Relocating To Charlotte, NC: Dining In the Queen City

When people are relocating to the Charlotte, NC. area a misperception if they have not visited yet is the type of food that Charlotte has to offer. Yes we are in the south and as such we like our food fried. However; Charlotte, NC. has become a great place for just about any taste bud. I personally was surprised at the wide variety of restaurants to choose from when I first arrived in Charlotte and it is ever growing. Charlotte, NC. has some great places to eat that from appearances look like small little local cuisine places that offer some of the best food in town at a reasonable price. And of course there is the five star restaurants with some award winning chefs offering just about everything you can imagine in cuisine in the Charlotte area. One thing about Charlotte, NC is that there is a variety of restaurants catering to all types of people, food and atmosphere scattered throughout the queen city. I have visited some of the best hole in the wall places to get fried pickles and mouthwatering fried chicken to formal restaurants that take reservations weeks in advance do to the high demand for it's food.... In addition to the many restaurants and local establishments Charlotte is also home to all the major fast food chains and a few I never heard of before coming to Charlotte, NC. In a pinch and need a place to eat you will find something for every taste bud in the Charlotte, NC. area. The one thing I noticed though traveling to Charlotte, NC. coming for the Northeast is that the city does not have many 24 hour restaurants or diners. In fact I was hard pressed to find a diner in Charlotte. I noticed the staple here was the waffle house as ( what I would call a local diner) offering 24 hour service outside of the usual fast food chains. Outside fo the weekends it seems most of the nicer restaurants tend to close down by 10p.m. on the weekday's. But with Johnson and Wales Culinary institute having one of it's campus located here and the Art institute having a college campus in Charlotte there is always fine cooks coming out looking to make a name for themselves in the Charlotte region..... This has added to the diversity and types of food that is served in Charlotte. In addition, people moving in here are opening local cuisine restaurants tailored after their heritage in the Charlotte area all the time and has added to the diversity of types of food you can experience in the Charlotte region. So no matter what type of food you are looking for form fast food all the way up to five star dining you will find it in Charlotte, NC…. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamarealty.com www.davedicecco.com

Relocating To Charlotte, NC: Health Care

When I thought of moving to the Charlotte region a few years ago with my wife and four kids; many factors played into my decision to choose Charlotte as my home. One of the primary reasons was the health care system in and around the Charlotte area. Though I hoped to have never had to use it I wanted to make sure the quality of medical care in the area was high and easily accessible. I was quite stunned at the facilities that Charlotte offered and the easy access to them with their central strategically positioned locations throughout Charlotte, NC. Charlotte is primarily run by two major health care systems that run the two hospital systems in the Charlotte area. One is Carolina Medical Center and the other is Novant Health Care. I unfortunately, have had the pleasure of visiting both hospitals in the past and felt they both offered equally professional and top notch care. Carolina Medical Center is part of the Carolinas Health care system. It is the largest health care system in the Charlotte region. Carolina Medical Center is the largest research hospital in the region and one of five teaching hospitals in North Carolina. Being a part of Carolinas Health Care system has helped it, and the Charlotte region provide top notch medical treatment to all patients be it in the hospital or through one of it's doctors or specialists throughout the Charlotte region. Being a part of the largest healthcare system in the Carolinas has some people worried about the quality of care you will receive. But Levine Children’s hospital was recently recognized as one of the top children's hospitals in the country and Carolinas Medical Center is also rated as one of the top medical centers and programs in the country and has been winning awards for many years in select fields. The other major medical center in the Charlotte, NC. region is Novant health Care. Located in multiple states people unfamiliar with the new system in the south (like I was) are finding out that the hospital is part of a network of doctors, hospitals, and health care providers all intertwined among one another. Novant is not quite as large as Carolina Medical Center but is still a viable option in the Charlotte region. It has won awards and the quality of medical care it provides is on par with Carolinas Medical center and some even have said better. I think the competition among the two groups has helped improve the quality of care as well as having them reinvest in research and development.. All in all, moving to Charlotte, NC. has given me a different perspective on health care that I was not used to coming from the Northeast. There individual doctors practiced privately and hospitals were only affiliated with certain doctors. Here everyone works together to help ensure you are provided the best care possible. I also like I can go to any Carolina Medical Center facility and they can pull my records almost instantly without me doing additional paperwork..... Lot of good reasons to choose Charlotte, NC. as your next home and medical care and facilities in and around Charlotte was one of them for me.... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamsrealty.com www.davedicecco.com

Relocating To Charlotte, NC: Public Transportation

When people move to Charlotte, NC. and have come from an area or city where they have primarily used public transportation or want to use public transportation to get around Charlotte the question is where do you look and what is public transportation like in Charlotte, NC. Charlotte is one of the largest cities in the United States boasting a ranking in the top 25 for population. So, with that many people getting around Charlotte public transportation is and has become a necessity. It also is popular among people who work in uptown and do not want to pay for parking. Charlotte, NC is run by the Charlotte Area Transit Authority (or more commonly known as CATS). It is the central hub for all the buses and light rail in the Charlotte, NC. It is the largest single public transportation system in the south between Atlanta Georgia and Washington DC. On an average day it runs over 70 different bus routes and a light rail system connecting the southern part of Charlotte with uptown Charlotte. In addition it has services for the disabled and a van pool system. In the ever changing and increasing growing city it is constantly expanding it's services and improving the ones it has in place already. One thing about the bus system in Charlotte is that it is very accessible for most residents. It has both local routes that are scattered throughout Charlotte and express routes for commuters working in uptown. The bus service currently carries in excess of 22 million people a year. I know people love the fact ti has stops in most major medical center areas and the commuters love the express route to uptown to expedite their commute. The light rail system opened a 9.6 mile run from 485 by South Blvd. to uptown Charlotte with numerous stops in between. It was designed to help alleviate the traffic congestion on 77 and give commuters and people going into uptown an alternative to get to up town. It has been such a huge success that they are in the process of expanding it out toward University of North Carolina Charlotte currently. The para assist is one of my favorite parts of the mass transportation that Charlotte, NC. offers. It picks up people with disabilities and drops them off at their required destination. It is a true door to door service to help those with special needs. Van pool offers a shuttle service for a group of people who reside in the same area to get to and from work on a daily basis and has become a popular mode of commuting among local residents working in the same area. Charlotte, NC. city leaders and Cats officials have done a good job of addressing the need to improve and grow the transit system as Charlotte continues it's ever increasing growth of population to the city and the surrounding towns.....With the ever expanding light rail and new busses and service lines being added Charlotte is showing the vision necessary to handle the growth.... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamsrealty.com www.davedicecco.com