start. It will be within walking distance of downtown Huntersville, the proposed train station, and also on the greenway.

[cltgirl]

Welcome to the forum. You may want to have them check out some of the new communities that are proposed or being built around the transit line. Vermillion, would be a good place to start. It will be within walking distance of downtown Huntersville, the proposed train station, and also on the greenway.

[Justadude]

nowensone, the condo tower you asked about above is called Courtside.

[nowensone]

^ Thanks, I knew it was on here somewhere but I didn't recognize it from pics, but then again I've only read aout 70% of the CLT posts, and forgotten/mixed up half of them..

[MsZaree]

My family is seriously considering moving to the Charlotte area. We have a one year old son and want to move to a family friendly area for $200K or below. We are visiting this weekend and I am loooking for help on what areas we should be sure to visit while we are there.

[pazzo83]

Hey all, I am moving down to Charlotte from DC this upcoming weekend. I've got a place figured out for now, one of my friends has a two-bedroom condo at 715 N Church and he is letting me rent one room, but towards the end of 2007 or early 2008, I'd like to buy a place. I'm looking at one of the high rises in uptown, I want to pay in the $200,000s to $300,000s for a two bedroom (I could do a one bedroom if the sq footage was right). I'm looking forward to experience a city that is truly growing.

[nmcheese]

MsZaree: Some areas to consider are the Madison Park and Montclaire neighborhoods, generally bounded by Park Rd, Archdale, South Blvd and Woodlawn. These are all 1950's-1970's single family homes in a suburban, non grid setting. Some homes have been updated more rigorously than others, but they're generally in the $200k range, and the area is a 10-15 min trip to downtown, clean, safe and convenient to many grocery stores and restaurants (5 min drive to Park Rd. Shopping Center from most parts of that neighbothood) Also close to the new light rail line, so commuting to downtown or Pineville would be easy starting at the end of this year.

Another part of town to consider is the East of Cotswold area - bounded by Randolph, Rama, Monroe and Wendover. Same general age of housing, a little bit more pricey generally, though there should be some options in the 200k range the further you get from Randolph road. Slightly less convenient to as many food and shopping options as the first two neighborhoods, though still a nice and affordable area of town.

There are numerous way-far-out neighborhoods in this price cap, though the traffic here is annoying and will only get worse - look in the 1950-1980 'middle ring' neighborhoods for the bargains in that price range - with a bit of searching you can be walking distance to a grocery store and some casual eats, or the light rail - which will open up a lot of options at the end of this year.

(mods - not sure if that was too real-estate specific for the thread - delete if neccessary - though it is worth pointing out the anti-sprawl neighborhood bargains imo)

[monsoon]

^Well........ It does say in CAPS, NO REAL ESTATE QUESTIONS, in the thread description. This isn't the thread to start up a discussion on sprawl.