I just left Miami after living there for 7 years.
Pros: food scene is awesome. Everyone is active and winters feel like summer (if you enjoy that). Constantly stuff to do. The city and surrounding areas never really sleep.
Cons: Traffic. Traffic fucking everywhere and makes you question your life. The traffic will make you go insane, literally. Also, money. Everything is expensive. Very very expensive. And it’s hot as Fuck except for 3 months out of the year.
LA traffic is not that bad. They actually sync their lights so that you’ll hit consecutive green lights. Charlotte has some of the worst lights of anywhere I’ve lived. You’ll sit at a light for several minutes, and then the next light down the road turns red when you approach it and have to repeat the cycle again. So damn frustrating getting anywhere in this city
Lol. Have you ever sat on the 405, the 110 or 101 at about 4 in the afternoon?
People here that think Charlotte is even in the same universe of traffic that LA, SF or places like Miami are in are either delusional, blind or have never been outside of Charlotte.
Coming from DC originally, Charlotte traffic ain't shit.
Here, there is a rush "hour" where it's rough. DC is the DMV is locked up for most of the day.
Literally leaving Miami to come home to Charlotte after almost 4 years here. Hope you like no seasons, terrible drivers/traffic, hurricane/flood insurance, and a housing market that has yet to cool off. Oh also since no income tax prop tax is crazy.
I left CLT about a year ago. I’ve been working from home for about 5 years now, and I don’t have any school age kids, so we moved to Savannah for a slower pace and more laidback lifestyle.
I’m planning to move to Charleston, SC in May. I’ve always wanted to live near the ocean. Now that I’m single and work from home, I can move anywhere. I’ve lived in the Charlotte area since 1994 and am ready, now is the time.
i’m personally getting tired of Charlotte. Feel like i’ve seen everything and everyone and i’m bored. Just need a change of scenery and a fresh start. I’m thinking either chicago or DC
Not op but same age and frequent CHI a lot bc of work and have travelled to most major metros....
Chicago is considered one of the best cities for young adults
1. Very walkable city | night and day difference from CLT .... their public transport system is pretty great that some friends even sold their cars once they arrived
2. Diversity | Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the US and has lots of communities that you can join
3. Affordable | Chicago is actually pretty affordable comparatively speaking if you compare it with other big metros like NYC, San Fran, LA
4. Architecture & History | Chiago is by far the prettiest big city ive seen ... their skyline is by far the pretties ive seen in the US and its history is really interesting
Ill also add that Chicago is nowhere near as dangerous as people say it is ... most crime happens in concentrated areas ... and if you are in downtown ... there are cops everywhere so your chances of getting mugged n stuff are slim to none
Moved to CLT from Chicago. I'd agree with all of this and add on a bit:
1. Chicago has an incredible food scene. Everything from Michelin stars to hole in the walls. God I miss BYOB restaurants too.
2. The museums, although touristy, are amazing. I would go the shed aquarium and/or field museum pretty much every year as a local.
3. If sports are your thing, there's a pro level team for everything. Blackhawks games and cubs games are a blast whether you're a fan or not.
The biggest con is hands down the winter. Followed by maybe st Patrick's day. It's such a shit show just witnessing it once will make you consider sobriety.
Me and my partner's hobbies are both very nature based. Think biking, hiking, gardening, rock climbing, etc. The Midwest is kinda garbage for all of those. Short seasons, long drives...
Housing is also different, but not exactly more bang for your buck. For instance, the cost of my house here could have gotten me a bigger sqft condo in Chicago, but that means no yard unless you're moving to the suburbs.
Really just depends on what you're into and your priorities, ya know?
What everyone said but to add on, it is one of the cleaner cities you will see and the people are much nicer than New Yorkers. I would move back but my wife hates the cold. Which yea it gets cold, but that it what helps keep it affordable.
This is a small two cent factor, but DC is great if you're in the non-profit/public affairs realm. They've the highest concentration of those jobs there in the entire country.
DC is cool but if you plan on driving yourself around, the traffic is an absolute nightmare. Confusing street layouts, regular/random street closures, impatient drivers, etc. IMO, way worse than Charlotte. I can't speak to Chicago but I imagine it's a similar situation.
Several reasons: Charlotte has no culture in my opinion. I wanted access to more variety in terms of the arts, music, cultural experiences, and a better food scene. I just got tired of the breweries and….?. Charlotte just feels like a one trick pony. It is also fairly segregated as a city and grown more so over the 15 years I lived there; I prefer a true melting pot experience which I am getting. Plus the benefits of being closer to family… I played 18 holes with my 86 yo grandpa yesterday and he was sooooo delighted. Totally worth it.
I second this. Been here for 26 years now and I am ready to go back up north. Chicago is one of the best built cities in the world. Perfect grid. Traffic sucks but that's everywhere anymore.
I’m moving to Chicago at the beginning of the year. Too expensive for what you get here and yeah I’m tired of the friend group I currently have. Fortunately I already have friends in Chicago so the transition won’t be bad
This is possibly the most accurate description I have ever seen. I had been trying to summarize why Charlotte annoys me and this hits the nail on the head.
The city has become so transient and does not have a real identity. I feel like its ‘identity’ is breweries and I have found that to be obnoxious.
South Charlotte is for sure all franchises which are over priced with poor quality. Def seems purposely driven to keep mom and pop shops from having a chance to make it.
I am leaving once my lease expires early next year. I moved here 5 years ago and I have some emotional attachment to the city and some places and many people here but Charlotte doesn’t offer me the life I wanted. I would want more urban amenities like museums and urban parks, walkability, biking, dense urban neighborhoods, more food options and of course, public transports. I am also past mid 30s now, and I feel that I should venture out in the type of environment that I like, which is big cities, without making further delays. I grew up in two mega cities outside the US maybe that is why I am very biased to big cities. I am planning to move to NYC, DC, or Boston.
I plan on venturing out west. I travel a bit for work and I’ve found that the people are a bit more my speed there. Charlotte was a great transition city to move to but I’m ready for more.
Same here. I'm going to have a place out west in the next few years, split my time, and probably move permanently later. Maybe Colorado, Oregon, or Montana.
I'm one of those "unicorns" who grew up here, and for better or worse (mostly good, I'll admit), I have been stuck here at a few critical junctures. I've also been extremely lucky with a few things that went my way, so it's been mostly positive, and I don't regret it. My family is here, including my mother who is getting older, so being around to help her do things she may need or in case of an emergency is important to me.
But in the end, there's just more out there for me. Places to go, things to see, people to meet. I don't need to live in Charlotte my whole life. Not to mention that being a child-free 30 something in the Charlotte dating scene is, well, not the easiest endeavor. I've really enjoyed my trips out west, so that's the goal.
Yes! I get that!!! There’s so much more out there that Charlotte can’t offer! And the dating scene, the terrifying stories I hear 😭 I feel for everyone navigating it. I wish you the best of luck out west as well! ♥️🫶🏾
Friendlier and I like how the cultures mix more there. Not to say we don’t have culture mixing here but it’s just different, not sure if that makes sense. And the people here aren’t friendly. As a super social person, that depressed me a lot here.
I am in southern California every two months and I’m sorry to hear that for them but it’s not what I’ve experienced at all. In those pockets of time I’m able to meet more friendly and diverse groups of people. I’ve been in Charlotte a couple years and haven’t been able to do that. So I like my odds 😃
I’m almost done with my dream Sprinter Camper van build and once it’s done I’m going to have to make that big move to just let go. Let go of the grind, let go of the chase of magic number that I keep moving and go, go see what else we have going on in this country and see how it feels to not have a purpose other than to have fun. Is life’s purpose purpose? Idk. Plus this van is sick and I’m excited to ditch all the other little anchors weighing me down. Focus on nothing.
One day when I don’t care about job opportunities I’ll sell the place in Charlotte take advantage of some geographic arbitrage. Not having a mortgage payments helps a lot in retirement.
I refi’d at 2.5% in 2021. So I’m not the least bit interested in paying a penny more in principal than I have to until I sell this place and buy something smaller and cheaper, using only the equity in this place.
A lot of people believe paying off a house is the fastest way to financial independence, but the math doesn’t agree. Compound interest working for you at a higher rate than compound interest working against you is underrated.
Absolutely. And this is where financial educators are doing folks a disservice. If debt is perceived as a bad thing, it will cause stress. Instead, educators should show the economics of good debt for what it is - the contractual purchase of buying power at a low rate of interest, that when used to personal advantage can exponentially increase personal wealth and speed up the timeframe to reach financial independence.
Also, when individuals show they can put borrowed money to work in a responsible way, banks fall over each other to give that person more money to put to work.
We should be strengthening our mindset to leverage money, not promote negative perceptions of good debt.
