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This message has been edited. Last edited by: synthplayer,

I grew up in the area, and except for time spent in the military, I've lived here for the majority of my life. Growing up here in the 70s was nice, but it sucks now. They are trying to make it the next Atlanta. Gun laws are OK here, but there are a LOT of Liberals in the City and County gov't in Charlotte. I don't live in Charlotte proper anymore, and I try to avoid it when I can.

I currently live in north Charlotte. I've been here since college and never left. NC is mixed on 2A laws, its easy to obtain purchase permits or your CCW, yes its an infringement to have to do so in the first place. Demographically, Charlotte is pretty diverse. They is a heavy black population towards the city center and east/west. Outside of that, it's more suburbs and country. The weather is always a surprise. We can have a month of 100 degrees + weather and also have a blizzard in the winter. Taxes in Charlotte city limits are high, you are better off in Union or Cabarrus county. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions, I'm more than happy to discuss.

Income taxes aren’t bad in NC. I don’t remember the rate but it’s not crazy. We do have vehicle taxes—I just paid close to $300 today for my Jeep that they value at around $28,000. That’s an annual registration/tax. Plus $30 something for annual inspection. Real estate taxes are very dependent on city/county.

If you’re in going to be working in SW Charlotte I’d consider South Carolina, but the commute can be irksome. More house for your money and more of a red state. I live in SW Charlotte but lived in north Charlotte for a few years prior. The counties mentioned above are good, but Gaston county is to the west and it’s property taxes are higher than Charlotte’s, amazingly.

Mecklenburg County and city of Charlotte are completely Democrat.

Gun laws are reasonable state wide. CCW permits are backed up for months though.

Crime is about like any other place. Population is exploding too. I’d expect $350,000+ for a nice house in a decent area. Coming from Cali that’s probably a steal.

Lots to do when there’s not a pandemic.

Anything more specific just ask.

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:
We can have a month of 100 degrees + weather...

Maybe 30 days over a decade, but not in a single year. Yes, it does reach 100+ occasionally, but not frequently.

Yes, the one "Jim Crowe' issue is needing to get the local sheriffs permission to buy a gun or get a CWP. Left over from the old days that the politicians can't see past....

Not an expert but I suspect Charlotte is closer to being like California than most of the other cities in N.C.

Much easier & faster to obtain a CCW in the surrounding counties outside of Mecklenburg. If you have school age children, consider Weddington ,Wesley Chapel & Waxhaw. All are in Union county. Those three area schools are Top rated for education whose schools have consistently been in the top ten according to the NC chancellor of education surveys. If you don’t have children & want a better tax situation, York county SC is a stones throw to Charlotte. Good luck.

Congrats on being able to relocate away from California.

I worked at the Medical Examiners Office in Charlotte from 2017 to 2019 but I lived in the Kannapolis/Concord area.

I like the Kannapolis area of Concord but there are some rough parts to it and Concord itself can be a nightmare if you go to the Concord Mills area due to traffic.

I worked in conjunction with numerous Officers from Concord and Kannapolis PD plus the Cabarrus County Sheriffs Office. Those Depts work their butts off to try and keep the Charlotte Crime in Charlotte.

A couple of the Investigators I worked with lives in Cabarrus County, one lives in Union and the others live around the Mecklenburg/Charlotte area. Also one lived on the border of Cabarrus and Rowan County.

All have their pluses and minuses. I like where I was but I worked the overnight shift so traffic was not really a problem for me.

If I could get on with the Sheriffs Office in Cabarrus I would live in Harrisburg. One of the senior investigators lives there and loves it. I believe her community has quite a few retired police officers in it. The problem she told me is that everyone is moving there and development is out of control.

quote:

Originally posted by safespot:

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:
We can have a month of 100 degrees + weather...

Maybe 30 days over a decade, but not in a single year. Yes, it does reach 100+ occasionally, but not frequently.

An exaggeration but gets the point across. We have some wild temperature swings.

I left Silicon Valley for NC in 2007, and it was one of the best things I ever did. As was ensuring I had no business activity there afterwards - CA likes to pretend it can tax you given the least pretext, so I didn't give them any.

Can't speak to Charlotte locales (half a state away) but I do know its got a solid economy. Good growth, and good prospects.

RE: tax comparisons. Start with the proviso that neither state (CA or NC) has addressed any COVID-related 'revenue' shortfalls or increased expenses in their tax structures, as far as I know. The good news is that having had Republican legislatures for a decent stretch, NC at least had a significant rainy-day fund built up beforehand. And we still have an almost-veto-proof Republican legislature to counter the Democrat governor's tax-and-spenditude. Far different prospects than CA's one-party mess.

Bottom line: things can change. That said, NC state income tax is far less onerous than CA: 5.25% flat rate.

RE: property tax. You may (or may not) have been property-taxed on grandfathered Prop 13 property tax valuations if you've owned your current home for a while, so comparisons would need to factor that in. Property tax rates depend on the specific location property values, but are generally lower than CA and the rate would apply to the lower property values here.

One note here: cars are taxed oddly here compared to CA and other state's I've lived in. A minor oddity is the one-time "highway use fee" each car gets charged for. I think that is capped at $250/car. The larger oddity is that cars are taxed as 'property' and when you first register the car (and annually, thereafter, when you renew) the DMV will charge property tax on the current value of the car. This also is not onerous but can be a surprise. Link to NC DMV vehicle property tax estimator For example, the property tax for my location on a car valued at $20,000 is about $220.

RE: 2A. Far, far better than CA, but not nirvana. Well, maybe it's nirvana with a couple of speedbumps. I would recommend getting your concealed carry license - here, it's a Concealed Handgun Permit(CHP). The county sheriff where you lives sets the CHP policies for their county. State requires a half-day course and some paperwork (and NC's a 'shall issue' state so, unless they dig up some reason not to grant, after a brief period following the paperwork it's yours.) It's a speedbump but not a big one.

Once you have your CHP in hand, you need not bother with the antiquated, Jim-Crow 'pistol purchase permit' nonsense and, for that matter, gun shops don't need to wait for 4473 approval, they just confirm you're you, look over your 4473, make a copy of your CHP, and off you go with your purchase.

No list of OK firearms, no 10-day waiting, none of that.

The biggest issue with Charlotte will be (and this is almost religion here in NC, I've found) their quaint opinions on barbecue style. You will know I hit a nerve here, from the comments which are sure to follow.

Being serious again, though, let me offer an early welcome to the Tar Heel State!

joel9507, those are fighting words...

If you are moving to the southwest side of Charlotte, consider going a few miles farther into SC. Taxes are a little easier on you. Handgun purchase does not require local CLEO approval.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Minnow,

quote:

Originally posted by Minnow:
If you are moving to the southwest side of Charlotte, consider going a few miles farther into SC. Taxes are a little easier on you. CCW permits do not require local CLEO approval.

NC’s don’t require “approval” (purchase permits do, though). The CCW permit law is quite black and white in requirements and disqualifications. And Shall Issue, noted above somewhere.

Also for note, NFA items don’t require permission anymore, just notification to the head of the law enforcement agency for wherever you live.

As far as BBQ...as long as we can all agree that it’s a noun that describes a proper form of a pig, or a verb that gets you there...vs the general act of grilling something...I think we can get along.

If not...we’ll we’re gonna have some issues

Please, can't we just get along? Recognize that there are multiple styles of barbecue, people's tastes vary. Eat what you like, and let others do the same.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
NC’s don’t require “approval” (purchase permits do, though). The CCW permit law is quite black and white in requirements and disqualifications. And Shall Issue, noted above somewhere.

Good callout, I corrected the post, thanks.