Fort Mill

Hi,

My family and I are considering a job in Charlotte. If we lived in Fort Mill, what is the commute like? How are the schools in this community? Are people friendly here? How is the crime rate?

Thanks in advance for your input,

Norcan

Fort Mill

Welcome norcan:

My family and I moved to Tega Cay, SC (www.tegacaysc.org) close to a year and a half ago from Southern CA. Tega Cay is located just next to Fort Mill (in fact we share the same zip code and the children attend the Fort Mill School District.

We do not commute to Charlotte for work but have heard from friends that it takes apx. 20 to 25 minutes in traffic to get to downtown. Again these times would vary depending where in Charlotte your work is, and what time of day travel would be.

So many people are, and have made the move this direction as they seem to like the idea of a small town (but it is growing) yet they can have Charlotte near by. Many have also discovered that Fort Mill Schools are very good too.

I have provided you with two websites to check out (one for the crime stats. and the other for the school district).

Fort Mill is in the process of building a new middle school (to be completed by the opening of school next year) and also a new high school. The district seems to realize the growth in the community and acts accordinly. In CA they would just add temporary trailers for classrooms and leave them in place for years on in.

Your question regarding Friendly people? I do not know what it is like where you live and can only answer that in comparision from where I use to live to...to where I live now.....it%26#39;s like Night and Day! People are very friendly....especially the Natives of the Carolina%26#39;s. As a transplant I do my best to try and carry on the friendlines (that includes waving and saying Hey! :o)

yorkcountysheriff.com/CrimeStats/index.aspx

http://www.fort-mill.k12.sc.us/

Another suggestion for you...in the SEARCH box above, type in Fort Mill or Tega Cay...you then can read the previous posts regarding this area.

Wish you the best of luck!

Fort Mill

Lovetegacaysc,

Hi, Our family will be in fort mill on Tuesday and wednesday this week. Can you tell me about 3 hotels there?

1. Quality inn %26amp; suites. Rock Hill(some posts said it was very dirty?)

2. Sleep Inn Carowinds

3. Comfort Inn Carowinds

It would be greatly appreciated for any feedback that you have. We have 3 small children so safety is important.

Thanks,

Kelly

to couponchix (Kelly) first of all MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Regarding your choices:

(1) Quality Inn, Rock Hill - have not stayed there but I don%26#39;t think you will be happy with the location.

(2) Sleep Inn, Fort Mill - again have not stayed there but if given only your 3 choices I would choose this one out of the 3.

(3) Comfort Inn, Fort Mill - my Husband stayed here one night, when we first arrived because they take animals (his advice: it was just ok... but nothing great).

If you are looking for hotels in this general area only...my suggestion would be:

(1) Hampton Inn, Rock Hill (across the street from Rock Hill Galleria and various restaurants).

(2) Wingate, Rock Hill (next door to a Cracker Barrel)

(3) Hilton Garden Inn, Rock Hill (near various stores, restaurants, movie theaters, etc.)

I have not stayed in any of the above mentioned hotels, and have only based my selections on safety-location (in addition they are in no particular order)...and its not that Fort Mill is a bad area...it fact it is a great area...but we%26#39;re just not that big :o)

If you wish to expand your search you might also look in the Pineville, NC area (it is close to the same distance as Rock Hill...just diffent direction).

Hope that helps a little and if you need anything else I would be more than happy to do what I can.

Hi,

I stayed at the Quality Inn in Lexington, SC for 3 nights and it was fine. I found out it was because they renovated the rooms in the last year or so though, I guess this particular one wasn%26#39;t always that nice according to people that were staying there near us. The Quality Inn in Rock Hill was mentioned by them as a matter of fact and they said it needs some work on the rooms big time, that they were a little shabby. Definitely listen to LoveTegaCay%26#39;s advice because I know the Motels/Inns she mentioned are very good.

I was just in SC last week as a matter of fact. We heard so much about the ';Peach Stand Deli'; in Fort Mill, so we were able to check it out; it was GREAT! They sell sandwiches and preserves and pickled vegetables etc...in season they have fresh strawberries and peaches. They have an unbelievable Butcher Shop that sells seafood and deli meats. It reminded me a lot of the Butcher Shops around the neighborhoods of Boston.

We found JR%26#39;s Outlet to be quite the place on our little jaunt through NC to SC! I would say we could have browsed and shopped through there a little longer and we would have had a field day at the register checking out everything we bought! The JR%26#39;s we found was in Statesville, NC. Evidently there%26#39;s one in Burlington %26amp; Selma as well.