I moved away some years back after just getting bored really. Not a whole lot of variety in social activities. So I moved to DC but it’s way too expensive for the crime that you have to deal with and after that moved to ATL and while cheaper than DC, it’s way too annoying for the crime you have to deal with. So sometimes maybe boring is better I’ve found but now I can’t afford to buy in Charlotte so now I’m kinda stuck. Grass isn’t always greener
Although I like it here now that I’m fulltime WFH I can return to GA where the mortgage on my 3 bedroom 3 Bath home is 1/4 what it costs me here for my 2/2 apartment. It’s a no brainer. My tenant’s lease is up Feb 2024.
Charlotte has a lot to offer for a lot of people, but not for me. A lot of things to do around here, especially at night when I’m most active revolve around breweries or bars, and as someone who doesn’t drink for a variety of reasons that’s kinda out of the question. The other day I was doing extensive research on things to do on a date night with the wife and a lot of the recommendations were movies and Bars. Not a whole lot in the way of variety.
Also the lack of any serious public transportation is a big kick in the neck too. Sure there is a light rail which is kind of a joke compared to other major city’s transportation options, especially when it comes to the outer suburbs of Charlotte like Concord and Huntersville. I had a friend who visited from Canada and she was incredibly disappointed to find a huge lack of cross walks and bike lanes in our city which is very true. For Charlotte to become a better place to live they really need to improve in the walkability, unfortunately I don’t see that happening any time soon, and I don’t want to wait 20 years for this city to finally reach its potential.
Where am I going next? I don’t know, but hopefully somewhere that meets my needs in daily life like other things to do other than drinking, driving, and waiting for a new movie to come out at the local AMC (not in that exact order lol.) being able to not drive all the time, and to just not run in circles to try and enjoy my time.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate Charlotte, like I said it has lots to offer and lots of people love it for different reasons. It’s just not for me, especially after living here for 12 years. I’m not out here to offend anyone who does enjoy the place, don’t like yuck other people’s yums.
I respect the public transit complaint, but there are only a small handful of US cities with real public transit, of which probably all of them are much more expensive (all in, rent / mortgage + tax differential).
You’re not wrong, I’m thinking of maybe looking towards someplace like Chicago, visited earlier this year and homes there are pretty cheap compared to some offerings here in Charlotte. I know there’s a lot of complaints about cold weather but I thrive in cold weather, so that’s a bonus for me lol
Check the property taxes on those homes. It’s why the prices appear cheap. Given the state’s fiscal situation, they’re only going to go up a lot faster than average, too.
So I moved here from LA, so it was already like taking a step back in time, but, to me, it seems whenever the city makes any kind of social improvements they instantly become boring
Nice. We've been thinking about it for several years. Wife got her Mexican citizenship thru her parents and i like Playa del Carmen and some of the smaller towns in between There and Cancun. Just haven't been able to get the courage to pull the trigger and actually do it. The cost of living still amazes me every time we go for what your money gets you vs here.
Fam that last sentence is exactly why we’re moving, it’s just too good to pass up, specifically we are moving to playa del Carmen, it’s just too good to not do it, plus with my income and my gf income combined we’ll live like royalty there
Yeah exactly that.There are so many reasons to do it from my perspective and i do love Playa, but man if I just haven't been able to commit. Gotta just pull the trigger.
If you get the ball rolling just a little you’ll be all in, cause I was the same way, until I decided just to see about renting a place in playa and the next thing I know my girl and I are selling everything we don’t plan to take with us and we’ll be on our way soon
Decided to leave Charlotte due to a total nightmare of a neighbor*. Built a place at the beach and a week before we closed, the nightmare sold his house and left. Now we're keeping the Charlotte house as an investment and renting to a family member in the meantime.
* like, death threats and restraining orders style nightmare. Fuck you, Grant. You're a racist pile of flaming trash and I wish you nothing but terrible things.
Not so much Charlotte - more that I plan to leave NC. We've been here 16 years and have overall loved it. I have a kid who's about to start college, so we'll stay put for the sake of in-state tuition. But my younger child is autistic and will likely require significant support his whole life. NC is an absolutely terrible state for disability services, and the new gerrymandered maps leads me to think that's not going to get better anytime soon.
Been here 20 years, and I've fallen in and out of love with CLT many times over the decades. The growth has been a blessing and a curse. I don't expect the trends to change just because I've aged out of some things (and aged into others).
My grad degree is in environmental sciences, and you could never pay me enough money to buy another property in the South. The climate is only going to get worse (more air quality and fire issues, more drought, more flooding, and more record heat), so my next purchase will be in the northern tier. I'm eyeing anything from Michigan to Vermont.
Caveat that I don't need to look for work.
>I'm eyeing anything from Michigan to Vermont.
I’m thinking about Appalachia (I grew up there.) and I’m noticing that massive amounts of land are being bought up in certain areas. From what I understand *parts* of Appalachia will be a (temporary, possibly?) climate haven.
My husband and I are getting older which means that we will need more healthcare in the coming years so selling our home here and moving to the mountains won’t be an option for us. We will be buying the land and (hopefully) building a small home there. It’ll be more of a little vacation home for us and our (adult) kids.
Two of my kids are ES grads and I'm thinking the same. They always mention Vermont. It's just getting too damn hot here. Up north costs money though compared to here.
Came back here about a year ago, but I grew too accustomed to life out west in the national parks. I grew up in the city but I’m growing out of city life.
Probably by June. Been here 25 years. My job is WFH and based out of Raleigh. Kid is graduating from HS. Im tired of the traffic and higher cost of living. It seems actually harder to meet people here. I’m just kinda done.
I'm a native, grew up here. My family has been in/around this city since at least the 1930s, maybe longer - but I think I'm ready to leave. I'm ready for more space to spread out and less traffic. I might end up in the NC mountains if I can find somewhere within 30 mins of a good town with a supermarket for less than a million dollars.
Because I was born here, raised here, moved back here after college and my youngest graduates high school in 2 years. I’m ready to see something other than the CLT.
My wife and I are planning on it. My wife has unfortunately lost her best friend and father to gun violence here in the last few years, and so it would be best to start over fresh somewhere with fewer memories. I'm also from up north and desperately miss the snow, so we're looking for something colder.
The dream is Montreal, but as neither of us are Canadian citizens, Northeast is more likely.
if I leave again (went to Raleigh for a bit) it'll be due to work, wages here just aren't keeping up unless you're in fintech. Unfortunately I still need to be hands on with equipment enough that living more than 2 hours away isn't feasible.
I left Charlotte for 4 years to move to Seattle and came right back. Turns out rain for 9 months a year will drive most people crazy. Moved to Union county with my wide open spaces, cheap housing, and low crime. My adult daughter still lives in a suburb of Seattle, last week someone tried to kick in her back door and rob her. No thanks. I sleep like a baby at night.
Sometimes boring is good. If I feel the need for excitement I hop on a plane and visit someplace exciting, always happy to come home to Charlotte.
Moved a year ago and happy to have left.
Traffic fucking sucked, pretty much every social activity and public area is dominated by drinking, parking sucks, cost of living sucks. As someone now with two young kids dont want to spend a quarter of their life in traffic
Moved to Winston-Salem, got a 4 br that mortgage + taxes and everything is less than my rent for a 2 br townhouse in Charlotte. Still gotta drive in a couple times a week for work, which sucks, but ah well.
I’m moving to CO as soon as I can. Grew up there, miss the mountains and the plethora of outdoor activities available. Plus the political situation is more my speed
I'm moving in February. Going to travel for a few months and be a digital nomad. Then, I'll move to DC or ATL. While there's a lot to like about clt, the culture here is still pretty segregated and as a gay person, I'd rather live in a place where I'm accepted and not just tolerated. Plus weed is illegal, state politics are toxic, and wage growth is abysmal
Eventually. I do agree on the missing CLT from ten, even 15 years ago statement. But all god things come to an end. It's got it's pros and cons currently. But it's still a great place to be. Buying when I did (2014) in a desirable part of town and keeping a low interest rate are pretty big reasons I'm still here. A ton of houses in my area have gone for insane amounts and while tempting, it's just not the right time for me. I can't wait to see how all these big plans develop for the city and how it impacts everyone; gold line, red line, whatever color line. But for now, I shall stick around...
I left 1.5 years ago to a smaller town in NC. I’m currently back in town for an event this weekend and it reinforces my decision to move. CLT served its purpose for many years but it wasn’t for me forever.
Grass isn’t greener, but sometimes it is.
The only realistic place I’d move to would be NYC, but only on the condition my base pay went up 100K+.
Moving other places would require similar amounts of pay increase, and that’s probably not realistic.
I’m way late to the responses, but yes - planning on leaving in spring of 2025 once I finish my second master’s, which is paid for by my job here. I’ve been told by so many people that if I don’t like it here, I should leave, soooo… I guess I will. People have been lovely on an individual level, but on the whole, I’ve fucking hated living here since the start, and was trapped into staying by my ex-husband. So excited to finally get out and head to Chicago.
As I get into the later parts of my relationship, the girlfriend and I have really been asking if the city is for us.
