Charlotte, North Carolina is one of those places where some people move to the city in order to get a new start. Sometimes their jobs take them there, while sometimes it is the promise of new and exciting things that draws them.
There are always so many reasons to move to this city, but there are so many things that any individual that is considering moving to Charlotte needs to consider before making that commitment. We have listed some of them below.
17. Charlotte Motor Speedway
The Charlotte Motor Speedway is one of the many NASCAR racetracks
in the USA and is credited with being a racetrack with many firsts in the racecar industry.
While great for the racing fans and community, it can be a pain for residents. If you’re not really into the racing community and are not up to date with things, any events or races that are held there can become rather frustrating with traffic, various events, and tourists become rather tiring to residents of an area. It is no different with a race track.
The fans of a race car and racers can be toxic as well, which means that the residents often have to suffer through a whole weekend of racing, visitors, and increased traffic.
16. Cost of Living
While one of the pros of Charlotte, North Carolina has been credited to the lower cost of living, especially for such a large city, the cost of living isn’t all that low. While it might be more affordable for others, that kind of living expenses is still quite an adjustment for someone who might’ve moved halfway across the country in the hopes of a fresh start and a new perspective.
Additionally, the price of food and gas is going up recently, which kind of negates the fact that rent and housing are priced on the lower end. The price of gas in North Carolina as a state is seldom below $4. In a city like Charlotte, North Carolina, people have to commute, and most people have cars. Even public transportation doesn’t escape that pitfall and is constantly needing to manage how they fuel those vehicles.
The cost of food is constantly being increased as much as gas, and other commodities are becoming relatively scarce. This is true of nearly any place, but it can be especially frustrating for those who are looking for less expensive places to live.
15. Constantly Changing
Charlotte, North Carolina is constantly changing. It’s a point of pride and contention for the natives of Charlotte. There is practically no heritage for the people to look at, which makes it rather difficult to pinpoint where the start of the city that has grown and expanded so much has gone.
There are so many museums and such, but there’s nothing to point to that shows what the old architecture looked like, or where the founding mayor used to live. There are also no landmarks that would show the growth over the years. This is partially because the city has a habit of tearing down old buildings so they can put new ones up.
While it is space efficient, one can imagine this particular pattern of construction isn’t the most cost-efficient and can be disruptive to those who live in the area as with demolition-type construction, there is a greater amount of noise than other forms of construction. The more things are built, the less prevalent the green feel that Charlotte so prides itself on becomes.
14. Expensive Schools
The pride of Charlotte, North Carolina comes in the form of some exemplary schools. They have an excellent education system and like to keep it functional and running. Well, keeping it functional and running up to the standards they hold the schools costs a lot of money, and you will have to pay for it through taxes or tuition, even if you don’t have any school-aged children.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, a private school will cost about $10,000 per year per child in tuition, not including other various fees that many private schools charge. On one hand, an exemplary education gives resources and opportunities later on down the road, but it becomes a financial strain and burden to the parents as the child goes through their schooling.
13. Coffee Places
Another boon for some, and less of a pro for others, is the number of coffee places in Charlotte. While for some, this is great to be able to grab a drink before running to a meeting, getting a coffee order for friends, or meeting up and writing and any number of things, this also makes it harder for other types of businesses to get a foothold.
In fact, a major complaint of the natives is that those small hole-in-the-wall shops constantly get killed by the pressure of having to deliver and then running out of funding to keep their shop up and running.
12. The Community is Too Involved
There’s such a thing as a community that is too involved, and you definitely find them in Charlotte, North Carolina. Some might not see it that way, but having nosey neighbors or having to attend a variety of community evens can be exhausting for a new resident in Charlotte. Charlotte, North Carolina is credited with being a very community-oriented area.
Now, this can be incredibly frustrating, as people will ask you to get you involved in community events and to show up for supporting the community all of the time. While that’s not a bad thing in and of itself, if you are a private person, this can be a huge pain and definitely something less positive for a new environment.
11. The Nightlife
What is a pro to some is more or less of a con for others, and in this instance, nightlife could be quite the con for a newer resident of Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte is proud of its nightlife and wants its residents to partake in all of the activities that they offer. For a family though, this likely isn’t the best place for you to live, as you may struggle to find things to do, even during the day.
