Someone I know lived in the Ivey's condominiums in downtown Charlotte.

The advantage was that he and his wife both worked in buildings linked by skywalks, so they never had to go outside. This may or may not appeal to you. There were gyms close by.

The downside is that there was no there there, to quote Gertrude Stein. All the life had been urban renewed out of downtown Charlotte, and the attempts to replace it were not successful by northeastern standards. This isn't to say that there are not nice areas in Charlotte, but they did not find that downtown was one of them.

A more specific problem in their building is that a restaurant opened opened after they moved in and the bass from the weekend live music and the crowds outside were maddening -- even a number of floors above the street.

Someone else I know moved to the Myers Park area and loved it -- close enough to do things, within walking distance to some shops, trees and grass.

Where does your daughter live?
We live 8 minutes from uptown (Ack's Myers Park) in one of the most beautiful original ''subdivision".
You will not regret moving to Charlotte.
There is a LOT of downtown real estate available, and you would need to answer what would suit you best
The beauty of Charlotte is the ability to have a house, a condo, or whatever, almost anywhere you want.
Come and rent for a while--look around. It is truly a great city.
I will say that Myers Park has also "adopted" the local "walk to the pizza (Mellow Mushroom) place/wine bar/etc. it's pretty cool.
There are less pricey neighborhoods near uptown than Dilworth or Myers Park--and EVERYwhere has condos.
The uptown area has taken on a real "NY feel" I like to say to DS--little storefronts with neon signs, really good restaurants, etc. We really are a happening town--and SO much more accessible than Atlanta's downtown. Our VERY nice neighborhoods are near downtown.
The museum scene has been ignited LIGHT years with the new Bechtler, and the Levine Cultural avenue.

I thought it was Uptown?

You also might look at locating in the areas of the Metropolitan (on Kings Drive, near the hospital you asked about) OR the condos that have sprung up at SouthPark. Don't hone in on "downtown"--there are other great possibilities.

OH, and bring your mother. The medical care is second to none in this entire country. There are truly wonderful retirement homes. Think about it.

Thank you both.

We really liked our restaurants and (cough) bars in Charlotte downtown. I shall look at Myers Park for sure in addition to downtown.

Daughter currently rents downtown in 3rd Ward. We do not feel a need to live next to her.

We DO want to check out soundproofing. Our suburban home was on a rather busy street, so we thought we were prepared for city, even though we smartly decided to rent to test. No way. We really have a problem with our new city apartment. Therefore, sound will be a priority as we test apartments.

I somehow seemed to have missed some posts before I replied.

Gretchen, I have to confess--I do not want the SouthPark area. To me, I might as well be in Buckhead.

Even more, my mother actually lives in a similar area to SouthPark right now in our city, and we all hate visiting her there. Our old suburb, the one where we raised the kids, is actually closer to the city than hers, and yet has very few stoplights. We chose it for that reason and for the excellent FREE public schools.

We have to deal with mall traffic whenever we pick her up or drop her off, and we clench our jars all the way. As soon as we hit the mall in SouthPark, I said to my husband, "OMG--We're at Lenox."

Ironically, we are totally chill with our downtown rush hour traffic. Go figure.

I don't know a lot about Buckhead/Atlanta but I don't think the traffic is anything like it. You were here at christmas. There is a lot to be said for the southpark area. You might think about the traffic in uptown also. To each his own.

Southpark/Meyers Park is a lot smaller and quieter than Buckhead. Some parts of the area are also walking distance to shopping and dining.

Throw in some areas of Dillworth and its really cool.

I'm not a Buckhead fan at all just because of Atlanta's sprawl.

What's the cost of housing like in Charlotte? For example, how much would you expect to pay for a reasonably new, upscale 2-3 BDR condo with about 1800 square feet? (for comparison purposes, there really is no such thing in San Francisco, since the majority of new 2 bdr condos are about 1200-1300 sf, and would cost between $900,000 and $1.3 million)

The SouthPark area has MANY walking distance condos these days!! VERY attractive.
Condo prices can be almost anything. Several buildings downtown have gone into foreclosure and are now coming out. And most are very new.
You can find condos in the SF price range without any trouble!! And they are GORGEOUS. But many in all ranges.

http://southpark-charlotte.com/southpark-condos-for-sale/

The "morrison" and Piedmont Row condos are pretty reasonable.

Sorry not to consolidate these. As much as I am loving our developing downtown area, shopping is sort of non-existent. Entertainment, restaurants and food trucks aplenty, but even grocery shopping is pretty sparse. And forget it if you want a quick pair of jeans, etc. LOL
The areas I would look would be SouthPark (everything within walking distance, including Nordstrom's), South End/Dilworth, Myers Park--Selwyn Avenue has just taken off as a "compact" condo neighborhood, Phillips Place (near SouthPark but away from the major shopping center--with a Whole Foods now).
And there are MANY more.