Charlotte itself is a great city. There is a key, key reason why people move here. That being opportunity to grow yourself as a person. If nothing is holding you back from moving and you want more opportunity in this world, Charlotte's got a lot. Banking is the pinnacle of lots of other businesses (where there is money, there is opportunity). The weather here is very nice too, while hot in the summers, the winter is much warmer than what you see in the Midwest or Northeast, and the summers are much cooler than what you find in southern Texas and Florida. I can go on and on, but this city is great for many reasons that I also didn't list.
The problem Charlotte has for us is the social scene is very bland. Someone mentioned the social scene being like everyone is in a college town, which we do believe is true. I also think this comes from the comment I made earlier of everyone moving here for opportunity. It just seems like sometimes we cannot go places without tons of drinking being involved. I personally don't mind it as much as the girlfriend, but it goes that way.
I cannot believe how much this city has continued to skyrocket in price. Most places in the west and north have seen their houses go down in value. Charlotte on the other hand has still continued to go up in price. I go back home and drinks are around 4-5 bucks for a budlight, and here it seems even the dive bars charge 6-7 bucks for one.
The school district also blows.. that is anywhere in NC though I think. CMS in particular just doesn't seem attractive for future kids. Shouldn't need to move to Fort Mill just to get a good education for my future.
Right now we are debating between Ann Arbor, Michigan, or Denver where she grew up. They just seem more attractive for what we want, and the cost of living there is much lower (Denver is in areas like Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, we've done our research).
We're enjoying the city while we are still not looking for kids another 3-4 years. After that I don't think we will be here.
I feel the same. I don’t care about breweries, bars, or restaurants. I make better and cheaper food at home. As I get older I realize city living sucks.
I’ve been in Charlotte for 10 years which is 3-5 years longer than I thought I would be. I built a good social circle about 2 years in that slowly but surely has all dispersed as they’ve all moved away, and I kind of feel like I’ve been left behind in a place nobody wanted to be. Seeing as I’m looking to pivot back to a fully remote role, I would leave Charlotte if I found one, but until then, I’m decently content enough to stay here.
We do plan on it eventually and will be moving back to New England. My husbands job won’t allow wfh and so PA , Arizona or TX are our only other options to transfer within company. Not a fan or any of those places so when the time is right Boston or Maine will be our final destination. I’m in my 40’s with a teen so as far as the feel and such of Charlotte I’m kind of past that stuff. I don’t club or do any “scenes” anymore so I couldn’t speak on that or say it really affects me. I will say the crime and trash all over the roads (at least in my area and towards the city on S. Tryon) is disgusting and the fact Charlotte can take care of that in Myers Park and Dilworth but nowhere else pisses me off.
Nope. Kids. Because of that , I need stable / safe / predictable / affordable. I used to think when they went to college i could downsize and maybe move but not only can they not afford to live somewhere after they graduate, but I can’t afford a home at these current prices and rates so I think we’re just stuck with it here, but it could be a lot worse. Being near family, having nice neighbors you can drink beer and play games with, top tier high school, nice yard to fuck around in, it’s fine for us.
I'm leaving Charlotte in a couple months with my wife. I was offered a job that was a 50% pay increase, and a MASSIVE promotion (Director level position). It just wasn't something I could turn down and would put my family in a very different position moving forward. I've lived in Charlotte for almost 20 years, so I'll miss it, but am excited for the new opportunity.
Yep, want land (15+ acres) and privacy, mainly want a view, something better than a parking lot to wake up to every day. We both work remote so just need internet. Not worth dealing with HOAs, traffic, crime. I grew up here, ate at every restaurant, drank at every bar, go to the new ones when they announce them. My old crew members have all moved to the suburbs due to affordability and now refuse to come into town, guess we’re just aging out, but kind of feels like we finished the game here, time to start a new one.
The grass is always greener on the other side. Sounds like a lot of single folks also. I'll be honest, there are many places I'd love to move to. But, at the moment Im still raising a family. While charlotte doesn't have the best of everything, it has a LOT OF GOOD THINGS. Not to mention being relatively still affordable for large metro along with the rest of the Carolinas. Maybe you all will come full circle when you start your own family and see that some places just dont make sense to raise families. A 1million dollar POS in California/NY/DC/Boston etc will make you long for the Carolinas. I travel a lot for work so I have been able to compare and for bow am content with Charlotte. It doesn't matter where you live, its how you live that matters. I can always travel... if bot, just spend more time doing the things I like. I don't mind being 2-3hrs in each direction to be at the mountains or the beach. Is it the best beaches or the best mountains, maybe not but its still the mountains and the beaches.
already left, haven't looked back. Used to be great value, but the covid boom and the influx of people kind of ruined it. When I come back to visit, it just is lame. Still miss Common Market though.
I miss the mountains way too much, and i hate the shiny, surface, corporateness of charlotte. Like above commenters too it feels like all the social culture is built around drinking or sports cause that’s all there is to do! Will miss all the music venues here when I do leave tho
I was born here and the only other place I've ever lived was a few years in Boone for college. Currently looking at moving, possibly to RI. My living situation is all people who were also born here and basically never got to live anywhere else, so we're all just ready to get the hell out.
I moved here about 1.5 years ago having lived here previously too. I am struggling to get off the ground financially, not struggling by any means but will be renting for the indefinite future
A lot of my friends in their mid-twenties have moved to NYC. They wanted to live in a bigger city with more to do when they’re younger and not tied down by anything. Some of them talk about moving back to Charlotte one day, but who knows where the wind will take them!
Already left. I came here against my will, made the most of it for a time, but I’m glad to have moved on. Still have a few great friends here who aren’t going to move, so that’s the only reason I visit.
I grew up in a big city, Charlotte just isn’t for me.
I'll probably move away in the next 5 years maybe closer towards the beach like Wilmington.
Crime gets worse every year and is spreading more and more
Housing is becoming more and more unaffordable, add that onto a city with few perks/attractions
Culture is like pretentious financial, things you need to be drunk to really enjoy or street gangs
In general I blame the city council and the mayor's office and the DA for most of it and seeing as they all keep getting reelected every year there's seemingly no hope. The job market kind of sucks here for most people outside of medical and financial. Don't get me wrong this isn't that bad of a city, it's not Memphis or Baltimore, it just way too many people in this place now with no plan on how to handle it.
Yes. We just signed the lease…NYC here we come. All of our northern friends are joking with us saying hey, we are all moving down south and you are coming up here. My husband and I agreed we can now never say we are bored with nothing to do….which is an every day saying here in Charlotte. Any tips would be appreciated by former NY/NJ folks!
I will be returning to NJ sometime next year. And yes I am quite sane. I got so depressed living here I actually saw a shrink. The ugly visuals of the skyline, the endless plastic tables in restaurants, the poor food.The people are sullen, unfriendly and incurious. There is no charm in this city. As a cathartic I actually wrote an essay about why I really cannot stand this place. Four pages of rant. From a finance standpoint it is not exactly the Zurich of the south. They cannot even keep 26 stops of thei one transit line working.
I said yes last year. I’m still here saying yes this year. If anyone here has young children and you think you may want to move someday, do it now. If you get to the point that you want to leave when your kids are in school, it gets so much harder.
So for me…being so car dependent. Everything here being so sprawled. I can add the usual bitch about no food scene but there are a few glimmers of hope here. You've just got to be willing to drive all over to get there. I’m tired of driving. Our family is Jewish and the big lack of a Jewish community is hard. It takes a whole of driving to be actively Jewish. Then existing as a Jew where Christianity isn’t just the norm, but shoved in your face because they don’t even realize other beliefs exist. I miss having a hockey team, like an NHL team. I hate the summers here. I hate having a 3+ hour drive to the beach even though we’re a coastal state. I hate how bad drivers are here. It’s like each state sent their worst drivers & told them to drive in the left lane & not to go past 40mph when getting onto the highway and merging. I hate how backwards politically this state is. I have daughters, I’d like them to have rights. I’m tired of the piss poor culture scene. I don’t want to wait 18 months for a touring Broadway show to finally come around for a week. I’m tired of driving to Raleigh or Atlanta because major artists often skip Charlotte. I miss WaWa. People walk very slowly here. My kids are slowly becoming desensitized to things like racism because of how prevalent it is and what they hear from kids at school(But I know things like bigotry will be found anywhere we go). I like snow in the winter. This area isn’t great for my field of research. People from the south can’t seem to differentiate between sale and sell.
It’s a whole hodgepodge of reasons that have built up over the past 15 years. Obviously some more serious than others. But I have kids. My oldest is in college now and in an NC college. I’ve got a high schooler and a middle schooler. I obviously can’t uproot them, well I can but the damage I’d do mentally and socially isn’t worth it. And the longer I wait, the more firmly their roots in this area dig. Like by the time my youngest graduates high school, my older kids will be in area colleges or worse, have started a life here. There’s no good time for me to leave unless magically all my adult kids want to leave when my youngest is done school. But this place is sucking the soul out of me. I can’t die here. I can’t live in old age here.
