Welcome to Charlotte - typed fast excuse the gaps in info

OK currently I can't comment and can't email so I'm going to post on what I think someone moving to Charlotte needs to know!

I love this city, so very much!!! I was born here, and although I now reside in Concord I still love Charlotte!!!

Neighborhoods, depends on what you are looking for.
Lake Norman, if you have to work in South Charlotte and you decide to move to this part of Charlotte (Mooresville/Cornelius/Huntersville) you are looking at an extremely long commute. 77 is the main route down to Charlotte and the traffic is horrific. It's a beautiful area and if your job has you up this way the best thing to do is find a nice place in this location

University area, several companies have their headquarters in this area. Harrisburg/Concord/Kannapolis are cities that would be good or Huntersville. Not really a great location for home ownership at this current point in time. Another option is Southpark/Cotswold or Plaza Midwood areas.

Now my personal favorite part of the city is my old neighborhood. I have a wonderful little condo in the Cotswold area. Close to uptown, Ballantyne, University, Lake Nornman, Fort Mill, Matthews, Monroe. Cotswold area is close to Southpark Mall, the hospitals, beautiful neighborhoods for running!!! The Cotswold shopping center has a fabulous marshalls, lots of restaurants, and a 24 hour grocery store.

If you go east of Charlotte there is Matthews and Monroe, as well as Indian Trail, Stallings, Weddington. All have wonderful neighborhoods and the main route into town is 74 (Indpendence) this can be very crowded and during rush hour is not easy to navigate at all if you have to travel to uptown. If your office location will be in one of these cities or Ballantyne then these are easy commutes.

Southcharlotte is Ballantyne, Fort Mill (SC), Pineville, Indian Land (SC). This is very much a family driven area. If you work uptown you are in for a horrific commute up 77 and on 485. Beautiful houses, very nice area, just wouldn't want to live here if I had to make a commute further then Ballantyne, Pineville or Southpark.

The Industrial side of Charlotte is more the west side and I know very little about this area. I'm also unfamiliar with the Southwest side, Gastonia, and that area.

I mentioned the Plaza Midwood area. This is one of those locations where there are trendy restaurnats, a very diverse group of residents, and very close to uptown. Not sure the crime stats right now. Uptown has apartments and condos and then NoDa (North Davidson) is the art district, trendy, fun, and there are houses available, not sure the crime stats of house break ins and such and in truth it's a possibility in any neighborhood.

Restaurants:
Fried Pickles: there are lots of restaurants around town that now offer these. Mac's Speedshop has fantastic food and I think these are a part of their menu.  The Penguin, and several other Plaza/Midwood restaurants offer these, and this district is known for the restaurants.

Sushi: Nikkos in Southend, Pisces, and there are others but these are 2 that I know I like.

Mexican/Tex Mex/Baja style: Cabo Fish Taco located in NoDa Cantina 1511, located on East Blvd and in Ballantyne, there is a place in Plaza Midwood that is supposed to be really good, name escapes me.

Southpark Restaurants: Cowfish Burger Bar (sushi, and burgers and supposed to be fabulous!) Upstream (seafood) Ruth's Chris (steaks) Del Friscos (steaks), George's Brassiere (french, and voted #1 for brunch in Charlotte on one of the peoples choice survey things). There is also a cheescake factory and maggianos, both located in the actual mall.

There are so many restuarants in the different areas that it's hard to list them all these are just a few.

Welcome to Charlotte, any questions please send them!!!