Hi Everyone! My name is Kaitlyn, and I am considering a move to Charlotte, NC within the next 6 months or so for a job opportunity. I have never been and am planning a weekend trip to fly out and see if I like the area sometime soon. I have had my '03 SSM S2K for 6 years, and she will definitely be coming with me, so a house with a garage (3 Car if possible) is a must. Does anyone have any advice on what are good places to live, what the housing rental market is like, etc? We wouldn't be looking to buy a house until we settled after a year or so, but we would definitely be wanting to rent a house with at least a small yard. My husband and are just sick of the crazy Arizona heat and are looking for a change! Thanks in advance for any input you have!

 

Its pretty darn hot here right now too, lol! The humidity is the struggle over here.

Where is your job opportunity located exactly? How long of a commute time-wise would you find acceptable?

 

The job is near Ballantyne and the 521 in Charlotte. I really hate having to drive more than 30 mins or so to work but I am not sure if that's reasonable for that area...

The heat here is just too much for me, in the summer it's over 110* for more than 30 days in a row, and I miss trees and grass, lol. I am from the east coast but I've lived here for a bit over 10 years.

 

Search south Charlotte area. It's nice and there are plenty of options.

 

Yeah the south Charlotte area is probably where you want to be. Ballantyne, Weddington, Marvin are all very nice areas outside the 485 loop. The areas inside the loop on the south side are nice as well; South Park and such. Some areas are a bit older inside the loop, but still very nice.

I prefer to be a bit closer to the country side of things... Some areas of Weddington are a bit more rural, but Wesley Chapel and Waxhaw are much more rural while still offering very nice new constructions and small suburb areas.

I'd imagine the rental properties might be a bit more scarce in the high income areas like Marvin... Apartments and town homes will be more available there than actual rental houses. The more suburb/rural areas will have more houses for rent.

 

Thanks for the tips so far! We are totally ok with a little Rural and Older, as long as the roads aren't in too bad of condition. I am eventually going to get back into horseback riding so horse friendly areas are a definite plus! We will really be looking for a house, and will probably rule out town houses. From just doing a quick search on Craigslist, prices look very reasonable to me, much cheaper than Arizona.

 

Lots of horses in Weddington. My wife rides, so I've been to several down that way.

 

Also Weddington, Wesley Chapel, and Waxhaw are all in Union county, so you avoid the higher Mecklenburg county taxes.

 

You could also consider the South Carolina side of the boarder. There are several S2KIers just south of the boarder near Audrey Kell and the Fort Mill area off 521 is growing fast.

 

Thanks for all of the info so far everyone! I am looking at taking a trip out there towards the end of July hopefully.

Does anyone know of a Realtor that also shows rental properties? I am looking to get a custom search going so I can get an idea of what we will be paying for rent. So far I have just been looking at rental properties on Craigslist, not sure how accurate those listings are to the market.