Alright here's the deal.

Im pretty new to s2ki but have been browsing around for a while. I live in SE Ohio right now and have just started getting to know some of the s2ki guys up here. The thing is my wife is graduating from her masters program and she got a job at Wingate University.

I don't know that much about the area but have noticed that a lot of you are from the Charlotte area and I am hoping to get some feedback. We will be moving down in June (no date for sure) and I had some questions. I have been reading the thread about ydandy moving down because a lot of that applies here.

Looking at maps, the drive from the Matthews area (which we are looking at) seems like it could take a while with traffic but we need to be close to Charlotte because that's where I will be job searching. Do you guys think that it would be too far from Wigate for her to drive daily? Any insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

BTW...We are a young couple (mid 20s) have MY00 NFR as you can tell, and I'm looking forward to talking to you all more and hopefully meeting some of you in the future.

 

Congrats on the impending move. You'll get to enjoy your S even more down here!

I'm not from the Charlotte area, so I can't be of too much help, but Matthews is a nice area. One of my friends from college was from there.

 

I would suggest temporary housing like an apartment until you find a job. Then you can make a better decision. The drive from Matthews to Wingate will get old fast. You may want to consider Monroe. If you wait until you find a job, you can split the commute.

 

Thanks for the responses already....

What is Monroe like? I haven't heard much about it but I did see it on the map between Wingate and Charlotte.

I have started looking at houses/apartments and all the apartments there seem to be more monthly than a house payment for a decent priced small house. So I was leaning towards buying a small house......gotta garage the S

 

suburban sprawl. the demise of america!

before you buy anything, make sure you drive in traffic when you'll be going to work. ive spent 45 minutes going from matthews to wingate during rush hour (on my way to the beach). there are closer options, but take some banjo lessons before moving in. :] also, where do you want to work in charlotte? charlotte is a megasprawlapolis and takes an hour to drive around it at 2am in the morning and about 3 hours during rush hour. ballantyne wouldnt be too bad to work in, but if you plan on working in uptown from mathews. eek! sorry to be a pessimist but i dont know what possesses people to live in the burbs and commute two hours a day. id look into weddington if you wont be working in uptown (60-90min commute) although cheap housing is a bit hard to find there.

 

Pessimist or not, it's more info from someone that knows....

I have no idea where I will be working, she just found out yesterday that she got the job at Wingate, so I haven't really had much time to look yet. I know that traffic in Charlotte can be a PITA from going through on my way to the beach, so we are trying to stay pretty close to Charlotte but still have a decent drive for her to work. This is all happening so fast I'm just looking for all the info I can get and appreciate you guys willing to provide some.

 

IMO stay away from Monroe, or excuse me- MONroe (always emphasize the first syllable in the south). There are a lot of new/nice neighborhoods that are south and east of I485/Hwy. 74 in Union County, all with varying price ranges.

BTW, I know the town manager in Wingate but I am not sure if he is still there or not. For awhile there was a push entice a younger demographic into the area. Not sure what its like now.

You'll love hanging out with the CLT crowd!

 

aka its full of the 29% that still support bush :]

 

Is it that high????

 

I agree with the statement about the commute from matthews to wingate. it will get old. The only good thing is that going shouldnt be too bad as everyone comes into the city in the mornings. seems that the opposite however is not true as people are still coming into the city in the evenings. I also agree with the weddington/ waxhaw statement. It would be worth looking into since I-485 is easily accessible from there. Also scout out indian trail and mint hill areas. similar to weddington/waxhaw without all the south charlotte BS and SC traffic. I-485 is also pretty easily accessible. Raul (airgate) recently moved to this area and would be a good person to talk to.