by Jackie Mistretta

If you’re new to the area you may be overwhelmed with where the “best” place in Charlotte is to be located, and for a good reason. Each part of this city seems to be deemed a perfect fit… it all just depends on what you’re looking for. So here is a crash course on the Queen City to help get you acclimated with some of the areas around town. If you already live here we would love to hear from you what your favorite thing on your side of town is, whether it’s a park, restaurant or attraction, we want to check it out too.

First, some Charlotte facts to help get you started.  Uptown: this is what Charlotteans call the city’s downtown area. This name came about from two ways; The first, the center city was the highest point and the suburbs started to sprawl out from here. Two, in the 70’s city council named the shopping area in the heart of Charlotte “Uptown Charlotte.” This official name was rumored to be given to make the area sound more appealing. Next, you may be wondering why Charlotte is called the Queen City. Charlotte was named for King George III of Great Britain’s wife, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Mecklenburg County is also the center county of the city!

Moving on to the areas, we will begin with center city and move outwards. We won’t be able to cover every part of the city in this short blog but hopefully this will give you a good place to start.

Uptown Charlotte and surrounding:

• True Uptown Charlotte is made up of four wards, you get a little bit of everything living right in the heart of the action. Walkability cannot be beat living in the hustle and bustle of the city, with lots of shops and restaurants you’ll always have something to do. It’s home to the Carolina Panthers football stadium, the Charlotte Knights baseball stadium and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Uptown also has Discovery Place Science, a handful of art museums and several lush parks scattered throughout so you can enjoy some green scenery.
• Myers park, is an upscale area lined with a canopy of 100 year old trees and gorgeous homes no matter where you turn. Myers Park is home to some Charlotte landmarks like the famous Booty Loop (a popular 2.8 mile walking, jogging, cycling trail) and the Duke Mansion.
• There is also NoDa, which stands for North Davidson, this part of town is a unique art-centric area with tons of small shops, bars and restaurants lining the streets.
• The last one we will touch on is Dilworth, one of the city’s oldest areas. This historic area is filled with charm and is where Charlotte’s Freedom Park is located. Dilworth is lined with boutique shops and is only minutes from the heart of Uptown!

Next up is South Charlotte: While South Charlotte does not have a true definition of area, a lot of people consider Myers Park and Dilworth in South Charlotte, but we’ve already covered those so we’ll talk about a little further South now!

• First up is Ballantyne, located just North of the South Carolina border. This area is well known for the Ballantyne Resort, with a Southern Hospitality spa and a public PGA golf course this is definitely worth a visit.
• Pineville, another older area of the city, also borders South Carolina. With a classic main street and smaller communities scattered throughout the area you’ll feel like you’re out towards the edge of the suburbs when really you are just minutes from Carolina Place Mall and the interstate for a quick access to the city.
• Last is SouthPark which is well known for its expansive SouthPark Mall. Also in the area are tons of restaurants, shops, homes ranging from condos to mansions and businesses that are scattered throughout. This is definitely a convenient place to be for a good work-life balance.

Lake Life: Charlotte is home to two lakes, one on the North side and the other on the South Side.

• Lake Norman, the city’s North Side lake, has the lakeside communities of Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville and Mooresville. Aside from the gorgeous scenes you get being waterfront, this area is home to Birkdale Village, a popular shopping center, lots of parks, some with public beaches, and Discovery Place Kids to be out of the heat in the summer.
• Lake Wylie, the South side lake, has popular towns like Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Rock Hill, and Belmont.  While this lake is smaller than Lake Norman, it is home to several small town feeling communities with main streets, local shops and restaurants. You’ll notice that some of these areas are North Carolina, while others are South. These places are home to several nature filled spaces in Charlotte including the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens and Anne Springs Greenway. Just minutes from the Northern side cities is the US National White Water Center. All of the areas are a quick drive to the airport and an easy commute (hop right on the interstate from any of these towns) to Uptown.

While we didn’t get to cover a lot of ground here, like Waxhaw, Concord or anything in between, hopefully this will give you an idea of the huge variety of options you have when coming to Charlotte. Our team of agents live all around and would love to chat with you more about our individual areas and what makes us call that place home.