Relocating To Charlotte, NC: Sports Teams

Relocating to Charlotte, NC. has been a very popular place for numerous people to move here. Another factor people are worried about is what there is to do in Charlotte. I covered the Theater on an earlier blog post and today I thought I would talk about the different sporting events and teams that Charlotte is home to. Despite not being the capital of the North Carolina Charlotte, NC. is home to more sports teams than any other city in North Carolina. In regards to professional sports teams we have the Carolina Panthers of the NFL which play out of the Bank of America stadium in uptown Charlotte. Founded in 1995 the Carolinas Panthers played their home games across the border in South Carolina until the stadium could be built. Then in 1996 they moved to the stadium they have called home ever since. Despite being one of the youngest franchises in the NFL they already lay claim to a few divisional championships and have played in one Super Bowl. During the NFL season basketball season kicks off and North Carolina is known for it's basketball. Well Charlotte is home to the Charlotte Bobcats (which after this year is being renamed the Charlotte Hornets). WE were home to an NBA team for a brief while before getting spurned and the team moved to New Orleans. Now, they are strongly entrenched back in Charlotte playing out of the Time warner arena in uptown Charlotte. When basketball is not played at the Time warner arena they host the International League hockey team of the Charlotte Checkers. They are the minor league affiliate of the Carolina hurricanes. The rich history of hockey here in Charlotte dates back to 1956 when the checkers first started. Then when the league they were in folded in 1977 the checkers were no more. But 17 years later hockey came back to Charlotte and they are the proud high affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes. In the spring and summer catching a baseball game at the White Sox triple A affiliate Charlotte Knights is a treat. Until this year they played their games in Fort Mill Sc. just over the line in South Carolina and only about a 30 minute drive from uptown Charlotte. However; the city of Charlotte is building a new arena almost right next to the Bank of America stadium that will host the Charlotte Knights in baseball starting the spring of 2014. In addition to the obvious sports Charlotte is also home to some lesser known professional teams as well. Charlotte is proud to call the Charlotte Eagles their home in the Professional soccer league as well as the Charlotte Lady Eagles the women’s professional soccer team. Charlotte is also home to a lacrosse team as well as a rugby team. But Charlotte, NC. call to fame in the sporting world might be NASCAR. Besides being home to the NASCAR Hall Of Fame Charlotte area is also home to Lowe's motor speedway in neighboring Concord. NASCAR is one of the most watched and attended sporting events in the United States and Lowe's Motor speedway is host to two of the largest ones. The infamous Memorial Day weekend race of the Coca-Cola 600 and the October race of the Bank of America 500. In addition throughout the year there are other racing events held of race fans all year round..... Moving to Charlotte, NC. does not have to mean you turn to following another sports team. But it gives you options if you enjoy watching different sporting events live throughout the year..... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamsrealty.com www.davedicecco.com

Relocatin To Charlotte, NC: Location And Weather

When people are considering moving to Charlotte, NC. one of the biggest questions I get is how is the weather down there as compared to other parts of the country. Now, coming from the Northeast where I was born and raised anything short of a foot of snow for me was considered a dusting of snow and no big deal. But there are some traits and logistically where Charlotte NC. area is located makes this a surprisingly good location. I hear a lot of people say it is not close to the beach and that there is no snow or mountains to go skiing or snow tubing in. Well the one thing I learned when I moved here and pass on to everyone looking to move to the Charlotte, NC. area is that we are centrally located between some of the great beaches the south has to offer and some great mountain areas. Because of the location of Charlotte, NC. it takes about 3 1/2 hours to get to the beach. The ideal destination being the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina. With many avenues to take going in traffic is never really a concern and makes for a great weekend getaway or a day trip. Now if you want to head three hours north you can venture into the Smokey Mountains and parts of the Appalachian Trail. Some of the most beautiful scenery to take in during the fall and spring time is up there as well as some great skiing and snow tubing places. In fact one year we went up in the morning and snow tubed for a few hours and came home and I was in shorts and a t shirt washing my car that afternoon. That is the beauty of Charlotte, NC. I can go either North or South and get the best of all seasons without the hassle. Charlotte NC., in my opinion celebrated three seasons. Fall, spring and summer. Winter is really not a real winter here. We can go from day or two in the teens or twenties to sixties or seventies overnight...Snow is a rare thing. In fact this year snow storm was really the first in a couple of years and when (or if) it does snow we generally see it melt away by the next day. It also helps that the average year round temperature in Charlotte, NC. Hovers around 70 degrees. In addition to its location because of where we are situated inland Hurricane season is nonexistent for us. Also the mountains to our west generally protect us from the real bad weather that comes that way. And we are far enough north of the ocean that Georgia and other areas minimize any real storms we get. Because of its location and easy drive distance to the mountains or the ocean Charlotte has become a popular destination for people looking to avoid the weather extremes other parts of the country get but still close enough to go to the oceans or mountains when they want to.... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamsrealty.com www.davedicecco.com

Relocating To Charlotte, NC: The Theater

Relocating to Charlotte, NC. Area and another large concern among people moving to the area is what is the cultural life like in Charlotte area. What is there to do and where to go? Charlotte is home to a wide array of arts and music venues scattered throughout the area. Listed below are some of the more popular theater places to visit in Charlotte area. Some make a great family event and others are perfect for a date night or night on the town where you want to catch a live show. One of the most popular venues people in the Charlotte area visit is the Blumenthal center for performing arts. Located right in the heart of uptown this is home to many different types of art and culture. It hosts various off Broadway plays, home to the Charlotte symphony orchestra and the North Carolina Dance Theater among other acts and performers who perform there year round. With it’s walking distance to some fine dining it has become a very popular destination for the arts in uptown. In addition there is the Actor’s Theater of Charlotte another popular destination that tends to sell out often on the weekends. Actor's Theatre of Charlotte presents bold and innovative new works by contemporary playwrights. It may be considered the Charlotte region's only professional theatre producing Off-Broadway-style plays at a very reasonable price. Just outside of uptown in the arts district of NoDa is the Carolina Actors studio with its well renowned producers and writers. A great informal place to see a play where they incorporate the audience into some of their productions but always has you thinking. Then there are my two favorite ones which are basically the same but one is for adults and the other for children. It si the Theater Charlotte and Children’s theater of Charlotte. Theater Charlotte is actually the oldest running theater in Charlotte celebrating over 86 years and running and like it’s sister companion the Children’s theater of Charlotte is run by mostly volunteers. Most of the people involved in the productions are doing it as a volunteer. I love the theater Charlotte for it’s quality play rights and the kids love the children’s theater for it’s storylines (geared to kids 3-18) with one of the few traveling fully professional touring groups calling it home. With over 300 performances a year it is a huge hit with kids and parents alike. Now, you can venture outside the city of Charlotte to the neighboring town of Matthews and you will find smaller community house type venue the Matthews Playhouse of performing arts that bring local talent on the stage for a fun filled night as well. This theater is unique in that it allows the children to perform in front of an audience at very young ages and grow with the theater as they have expanded to offer adult shows in addition to the children shows and now perform year round. In addition you have the local colleges with their performing arts programs that offer a fun filled evening out as well. Coming from Connecticut and frequently visiting New York and Broadway I found the theater choices and types of plays and theater here is Charlotte to be excellent with it’s wide array and especially love the kids programs to get my children to enjoy the theater as much as I do at a younger age. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamsrealty.com www.davedicecco.com