Contemplating moving to North Carolina - Suggestions, Comments and Tips from those who live there?

[SilverRocket]

Per the title, I have a potential opportunity to move my family to Charlotte, NC later this year. Being a car forum I hope you guys can give some perspective related to cars.

1) Right now I pay about $2,400/yr (all in) to register and insure my 24 ITS, a 26 Civic Hybrid and a 13 Civic Si. I know it's highly dependent on my record, location and other aspects, but would it be reasonable to maintain that after the first time registration? I just don't want a surprise doubling of my vehicle costs. I already know the ~1.2% per year property tax I will be expected to pay will be about $1k, i just don't have the details to get an insurance quote.

2) Something that has me worried is to 80mph law. There's not a single drive I don't temporarily hit 80+ on the highway. I'm not worried about the 15 over on smaller roads, I generally follow the speed limits off highway, but a quick pass, an onramp pull, etc, here I have the luxury of it being 100mph before they tow the car and even then it's not an automatic misdemeanor. How strict are they on speed in NC?

3) What are the winter lows and how much accumulation of snow does Charlotte get? I've already consulted online but it varies. Some place say snow basically melts in 24 hours, others say some winters get 10inches accumulation. Basically should I bring down a set of dedicated winter tires or is there so little chance of needing them, would it be better to sell?

Any other general consideration, even if they're not related to cars would help me make a decision that's best for my family and I.

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[SeanIsElsewhere]

Per the title, I have a potential opportunity to move my family to Charlotte, NC later this year. Being a car forum I hope you guys can give some perspective related to cars.

1) Right now I pay about $2,400/yr (all in) to register and insure my 24 ITS, a 26 Civic Hybrid and a 13 Civic Si. I know it's highly dependent on my record, location and other aspects, but would it be reasonable to maintain that after the first time registration? I just don't want a surprise doubling of my vehicle costs. I already know the ~1.2% per year property tax I will be expected to pay will be about $1k, i just don't have the details to get an insurance quote.

2) Something that has me worried is to 80mph law. There's not a single drive I don't temporarily hit 80+ on the highway. I'm not worried about the 15 over on smaller roads, I generally follow the speed limits off highway, but a quick pass, an onramp pull, etc, here I have the luxury of it being 100mph before they tow the car and even then it's not an automatic misdemeanor. How strict are they on speed in NC?

3) What are the winter lows and how much accumulation of snow does Charlotte get? I've already consulted online but it varies. Some place say snow basically melts in 24 hours, others say some winters get 10inches accumulation. Basically should I bring down a set of dedicated winter tires or is there so little chance of needing them, would it be better to sell?

Any other general consideration, even if they're not related to cars would help me make a decision that's best for my family and I.

I’d say be sure to garage the car due to NC lawmaker’s and public official’s leniency on punishments for crimes the last few years; emboldening criminals.
Moreso of an issue the closer you are to the urban/metro hubs, obviously, but Charlotte being one of them for sure.

 

[steve chrosley]

The answer to most of your questions is "it depends." The interstates around Charlotte sometimes cruise at 80mph, but traffic can frequently prevent that. But, as you might imagine, some rural areas outside of Charlotte aren't enforced as much as the suburban areas or the city. Personally, I have never given much consideration to the 80-mph "super speeding" tickets, but with so much traffic, it's hard to do that regularly. Also, insurance rates will vary dramatically. Charlotte is in Mecklenburg County, and the rates will be higher due to crime, traffic, and other factors.

If you have kids, you may want to consider where you live in Mecklenburg County. The schools in Mecklenburg aren't the greatest. The southwest part of the county (Matthews, etc) is probably safer. There are decent neighborhoods near the university, but it's no place for a decent car, or kids imo.

Personally, I would look north in Iradell County or west in Cabarrus County. If you work in Charlotte, you would have a commute from those places, and traffic can suck. You may also want to consider commuting from Rock Hill, SC. Lots of people commute from SC because taxes are cheaper.

Finally... garage your car. Not sure where you're coming from, but the heat can kill your interior, and it's a risk for theft.

