Charlotte, North Carolina

Don't know much but it used to be a part of my auditing territory. Charlotte was easily one of the nicer cities I'd go to, and the downtown was hopping at noon (like a city is supposed to be), as opposed to shuttered and lonely, like a lot of other Southern cities seemed to be in the late '90s.

They still seem to have a lot going on, see: http://www.charlottechamber.com/
http://charlotte.citysearch.com/
http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/Pages/Default.aspx

Sorry this is a little random (a bit distracted today). But Charlotte is a beautiful place.

My wife grew up in Rock Hill, SC (just over the SC border) and my in-laws were both in the public school system there. They would tell you straight off, do not put your children in SC public schools. Sanford has been hacking funding for schools there as part of cost cutting/lowering taxes and they are in bad shape.

Charlotte on the other hand is a great place, but has been hit hard by the downturn in banking. NC annexation laws have allowed it to expand into its suburbs and maintain a strong tax base, so it has decent services and doesn't really have a very depressed inner city area. It has installed light rail lines out towards the major suburbs and I would encourage your friend to take that into account when looking at real estate. The light rail is clean and efficient; I was impressed. The large banks downtown have fueled a lot of cultural growth as well. I've gone to Charlotte to catch Broadway plays and music concerts. There are nice places for children as well.

If he is working north of town, your friend might consider the countryside between Winston Salem and Charlotte. Land there is reasonable and I-85 will get you to either one in a reasonable amount of time.

Thanks, those are both encouraging!

A few plonks:

http://www.ncreportcards.org/src/

http://www.city-data.com/forum/charlotte/17119-best-school-districts.html

http://www.greatschools.net

My favorite city in North Carolina, having resided there twice over five years. Big enough to be the home to an NBA and NFL franchise, yet small enough to learn your way around the town in a month. Compared to Atlanta the traffic is light, and still has many things of interest. UNC Charlotte has about 20,000 students, the NASCAR speedway is only a few miles from the UNCC campus. The people are generous and good-willed.

The best place to enjoy music is the Double Door on Independence Ave.

When looking at a home be sure to check out the traffic to and from the job during the same hours you would do so in real life, because there are some places to and from which it is hard to get.

While Charlotte is not my favorite NC city, I think most folks would find it a great place to live. As others have said, if they are concerned about schools, they should look within the city limits, or at least close by. There should be some great bargains house-wise in that area.
Personally, I've always found Charlotte a bit soulless and sterile for my taste. The whole city looks like it was slapped up 20 years ago, but my friends who live there love it.
Under no circumstances, should they consider South Carolina.

The only thing I can add is that it has a very large modern airport that is easily accessible and is a MAJOR hub for USAIR.

I've not been to Charlotte in 5 years or so, but unless it's got lot's better, the highways seemed overwhelmed by the population growth.

verra ugly rush hour traffic...

I go there occasionally for work. The people I know there like it well enough. It's very much bible belt territory -- the main road out from the airport to the city is Billy Graham Pkwy -- and a young jewish woman I know had a very difficult time there and decided to move back here after a year, or so. One of my closest friends from Vt moved there a number of years ago and loves it.

Durham, North Carolina is home to one of the greatest little record labels ever, Merge Records

Indeed, they have improved the highways dramatically. NC charges the highest gas tax in the South and routinely uses it to upgrade roads.

Any idea if they want a more country or suburban setting? There are some great neighborhoods there, much like where I work, that are practically self-contained little towns. She can google "master planned community Charlotte" if she wants something in a suburban setting that includes parks, pool, recreation, sidewalks, town centers, etc. Some are upscale and gated, but most are not.

Oh cool, glad you stopped by!

They would prefer a more urban area, a nice neighborhood within actual Charlotte IF it's within a good school district. Good school districts are their number one priority, they'll put up with suburbs or rural areas to get that but they really prefer a city. (They both came from small towns and escaped to the big city [Columbus] and love our current area for its small-town feel in terms of friendliness and community while still being close to downtown Columbus.)

if you are a religious person you'll love it. Churches are everywhere

Good thing you brought that up.
Answer people who ask you about which church you're in, because it is usually an invitation. Say you already have a church even if you have to pick a name out of the newspaper.

Not really a culturally diverse or rich place.