I just found out that my husband is probably being transferred to Charlotte, North Carolina. We currently live in the Chicago area. Does anyone from Charlotte care to chime in and tell me what it's like? Better yet, are there any transplants to Charlotte from big, Midwestern cities who can tell me what to expect? Feel free to private e-mail me if you don't want to post publicly. Thanks!
O/T Help, I'm moving to Charlotte
- Thread starter cherylnb
- Start date
TarHeelMom
Cathlete
I am a native Charlottean
Hi Cheryl!
I have lived in Atlanta for 22 years now but am a native Charlottean and my family's all still there. I think you'll really enjoy it. My children love visiting Charlotte.
Charlotte is a very nice blend of "almost big" city (great shopping, great restaurants, beautiful neighborhoods, nice museums, pretty decent theater and sports, pretty restored downtown and "urban living" area) and small town (many natives still live there, a real warm and friendly Southern feeling to the place, it's still fairly navigable in terms of traffic most of the time).
We've actually had several Atlanta friends get transferred to Charlotte, and when they come back to visit they invariably say (sheepishly) that they like most everything about Charlotte better, and that they feel they've gained a lot and given up little. That doesn't surprise me. I like Atlanta a lot and it's home to my children, but it's become a tough city to get around in. I'd move back to Charlotte in a heartbeat. Charlotte was a very nice place to grow up (although it was much smaller then -- 250,000 people compared to about 1.2 million in the metro area now, I understand), and many of my childhood friends have returned there during their adulthoods to raise their own families. It still has that reputation as a comfortable family city. The city/county government is consolidated and the public schools are (and always have been) very good. There are several excellent private schools as well. City parks are lovely. There are a couple of huge, well-maintained lakes around Charlotte with all the usual waterfront weekend sports amenities available, and now quite a few lakefront commuter neighborhoods.
The climate's typical mid-South -- summers are long, hot and humid, springs and falls are temperate and beautiful, and winters are mild (cool temps, truly cold only for about 4 - 6 weeks, generally very little snow -- it's a BIG deal to get an inch or two -- invokes "STORM WATCH TEAMS" on TV every time).
Geographically the city's nicely positioned. Besides having great waterski lakes 30 minutes away, Charlotte's also 2 hours from the beauiful NC mountains (the Appalachians) and 2 1/2 to 3 hours from the coast -- either the NC Outer Banks, which are rugged and beautiful, or the Grand Strand of South Carolina (Myrtle Beach and all points south thru Charleston all the way to Savannah and the Georgia coastal islands.)
E-mail me if you want more info -- happy to help -- and I hope you hear from some folks who actually live in Charlotte now. My e-mail's [email protected].
http://www.clicksmilie.de/sammlung/sport/sport003.gif [FONT C OLOR=Blue]Kathy S.[/FONT]
Hi Cheryl!
I have lived in Atlanta for 22 years now but am a native Charlottean and my family's all still there. I think you'll really enjoy it. My children love visiting Charlotte.
Charlotte is a very nice blend of "almost big" city (great shopping, great restaurants, beautiful neighborhoods, nice museums, pretty decent theater and sports, pretty restored downtown and "urban living" area) and small town (many natives still live there, a real warm and friendly Southern feeling to the place, it's still fairly navigable in terms of traffic most of the time).
We've actually had several Atlanta friends get transferred to Charlotte, and when they come back to visit they invariably say (sheepishly) that they like most everything about Charlotte better, and that they feel they've gained a lot and given up little. That doesn't surprise me. I like Atlanta a lot and it's home to my children, but it's become a tough city to get around in. I'd move back to Charlotte in a heartbeat. Charlotte was a very nice place to grow up (although it was much smaller then -- 250,000 people compared to about 1.2 million in the metro area now, I understand), and many of my childhood friends have returned there during their adulthoods to raise their own families. It still has that reputation as a comfortable family city. The city/county government is consolidated and the public schools are (and always have been) very good. There are several excellent private schools as well. City parks are lovely. There are a couple of huge, well-maintained lakes around Charlotte with all the usual waterfront weekend sports amenities available, and now quite a few lakefront commuter neighborhoods.
The climate's typical mid-South -- summers are long, hot and humid, springs and falls are temperate and beautiful, and winters are mild (cool temps, truly cold only for about 4 - 6 weeks, generally very little snow -- it's a BIG deal to get an inch or two -- invokes "STORM WATCH TEAMS" on TV every time).
Geographically the city's nicely positioned. Besides having great waterski lakes 30 minutes away, Charlotte's also 2 hours from the beauiful NC mountains (the Appalachians) and 2 1/2 to 3 hours from the coast -- either the NC Outer Banks, which are rugged and beautiful, or the Grand Strand of South Carolina (Myrtle Beach and all points south thru Charleston all the way to Savannah and the Georgia coastal islands.)
