I love visiting our beaches, and I also have a small place in the mountains, which is great in the summer, but not so great when the major storms come...growing season is very short. So, I prefer the Piedmont area and would recommend that part of NC for gardeners, especially if you want a vegetable garden. The wildflowers of the mountains are lovely, but again, that short growing season is not good for veggies.

Raleigh, Greensboro, and Winston Salem are great places. Living outside Charlotte may be an option, but it has become quite crowded there. Check out some of the smaller towns if you want land with your house. In spite of current economic factors, I think housing is still expensive in the major metropolitan areas.

The Piedmont has clay soil, but you can always amend, and there are even plants that like clay and acid! An early welcome to you and your family. I love the Carolinas, and I know you will, too.

If you work in IT, then you will want to live in the triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill). This is where RTP is located (Research Triangle Park). RTP is home to IBM, Cisco, Red Hat, SAS, and others. I refer to this area as the Silicon Valley East. I live in North Durham. This area is 2.5 hours from the beach and 3.5 hours from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Interstates 40 and 85 are here for access to anything and everything, anywhere and everywhere. College sports, Pro sports, and high quality higher education are all here. The Arts, performances, and wonderful opportunities for fabulous photography. So what are you waiting for??? Ya'll come on down. We'll leave the light on for you.

When people refer to the Piedmont area, what are some of the towns called there?
What are some names of nice small towns outside of Charlotte, or the Triangle? We have decided to come down in 2 weeks and are looking for a place to stay that will afford us the opportunity to look at small towns.
My family loves small towns where people actually know each other and say 'hi' when they see one another. Small, quaint areas within about 20 minutes of a larger area.

thanks all!

I am only familiar with the area where I live. US 15/501 N at Northern Durham H.S.; Goodwin Rd., Stephens Ln. Excellent neighborhood, well-maintained, simple affordable homes, convenient to everything; schools, interstate, shopping, etc. but far enough away. Friendly neighbors, lots of walkers, etc. Within Durham city limits so city services are available.

As far as small towns here in the Triangle area, there are too many to count. The 3 main counties here are Wake County (Raleigh and surrounds), Durham County (Durham and surrounds), and Orange County (Chapel Hill and surrounds).

There is a new research park north of Charlotte. Look up Concord, Kannapolis, Harrisburg and maybe Mooresville. On the south side of Charlotte there is Waxhaw, Weddington, Marvin (horse country) and even just across the border in SC you have Ft Mill. Property taxes in Mecklenburg county (Charlotte proper) are considerably higher than in the surrounding counties. I live in Union county (10 minutes to I-485) which is just south of Charlotte and compared to Charlotte I pay about half the property tax of Charlotte. There is a large office park area known as Ballantyne here in the south Charlotte area. I cannot recommend the east or west side of Charlotte in good conscience.
The Piedmont is basically the middle of the state (if you are going east to west), it makes you 2 hours to the beach, 2 hours to the mountains so you can easily get to both.

I live in a small town called Albemarle. Lots of houses with land.Taxes are low. An hour from Concord,Kannapolis and Charlotte. The only large store is Walmart.
Locust is an other nice growing town.
You won't have any problem finding something in this area.

Hi sharonjean42, I used to live in New London back in the early 90's. That is definitely a small, friendly town where everyone says "Hi". We enjoyed the Uwharrie mountains, Badin Lake, Pat & Micks Seafood; just a wonderful place to live. We really didn't want to move from there, but our work was finished. Tell New London we said "Hi".

If we are hurricane free during the growing season, southern veggies at their finest in eastern Beaufort county, NC.
{{gwi:561348}}

Hi Hobbits, Let me tell you, you're heading towards major frustration unless you narrow down your search. I take it you're coming down during spring break at school.
Problem is you will have too much over too large an area to scout for homes.

I too live in Union Cty on the border of Charlotte.
If you're looking for an IT position with fantastic benefits look to Wells Fargo(Wachovia)bank in Uptown Charlotte or Siemens which is Charlotte alongside the Catawba River in West Charlotte. Both are going through consolidations/expansions.
You WILL MISS SANDY LOAM of LI-NY but soon as you realize why we don't use peathumus here as soil additive (holds too much water in hard draining clays) you'll be gardening up a storm where ever you land your family in NC.
Actually, Union has quite good schools compared to Charlotte. You may find you don't need or want to home school all the kids.
Once soil is well prepared here and fed with compost yearly you'll find it will yield far more than up North because of our longer growing season and fall crop season.