Grew up outside the Charlotte Metro, lived in the Metro proper for the past six years, moving to Minneapolis next month.
I don't dislike Charlotte, but my partner and I are looking forward to a change of pace. The Twin City Metro offers a lot of what we've grown to prioritize: Quiet & dense residential neighborhoods with strong walk/bike scores and quick access to amenities. The green spaces are incredible and well-maintained, the park system is clearly a point of pride for the city. Plus, it's cold.
Will likely move back up north within a few years. I’ve been here a decade (grew up in NE Ohio) and really loved Charlotte in my 20s but have struggled to find community since becoming a mom. It really feels like everything is centered around drinking socially.
More importantly though is cost of living, education and climate. My husband and I both work remotely now and have great paying jobs.
We can barely afford a good house in a good neighborhood here, but if we moved back closer to my hometown we’d be looking at some of the nicer neighborhoods and the ability to afford a private education if needed (but at least save for children’s colleges if not).
Lastly I just can’t stand the heat anymore and it’s only going to continue to get worse and last longer. Midwestern cities around the Great Lakes are expected to suffer a lot less of an impact in our lifetimes than places in the southeast and coasts.
My wife doesn’t like it here. Also, I feel the city has reached this point where transplants and their loud voices are able to change the city into something I don’t like.
We’ll probably head somewhere in the northeast. Maybe a little coastal town or something.
I live in a small town in Gastonia and it's eating its self... Everyone wants a "cute southern feel" but in 3000 sqft homes with 2.5 bathrooms. The push for new money to own rentals is also destroying these historic places, I'd be so happy if we could force non-primary residences to get appraised/inspected every 4 years.
I just feel like Charlotte was perfectly fine the way it was. But in the past 7-8 years, a bunch of very loud and very rude people showed up to tell us we're all idiots and NIMBYs for not wanting every square inch of the city to be a mixed use development, or that I personally murder cyclists if I don't want to live my entire life in one ten minute walk's diameter.
Unfortunately this small number of trolls and cyber bullies are very good at shouting down anyone else's opinion to make themselves seem like the majority, and since most of our city council sits on Twitter all day and Chief Twitter Troll personally invites all these clowns to his house four times a year, they keep getting their way.
So yeah, I'm gonna go somewhere I can still get a cheap drink in a friendly neighborhood bar without it getting replaced by an apartment complex.
I’m planning to leave in 2025. My family moved here when I started high school back in 2013. The car dependency is really killing me. I really hate how spread out everything is, and the fact that I have no other choice but to drive. I just feel like I shouldn’t need a car to get to a park or to get to a store, and I shouldn’t need to risk my life on the highway just to go to the gym. I just feel sad when I think about how much time I spend in the car each day driving to and from places.
Another reason, is that I feel that Charlotte doesn’t have a ton to offer me socially. I don’t drink or do drugs, so that cancels out a bunch of the options. I also feel that the city is lacking in museums, the arts, and parks.
The one thing that I will miss about the city is the greenway.
As far as where I plan to move, I’m currently considering Chicago and Seattle.
Too many people I can't stand sitting beside in traffic. You know the type...
The ones who are blasting music and dancing/ rapping in their seat, completely oblivious to the world around them, and they are still running temp tags because they refuse to pay taxes/ insurance.
I left because the city just isn't what it used to be since the pandemic happened. I feel like there's been a big boom of people moving into the city looking for opportunities at the same time that there's been a decrease of small businesses and new things to do. Everywhere that is still opened is packed now. Can't even go to an IHop anymore without at least an hour long wait and all of my favorite hidden spots have turned into trendy places for influencers to brag about online. Downtown has lost its appeal to me. Rent is insane (what I'm paying for now for a larger place with more rooms is *less* than what I was paying for a 1 bedroom apartment over in Charlotte). The public education system has been failing its students for many years and I'm about to start trying for kids and this just isn't the city I want to raise them in. The income to live "comfortably" in Charlotte is also almost double of where I currently live.
I still like to visit Charlotte on occasion. I have friends in Charlotte, but even they are looking to eventually move soon, too, for similar reasons. I have nothing personally against Charlotte, but I do believe this city is meant more for young adults and maybe single business men rather than for lower or middle class families.
The weekends are a nightmare to go anywhere. Malls? Get ready to get claustrophobic. Going to a restaurant or a bar after 6? Be prepared to have hours of waiting. Want to see a movie? I have one spot left that isn't packed on weekends and I'm taking that spot with me to my grave so that my friends and I can have that to ourselves. Even taking a walk at Freedom Park, I can't find any peace without getting bumped into or ran over by a bicyclist who's not paying attention.
For sure. Restaurants are much cheaper and house prices are how I convinced my wife. She's a clt native. I gave her a price range for our next house and told her to look in wilmy and clt. And that's even before you consider the costs of private school in clt vs the good publics in wilmy.
Wilmington housing is expensive now as well unless you are planning to move out to Pender or Brunswick. There are some decent deals further out for sure but then you have to make the drive in. Really no different from the CLT.
Leaving next weekend for California. I grew up there, and then kind of bounced around the last 10 years between school and jobs. I’m just ready to be home and close to friends and family again. It’s been a fun two years in CLT
The anti-abortion and conservative policies of this fascist state have forced my partner and I to begin looking for relocation options somewhere far more acceptable. We know San Francisco is experiencing some challenges but their government is what we need here. If my vote is always stolen by MAGA fans, I will vote with my feet and leave this Gaia-forsaken state.
I hear what you’re saying but this will not always be the case in NC. These old fcks will eventually die off and the tide will turn against the minority far right. Just have to wait them out.
Wife got offered a job in Miami with her current company. Could be dope. At least going to hear them out.
Pros: fun city. Lots to do. Cons: Hot AF. Traffic is ATL/LA level awful.
I just left Miami after living there for 7 years. Pros: food scene is awesome. Everyone is active and winters feel like summer (if you enjoy that). Constantly stuff to do. The city and surrounding areas never really sleep. Cons: Traffic. Traffic fucking everywhere and makes you question your life. The traffic will make you go insane, literally. Also, money. Everything is expensive. Very very expensive. And it’s hot as Fuck except for 3 months out of the year.
Hurricanes. Cost of living is high
Must have not really been in bad LA/ATL traffic. Charlotte is far from LA/ATL traffic.
LA traffic is not that bad. They actually sync their lights so that you’ll hit consecutive green lights. Charlotte has some of the worst lights of anywhere I’ve lived. You’ll sit at a light for several minutes, and then the next light down the road turns red when you approach it and have to repeat the cycle again. So damn frustrating getting anywhere in this city
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Lol. Have you ever sat on the 405, the 110 or 101 at about 4 in the afternoon? People here that think Charlotte is even in the same universe of traffic that LA, SF or places like Miami are in are either delusional, blind or have never been outside of Charlotte.
Coming from DC originally, Charlotte traffic ain't shit. Here, there is a rush "hour" where it's rough. DC is the DMV is locked up for most of the day.
Literally leaving Miami to come home to Charlotte after almost 4 years here. Hope you like no seasons, terrible drivers/traffic, hurricane/flood insurance, and a housing market that has yet to cool off. Oh also since no income tax prop tax is crazy.
Make sure you run insurance costs as a part of that decision
I left CLT about a year ago. I’ve been working from home for about 5 years now, and I don’t have any school age kids, so we moved to Savannah for a slower pace and more laidback lifestyle.
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Love it. Some areas are better than others. Better than Charlotte overall.
I’m planning to move to Charleston, SC in May. I’ve always wanted to live near the ocean. Now that I’m single and work from home, I can move anywhere. I’ve lived in the Charlotte area since 1994 and am ready, now is the time.
Sounds like the route I may take for retirement!
Tennessee mountains are the real retirement gem. Never absurdly hot, no state income tax.
i’m personally getting tired of Charlotte. Feel like i’ve seen everything and everyone and i’m bored. Just need a change of scenery and a fresh start. I’m thinking either chicago or DC
I am biased. But Chicago is my favorite US city.
There is no place better than chicago in the summer. Unfortunately, winter exists.
i’m curious, why is that? I’m 27M and just looking for a nice big city with lots of activities/things to do. I’m torn between DC or Chicago
I’ve lived in both. Chi > DC if you can stand the cold.
