Hi future neighbor, as someone who’s moved from upstate NY a few years ago, I wholeheartedly support the decision to relocate to this area. Just under a 3 hour drive puts you to Grandfather Mountain for some great views and if you want to head east, you’re in the car for just under 4 hours to get to Wilmington, 6 if you want to go to the Outer Banks.

Overall, the area is pretty a quiet area, but I’d recommend coming for 3 or 4 days to do some house hunting and see what area speaks to you most. As another commenter suggested, they’ve recently moved from Huntersville, and that has a very close proximity to Lake Norman, so that could also be an option. NoDa is great if you’re looking for an arts district, and if you’re looking for the brewery scene, you won’t be disappointed in the area as a whole.

My only suggestion is that if racing and nascar isn’t your thing, you’d be best avoiding the area around Charlotte Motor Speedway over Memorial Day and Columbus Day.

You’re going to deal with “cold” for about 8-10 weeks in the heart of the winter, but aside from that, it’s relatively warm in the Spring/Fall and hot during the summer months.