Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

Hi all!

Looking to move to Cornelius/ Huntersville area of Charlotte and wanting to know more about now we go about renting a house as expats or “transplants” as we seem to be referred to! 😂
Also wondering about school places for my 7 year old daughter.
Did people find sorting anything that requires a credit history tough e.g. housing, insurance etc?
We are so excited about this new adventure but quite daunted about all the things that need sorting!

Also - is anyone renting out their property in the U.K. whilst you’re away?

Many thanks in advance!

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

NC is very popular and there is another Charlotte move being discussed.

Generally school is based on where you will be living.

Presumably a Company move, are you getting a decent allowance and help?

Yep, I rent out property.

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

Thank you for your reply!

We requested a transfer with my husbands company who have agreed and we are hoping they will support financially in some capacity but as it’s us driving it, I don’t know how much we can expect yet. (All of that needs to be discussed with them obviously; we are just in the initial stages at the mo.)
Do you know if you can use your employer as some form or guarantor or reference for renting?

School wise I figured it was based on catchment - which is a little scary in that surely that means we have to sort accommodation first in order to secure a place? But for me, schools will drive our choice of house location so seems like it might be tricky to line it all up?

Do you have to pay tax on your rental income from your U.K. property?

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

The usual situation, normally the more expensive the property the better the school district.

I certainly have heard of Employers helping with rentals.

Everything gets taxed, US system is different, well they tax you on your world wide income, but the amount is calculated differently.

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

When looking at rentals I carried a letter from my employer, just to prove that I did have a job at that time......

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

Cornelius and Huntersville isn't Charlotte.

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

So what is it then?

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

ok that’s good to know, thank you

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

They are separate cities in their own right, but effectively suburbs of Charlotte. It's a bit like someone moving "to London", but actually living in, say, Kingston, Watford, or Sevenoaks - they aren't actually in London, but to most of the UK, they might as well be.

Huntersville and Cornelius are in the same county as Charlotte, Mecklenburg county, so they get swept up in some county-wide issues such as policing and schools. Therefore, personally I would recommend looking a little further north in Mooresville so as to avoid the three-ring-circus that is Charlotte politics. You may not have realized, and the media didn't seem interested in reporting, that NC's "bathroom law" kerfuffle in 2016 wasn't started by the NC Republican party in Raleigh, it was actually started by the Democrats on Charlotte city council, passing a local ordinance that, by any objective measure was entirely unnecessary and was only passed for the purposes of political posturing.

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

Renting isn't a big deal. You may need to put down a larger deposit. Insurance isn't either. I ended up getting my no claims approved here when I first moved.

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

oh ok great - which company was that with?

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

Liberty mutual. You will need to retake your driving test and get an NC licence.

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

"Retake"? That implies a similar degree of difficulty, and nothing could be further from the truth. Road tests in the US are an utter joke. My usual advice is "try not to run over more than one pedestrian and you'll pass", and I am not sure that that's amusing, as it seriously seems to be about the standard of driving that the test expects. :(

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

thank you for explaining this 👍🏻

Re: Moving to Charlotte, NC
 

Ok true. Mine consisted of a three point turn that I was told "don't worry, take as many points as you need".