Charlotte Vs Cary - Where To Move?

[JunktionFET]

Also, I don

[skysdalimit]

Yes, I guess I am comparing the Charlotte metro area vs the Raleigh metro area.  I've heard that the elementary schools in Charlotte are good, but the high schools are dangerous and you need to send your kids to private school $$$$.

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Actually, for this most part this is false. Sure there are your "ghetto" schools like West Charlotte and Garinger, but then there are your "Top 50 High Schools in the NAtion" like Providence and Myers Park. They try to blame the bad high schools on the system, but what it really comes down to is that some students care and others don't, and I don't want to sound racist or prejudiced or anything, but the majority of kids brought up in your upper-middle class neighborhoods seem to have this work ethic and the majority of those growing up in your not as rich parts seem to be lacking in this area.

Providence High School - Class of 2006 - It's an excellent school, you won't find another high school in the state that matches it's academic caliber and even it's overall greatness in sports.

[quazi]

Charlotte has more general business and industry while the Triangle has more technology, government and university related jobs. Based on your background I would make Charlotte my first choice.

I also think you need to look at what type of lifestyle you lead. Do you go to the theater alot, go to the movies particularly indies, or other cultural events. Do you shop a lot, do you like access to a variety of restaurants. If you indulge in those frequently then I would move into an actual city like Charlotte rather that one of its subrbs. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time getting to your event rather than enjoying it.

My usual take is crime is that most of it is not random. Most people know their murderer. So as long as you don

[spectacle21]

I'm replying to skysdalimit analysis of Char-Meck high schools. First of all, I don't know if you were aware of the fact that you made a shallow comment as far as the "ghetto schools" are concerned (i.e. West Charlotte & Garinger).

I am a 2004 Graduate of Garinger High School and I graduated in the top 10 percentile of my class. Not only was I heavily involved in extracurricular activities, but I also participated in community service projects that were sponsored by the school. Now, I attend Morehouse College in Atlanta.....top school in the world for educating African-American males.

While all that might not seem to correlate with the subject, I feel the need to address the fact that you can't limit the idea of juvenile deliquency to just a few schools with large minority populations. Just this week, ten students were kicked out of HOPEWELL HS and and additional twelve out of North Mecklenburg HS for disciplinary reasons. At my four years @ Garinger, I was never in a fight or never put into a situation where I felt threatened. The point is that we can't continue to center the idea of a "safe school" on a cutting edge school carved into the backyards of White America/Suburbia.

Each school has its problems and issues and I would be the first to tell you.....Garinger was not/is not high on the pole as far as resources goes....I'll finish this later.

[skysdalimit]

I'm replying to skysdalimit analysis of Char-Meck high schools. First of all, I don't know if you were aware of the fact that you made a shallow comment as far as the "ghetto schools" are concerned (i.e. West Charlotte & Garinger).

I am a 2004 Graduate of Garinger High School and I graduated in the top 10 percentile of my class. Not only was I heavily involved in extracurricular activities, but I also participated in community service projects that were sponsored by the school. Now, I attend Morehouse College in Atlanta.....top school in the world for educating African-American males.

While all that might not seem to correlate with the subject, I feel the need to address the fact that you can't limit the idea of juvenile deliquency to just a few schools with large minority populations. Just this week, ten students were kicked out of HOPEWELL HS and and additional twelve out of North Mecklenburg HS for disciplinary reasons. At my four years @ Garinger, I was never in a fight or never put into a situation where I felt threatened.  The point is that we can't continue to center the idea of a "safe school" on a cutting edge school carved into the backyards of White America/Suburbia.

Each school has its problems and issues and I would be the first to tell you.....Garinger was not/is not high on the pole as far as resources goes....I'll finish this later.

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Hey I said not to take offense, I didn't mean it in a derogatory manner. And I also said that not all people who go to those schools are like that, but the statistics show that there is a much larger percentage of people at schools like West Charlotte especially that are below grade level than schools such as Providence. Don't take offense, but there are hard facts to show it.

The statistics also show there is more school crime at schools like West Charlotte than schools such as Providence. The crime at WC is more centered around violence and common theft and the crime at Providence is more centered around the rich kids dealing and/or buying drugs, however this is not too big of a problem.

I'm sorry you took umbrage with my comments, I'm sure you are a very smart guy.

[spectacle21]

skysdalimit,

There's no animosity on my end. I just wanted to inform you that you can't really take statistics as pure fact. In reality, ALL high schools in CMS face the same problems....believe it or not. While there was never a strong, offical gang presence during my tenure @ Garinger, Independence HS has had many incidents this year surrounding gang conflict and random acts of student violence.

I think people misunderstand schools like Garinger & West Charlotte. True....their test scores are considerably lower than maybe Butler or East Meck. True......they may seem more intimidating compared to a non-stop of White students, but the social issues that the students face are surprisingly....the same. What most people don't pay attention to is the diversity of places like Garinger & West Charlotte. Garinger is argubaly the most diversified high school in CMS. Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Muslims, Asians, Western Europeans, Africans....many nations are represented @ that school. While on the contrary, Providence (& other schools of the like) is like 95% White....4% Black....& 1% Other.

Garinger gets almost no support from the system and community involvement is virtually nonexistent. I just wish people would look beyond the stereotypes and face the facts.....all teenagers face the same social problems....whether they be Black, White, Rich, Poor, etc.

[Mike1]

Just want to say thanks for all the great information that everyone provided. I greatly appreciate all the feedback regarding education, crime, healthcare, etc. in the Charlotte vs Cary (Raleigh) areas.

-Mike

[QC704]

If I was you, I would never live in Union County. It's a planning nightmare. The best suburban options to me would be northern mecklenburg and eastern gaston. Belmont is a very nice little town in eastern gaston county thats maybe 10 minutes from uptown.

[Mike1]

It's random killings (violent crime) like this that happened last night in Charlotte that make me question moving there. (See the attached link below.) Should this NOT be a concern???

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/4303752/detail.html

[RaleighHeelsfan]

It's random killings (violent crime) like this that happened last night in Charlotte that make me question moving there. (See the attached link below.)  Should this NOT be a concern???

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/4303752/detail.html

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Where are u from?

[RaleighHeelsfan]

Oh ok. You are from the Northeast. There are killings there too ya know. Cary, NC is one of the safest cities in the United States. In fact Cary is in the top 10 for safest US cities. People sometimes randomly get murdered in Cary too...lol. It happens.

I lived in NJ for a couple years. There were random murders all the time. My cousin lives in Salem, Mass. Last time I was there I remember seeing in the news that someone got murdered. It happens.

[QueenCityBobcats]

Charlotte is more than 5 times the size of Cary. It is funny that you even have a concern about Charlotte'S crime. Charlotte is the 23 largest city in the nation, having more people, it will have more crime. However it has one of the best crime rates in the country. It is the best of the top 25 cities in terms of the number of murders. Charlotte/Mecklenburg Schools had 4 in the top 150 in the nation! Myers Park, Butler, Providence and North Meck are good schools. The reason for the "dump CMS" talk has more to do with the extreme growth, and the desire for more than one school district in the City. I have lived in ITB Raleigh and Charlotte. Choose Charlotte, of all the places I've lived, its by far my favorite.

Good Luck!

[spectacle21]

A suburban bedroom community (Cary) should never be compared to a growing mid-major city (Charlotte). Cary should probably be compared to some suburban areas around Charlotte, but not the city as a whole.