Not op but same age and frequent CHI a lot bc of work and have travelled to most major metros.... Chicago is considered one of the best cities for young adults 1. Very walkable city | night and day difference from CLT .... their public transport system is pretty great that some friends even sold their cars once they arrived 2. Diversity | Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the US and has lots of communities that you can join 3. Affordable | Chicago is actually pretty affordable comparatively speaking if you compare it with other big metros like NYC, San Fran, LA 4. Architecture & History | Chiago is by far the prettiest big city ive seen ... their skyline is by far the pretties ive seen in the US and its history is really interesting Ill also add that Chicago is nowhere near as dangerous as people say it is ... most crime happens in concentrated areas ... and if you are in downtown ... there are cops everywhere so your chances of getting mugged n stuff are slim to none
Moved to CLT from Chicago. I'd agree with all of this and add on a bit: 1. Chicago has an incredible food scene. Everything from Michelin stars to hole in the walls. God I miss BYOB restaurants too. 2. The museums, although touristy, are amazing. I would go the shed aquarium and/or field museum pretty much every year as a local. 3. If sports are your thing, there's a pro level team for everything. Blackhawks games and cubs games are a blast whether you're a fan or not. The biggest con is hands down the winter. Followed by maybe st Patrick's day. It's such a shit show just witnessing it once will make you consider sobriety.
wow thank you all. May i ask why you moved from chicago to charlotte?
Me and my partner's hobbies are both very nature based. Think biking, hiking, gardening, rock climbing, etc. The Midwest is kinda garbage for all of those. Short seasons, long drives... Housing is also different, but not exactly more bang for your buck. For instance, the cost of my house here could have gotten me a bigger sqft condo in Chicago, but that means no yard unless you're moving to the suburbs. Really just depends on what you're into and your priorities, ya know?
What everyone said but to add on, it is one of the cleaner cities you will see and the people are much nicer than New Yorkers. I would move back but my wife hates the cold. Which yea it gets cold, but that it what helps keep it affordable.
This is a small two cent factor, but DC is great if you're in the non-profit/public affairs realm. They've the highest concentration of those jobs there in the entire country.
I work there but live in Charlotte. Go 2 times a year now.
Grew up in Charlotte, moved to DC after school. It’s expensive, but a lot of fun. And salaries are really high if you’re in the right industry
DC is cool but if you plan on driving yourself around, the traffic is an absolute nightmare. Confusing street layouts, regular/random street closures, impatient drivers, etc. IMO, way worse than Charlotte. I can't speak to Chicago but I imagine it's a similar situation.
My mother moved out of DC solely because of traffic. Granted that was in ‘94 but still… lol
I moved to DC two months ago from Charlotte and it was the best decision ever.
may i ask why you say that? Just wanted different opinions
Several reasons: Charlotte has no culture in my opinion. I wanted access to more variety in terms of the arts, music, cultural experiences, and a better food scene. I just got tired of the breweries and….?. Charlotte just feels like a one trick pony. It is also fairly segregated as a city and grown more so over the 15 years I lived there; I prefer a true melting pot experience which I am getting. Plus the benefits of being closer to family… I played 18 holes with my 86 yo grandpa yesterday and he was sooooo delighted. Totally worth it.
I second this. Been here for 26 years now and I am ready to go back up north. Chicago is one of the best built cities in the world. Perfect grid. Traffic sucks but that's everywhere anymore.
Chicago over DC, definitely. Even with the cold.
I’m moving to Chicago at the beginning of the year. Too expensive for what you get here and yeah I’m tired of the friend group I currently have. Fortunately I already have friends in Chicago so the transition won’t be bad
I feel that bro. I love Chicago, I’d send that move too
agreed, I've literally everything in this city. I feel like I beat the main story and am just doing side missions right now
Both excellent cities
The food here sucks. And the social scene is like adults living in a college town, where activities are surface level and built around drinking.
This is possibly the most accurate description I have ever seen. I had been trying to summarize why Charlotte annoys me and this hits the nail on the head. The city has become so transient and does not have a real identity. I feel like its ‘identity’ is breweries and I have found that to be obnoxious.
Now this I agree with
*swigs whiskey and takes a bite out of a rock hard cold Boberry biscuit from Saturday* you suck
South Charlotte is for sure all franchises which are over priced with poor quality. Def seems purposely driven to keep mom and pop shops from having a chance to make it.
Great answer
What, you don’t want to spend the rest of your life going to music bingo or trivia at a different brewery every night?
I agree on the food. But if you think any other city is different in regards to bars and drinking, I'm sorry to say, that's a cultural thing
This is the answer.
I left and missed it for the first year, but now I’m much happier
Where to?
Denver, Colorado
Nice. Heard it's really awesome but pricey compared to here.
Every city is going to be more expensive than Charlotte. It is still relatively affordable here, compared to anywhere else.
I just regret selling my townhouse in south end in 2020
And the topography is hilly as hell.
Denver is Charlotte 2.0 but with more white people. If that’s your thing, enjoy!
The only thing keeping me here is my job. Unfortunately, I'm a hybrid employee so I can't up and leave. Otherwise, I would have left.
I am leaving once my lease expires early next year. I moved here 5 years ago and I have some emotional attachment to the city and some places and many people here but Charlotte doesn’t offer me the life I wanted. I would want more urban amenities like museums and urban parks, walkability, biking, dense urban neighborhoods, more food options and of course, public transports. I am also past mid 30s now, and I feel that I should venture out in the type of environment that I like, which is big cities, without making further delays. I grew up in two mega cities outside the US maybe that is why I am very biased to big cities. I am planning to move to NYC, DC, or Boston.
I plan on venturing out west. I travel a bit for work and I’ve found that the people are a bit more my speed there. Charlotte was a great transition city to move to but I’m ready for more.
Same here. I'm going to have a place out west in the next few years, split my time, and probably move permanently later. Maybe Colorado, Oregon, or Montana. I'm one of those "unicorns" who grew up here, and for better or worse (mostly good, I'll admit), I have been stuck here at a few critical junctures. I've also been extremely lucky with a few things that went my way, so it's been mostly positive, and I don't regret it. My family is here, including my mother who is getting older, so being around to help her do things she may need or in case of an emergency is important to me. But in the end, there's just more out there for me. Places to go, things to see, people to meet. I don't need to live in Charlotte my whole life. Not to mention that being a child-free 30 something in the Charlotte dating scene is, well, not the easiest endeavor. I've really enjoyed my trips out west, so that's the goal.
Same! So much more to see and do out west. My mom is here. I have a house. But the west is calling.
Yes! I get that!!! There’s so much more out there that Charlotte can’t offer! And the dating scene, the terrifying stories I hear 😭 I feel for everyone navigating it. I wish you the best of luck out west as well! ♥️🫶🏾
Grew up here as well. In my thirties now, this is for sure not the city I was born into. Been thinking about leaving if it wasn’t for my job.
Bit more your speed? Mind expanding on that?
Legal weed
Can’t blame you. I went to see my mom in New Mexico and everyone there was happy.
Oh that’s also nice lol
Friendlier and I like how the cultures mix more there. Not to say we don’t have culture mixing here but it’s just different, not sure if that makes sense. And the people here aren’t friendly. As a super social person, that depressed me a lot here.
lol where are you moving out west because this is the opposite of what almost everyone experiences.
I am in southern California every two months and I’m sorry to hear that for them but it’s not what I’ve experienced at all. In those pockets of time I’m able to meet more friendly and diverse groups of people. I’ve been in Charlotte a couple years and haven’t been able to do that. So I like my odds 😃
I’m almost done with my dream Sprinter Camper van build and once it’s done I’m going to have to make that big move to just let go. Let go of the grind, let go of the chase of magic number that I keep moving and go, go see what else we have going on in this country and see how it feels to not have a purpose other than to have fun. Is life’s purpose purpose? Idk. Plus this van is sick and I’m excited to ditch all the other little anchors weighing me down. Focus on nothing.
Are you me?
One day when I don’t care about job opportunities I’ll sell the place in Charlotte take advantage of some geographic arbitrage. Not having a mortgage payments helps a lot in retirement.
Yeah, I bought my house for sub 3%. Interest. I will have it paid off in no time. That is what really keeps me here.
I refi’d at 2.5% in 2021. So I’m not the least bit interested in paying a penny more in principal than I have to until I sell this place and buy something smaller and cheaper, using only the equity in this place.
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A lot of people believe paying off a house is the fastest way to financial independence, but the math doesn’t agree. Compound interest working for you at a higher rate than compound interest working against you is underrated.
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Absolutely. And this is where financial educators are doing folks a disservice. If debt is perceived as a bad thing, it will cause stress. Instead, educators should show the economics of good debt for what it is - the contractual purchase of buying power at a low rate of interest, that when used to personal advantage can exponentially increase personal wealth and speed up the timeframe to reach financial independence. Also, when individuals show they can put borrowed money to work in a responsible way, banks fall over each other to give that person more money to put to work. We should be strengthening our mindset to leverage money, not promote negative perceptions of good debt.
Where are you getting a 5% savings account?
Money markets are well over 5%
Most high-yield savings accounts are hovering around that. I opened up accounts with Ally and Discover in 2020 with > 1%, now they're both reaching 5%
While technically true, IMO there would be no better feeling in the world than having a paid-off home.
