I’m headed back to working in downtown Charlotte. Any comments on the best place to live in Charlotte with a wife and two elementary school aged kids would be appreciated. Need good schools, good price per sq/ft on house and good commute to downtown.
My choices right now are as follows:
1)Cabbarrus County/Harrisburg or Poplar Tent area
2)Ft. Mill
3)Huntersville/Lake Norman
Anyone with any ideas about these areas or other suggestions please inform.
thanks-
…working in downtown Charlotte… …3)Huntersville/Lake Norman…
Want to torture yourself because you’re in to that type of self inflicted pain? Move to the Lake and commute up and down I-77 to/from downtown everyday. If you think the mornings are bad, wait’ll you see the afternoon rush. Bring something to entertain yourself, you’ll be in the car for an hour plus.
Maybe the new lanes they’re opening will help. I doubt it.
rule of thumb, do not live above downtown(see above message) always below.
East Lincoln. 10 minutes from Huntersville/Lake Norman. Not nearly as crowded and take HWY 16 into town (30 minutes). Seriously, it’s nice out here. Also, I would check out Lake Wylie/Belmont/Mt. Holly.
The Poplar Tent corridor of Cabarrus Co. is a great place with a lot of new shopping areas and new schools either already completed or on the way. It’s also very convenient with easy access to I-85. Be prepared to shell out some bucks, though.
I live near Lake Wylie, the commute isn’t bad at all. There are actually 3 or 4 easy ways to get downtown.
SE Charlotte , Carmel Road area, Send your kids to Charlotte Latin.
[i]Originally posted by ninermike[/i]@Jul 12 2004, 03:14 PM [b] I'm headed back to working in downtown Charlotte. Any comments on the best place to live in Charlotte with a wife and two elementary school aged kids would be appreciated. Need good schools, good price per sq/ft on house and good commute to downtown.My choices right now are as follows:
1)Cabbarrus County/Harrisburg or Poplar Tent area
2)Ft. Mill
3)Huntersville/Lake NormanAnyone with any ideas about these areas or other suggestions please inform.
thanks- [/b]
I’m partial but I would recommend the Fort Mill school district. 2000 SQ homes go for around $180 all the way up to McMansions $400+. I volunteer every week in Ft. Mill schools and know first hand how good they are.
The commute isn’t bad b/c SC widens to 8 lanes and that tends ro move the traffic along faster. Also there are express buses (41X and 82X) that are $2.20 a ride or just buy a discounted monthly pass.
The bad is living in SC the tuition for public universities increases by about $2000 a year as I was comparing Charlotte vs. Winthrop, etc.
[b]The Poplar Tent corridor of Cabarrus Co. is a great place with a lot of new shopping areas and new schools either already completed or on the way. It's also very convenient with easy access to I-85. Be prepared to shell out some bucks, though. [/b]
Have you tried commuting down I-85 to 77? I would have to agree with NA and Pcon - Don’t live north of downtown and try to commute - and I consider Poplar Tent north of Downtown. I did this commute for a couple of months and my husband did it for a little over a year before we moved to Matthews. Our neighborhood is off of Sardis Rd, so we have very convenient access to Independence, Monroe/7th St, 485, Providence, Fairview/Tyvola, etc…, to get around town. The great thing is that Charlotte runs through our backyard so we’re convenient to everything - but we don’t pay Charlotte City Limit taxes (it would be about 1K more in taxes a year). And if, like sf49er, you want to send your children to private school, they are all very close.
[i]Originally posted by CharlotteAlum[/i]@Jul 13 2004, 07:46 AM [b] Have you tried commuting down I-85 to 77? I would have to agree with NA and Pcon - Don't live north of downtown and try to commute - and I consider Poplar Tent north of Downtown. I did this commute for a couple of months and my husband did it for a little over a year before we moved to Matthews. Our neighborhood is off of Sardis Rd, so we have very convenient access to Independence, Monroe/7th St, 485, Providence, Fairview/Tyvola, etc..., to get around town. The great thing is that Charlotte runs through our backyard so we're convenient to everything - but we don't pay Charlotte City Limit taxes (it would be about 1K more in taxes a year). And if, like sf49er, you want to send your children to private school, they are all very close. [/b]The traffic coming into downtown from Pineville/Matthews/SC on 485 and 77 is a killer. I see it everyday. The good thing about driving in from South of downtown is there are so many other roads to take. It will someday be like that out to University/Huntersville Cornelius.
My wife and I built a new house in Sutton Place, which is right behind Baxter in Fort Mill. Very easy commute; I can get to 77 in 2 minutes. You will hit the typical slowdown at the 77-485 interchange but all in all, it’s not bad at all.
I used to live in Highland Creek and that commute was an absolute nightmare. On a good day I can make it downtown in 20 - 25 minutes from Fort Mill.