 

[SilverRocket]

The answer to most of your questions is "it depends." The interstates around Charlotte sometimes cruise at 80mph, but traffic can frequently prevent that. But, as you might imagine, some rural areas outside of Charlotte aren't enforced as much as the suburban areas or the city. Personally, I have never given much consideration to the 80-mph "super speeding" tickets, but with so much traffic, it's hard to do that regularly. Also, insurance rates will vary dramatically. Charlotte is in Mecklenburg County, and the rates will be higher due to crime, traffic, and other factors.

If you have kids, you may want to consider where you live in Mecklenburg County. The schools in Mecklenburg aren't the greatest. The southwest part of the county (Matthews, etc) is probably safer. There are decent neighborhoods near the university, but it's no place for a decent car, or kids imo.

Personally, I would look north in Iradell County or west in Cabarrus County. If you work in Charlotte, you would have a commute from those places, and traffic can suck. You may also want to consider commuting from Rock Hill, SC. Lots of people commute from SC because taxes are cheaper.

Finally... garage your car. Not sure where you're coming from, but the heat can kill your interior, and it's a risk for theft.

Thanks. The "it depends" is what AI and Reddit are horrible at which is why I came to post here.

In actually we were looking around the outskirts of Concord to be more specific, we want our privacy and tranquility so we would be outside the 485 loop (Mecklenburg) guaranteed. The exact location still TBD, but I'd be working in the North East area just inside the loop.

Personally I wouldn't buy/rent a place unless it had a two car garage so the keeping it safe is already a priority.

But again, appreciate the tips, it has helped our consideration.

 

[Fred 930]

We don't live there, but were seriously considering a move (many years ago) into the Raleigh area.
Had one kid at the time and second on the way - so my wife was especially interested in day care and school systems. We saw two day care places that no sane person would even house their dog. We also learned there were huge differences in local school system quality - often controlled by which side of the street you lived on. The Carolina's are below average regarding schools, but in the Raleigh area there were places where they were very good. Morale of the story - be very careful where you decide to live (especially if you have kids). Location, location ..... location!

 

[Brittania]

Radar detector along with Waze and maintaining situational awareness will keep you pretty safe from tickets in NC. You just gotta pick your spots intelligently. Virginia and South Carolina are so over enforced, North Carolina feels relatively relaxed.
Charlotte doesn't get significant enough snow to even bother thinking about it. Basically if it snows just stay home for a day or two. Drivers are bad here in the snow, and road clearing is poor except for major interstates. I'd just buy a set of all seasons for November- February.

 

[SilverRocket]

Radar detector along with Waze and maintaining situational awareness will keep you pretty safe from tickets in NC. You just gotta pick your spots intelligently. Virginia and South Carolina are so over enforced, North Carolina feels relatively relaxed.
Charlotte doesn't get significant enough snow to even bother thinking about it. Basically if it snows just stay home for a day or two. Drivers are bad here in the snow, and road clearing is poor except for major interstates. I'd just buy a set of all seasons for November- February.

I religiously drive with Waze and I was contemplating a Uniden to cover myself. Good to know there are "windows of opportunity".

If it's only a few days at a time I might just get some permanent all seasons on my Civic and keep the ITS toasty in the garage days it's below 40F.

 

[SilverRocket]

We don't live there, but were seriously considering a move (many years ago) into the Raleigh area.
Had one kid at the time and second on the way - so my wife was especially interested in day care and school systems. We saw two day care places that no sane person would even house their dog. We also learned there were huge differences in local school system quality - often controlled by which side of the street you lived on. The Carolina's are below average regarding schools, but in the Raleigh area there were places where they were very good. Morale of the story - be very careful where you decide to live (especially if you have kids). Location, location ..... location!

Thanks. I covered more of the car topics since this is a car forum but definitely something at the absolute top of our list.

The move would allow my wife to stay home for at least a few years to raise our youngest thanks to over inflated real estate prices here versus there, so home schooling is definitely on the table. Honestly these days I question all educational institutions with the advent of common core and other progressive policies.

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