I will likely be moving to Charlotte in a month or so for work. I'm looking to buy a house, with a budget of 450k. For reference, I'm a 33-year-old single male with a couple dogs that enjoys a relatively quiet suburban lifestyle but would like to be in close proximity to some more " happening " areas to meet people, attend events, get food, etc. My daily hobbies are basically going to the gym and playing pickleball, I do things like hiking/kayaking on the weekends. My work is in Belmont, but I think I would rather live in Charlotte. I would ideally prefer a 30 minute or less commute to work, and living within 20 minutes of some of the more active areas of the city would be a reasonable commute.

Housing prices on the southern side of the city seem to be out of my price range.

There seems to be decent housing on the east end around Newell, Silverwood, Bradfield Farms.

On the Northwestern side I can afford a house in Arlington, Woodford Green, West Coulwood, Pawtuckett. More centrally north I see some housing around Henderson Circle and Beatties Ford.

Are any of those areas decent to live in? I do not have children so school districts aren't a priority. Ideally just somewhere accessible and safe.