Don’t know how much $$ you want to spend but Huntersville, Cornelius, Concord, Mathews, Pineville, Gastonia and even down to Ft Mill SC are all ring towns to Charlotte... Of all of them Gastonia might be the least expensive.
You could add a few miles and get up to Kannapolis and almost to Salisbury and Statesville...The interstates are pretty good feeding into Charlotte tho I77 is only 2 lanes and quite busy during normal rush hours.
Good Luck
I recommend either Huntersville, where I live, where Charlotte is a straight shot down 77, about 12 miles. Or, Lowe’s Speedway Blvd., Concord, Embassy Suites, about 12 miles from downtown Charlotte. Traffic is bad about 7-9am and 5-6:30 pm.
Sorry, thought you were visiting, not relocating. I agree with poster, Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson. Maybe even Mooresville.
I’ve only passed through [stayed overnight on a few occasions], but the Concord/Lake Norman area is beautiful, I’d live there in a heartbeat.
The only bad thing I can think of is we always had to stop and clean our windshield after driving through Lake Norman - bazillions of bugs doing the kamikaze.
You might check out this site for schools:
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/NC/schoolrank.aspx?pagetype=top10
I live in eastern NC, so I have little direct knowledge of stuff north of Charlotte. My brother-in-law lives in the Weddington area in Union County, but that is south of Charlotte. Union County is a good place to be though.
You might check out this site for schools:
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/NC/schoolrank.aspx?pagetype=top10
I live in eastern NC, so I have little direct knowledge of stuff north of Charlotte. My brother-in-law lives in the Weddington area in Union County, but that is south of Charlotte. Union County appears to be a good place to be though.
Avoid Mecklenburg County at all costs. Everything is centered around the wants and needs of the city of Charlotte, taxes are HIGH, and the county-wide school district sucks!
I recommend somewhere in northern Rowan (and that’s Ro-ann around here) County if you are going to be going from Charlotte to Greensboro- the interstate runs through there and it makes the commute a bit easier. Also, if you go much further south than Concord there is a bit of a Yankee infestation. If you are into a rural setting avoid Mooresville or Huntersville- they are both rapidly becoming outer suburbs of Charlotte as that cancer spreads.
Traffic on 85N coming out of Charlotte comes to a screeching halt between 4:30-5:30pm where 485 merges. Takes about 20-25 minutes to get to the Concord exit at the racetrack.
Davidson.
If you like the city, and the taxes and related problems, then Charlotte might be the place you'd be happiest.
If you'd prefer smaller cities, 60k or less, and/or more rural areas or then look north to Concord, Kannapolis, Mooresville, Salisbury and surrounding areas.
If you want to be on a lake, there are a few possibilities. The largest, Lake Norman, is nice, but has a nuke plant if that's an issue.
Plus, not uncommon to run into more than a few NASCAR drivers and personalities. Charlotte Motor Speedway and most of the teams are here.
Cabarrus/Concord and Kannapolis/Rowan city/county sales and property taxes are among, if not the lowest in the area.
I'm not familiar with the SC side of the border other than passing through, so I can't comment one way or another.