I seriously considering moving to NC. Maybe the Charlotte area. I'm tired of the cold and am not getting any younger.

If anyone can give me some input on the area, jobs, houses.
I am a licensed union electrician. But might consider taking my retirement and going non-union.

All input will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Peter

 

You ain't gettin' much help here Peter! I live just outside Charlotte to the south in Union County. I'm about 16 miles from downtown Charlotte city center. I certainly don't know for sure, but with our housing boom going full blast, I would think a licensed electrician should have no problem finding work. Most of the major residential home builders are working the area pretty hard. If I had to guess, I'd say in Union county alone there are over 12,000 residences approved for construction in the next 6-10 years with more being added to the municipalities' books weekly.
Average cost of existing homes in the area range from 65 to 130 dollars per square foot. New homes are probably in the 90 to 150 per square foot range. There are some exceptions that go higher and lower depending on the neighborhood and emenities you want with your purchase.

Allen-Tate is a big realty firm in the state, and sell a lot of properties in the Charlotte area. www.allentate.com

you can also get a flavor for local events, etc at : www.charlotte.com

Most of the governments in the area have websites as well. They would be listed by the surrounding counties. Mecklenburg County (which is Charlotte), Union County, Iredell County, and others I can't remember at the moment. (A quick Google search will turn up their websites.)

There is also the South Carolina option. Charlotte sits just a few miles from the South Carolina line. Towns like Rock Hill, Fort Mill and Lancaster are bedroom communities to the Charlotte area.

Enough, I need beer and sleep in that order,

john

 

Thanks John for the info.
I was checking out Lenoir north of Charlotte. I don't want to live to close to a big city. Most of my electrical experience is commercial, industrial. I have worked at an IBM plant and a Nuclear power plant.

 

Peter,

I have a brother-in-law that is a Pharmacist in Lenoir for about 25 or 30 years. I think he lives in a small place called Hudson just outside Lenoir.

North Charlotte has a Nuclear power plant, Mcguire. It's actually on the southern end of Lake Norman, nearer the towns of Cornelius, Huntersville and Davidson. The lake was created for the power plant. I would imagine commercial or industrial experience would be in as much or more demand than residential in this area.

If I can get you any other information, let me know.

john

 

Hi John,
Thanks once again for the info.
Do you know what areas are rural around Charlotte and how far the are from the City? I was looking at maybe 5 -10a and a house about 1800-2200sq ft.


Thanks,
Peter

 

Peter,

I've got your email address, go ahead and delete it. No telling what kind of junk mail you might get from "harvesters".

John

 

I am a ceramic tile contractor in Hickory, about a hr NW of Charlotte. Most of my new residential work is nearer the Charlotte area. But if you are looking for a small piece of land in a more rural setting look to Lincoln or Catawba county. Several local fiber-optic telecom businesses went sour a couple of years ago and Hickory economy has not fully recovered.

Otherwise welcome and the people are very outgoing and friendly, even if you are a yankee.