E-mail me if you want more info -- happy to help -- and I hope you hear from some folks who actually live in Charlotte now. My e-mail's [email protected].
http://www.clicksmilie.de/sammlung/sport/sport003.gif [FONT C OLOR=Blue]Kathy S.[/FONT]
H
honeybunch
Guest
RE: I am a native Charlottean
So, Miz Kathy, you are a for-real Southern Belle! Fiddle de de!
So, Miz Kathy, you are a for-real Southern Belle! Fiddle de de!
TarHeelMom
Cathlete
RE: I am a native Charlottean
Well, 'sho nuf, Miz HoneyB! Was there evah any doubt??
My People --- let me define that term for ya -- Here in the Southland, to learn someone's family heritage, which is vital for assessing a person's unchangeable family-based social standing
, when we meet someone for the first time we say in a pleasant voice, "Now, where are Your People from?" or "Who are Your People?") --- like I was saying, My People on both sides of my family are all from Charlotte and points south in the Carolinas -- you know, that part of the country in which that pesky little skirmish of the 1860's is often referred to as "the War of Northern Aggression."
None of My People are from Charleston, SC, however -- and I must say that to clarify because I am told by friends who ARE Charleston-connected that in Charleston that same war is more correctly called "The Late Unpleasantness."
I'm not makin' any of this up, and it just further enhances what a charming place my hometown is!! ;-)
http://www.clicksmilie.de/sammlung/sport/sport003.gif [FONT C OLOR=Blue]Kathy S.
Well, 'sho nuf, Miz HoneyB! Was there evah any doubt??
My People --- let me define that term for ya -- Here in the Southland, to learn someone's family heritage, which is vital for assessing a person's unchangeable family-based social standing
, when we meet someone for the first time we say in a pleasant voice, "Now, where are Your People from?" or "Who are Your People?") --- like I was saying, My People on both sides of my family are all from Charlotte and points south in the Carolinas -- you know, that part of the country in which that pesky little skirmish of the 1860's is often referred to as "the War of Northern Aggression." None of My People are from Charleston, SC, however -- and I must say that to clarify because I am told by friends who ARE Charleston-connected that in Charleston that same war is more correctly called "The Late Unpleasantness."
I'm not makin' any of this up, and it just further enhances what a charming place my hometown is!! ;-)
http://www.clicksmilie.de/sammlung/sport/sport003.gif [FONT C OLOR=Blue]Kathy S.
H
honeybunch
Guest
RE: I am a native Charlottean
Folks are transplanted so much anymore, it's hard to tell who is from where. I stayed put, except for a trek 6o miles south of here. That was into what is know as "Amish Country," and it was like moving to another planet. I came back in 4 years.
I'm especially fond of the Winston-Salem - Raleigh area.
Folks are transplanted so much anymore, it's hard to tell who is from where. I stayed put, except for a trek 6o miles south of here. That was into what is know as "Amish Country," and it was like moving to another planet. I came back in 4 years.
I'm especially fond of the Winston-Salem - Raleigh area.
TarHeelMom
Cathlete
RE: I am a native Charlottean
HB, I like the Raleigh-Durham/WS/Chapel Hill area too, very much -- it's bustling and beautiful but somehow has maintained a smaller-town feel, probably because of the college campuses all around (which are wonderful).
I've never been to your part of Ohio, but we did spend a few days in Cleveland a few years ago for a wedding and took a couple of afternoons to drive around the Amish country. It is beautiful but truly did feel like stepping somehow onto another planet. Cleveland was terrific -- not at all what our Southern stereotyped impressions led us to expect!
http://www.clicksmilie.de/sammlung/sport/sport003.gif [FONT C OLOR=Blue]Kathy S.[/FONT]
HB, I like the Raleigh-Durham/WS/Chapel Hill area too, very much -- it's bustling and beautiful but somehow has maintained a smaller-town feel, probably because of the college campuses all around (which are wonderful).
I've never been to your part of Ohio, but we did spend a few days in Cleveland a few years ago for a wedding and took a couple of afternoons to drive around the Amish country. It is beautiful but truly did feel like stepping somehow onto another planet. Cleveland was terrific -- not at all what our Southern stereotyped impressions led us to expect!
http://www.clicksmilie.de/sammlung/sport/sport003.gif [FONT C OLOR=Blue]Kathy S.[/FONT]
H
honeybunch
Guest
RE: I am a native Charlottean
Cleveland has made a real come-back in recent years. Lots of great museums and such, which is important to me. You may have read my post on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Pittsburgh is a favorite city of mine....real easy to find your way around. My youngest son went to the Pittsburgh Art Institute.
Cleveland has made a real come-back in recent years. Lots of great museums and such, which is important to me. You may have read my post on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Pittsburgh is a favorite city of mine....real easy to find your way around. My youngest son went to the Pittsburgh Art Institute.