You don't need a brand new house on a plot of clay that the topsoil has been skived off of. Buy an existing home because you are in the unique position of having your LI home already sold..great negotiating tool.
Lotsa kids..look for homes in neighborhoods with swim clubs. Just check out the homeowners rules and regulations and deed restrictions which are often constraining to avid gardeners (at least with your front yards).
Clay soils..look for a home on city sewers and city water. We've had some terrible drought over the past 4 years and running out of well water is a terrible thing to a big family and a big yard full of flowers and vegetables fighting with shrubs,trees and thirsty lawns.

Everything will look marvelously green when you arrive to look but if you're a gardener...AVOID HOUSES WITH BERMUDA LAWNS...yeah, that bears shouting. Ignore the warning and bermuda will plague your efforts until you give up and move to a house and a neighborhood with tall fescue lawns.
It's a thirstier grass but it doesn't invade your gardens from above and below (and drive you crazy).

You wouldn't know if it was bermuda unless you came down in winter or early spring when the dormant bermuda was straw colored.

You'll find a heck of a lot of ex-New Yorkers here kicking themselves because they didn't move sooner. Welcome!

Thanks everyone.
We've narrowed things down to somewhere south of Charlotte. We want to visit a town called "Matthews". It looks like a nice small town that has a community type of feel, yet close enough to commute to Charlotte. Does anyone know Matthews, NC? And you're right, Dottie, we're visiting this Saturday!

Matthews is a nice little town, but it is in Mecklenburg county and within the Charlotte school district and the kids in Matthews get bused to schools you may not care for. If you like the small town feel, Waxhaw is just south of Charlotte, about 15 minutes from Matthews and is a terrific area to live. Just take I485 to the Hwy 16 exit (Providence Rd) and go south. Good luck to you and welcome to the Charlotte area.

My other house is in Matthews. I'm in Weddington, for now.
If I knew your price range I could point you in the right direction.
Mecklenburg is high tax, average services,rising water bills etc. Matthews used to be a really feisty,independent town always fighting from being dominated by Charlotte/Meck politicians. I say, 'used to be'. Still, the taxes are lower than Charlotte even with Meck taxes added on and you get great services from town police and fire while getting Mecklenburg service for power/water/garbage and trash pickup.

First thing to remember not to be impressed with is the cost of living vs. 'up nawth'. It only seems cheaper until you get your paycheck. Cost of living is tied to local wages.

Now Waxhaw..I live near Blakeney and Prov. CC but in Union Cty. and Waxhaw 'address' but Waxhaw the town is a fur piece down the road and I've yet to make it there in 15 min. from 51 and Sardis or Rea and Providence.

I'd say, if you stick to looking north of Newtown Road and in the proximity of access to Providence Road you'll have your hands full in any price range you need. Much south of Newtown and you'll have to get up half hour or more earlier to get to work because most of Union residents travel Providence or Hwy 74 to get to Charlotte businesses.

I know, too much information.

If you want great service from an agent you have to do some of the leg work first. Gas prices being what they are now, few agents are going to give you the whole tour to familiarize you with the area unless you define the area first.
Wish I still had my license but glad I don't so I am free to tell you what to avoid without getting in trouble.

One note, Mecklenburg just reassessed for property taxes and the values are wacko out of line. Way too high. Union is pretty stable because, as the fastest growing county in NC, it has exploded with new construction in the last 10 years. Be cautious with newer homes. Too many were thrown up in haste on fill soil that didn't have time to compact.
The better builders took their time and did it right.

Another thing, when you find a house you want to make an offer on, be SURE to make it also contingent upon determining where the water pressure reduction valve is located.
You want it installed within a foot of your in-ground water meter on your side of the meter..no closer to the house or at the house. Union's fast growth has them buying water from all sources out of the county and the pumping pressure to get to all these new developments means higher pressures in some areas and pressure spikes that blow out your underground water lines.
I had a $450. water bill last October before the leak surfaced between the expansion joints of my concrete driveway. Killed off a gorgeous evergreen so it had been seeping for a while underground. In a hot summer you expect high water bills so it went unnoticed until the tree up and died.
I had a lucky solution that didn't involve having to tear up my driveway and repave it but other folks I know weren't that lucky.
Find out where that pressure reduction valve on the main water supply line to that house is.
Don't let the seller tell you they have a pest control contract in lieu of a 'clear termite letter' when you go to close the deal.
If a house is listed with a Realtor they must provide you with a seller's disclosure form..things about the house and property you might not think to ask about. Builders don't have that requirement nor do 'for sale by owner' sellers.
Schools...I can confidently say that Marvin Ridge middle and high schools, Weddington High School and any of the north west elementaries are better than the rest of Union and certainly better than the Mecklenburg mess they've made of their schools.
Expect crowded schools..even the brand new ones. Union is still growing.