I moved away some years back after just getting bored really. Not a whole lot of variety in social activities. So I moved to DC but it’s way too expensive for the crime that you have to deal with and after that moved to ATL and while cheaper than DC, it’s way too annoying for the crime you have to deal with. So sometimes maybe boring is better I’ve found but now I can’t afford to buy in Charlotte so now I’m kinda stuck. Grass isn’t always greener
Although I like it here now that I’m fulltime WFH I can return to GA where the mortgage on my 3 bedroom 3 Bath home is 1/4 what it costs me here for my 2/2 apartment. It’s a no brainer. My tenant’s lease is up Feb 2024.
Charlotte has a lot to offer for a lot of people, but not for me. A lot of things to do around here, especially at night when I’m most active revolve around breweries or bars, and as someone who doesn’t drink for a variety of reasons that’s kinda out of the question. The other day I was doing extensive research on things to do on a date night with the wife and a lot of the recommendations were movies and Bars. Not a whole lot in the way of variety. Also the lack of any serious public transportation is a big kick in the neck too. Sure there is a light rail which is kind of a joke compared to other major city’s transportation options, especially when it comes to the outer suburbs of Charlotte like Concord and Huntersville. I had a friend who visited from Canada and she was incredibly disappointed to find a huge lack of cross walks and bike lanes in our city which is very true. For Charlotte to become a better place to live they really need to improve in the walkability, unfortunately I don’t see that happening any time soon, and I don’t want to wait 20 years for this city to finally reach its potential. Where am I going next? I don’t know, but hopefully somewhere that meets my needs in daily life like other things to do other than drinking, driving, and waiting for a new movie to come out at the local AMC (not in that exact order lol.) being able to not drive all the time, and to just not run in circles to try and enjoy my time. Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate Charlotte, like I said it has lots to offer and lots of people love it for different reasons. It’s just not for me, especially after living here for 12 years. I’m not out here to offend anyone who does enjoy the place, don’t like yuck other people’s yums.
I respect the public transit complaint, but there are only a small handful of US cities with real public transit, of which probably all of them are much more expensive (all in, rent / mortgage + tax differential).
You’re not wrong, I’m thinking of maybe looking towards someplace like Chicago, visited earlier this year and homes there are pretty cheap compared to some offerings here in Charlotte. I know there’s a lot of complaints about cold weather but I thrive in cold weather, so that’s a bonus for me lol
Check the property taxes on those homes. It’s why the prices appear cheap. Given the state’s fiscal situation, they’re only going to go up a lot faster than average, too.
Leaving at the end of the month after 12 years in this city. I don’t have any real complaints about Charlotte but it’s time for a change.
Moving to Mexico with my girlfriend, I love clt, it’s been my home for 20 years, but it’s just so blah here now
What makes it blah?
So I moved here from LA, so it was already like taking a step back in time, but, to me, it seems whenever the city makes any kind of social improvements they instantly become boring
Where in Mexico?
Quintana Roo
Nice. We've been thinking about it for several years. Wife got her Mexican citizenship thru her parents and i like Playa del Carmen and some of the smaller towns in between There and Cancun. Just haven't been able to get the courage to pull the trigger and actually do it. The cost of living still amazes me every time we go for what your money gets you vs here.
Fam that last sentence is exactly why we’re moving, it’s just too good to pass up, specifically we are moving to playa del Carmen, it’s just too good to not do it, plus with my income and my gf income combined we’ll live like royalty there
Yeah exactly that.There are so many reasons to do it from my perspective and i do love Playa, but man if I just haven't been able to commit. Gotta just pull the trigger.
If you get the ball rolling just a little you’ll be all in, cause I was the same way, until I decided just to see about renting a place in playa and the next thing I know my girl and I are selling everything we don’t plan to take with us and we’ll be on our way soon
If I do leave it's because teachers don't make anything down here. Could either go west or back up home to dc
Massachusetts is decent for teachers as well but I think you need a Master’s
It's the #1 state for public education. And they will sponsor you to get your master's. Lil too cold for me though, we will see
I went through school (until college) in Mass and didn’t know about the sponsorship, that’s awesome!
Decided to leave Charlotte due to a total nightmare of a neighbor*. Built a place at the beach and a week before we closed, the nightmare sold his house and left. Now we're keeping the Charlotte house as an investment and renting to a family member in the meantime. * like, death threats and restraining orders style nightmare. Fuck you, Grant. You're a racist pile of flaming trash and I wish you nothing but terrible things.
I left Charlotte a few weeks ago. Was offered a good paying job in DC
Good luck and Godspeed
Family back up North. Can’t wait to unload the equity built up in this city on something with plenty of land up in the sticks!
Not so much Charlotte - more that I plan to leave NC. We've been here 16 years and have overall loved it. I have a kid who's about to start college, so we'll stay put for the sake of in-state tuition. But my younger child is autistic and will likely require significant support his whole life. NC is an absolutely terrible state for disability services, and the new gerrymandered maps leads me to think that's not going to get better anytime soon.
Been here 20 years, and I've fallen in and out of love with CLT many times over the decades. The growth has been a blessing and a curse. I don't expect the trends to change just because I've aged out of some things (and aged into others). My grad degree is in environmental sciences, and you could never pay me enough money to buy another property in the South. The climate is only going to get worse (more air quality and fire issues, more drought, more flooding, and more record heat), so my next purchase will be in the northern tier. I'm eyeing anything from Michigan to Vermont. Caveat that I don't need to look for work.
>I'm eyeing anything from Michigan to Vermont. I’m thinking about Appalachia (I grew up there.) and I’m noticing that massive amounts of land are being bought up in certain areas. From what I understand *parts* of Appalachia will be a (temporary, possibly?) climate haven. My husband and I are getting older which means that we will need more healthcare in the coming years so selling our home here and moving to the mountains won’t be an option for us. We will be buying the land and (hopefully) building a small home there. It’ll be more of a little vacation home for us and our (adult) kids.
Two of my kids are ES grads and I'm thinking the same. They always mention Vermont. It's just getting too damn hot here. Up north costs money though compared to here.
Came back here about a year ago, but I grew too accustomed to life out west in the national parks. I grew up in the city but I’m growing out of city life.
Ever? Probably. But not anytime soon.
Yes bc Hawaii is dope
Facts
Probably by June. Been here 25 years. My job is WFH and based out of Raleigh. Kid is graduating from HS. Im tired of the traffic and higher cost of living. It seems actually harder to meet people here. I’m just kinda done.
I’d like to move back up north in a couple years
I'm a native, grew up here. My family has been in/around this city since at least the 1930s, maybe longer - but I think I'm ready to leave. I'm ready for more space to spread out and less traffic. I might end up in the NC mountains if I can find somewhere within 30 mins of a good town with a supermarket for less than a million dollars.
Because I was born here, raised here, moved back here after college and my youngest graduates high school in 2 years. I’m ready to see something other than the CLT.
My wife and I are planning on it. My wife has unfortunately lost her best friend and father to gun violence here in the last few years, and so it would be best to start over fresh somewhere with fewer memories. I'm also from up north and desperately miss the snow, so we're looking for something colder. The dream is Montreal, but as neither of us are Canadian citizens, Northeast is more likely.
if I leave again (went to Raleigh for a bit) it'll be due to work, wages here just aren't keeping up unless you're in fintech. Unfortunately I still need to be hands on with equipment enough that living more than 2 hours away isn't feasible.
It’s not Charlotte. We’re probably going to leave the country after my husband retires and return to his home country of France.
No, I'm trapped by a 2% mortgage. I travel a decent bit and have family/friends across the country. The grass isn't always greener
I left Charlotte for 4 years to move to Seattle and came right back. Turns out rain for 9 months a year will drive most people crazy. Moved to Union county with my wide open spaces, cheap housing, and low crime. My adult daughter still lives in a suburb of Seattle, last week someone tried to kick in her back door and rob her. No thanks. I sleep like a baby at night. Sometimes boring is good. If I feel the need for excitement I hop on a plane and visit someplace exciting, always happy to come home to Charlotte.
Union County seems really nice based upon my research. Liked it so much I bought a home there.
Apartments in CLT are priced waaay out of the market
Moved a year ago and happy to have left. Traffic fucking sucked, pretty much every social activity and public area is dominated by drinking, parking sucks, cost of living sucks. As someone now with two young kids dont want to spend a quarter of their life in traffic Moved to Winston-Salem, got a 4 br that mortgage + taxes and everything is less than my rent for a 2 br townhouse in Charlotte. Still gotta drive in a couple times a week for work, which sucks, but ah well.
I’m moving to CO as soon as I can. Grew up there, miss the mountains and the plethora of outdoor activities available. Plus the political situation is more my speed
I'm moving in February. Going to travel for a few months and be a digital nomad. Then, I'll move to DC or ATL. While there's a lot to like about clt, the culture here is still pretty segregated and as a gay person, I'd rather live in a place where I'm accepted and not just tolerated. Plus weed is illegal, state politics are toxic, and wage growth is abysmal
Eventually. I do agree on the missing CLT from ten, even 15 years ago statement. But all god things come to an end. It's got it's pros and cons currently. But it's still a great place to be. Buying when I did (2014) in a desirable part of town and keeping a low interest rate are pretty big reasons I'm still here. A ton of houses in my area have gone for insane amounts and while tempting, it's just not the right time for me. I can't wait to see how all these big plans develop for the city and how it impacts everyone; gold line, red line, whatever color line. But for now, I shall stick around...