[b]The traffic coming into downtown from Pineville/Matthews/SC on 485 and 77 is a killer. I see it everyday. The good thing about driving in from South of downtown is there are so many other roads to take. It will someday be like that out to University/Huntersville Cornelius. [/b]
I disagree - I don’t ever see any other option to get downtown from Huntersville/Cornelius/Davidson/Mooresville than 77. I grew up there, and it has never been different. The only options that you have are Highway 21 or Beatties Ford, but the 35 mph speed zones kill those. And during the school year, 21 is a nightmare from all of the teenagers trying to get to school. I know that there have been some widening projects in that area, but the population will continue to increase and outweigh any progress. The only positive progression that I see is 485 - but once it is complete, I feel as though it too will become congested.
The main positive with Matthews is that we have so many different routes into downtown so that on any given day you can avoid most of the traffic accidents. But don’t listen to me, I work out in BFE - so I commute against traffic, not with it.
I have lived on Southeast Charlotte, University and now the Lake. I think the Lake blows everything else away and the commute is really not that bad at all to downtown/back. With the widening of 77, a 5:00 PM commute from downtown is usually around 30 minutes to Cornelius. To me, that’s worth it to be able to hop on the water whenever you want to…not to mention the view. There’s also plenty of fine places to eat and drink (and golf)at.! That’s my vote for what it’s worth.
…SPLASH!!!
Nobody lived out there then. Harris used to be one lane to 77 with nothing on it (1990). I think the plan in the north is to widen and change the path of some of the roads like Prosperity Church. Also, 21 and 115 will be four lanes and will be similar to Park Rd, Carmel, Fairview, etc on the south side.
clt lives in cornelius and advises your rudy poo self to live uptown. live as close as you can to uptown fool.
Ballantyne Commons Area
[b]Nobody lived out there then. Harris used to be one lane to 77 with nothing on it (1990). I think the plan in the north is to widen and change the path of some of the roads like Prosperity Church. Also, 21 and 115 will be four lanes and will be similar to Park Rd, Carmel, Fairview, etc on the south side. [/b]
Well people did live out there - and traffic has always been rough getting into Charlotte. Yeah, Harris had nothing on it, and since then the population has sky rocketed and Harris has only doubled in size. How do they plan to reroute Prosperity? I don’t see that happening - and even if it did, how would it help? It only goes from Eastfield to Tryon - the only traffic that you would have is that stemming from Highland Creek. And then you just get on Tryon, which is already congested in the mornings. These changes that you speak of will not help those in the true Huntersville/Cornelius/Davidson commute. Once again with 21 and 115 widening, the population increase has already outweighed any positive effects of widening. Plus, 115 doesn’t get you into Charlotte, you either have to jump onto 21 or 77 at Sunset Rd. And once again, the 35 mph speed zones, don’t help traffic move very quickly. Providence, Carmel, etc, don’t have small individual towns that are trying to preserve their townships. Huntersville will not increase the speed limits by very much in an effort to maintain their community.
I have no pick, but this got me thinking about why I like the idea of living close-in. It’s not the social benefits as much as the convenience itself. "It’s your time or your money."
What is your time worth to you?
I know prices are ridiculous, but, the way I see it, if you can save an hour to enjoy at home with your kids instead of risking your life on 77 every afternoon, well, then you might not care about a garden tub, square feet, or banking a few extra hundred every month.
[i]Originally posted by CharlotteAlum[/i]@Jul 13 2004, 09:56 AM [b][b]Nobody lived out there then. Harris used to be one lane to 77 with nothing on it (1990). I think the plan in the north is to widen and change the path of some of the roads like Prosperity Church. Also, 21 and 115 will be four lanes and will be similar to Park Rd, Carmel, Fairview, etc on the south side. [/b]Well people did live out there - and traffic has always been rough getting into Charlotte. Yeah, Harris had nothing on it, and since then the population has sky rocketed and Harris has only doubled in size. How do they plan to reroute Prosperity? I don’t see that happening - and even if it did, how would it help? It only goes from Eastfield to Tryon - the only traffic that you would have is that stemming from Highland Creek. And then you just get on Tryon, which is already congested in the mornings. These changes that you speak of will not help those in the true Huntersville/Cornelius/Davidson commute. Once again with 21 and 115 widening, the population increase has already outweighed any positive effects of widening. Plus, 115 doesn’t get you into Charlotte, you either have to jump onto 21 or 77 at Sunset Rd. And once again, the 35 mph speed zones, don’t help traffic move very quickly. Providence, Carmel, etc, don’t have small individual towns that are trying to preserve their townships. Huntersville will not increase the speed limits by very much in an effort to maintain their community. [/b]
I agree that everything will bottleneck once it gets closer to town but roads from Univ city/Derita to Cornelius will improve.