10. Golfers Everywhere
Charlotte has no shortage of things for adults to do on a larger scale, and one of those things is golfing. There are several upscale golf courses that most people in the Charlotte area will spend their Sunday afternoon golfing on. While having golf courses is a great way to get outdoors, it’s not the most environmentally friendly activity.
Additionally, it’s not something that most children will have an interest in. While Charlotte residents who have lived there for their entire lives will most likely have picked up golf as an extracurricular activity before, someone moving into the area would be out of their depth and have to learn the sport as well as the different stigmas surrounding it before they start playing golf with their new friends.
Golfing is notorious for both being what some consider to be a boring sport as well as a complicated one for some individuals. It can be rather frustrating to be expected to understand something, but be unable to relate to the people around as they are more invested in a sport that wouldn’t provide a good connection point for a new resident.
9. Extreme Traffic Congestion
Charlotte isn’t a big city in comparison to other cities, but it is still a larger city. This means that during the rush hour in the morning and evening commutes, there is some insane traffic, especially at junctions where people get on and off the main roads. The average time that a North Carolinian spends on the road during their commute through Charlotte is 23 minutes.
That’s about half an hour that’s spent in sometimes stop-and-go traffic, which is an immense drain on the gas tank and your wallet. Most people would rather spend the time that they spend on commuting to work with their family, but it will take you a while to get home at the end of the day if you live in Charlotte, North Carolina.
While it’s not as bad as places such as New York City, the congestion is still enough to impact daily life, which can make that part of travel extremely tiresome.
8. Religion is Extremely Prevalent
If you’re the religious type, then this won’t be too much of a hassle, but there is quite a religious population in Charlotte. There is even a library that is heavily religious called the Billy Graham Library.
While religion itself isn’t bad, if you are not religious or don’t like discussing your religion with other people, especially strangers, you do not want to move to Charlotte, North Carolina.
7. No Small Events
Charlotte may have a very community-driven area, but the smaller events that are common in other places are not something that Charlotte sees very often. Unfortunately, this level of community togetherness is rarely seen and the larger, more prevalent events that garner attention from out-of-state visitors and huge crowds are more common.
6. Mosquito-Centric Climate
North Carolina itself is a state you can expect to see bugs in, so if you don’t like or are afraid of bugs, you don’t want to move to Charlotte. Charlotte is one of those places in the state that has a high population of mosquitoes each year. For the most part, the illnesses carried by mosquitoes are mitigated and not prevalent in the area as they are in more southern countries and even some other states, but they are still present.
Dusk and dawn are when mosquitoes most like to feed, so covering up even in hotter weather is wise to avoid getting itchy, painful mosquito bites. It will be hard for you to go outside, especially during the summer, if you don’t want to be bitten by mosquitos. If you do, you will definitely have to invest in a lot of really good bug spray.
5. Bad Ground
If you have a green thumb and a penchant for plants, unfortunately, Charlotte, North Carolina is not the place for you to move to.
Most of the ground in Charlotte has a lot of red clay in it, and most plants and vegetables don’t grow very well in it. While Charlotte does have a good variety of greenery that is naturally occurring, cultivating a garden is difficult and not as fun as it normally is if you move to this city.
4. Hurricane Territory
North Carolina is known for being in the hurricane zone each year, and Charlotte is one of the cities that experiences hurricanes. With this comes the need to know what to do, have a 72-hour-kit and how to evacuate safely, and teach kids how to do this as well.
3. Heavy Rains
Even without a hurricane category storm, there are still heavy rains in North Carolina and in Charlotte specifically. It gets more two inches of rain than the national average. With this in mind, water damage is something to expect no matter where you are living.
2. Muggy Summers
Because of the humidity, Charlotte is a rather muggy city to live in, which can make summers pretty unbearable at times. If you are from an extremely dry climate, you likely don’t want to move to this city, as you will struggle to function, especially during the summer.
1. Lack of Job Opportunities
While many people are moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, it is hard to find a job in the city because of the lack of job opportunities there are.
Charlotte is heavy on finance and technology-based jobs, but outside of these industries, there aren’t a lot of job opportunities available. While these industries are booming at the moment, that doesn’t mean they’ll hire just anyone. Typically, a finance job or tech company will want someone who has previous experience in those fields and as competitive as Charlotte is, employers will definitely require new hires to have a lot of experience under their belts.
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