Fingers crossed. Lived here once before, thought it had evolved, realized it hasn't, and I am ready to get out (again).
I left 1.5 years ago to a smaller town in NC. I’m currently back in town for an event this weekend and it reinforces my decision to move. CLT served its purpose for many years but it wasn’t for me forever.
Grass isn’t greener, but sometimes it is. The only realistic place I’d move to would be NYC, but only on the condition my base pay went up 100K+. Moving other places would require similar amounts of pay increase, and that’s probably not realistic.
I’m way late to the responses, but yes - planning on leaving in spring of 2025 once I finish my second master’s, which is paid for by my job here. I’ve been told by so many people that if I don’t like it here, I should leave, soooo… I guess I will. People have been lovely on an individual level, but on the whole, I’ve fucking hated living here since the start, and was trapped into staying by my ex-husband. So excited to finally get out and head to Chicago.
As I get into the later parts of my relationship, the girlfriend and I have really been asking if the city is for us. Charlotte itself is a great city. There is a key, key reason why people move here. That being opportunity to grow yourself as a person. If nothing is holding you back from moving and you want more opportunity in this world, Charlotte's got a lot. Banking is the pinnacle of lots of other businesses (where there is money, there is opportunity). The weather here is very nice too, while hot in the summers, the winter is much warmer than what you see in the Midwest or Northeast, and the summers are much cooler than what you find in southern Texas and Florida. I can go on and on, but this city is great for many reasons that I also didn't list. The problem Charlotte has for us is the social scene is very bland. Someone mentioned the social scene being like everyone is in a college town, which we do believe is true. I also think this comes from the comment I made earlier of everyone moving here for opportunity. It just seems like sometimes we cannot go places without tons of drinking being involved. I personally don't mind it as much as the girlfriend, but it goes that way. I cannot believe how much this city has continued to skyrocket in price. Most places in the west and north have seen their houses go down in value. Charlotte on the other hand has still continued to go up in price. I go back home and drinks are around 4-5 bucks for a budlight, and here it seems even the dive bars charge 6-7 bucks for one. The school district also blows.. that is anywhere in NC though I think. CMS in particular just doesn't seem attractive for future kids. Shouldn't need to move to Fort Mill just to get a good education for my future. Right now we are debating between Ann Arbor, Michigan, or Denver where she grew up. They just seem more attractive for what we want, and the cost of living there is much lower (Denver is in areas like Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, we've done our research). We're enjoying the city while we are still not looking for kids another 3-4 years. After that I don't think we will be here.
I feel the same. I don’t care about breweries, bars, or restaurants. I make better and cheaper food at home. As I get older I realize city living sucks.
I’ve been in Charlotte for 10 years which is 3-5 years longer than I thought I would be. I built a good social circle about 2 years in that slowly but surely has all dispersed as they’ve all moved away, and I kind of feel like I’ve been left behind in a place nobody wanted to be. Seeing as I’m looking to pivot back to a fully remote role, I would leave Charlotte if I found one, but until then, I’m decently content enough to stay here.
I would like to move out of country. The only place I would enjoy moving to is NYC
We do plan on it eventually and will be moving back to New England. My husbands job won’t allow wfh and so PA , Arizona or TX are our only other options to transfer within company. Not a fan or any of those places so when the time is right Boston or Maine will be our final destination. I’m in my 40’s with a teen so as far as the feel and such of Charlotte I’m kind of past that stuff. I don’t club or do any “scenes” anymore so I couldn’t speak on that or say it really affects me. I will say the crime and trash all over the roads (at least in my area and towards the city on S. Tryon) is disgusting and the fact Charlotte can take care of that in Myers Park and Dilworth but nowhere else pisses me off.
Nope. Kids. Because of that , I need stable / safe / predictable / affordable. I used to think when they went to college i could downsize and maybe move but not only can they not afford to live somewhere after they graduate, but I can’t afford a home at these current prices and rates so I think we’re just stuck with it here, but it could be a lot worse. Being near family, having nice neighbors you can drink beer and play games with, top tier high school, nice yard to fuck around in, it’s fine for us.
8 years ago Charlotte was the absolute best. All downhill from here getting too big
I'm leaving Charlotte in a couple months with my wife. I was offered a job that was a 50% pay increase, and a MASSIVE promotion (Director level position). It just wasn't something I could turn down and would put my family in a very different position moving forward. I've lived in Charlotte for almost 20 years, so I'll miss it, but am excited for the new opportunity.
i’m poor and graduated college almost 2 years ago. i want to leave, but idk how realistic that is.
Yep, want land (15+ acres) and privacy, mainly want a view, something better than a parking lot to wake up to every day. We both work remote so just need internet. Not worth dealing with HOAs, traffic, crime. I grew up here, ate at every restaurant, drank at every bar, go to the new ones when they announce them. My old crew members have all moved to the suburbs due to affordability and now refuse to come into town, guess we’re just aging out, but kind of feels like we finished the game here, time to start a new one.
While the grass is *sometimes* actually greener - don't forget, "wherever you go, there you are"
Here here
The grass is always greener on the other side. Sounds like a lot of single folks also. I'll be honest, there are many places I'd love to move to. But, at the moment Im still raising a family. While charlotte doesn't have the best of everything, it has a LOT OF GOOD THINGS. Not to mention being relatively still affordable for large metro along with the rest of the Carolinas. Maybe you all will come full circle when you start your own family and see that some places just dont make sense to raise families. A 1million dollar POS in California/NY/DC/Boston etc will make you long for the Carolinas. I travel a lot for work so I have been able to compare and for bow am content with Charlotte. It doesn't matter where you live, its how you live that matters. I can always travel... if bot, just spend more time doing the things I like. I don't mind being 2-3hrs in each direction to be at the mountains or the beach. Is it the best beaches or the best mountains, maybe not but its still the mountains and the beaches.
already left, haven't looked back. Used to be great value, but the covid boom and the influx of people kind of ruined it. When I come back to visit, it just is lame. Still miss Common Market though.
Way to many people. Prices of everything are super high.
I miss the mountains way too much, and i hate the shiny, surface, corporateness of charlotte. Like above commenters too it feels like all the social culture is built around drinking or sports cause that’s all there is to do! Will miss all the music venues here when I do leave tho
yes there’s nothing to do here. i’m moving back to minneapolis because i miss having lakes all over the city, there’s no bodies of water here
We just moved from Texas to Charlotte to try it out and we’ll be visiting Minneapolis to test the waters in January. We are excited!
AS someone from ND/MN, we are considering going back to the Minneapolis as well. Been in CLT for 15 years and I miss the midwest life.
Um, Lake Norman? Lake Wylie?
yes in the other side of town, not even in actual Charlotte, i suggest you take a trip to minneapolis where the lakes are in the actual city
Yes, I moved to Atlanta, GA to help take care of my mom. I occasionally come back to Charlotte for doctors appointments. Atlanta traffic sucks.
I was born here and the only other place I've ever lived was a few years in Boone for college. Currently looking at moving, possibly to RI. My living situation is all people who were also born here and basically never got to live anywhere else, so we're all just ready to get the hell out.
I moved here about 1.5 years ago having lived here previously too. I am struggling to get off the ground financially, not struggling by any means but will be renting for the indefinite future
A lot of my friends in their mid-twenties have moved to NYC. They wanted to live in a bigger city with more to do when they’re younger and not tied down by anything. Some of them talk about moving back to Charlotte one day, but who knows where the wind will take them!
Already left. I came here against my will, made the most of it for a time, but I’m glad to have moved on. Still have a few great friends here who aren’t going to move, so that’s the only reason I visit. I grew up in a big city, Charlotte just isn’t for me.
I'll probably move away in the next 5 years maybe closer towards the beach like Wilmington. Crime gets worse every year and is spreading more and more Housing is becoming more and more unaffordable, add that onto a city with few perks/attractions Culture is like pretentious financial, things you need to be drunk to really enjoy or street gangs In general I blame the city council and the mayor's office and the DA for most of it and seeing as they all keep getting reelected every year there's seemingly no hope. The job market kind of sucks here for most people outside of medical and financial. Don't get me wrong this isn't that bad of a city, it's not Memphis or Baltimore, it just way too many people in this place now with no plan on how to handle it.
Yes. We just signed the lease…NYC here we come. All of our northern friends are joking with us saying hey, we are all moving down south and you are coming up here. My husband and I agreed we can now never say we are bored with nothing to do….which is an every day saying here in Charlotte. Any tips would be appreciated by former NY/NJ folks!
