Mike Carpino Realtor from Lake Norman to Uptown Charlotte, NC

Lake Norman area schools may see some big changes for 2011.

Living in the Lake Norman area and beign a concerned parent I am always keeping a pulse on what is happening with the Charlotte Mecklenburg School system. As of now our boys attend Barnette Elementary School in Huntersville, NC, which we could not be any happier with. However, we could feel the ripple effects of what may occur next year with some of the local elementary school.

Here is a recent excerpt from the local paper.

Big changes for local schools?
   Three northern Mecklenburg schools are among those that could see big changes - all for different reasons.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools this week released a list of 32 schools that are candidates to be expanded, shrunk or shuttered. Among them:
   • Huntersville's Alexander Middle School, which is at just 52 percent capacity this year.
   • Huntersville's Torrence Creek Elementary, which is bulging at 169 percent of capacity.
   • Davidson International Baccalaureate Middle School - with one of the smallest student populations of any  CMS school but one of the highest per-student costs: $8,565.
   The review comes in the wake of severe budget cuts at CMS because of decreases in county tax revenue, the primary source of funding for the school system.
   Board of Education member Rhonda Lennon, whose District 1 includes Alexander, Torrence Creek and Davidson IB, adds that the potential impact of the changes goes well beyond the schools listed, because adjustments to the student population in any school will impact one or more other schools.

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Mike Carpino
Mike@LakeAndTown.com
704-301-9264

A recent survey conducted by the Town of Huntersville revealed that the majority are in agreement...Huntersville is a good place to live.

According to the survey results, 97 percent of respondents consider Huntersville at least a good place to live, with 45 percent rating it as excellent. Huntersville's population is projected to have grown by 55 percent since 2000, to more than 45,000. The results of the 2010 Census will reveal the official numbers.

Here is what one women commented on her survey:
"Our family has lived in Huntersville for seven years, and we are very happy here," one respondent wrote. "We moved here from Chapel Hill, and it was a hard move for me. I loved Chapel Hill and had to go to therapy to deal with the move. Now, however, I feel very different. Huntersville is a great place to raise children and we have a terrific life here. I would not move back to Chapel Hill at this point. Huntersville is my home."

I believe that many people who move initially have a hard time adjusting. Even my wife and I who moved from South Florida 12 years ago had a difficult time making Charlotte our home. However, after about a year we have made the Lake Norman area of Charlotte our new home. We like visit my mom and dad in Deerfield Beach with our 7yr old triplet boys, but are very happy that we "stuck it out". It is a great place to raise a family, the climate is awesome, affordable housing, good schools, etc...oh yeah, good trout fishing in the mountains!

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Mike Carpino
Mike@LakeAndTown.com
704-301-9264

The beauty of living in Charlotte, NC is that you have the ability to enjoy not only the beaches of North Carolina, but also the Blue Ridge mountains.

This summer my family took our annual trip to the coast and stayed in beautiful Ocean Isles. It is a great family destination with a variety of rental accommodations to choose from.

Last year we stayed in a home just off the beach that has a pool and was walking distance to the ocean. This year we stayed in a townhome with spectacular views of the ocean from our balcony. Ocean Isle Beach is only a 4 hr drive, and we plan to make it a family destination for many years.

With the boys staying with Grandma and Poppie for a couple weeks it was now time for Mom and Dad to enjoy a quiet weekend in the beautiful North Carolina Mountains. My wife loves to choose different Bed and Breakfast places every couple of months to spend our weekends.

This summer she picked The Buck House (pictured below) just a  short 2 hour drive north of Asheville near the small country town of Burnsville, NC.  The picture to the right is just one of the many spectacular views from The Preserve at Wolf Laurel .

Burnsville held it's annual Arts and Crafts festival that drew hundreds of people from all over the southeast.

It is difficult to capture the beauty of both the mountains and the ocean but here are a few more pictures for your enjoyment. Boy do I love living in the Lake Norman area of Charlotte!

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Mike Carpino
Mike@LakeAndTown.com
704-301-9264