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.

Awesome! Very nice, Mike. I love that corn snake and mole kingsnake. And as always, your photography is spectacular. Especially that copperhead shot. That oughta be in a field guide. I'm driving from the Smokies to Wilmington in late June. If you know of any places that you could point me to (by email of course), I would definitely love to hear them. Or if you know of anyone that I could contact, let me know. I'm hoping to have a great two week herping adventure. Once again, awesome pictures, and thanks for posting. Definitely worth the wait.

I think what you should do is look for already built homes in that price range in that area, and see what they are going for. In my experience, a custom built home of a certain square footage is going to cost more than an existing, similar sized one. If you can find existing homes that are within your price range, then you might be able to get something built to your specs for a bit more. It's been decades since I lived in RTP and I've heard that the housing market is much, much pricier than when I lived there, so I hope you won't be disappointed. About 10 years ago I tried to do much the same as you are talking about in my area -- the Pacific NW -- and after adding up the cost of a reasonably nice lot, the utilities I would have to bring in, the cost of an architect, and the services of a custom builder, there was no way I could build even an 1800 sqft house...so I kept looking and finally found something that fit my lifestyle, that was on a very nice lot, that was much bigger than what I could afford to build, was within my price range, and was only was 3 years old. So keep an open mind...

Several years ago we were also looking for a pine tree as a specimen for the front yard and Pinus flexilis 'Vanderwolf' was one of our candidates. However we decided against it as we wanted something more interesting, resembling Japanese gardens, with exposed trunk and open structure. As pointed out by Embothrium, a very regular conical form of 'Vanderwolf' would not be very suitable for such a look and would essentially amount to a year-round Christmas tree. We selected Pinus virginiana 'Wate's Golden' instead with the added bonus of special winter interest when its needles turn golden. We've been very satisfied with this choice and its more irregular open branch structure. It was bought in 2011 through the Internet from Greer Gardens in Oregon and is now about 9 ft tall. It still has all the lower branches down to the ground but has reached a lower width that benefits from some shaping cuts. We'll add a picture in several weeks when it turns golden again.