885,708
Population
Sunny Days: 218
95100 Affordability
89100 Schools
100100 Diversity
75100 Safety
Charlotte, North Carolina
The Hornet's Nest
Charlotte Sunset, Credit: Daniel Weiss
Uptown Charlotte, Credit: Kyo H. Nam
Downtown Charlotte Art Scene, Credit: Alex Grichenko
Camp North End, Credit: Camden & Hailey George
LookyLOO Review of Charlotte
Work Hard. Play Hard.
Charlotte is a small town with big-city feels. Most known for being the biggest banking city outside of NYC and SF, Charlotte can also be summed up with the phrase “banks and beer.” The city boasts a relatively low cost of living alongside ample job opportunities in the banking and medical fields. If you work that hard, you have to play harder. If anyone asks a local what there is to do in Charlotte, they’ll probably roll their eyes, take a big breath, and rattle off one of the many tourist attractions Charlotte is known for: go to a Panthers or Hornets game, visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame, go to the U.S. National Whitewater Center, or visit the Bechtler Museum Modern Art. You’ll say thank you and they’ll continue on their way to one of the amazing, dog-friendly, breweries to enjoy the local craft beer and amazing weather.
Charlotte is not exempt from the same lack of city planning that plagues its larger southern counterparts (we’re looking at you, ATL). Locals will complain about traffic getting exponentially worse as time goes on and a lot of that has to do with trying to make room for the vast number of people looking to make Charlotte their new home. As expansion takes over the city proper, many Charlotteans are moving to the suburbs to get away from rising costs of living and constant construction.
Lifestyle
Charlotte is a small town with big city feels. In addition to the tourist attractions mentioned earlier, large shopping centers, amusement parks, and nearby surfing and skiing hotspots provide residents with a massive list of things to do socially. A surprise to no locals, Charlotte consistently finds itself cemented near the top of the nation for foodies, with a wide range of highly rated options, many of which are dog friendly!
Some downsides to social life in Charlotte include nightlife and public transit. Despite its large population of young professionals (Charlotte is a magnet for UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, and Davidson grads), a common complaint from younger generations of Charlotteans is the lack of things to do past midnight. If you do find something to do that late, be sure to find a designated driver or call an Uber, because a lackluster public transit system likely won’t be doing you any favors.
https://www.hellolanding.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-living-in-charlotte/
Check out the calendar of events for Charlotte if you want to see the happenings:
Worklife
It’s not just bankers in Buzz City. Charlotte boasts a steady job market in a solid variety of sectors for a southern spot. A substantially sized healthcare sector, headlined by Atrium Health and Novant Health, is growing rapidly. Lowe’s, Honeywell International, Duke Energy and Sonic Automotive are another handful of Fortune 500s that call Charlotte their home. The big players in Charlotte’s finance sector are Bank of America, Truist Financial and Wells Fargo, with other banking options around Charlotte’s downtown. With solid pay and an unemployment rate well below the national average, Charlotte is a great place to look for your next career move.
Schools
Charlotte is part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District. It scores a "B+" on niche.com and like any large city has schools that are considered excellent and those considered lower performing. The greatest concentration of high performers is on the southern side of the city although there are also schools that earn "A'" in the city center and at the northern end. You'll need to keep an eye on the neighborhood if you want to be in the zone for the excellent publics close to you.
A couple of the highest ranking schools include:
- Ardrey Kell High School: the highest ranked public high school in the county according to niche.com.
- Charlotte Engineering Early College is another excellent school. It's the public magnet for Charlotte and is a joint school project between the district and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Here is a local's take on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system:
Depending on what you want to do, it can significantly change what areas you should move to. So, any area you move to has a public school zone. Magnet schools are theoretically open to any kid in NC, and you have to apply via lottery, although they do have a small geographic zone as well. Charter schools are schools funded by the state but run by non-gov. entities. In general stay the heck away. Private schools will take anyone as long as the check clears.
If you want to do public, you have to move to a specific area, and even then it can get re-zoned out from under you. My kids were zoned Cotswold Elementary- AG Middle, and Myers Park High, all good schools (we lotteried into Randolph Middle). We're happy with those. Depending on the areas you want to move to, just check the zoned schools and see if you're happy with them.
If you want to move to an area with crappy public options, you can then hope to get a lottery public spot somewhere decent, or pay for private. Up to you. I didn't relish the idea of my kid's education costing $300k before college, so we moved to an area that had good public options.
Why You Should Move Here Now?
Be a part of something bigger!
As with most hidden gem cities, you want to move before it's too late! More than that, Charlotte has been called a city "searching for its soul as it grows'' and that couldn't be more true. Although life-long Charlottans are few and far between, everyone who moves here moved for gorgeous weather, affordability (relatively), and the ease and allure of the many weekend getaway spots. Don't count Charlotte out - as it grows, we think it'll find its place amongst the best little cities in the US.
Reviews of Charlotte from Locals
Making room for all the expansion
AlliFitz
Living in Charlotte
Updated 2y ago
✭✭✭✭
Pros and Cons of Charlotte
Fair disclaimer: I am from here (as is my husband) so our families are here, I have lived in different places but made my way back to Charlotte.
Things I like about Charlotte: It still has a small town feel but with way more to do. It's growing, fast, so thanks to that there's always something new to check out. There are too many weekend getaway destinations to even list. We get most major tours, our local symphony is fantastic. Traffic isn't that bad compared to many places. The climate is mild. Cost of living is rising, but is affordable. We own a home, utilities are inexpensive, taxes aren't bad.
What I always tell people is Charlotte is a great place to live, but not a great place to visit. It's not a destination. But Charlotte was great for me in my 20's, and is also great for me in my 30's. Depending on where you live, your lifestyle can be completely different.
For more reviews from locals check out: The Reviews.
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Living in Charlotte
Neighborhoods in Charlotte
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The Area
Charlotte is centrally located, just north of the South Carolina border. Similar to Jacksonville, Charlotte is incredibly large. It’s the largest city in North Carolina and the second-most populous city in the Southeast. Being that large, it’s bound to have a lot of neighborhoods…199 to be exact.