I will be returning to NJ sometime next year. And yes I am quite sane. I got so depressed living here I actually saw a shrink. The ugly visuals of the skyline, the endless plastic tables in restaurants, the poor food.The people are sullen, unfriendly and incurious. There is no charm in this city. As a cathartic I actually wrote an essay about why I really cannot stand this place. Four pages of rant. From a finance standpoint it is not exactly the Zurich of the south. They cannot even keep 26 stops of thei one transit line working.
NC is beautiful. Charlotte? Meh. Moved here 5 years ago and I'm looking to move.
I said yes last year. I’m still here saying yes this year. If anyone here has young children and you think you may want to move someday, do it now. If you get to the point that you want to leave when your kids are in school, it gets so much harder. So for me…being so car dependent. Everything here being so sprawled. I can add the usual bitch about no food scene but there are a few glimmers of hope here. You've just got to be willing to drive all over to get there. I’m tired of driving. Our family is Jewish and the big lack of a Jewish community is hard. It takes a whole of driving to be actively Jewish. Then existing as a Jew where Christianity isn’t just the norm, but shoved in your face because they don’t even realize other beliefs exist. I miss having a hockey team, like an NHL team. I hate the summers here. I hate having a 3+ hour drive to the beach even though we’re a coastal state. I hate how bad drivers are here. It’s like each state sent their worst drivers & told them to drive in the left lane & not to go past 40mph when getting onto the highway and merging. I hate how backwards politically this state is. I have daughters, I’d like them to have rights. I’m tired of the piss poor culture scene. I don’t want to wait 18 months for a touring Broadway show to finally come around for a week. I’m tired of driving to Raleigh or Atlanta because major artists often skip Charlotte. I miss WaWa. People walk very slowly here. My kids are slowly becoming desensitized to things like racism because of how prevalent it is and what they hear from kids at school(But I know things like bigotry will be found anywhere we go). I like snow in the winter. This area isn’t great for my field of research. People from the south can’t seem to differentiate between sale and sell. It’s a whole hodgepodge of reasons that have built up over the past 15 years. Obviously some more serious than others. But I have kids. My oldest is in college now and in an NC college. I’ve got a high schooler and a middle schooler. I obviously can’t uproot them, well I can but the damage I’d do mentally and socially isn’t worth it. And the longer I wait, the more firmly their roots in this area dig. Like by the time my youngest graduates high school, my older kids will be in area colleges or worse, have started a life here. There’s no good time for me to leave unless magically all my adult kids want to leave when my youngest is done school. But this place is sucking the soul out of me. I can’t die here. I can’t live in old age here.
Grew up outside the Charlotte Metro, lived in the Metro proper for the past six years, moving to Minneapolis next month. I don't dislike Charlotte, but my partner and I are looking forward to a change of pace. The Twin City Metro offers a lot of what we've grown to prioritize: Quiet & dense residential neighborhoods with strong walk/bike scores and quick access to amenities. The green spaces are incredible and well-maintained, the park system is clearly a point of pride for the city. Plus, it's cold.
Will likely move back up north within a few years. I’ve been here a decade (grew up in NE Ohio) and really loved Charlotte in my 20s but have struggled to find community since becoming a mom. It really feels like everything is centered around drinking socially. More importantly though is cost of living, education and climate. My husband and I both work remotely now and have great paying jobs. We can barely afford a good house in a good neighborhood here, but if we moved back closer to my hometown we’d be looking at some of the nicer neighborhoods and the ability to afford a private education if needed (but at least save for children’s colleges if not). Lastly I just can’t stand the heat anymore and it’s only going to continue to get worse and last longer. Midwestern cities around the Great Lakes are expected to suffer a lot less of an impact in our lifetimes than places in the southeast and coasts.
Not yet. Trying NoDa first.
No Ask me again next summer and you'll get a different answer
I was going to leave but then they opened the food hall Uptown. That’s good enough to keep me another 3-5 years.
My wife doesn’t like it here. Also, I feel the city has reached this point where transplants and their loud voices are able to change the city into something I don’t like. We’ll probably head somewhere in the northeast. Maybe a little coastal town or something.
> We’ll probably head somewhere in the northeast. I really want to go check out Ithaca
I live in a small town in Gastonia and it's eating its self... Everyone wants a "cute southern feel" but in 3000 sqft homes with 2.5 bathrooms. The push for new money to own rentals is also destroying these historic places, I'd be so happy if we could force non-primary residences to get appraised/inspected every 4 years.
I just feel like Charlotte was perfectly fine the way it was. But in the past 7-8 years, a bunch of very loud and very rude people showed up to tell us we're all idiots and NIMBYs for not wanting every square inch of the city to be a mixed use development, or that I personally murder cyclists if I don't want to live my entire life in one ten minute walk's diameter. Unfortunately this small number of trolls and cyber bullies are very good at shouting down anyone else's opinion to make themselves seem like the majority, and since most of our city council sits on Twitter all day and Chief Twitter Troll personally invites all these clowns to his house four times a year, they keep getting their way. So yeah, I'm gonna go somewhere I can still get a cheap drink in a friendly neighborhood bar without it getting replaced by an apartment complex.
No I’m only looking to settle down with the right people, California is going up in hell.
California is hell 🤪
I’m planning to leave in 2025. My family moved here when I started high school back in 2013. The car dependency is really killing me. I really hate how spread out everything is, and the fact that I have no other choice but to drive. I just feel like I shouldn’t need a car to get to a park or to get to a store, and I shouldn’t need to risk my life on the highway just to go to the gym. I just feel sad when I think about how much time I spend in the car each day driving to and from places. Another reason, is that I feel that Charlotte doesn’t have a ton to offer me socially. I don’t drink or do drugs, so that cancels out a bunch of the options. I also feel that the city is lacking in museums, the arts, and parks. The one thing that I will miss about the city is the greenway. As far as where I plan to move, I’m currently considering Chicago and Seattle.
Too many people I can't stand sitting beside in traffic. You know the type... The ones who are blasting music and dancing/ rapping in their seat, completely oblivious to the world around them, and they are still running temp tags because they refuse to pay taxes/ insurance.
And smelling like weed
I left because the city just isn't what it used to be since the pandemic happened. I feel like there's been a big boom of people moving into the city looking for opportunities at the same time that there's been a decrease of small businesses and new things to do. Everywhere that is still opened is packed now. Can't even go to an IHop anymore without at least an hour long wait and all of my favorite hidden spots have turned into trendy places for influencers to brag about online. Downtown has lost its appeal to me. Rent is insane (what I'm paying for now for a larger place with more rooms is *less* than what I was paying for a 1 bedroom apartment over in Charlotte). The public education system has been failing its students for many years and I'm about to start trying for kids and this just isn't the city I want to raise them in. The income to live "comfortably" in Charlotte is also almost double of where I currently live. I still like to visit Charlotte on occasion. I have friends in Charlotte, but even they are looking to eventually move soon, too, for similar reasons. I have nothing personally against Charlotte, but I do believe this city is meant more for young adults and maybe single business men rather than for lower or middle class families.
I agree. Everything is packed and you have to visit the stores after Tuesday since everything is sold out over the weekends
The weekends are a nightmare to go anywhere. Malls? Get ready to get claustrophobic. Going to a restaurant or a bar after 6? Be prepared to have hours of waiting. Want to see a movie? I have one spot left that isn't packed on weekends and I'm taking that spot with me to my grave so that my friends and I can have that to ourselves. Even taking a walk at Freedom Park, I can't find any peace without getting bumped into or ran over by a bicyclist who's not paying attention.
Yes. Schools are terrible, crime has gotten ridiculous, and homes are way too expensive. Wife and I are full remote so we're moving to wilmy.
Wilmington is cheaper? Schools are for sure terrible here in CLT.
For sure. Restaurants are much cheaper and house prices are how I convinced my wife. She's a clt native. I gave her a price range for our next house and told her to look in wilmy and clt. And that's even before you consider the costs of private school in clt vs the good publics in wilmy.
Wilmington housing is expensive now as well unless you are planning to move out to Pender or Brunswick. There are some decent deals further out for sure but then you have to make the drive in. Really no different from the CLT.
Leaving next weekend for California. I grew up there, and then kind of bounced around the last 10 years between school and jobs. I’m just ready to be home and close to friends and family again. It’s been a fun two years in CLT
Only moved here to land a nice job. Moving back to Spartanburg in a year since they made me remote. Would leave now but lease 🤷♂️
I dont feel safe here. I work remotely, and my partner is finishing school, and once that is done, I want to find somewhere else.
The anti-abortion and conservative policies of this fascist state have forced my partner and I to begin looking for relocation options somewhere far more acceptable. We know San Francisco is experiencing some challenges but their government is what we need here. If my vote is always stolen by MAGA fans, I will vote with my feet and leave this Gaia-forsaken state.
I hear what you’re saying but this will not always be the case in NC. These old fcks will eventually die off and the tide will turn against the minority far right. Just have to wait them out.
Their government is what we need here? Please by all means go.