I have to tell you that I was in SouthPark WELL before Thanksgiving, and it all struck me as the same ol, same ol. Remember, I hate where my mother lives (she walks to everything, but it's so "mallish" and you can't drive 100 yards without a light)and I really hate Buckhead.

I could care less about downtown traffic because I would be a pedestrian. And going OUT is always easy

But I have noted everything you've said. I've been told the same story that condos there are going for nothing, so I have to investigate no matter what.

Thank you, thank you!!!!

Yes, there are condos downtown at bargain prices. you also might consider renting before buying--ALWAYS a good thing. And yes, SouthPark HAS become a HUGE mall.
Going out downtown is easy--but where are you going? Restaurants. Epicenter bar/movies. Panther Stadium. Bobcat Arena. Got milk? Bread?
You really might like to look at the Metopolitan--on the Greenway, view of the downtown skyline, TJ's and nice restaurants, easy in and out to go anywhere.
If you are looking to relocate your mother also to a retirement community, there are some extremely nice ones.
And you can dismiss SouthPark, but I would really take a look at it closely before you liken it to gridlock.

Gretchen, I'm laughing, because I had this same argument with my parents when they moved, for all intents and purposes, to "the mall".

It worked out so well for them, but it wasn't us then and it isn't us now.

We would have moved to the city right after marriage if we hadn't had children. We were pretty sure we didn't want private schools (a decision that served us well when we got into travel costs), and we KNEW we did not want "life by red lights". So the suburb we chose cost a tad more for housing, had fabulous public schools, cost us really nothing much more for taxes, had ONE stoplight within it, and was 20 minutes into the city. Our kids spent a lot of their childhood in the city attending a professional ballet school and seeing sporting and cultural events.

We liked our life.

Yes, it was not for everyone. Our neighborhood was not close to clothes shopping. Believe it or not, one can deal.

Now that we have empty nested, we have eyed our city. We have not sold the house, but we've rented an apartment in a city neighborhood to "test drive" even before we put the house of for sale.

We love walking to movies and restaurants.

We just hate the darn weather.

Again, I really do understand your point of view, Gretchen. There are people raised in our general area, people I love and whose opinion I value, who cannot understand at all why we didn't choose the suburb with good schools that had sidewalks and a mall. And they sure can't understand our need to live next to or in city life.

I totally appreciate your viewpoint, and I shall not ignore your suggestions. Thank you so much.

AZ

If you can afford it, look at what's available in homes/townhomes/condos in 4th Ward. It's part of downtown, but has a great neighborhood feel. It's one of the few areas uptown that has preserved some of it's historic buildings. It's where I would live if I lived downtown.

Thank you so much, Brian. I'm noting!

What Brian said. It is the most desirable area to live for younger people and the young at heart. I,m not fondo fo Charlotte but if I had to live there, this is where I would look.

Alessandra Zoe..i support your wanting to live in a city as we do too...and friends also have the same.".why not the suburbs" reaction. Living in the city makes one feel so alive and for me, gives off a steady and very positive adrenaline rush. Renting is always a good idea to try it out. Floorplans with BRs in tne rear are helpful as far as noise. Good luck finding the perfect city location with a milder climate.

So I took a look at some 4th Ward condos online last night, and I'm ready to move. There are some very pricey ones, sure, but those are huge (nothing that big exists in San Francisco). On a strictly per square foot basis, I'd say the prices are 1/3-1/2 of San Francisco prices, where prices in the downtown area are generally between $750-$1,000 psf for a newish (but not necessarily luxury) condo (whereas what I saw in the 4th Ward seem to run a much more reasonable $200-300 a foot).

sf7307--You got it in one. As others have noted, there's not that much THERE there, but it's really walkable, and we don't need a ton of night life at our age. We saw lots of street performers, couples holding hands, families doing little dances, etc while walking.

Bar seen for us (older) was doable; restaurants were quite good. We are picky--we need to order dinner at bar for "normal"--and we need that to be healthy. So far, so good.

Dinner options of above average were good. Pricey but not overly so.

Important to us was airport on relative US food chain. Not bad at all. And bus access to airport is excellent.

Lots of things to consider--we're in thinking mode.

Wish we could afford SF--it is our food measure of all city (sorry, NYC) in the US.

San Diego, however, wins for beer.

How interesting to say there's not much there. How nice. I hope you will find our city not completely wanting. Hmmmm. Stay where you are with that attitude. Tilt that nose just up a bit more.
HOwever, I will perservere in trying to HELP you. We DO have an excellent medical community
Our kids, who have a wonderful house in a good part of Charlotte are also looking at an "uptown" condo--would that surprise you.
Do you want a "rooftop" condo?
So, please don't dismiss my suggestions (and you have said you "don't") as just a "one note". I pay attention to real estate in the city from several points of view==it is changing. and things are available close to uptown.
I am a BIG booster of the "uptown". Lots to be said and done there.
"Bar seen"--do you need to be "seen" or at the "scene". LOL