moorejamesandrew

Hi All,

I am moving to the Charlotte area and will be working around Mooresville/Huntersville. I am moving over from the UK and will initially be renting with the plan of buying a few years down the line.

I am 35 years old and will be moving with my wife and two children who are three and six years old. My main focus for finding a home is where best to send the children to school so I wondered if anybody could provide some advice or recommendations for areas and maybe even schools. There is only so much Googling you can do, with this I'd really like some first hand advice if possible.

Thanks in advance,

Andy

Weberlino

I moved over from UK and have lived in CLT for almost 3 years now... it is a great up and coming city. With a small city feel, but with big city options in terms of things to do and entertainment etc.

It is also in a lovely part of the country with good weather, and lots of outdoors activities, with lakes, Mountains and coast/beach.

If you are working up in Mooresville you probably dont want to come down south to the city to live - and have to drive the 77 to get to work and back. the area up there by the lake is really nice and you shouldnt really go to wrong with anywhere you choose, there are tones of options from cornelous up to Mooresville.

moorejamesandrew

Hi,

Thanks very much for your reply.

I think Mooresville would be a good fit for us from what I have read. We have visited the city a few times and love it there but think with a young family we are keen to be able to access the city but be a little further afield.

Thanks.

Weberlino

I know a number of families that live up there and they are all really happy in that area and outside of peak hours can get to and from the city in about 20 mins.

The little towns up there by the lake all have a really nice feel and have nice countryside and the lake on your doorstep.

civilservant

Calling Pulaski .....

Pulaski

I've been "in the Charlotte area" for 19 years, and you're not going to go too far wrong in the Huntersville-Mooresville area, and probably aren't going to want to be actually in Charlotte, for the same sorts of reasons as many people don't want to live in London, Birmingham, or Manchester, with the added complication that undesirable areas of Charlotte also have the typical American gun problem. .... Further out though, you'll be fine, as crime in the 'burbs and beyond is no different from the UK really, and if anything I think burglary is less likely as would-be burglars know they run a real risk of being shot (which while traumatic for the homeowner is invariably a legal non-issue in the US).

My personal advice, given the areas you expressed an interest in, would be to recommend Mooresville as it is in a different county from Charlotte, so you'll be more insulated from the politics of Charlotte, as Charlotte dominates the county (Mecklenburg) that it is located in.

All that said, Charlotte is a great area for families, but I would't say it has "loads to do" myself. It's a great place to live, but honestly I struggle to find things to do when visitors come to stay. .... But that's probably because in the UK there are many things to do and everything is compressed so close together - I am somewhat amused that Weberlino refers to mountains and beaches in the context of Charlotte, as from Mooresville you're talking at least 1½hrs to get to anything resembling a mountain, and realistically 4+hrs to get to a beach, which would be like someone living in Watford driving to Scarborough to go to a beach! .... Though once you're settled here, you will almost certainly adjust to the American perception of distances - driving half an hour to meet someone for lunch, or an drive an hour or more for dinner, then turn around and drive home again, quickly becomes totally normal.

Weberlino

Pulaski Im somewhat amused that you are somewhat amused! I was saying that Charlotte is in a "lovely part of the country" with everything that NC offers, with coastline and beach, which you simply wouldnt have if you lived in say... Oaklahoma where seeing a beach would mean a full on vacation.

I have driven to the Beach for the day on a number of occasions and feel fortunate to be able to do that living in NC with a number of beaches to chose from. I have also left at 6am in the car and met a friend in Daytona Florida at noon for lunch. This is something i would not have thought possible without a long haul flight from living in the UK.

The OP has a young familiy and living in NC gives them the opportunity to drive to Florida for a weekend or even several times throughout the summer which is something that just wouldnt be feasible when living in the UK.

And as for mountains, Im from Norfolk originally so im easily impressed by a mountain!
But I have the options of numerous mountains and great hikes to the North, east & west for some great hikes between 40 mins to up to 2 hours that we generally go to every weekend and think nothing of that hour in the car as the State Parks offer such rewarding experience and beautiful scenery and nature to immerse yourself in.

But maybe im becoming one of those Americans you mention with a different perception of distance because I have also driven the 1200 miles to Texas to visit relatives in a single day drive!

Pulaski

Yes, you have basically proved my point exactly.

tom169

I drove close to 400 mile round trip for some fish and chips - Charlotte to Charleston. They were good though!

We’ve been in Charlotte since 2016 and assuming politics/taxation/cost of living etc stay fairly static we have no intention of moving.

moorejamesandrew

Thanks everybody for the comments so far. Plenty of food for thought.

Do any of you have children at school or have had older children in school?

What line of work are you all in?

Pulaski

We only have one child and decided to send her to a (non-religious) private school. We probably couldn't have afforded the choice we made if we had had more than one child, but we have been very happy with our decision.

tom169

My only child is in daycare. When it comes to school I’ll have to see what the state is at that time. Private school is a very real possibility.

Finance, IT, auto sports related companies dominate Charlotte and surrounding areas.

Weberlino

No Kids - But I work in IT for a Global Investment & Property company.

PetrifiedExPat

My daughters private daycare has advanced her quite a bit. I can't see any way forward for us (1 child) without sending to a private school, or to the UK to live with grandma if I'm honest. Certainly for Uni.

Pulaski

My daughter was in a phenomenally good daycare from her second birthday, and it was interesting to see her develop and the program adjust as she got older. By the time she left at age 5 she was basically doing a standard US kindergarten program every day which made for a totally seamless transition to school. ... And in fact, in anticipation of that change, we had always called daycare "school", so she really wasn't fazed at all by the change.