We weren%26#39;t in Fort Mill/Tega Cay very long because we were mainly heading for Lexington where my friends new house was located. My friends heard about JR%26#39;s Outlet from different people and I wanted to see these lovely towns on the way to Lexington, you won%26#39;t be disappointed, the area was very very nice, I liked it right away. It wasn%26#39;t too far from Charlotte I didn%26#39;t think. I have no idea how it would be in the early morning though with the commuters, but like every where else you just have to time it right.

I%26#39;ve been checking real estate a lot in through this area myself and notice that Rock Hill%26#39;s property doesn%26#39;t sell as fast as the other areas; there property it seems sits and sits for an extremely long long time. So to me, there%26#39;s a reason for that and no ones telling me different.

Just think, no more long long New England snowy, cold cold winters for you. I think that%26#39;s the most important factor to consider, that in itself would make me want to live there in a heartbeat!

All the best with your plans!

LoveTegacaysc and nomo01,

Thanks for your information. We are going to be fitting alot of searching into a little time.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Kelly

Hi lovetegacay,

We were in your area through the holidays and then the Raleigh area. We are 90% sure that we like fort mill the best. The tie breaker was the schools. Is there a ';bad'; area or one that we might want to stay away from when looking for houses. Any info you can give would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Kelly

hey Kelly: glad you made it back safe and sound from your trip. The Fort Mill area although it%26#39;s growing fast it is in no way as large as Raliegh :o) There%26#39;s not really a bad area (maybe one or two streets within the city that appear to be a little shaky..but that is as far as it goes). Regarding the schools within the Fort Mill School District...I have heard good things about each one. When we were at the beginning of our search we took a tour of 2 schools. We first went to Fort Mill elementary and then Gold Hill elementary ( our children ended up attending the later). In both case we were impressed from the get go. Now close to 2 years later...with one in middle and 1 in elementary we are still impressed. I have spoke to several teachers who feel lucky to be teaching in this district...and I think that shows...in not only their work that they do...but the children as well. If you go to the district website...there is a school map that shows the location of each school. The city of Tega Cay and Fort Mill will be in pink...the remaining area in gray is Fort Mill township (and right now this is where the fastest growth is). My only word of caution would be some of the back roads tend to back up at peak traffic times. Another reason I think this area excells..is due to the Spring family (Textiles...Springs Industries...Springmaid..Wamsutta). They have given alot back to this community and continue to do so.

http://leroysprings.com/Greenway.html

Hope that helps a little bit and if you need anything else just let me know.

Hi LovetegacaySC,

Thanks for your reply and the helpful information. When we were down there, our main goal was looking at different areas, not really specific houses or subdivisions. Maybe you can help a bit as we research from here. Some subdivisions show alot of info and some do not. Can you tell us anything about Bay Pointe at Waterstone? Lot sizes, neighborhood, etc. We appreciate it. Also, how long would it take to drive to UNCC from Fort Mill?

Thanks,

Kelly

Hey Kelly: this was in the local paper a while back.

Poor drainage causes big headaches for Waterstone residents

By Jonathan Allen Fort Mill Times

FORT MILL TOWNSHIP -- The streets of Waterstone are pockmarked with patches of asphalt where crews have had to dig up drainage lines to repair constant leaks. ';We have at least twice as many leaks in Waterstone as we have in other neighborhoods,'; said David Hughes, director of York County Water and Sewer, which is responsible for fixing drainage problems in the York County storm water runoff system. The county took over control of Waterstone%26#39;s lines from Wakefield Developers a few years ago. Phone calls to the Raleigh-based developer were not returned. Since January the county has been called to the neighborhood six times to repair leaks in the drainage lines running under the streets, Hughes said. ';Weekly, monthly, I see these guys at least once a month,'; said John Whitten, president of the Waterstone Homeowners Association. Whitten said the developer met the county%26#39;s minimum standards, which he thinks are set too low. And now, because the standard was met, the county and residents have no recourse.

If you can provide me with an apx. price range, what your wants or wishes are, do you want new only?, how much lawn do you want to mow?, etc...I would be happy to help you out.

Regarding travel time to to UNCC your looking at apx. 30 minutes (that is with no traffic)

Hi LovetegacaySC and thanks again,

While looking at realtor.com, we see houses for sale in Fort Mill but in Lancaster County. Can you tell me a little about this? Good,bad, etc? Also, we would like new, 4/2, 2000+sq feet, between .3-.5 lot with all the community ammenities. about $225000? Also, can you power boat on Lake Wylie? Swim?

Thanks,

Kelly

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