Sorry all for such a long post.

OK..gotcha..Saturday.
In the center of Matthews is an Allen Tate office. Go in, get a Realtor to print up a list of houses in zip code 28105 assigned to Providence High School. You'll need to tell the Realtor your price range. Go 10-25K higher than you are confident you can afford.

Steel yourselves against falling in love with any particular house until you've had time to drive during rush hour. I'll be glad to check out anything you find you like after you return to LI. I'm tied up with Easter Egg hunts and other events at our club or I'd arrange to meet up with you somewhere.
Let me give you the telephone # of the Tate office. Maybe if you call ahead they can have the information and a local map ready for you to pick up (least that's the way I used to do it).
704-847-6400 at 165 S. Trade Street,Matthews 28105

If you are concerned about better schools select houses in the Providence High School assignment area not the Butler High School area which draws from a much lower income area.
Get my drift. Safety factors and quality of teaching should be your priority. The elementary and middle schools feeding Providence High School are also better than what feeds Butler High School.
Matthews has a great farmers market and a marvelous MARA which is Matthews Athletic and Recreation Assn.
Trade Street becomes Weddington Road (it's going to get confusing how roads change names, use your GPS)
Super old timey hardware store in the center of town, town park, arts and crafts shows, summer concerts, local theater for plays and easy access to 485 or Monroe Road to Uptown Charlotte.
Lastly, don't get bound by an agent wanting a 'buyers agency' contract. It's too soon and you're still scouting.
If you get any pressure, take your list and your laptop and a good map and scout by yourself.
BTW, if for some reason your car breaks down, that Exxon station in the center of Matthews is one of a dying breed..a gas station with real mechanics. Have a lot of fun.
One light north of that center of Matthews you're at the intersection of Monroe(name change,LOL) and Highway 51.
Take a left onto 51. About 3 lights on the right you'll pass Providence High School. Second light onward you're at the intersection of Providence Road and Highway 51 at The Arboretum shopping center. Eat there or take a left and go down Providence Road to McKee/Ballentyne Commons Blvd and the Promenade Shopping Center. Nice places to eat.
You're close to 485 again from there.

Matthews is nice but I wouldn't call it a small town and it is in Mecklenburg County. I would steer clear of Mecklenburg County. Also check out Stallings and Indian Trail that border Waxhaw. Downside is the rush hour traffic but perhaps the realtor can show you some back roads, if there are any.

i am located between greensboro and chapel hill. mebane is a nice small town that is about 30 min. to either greensboro or chapel hill durham. if you haven't found a place you like yet check it out. nice place and conviente to the bigger cities.

So, how was your visit?

It was very nice. Beautiful weather and we found everyone so polite and friendly. We're not really used to people looking you in the eye!
We were in Charlotte for 3 nights and 4 days. Went to the discovery museum and drove all around the city. We found it clean and not at all crowded. At least not as I measure crowdedness. We went to church in Matthews and drove all around there as well,.. The we drove around the Lake Norman area. The last 2 nights we stayed in Boone and hiked a trail up in the mountains. It rained one night so we took in a movie (Soul Surfer ****)! When it comes down to for us is it doesn't seem like there is a clunker in any area for us. We stopped by Durham on the way home to see a friend and cut through a rather seedy neighborhood to get to the interstate but I'm sure that's to be expected anywhere.
So I'm applying for jobs and we'll see where we land! Our house is sold and we're ready to roll. The 'insider-info' that you all provide is so invaluable. I can't express how much we appreciate it!

best of luck!! i am also a transplant from long island- you will find alot of us down here! as you said every area of this beautiful state has its own charm. you will love it no matter where you land.

If you end up getting a job in RTP or Durham, I would check out Mebane. I can't advise regarding quality of schools, but their downtown is slow and easy! Quaint!!! I believe the borderline for two counties is close to the heart of town: Alamance & Orange Counties. Orange county schools are probably more desirable...

Well Hobbits, you sure chose one of the nicest times of year to search this area.
I'm out there looking also and I think I'm probably going to park myself back in Matthews. Word is the taxes in Union County are going to triple in the next 5 years or so..that would be county taxes added to whatever town taxes are.

If you're still considering Matthews know that the state still has plans to put an exit/entrance to I485 at Weddington Road near the YMCA. This will go far to easing rush hour traffic in the center of town but put more traffic on W. Trade/Weddington Road/McKee Road.

Good luck with your job search and remember that the Southerners take it a lot slower to respond than what you're used to. That's saying they have an aversion to being rushed.

Now don't any of y'all take that personally. I've been here now 25 years and had a Virginia mom so I know how Northerners need to cultivate a bit more patience down here.(LOL)