Provided I don't totally screw up an upcoming job interview, it is very possible I may be getting an attractive enough of a job offer that will have me moving.

Company is in Monroe by the airport there. I like to live close to work, just always have and prefer to continue to do so.

Married, have two kids. One in eighth grade and the other in seventh grade.  

I guess I'm looking for info/advice on where to live close by. Anything good? Bad?  Like convenience of shopping, stores, etc relatively close by.  Just looking around, seems like Piedmont schools are good?  

Anything about the area would be greatly appreciated.

Found this on page 2 http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_34/602779_We_re_Thinking_of_Moving_to_Charlotte.html   Charlotte dominates the region, Monroe is small city but can be viewed as suburb of Charlotte.

Charlotte is the main city in Mecklenburg county. The other towns keep it from annexing the whole county. The county boundaries keep it from annexing other land and towns in surrounding counties. Growth rate is high, people are coming from more expensive markets and paying way more than the houses are worth  because back home they couldn't by a 1/5-1/10th of the house for that amount.....  Charlotte-Mecklenburg as it is referred, have combine a lot of services like Schools (CMS) police departments (CMPD) and so forth. The surrounding counties have  people who may work in Charlotte but fled the stupidity and higher costs for places to live and raise their kids. Downside these areas are playing catch up and raising taxes, so a lot of the advantages are dwindling away.  If you were looking at Monroe, I would look at living in South Carolina. Cheaper taxes depending on where in Monroe you are living and what type of commute makes sense.

They are several perks, but also downsides like the farther east you move towards the coast, the more hurricanes can effect you as they breakdown into tropic storms. Its rare for a full strength Hurricane to come this far into land but has happened before. Guessing,roughly 1 per  40-50 years...  Snow will cause the state to freak out once you leave the mountains/western section. 1/4" or more and it's Blizzard of ____ Snow Apocalypse 20_ _ . Very few know how to drive in snow and/or ice, it seldom falls in any real amount and that causes people to not have experience and/or ingrained muscle memory.  You didn't say where you are from Oklahoma but Charlotte is starting to go up because the price of land and sprawl have swapped for cheapest. Most of the growth is made of the past 2 decades, before that at 3-4 decades there was mainly farm land out there.

Monroe also has a lot of traffic during  the big going to the beach rushes. That is usually a Thursday and/or Friday towards and return on Sunday/Monday ), Easter, spring break, Memorial Day, end of school(high school and college are different  periods),  4th of July Labor day.

The upside you be closer to Classic Arms and their special/limited only to one FFL that is allowed to do pick ups things up, so you save on shipping but you get nailed for sales tax and his fees for everything picked up. That deal varies on what you order. The other thing is if you move to SC you'll have to pay Palmetto State Armory(PSA) sales tax on top of their shipping unless you live close to and/or are willing to drive to their warehouse for pick up. So two discount firearm spots, one will effect you more. Classic more whole forearms than parts, PSA has more parts and uppers and lower part kits, etc.   for the AR with numerous sales and deals.

If you fly private commercial the Monroe airport will work, other wise you'll fly into Charlotte and go from the US Airways Hub. People often book flights from concord and Monroe etc, and then get off on Charlotte trashing the last leg because it was cheaper than flying out of Charlotte directly. How flying another leg to a different city farther away is cheaper in price. Which  is some airline/pharmaceutical/home improvement materials/etc.  mathematics B.S.  for pricing structures.

I am sure you have seen on the news we're under protests/civil unrest  for an officer shooting someone. No judgement until all details and tapes are out but the police are mobilized and have been for the "non violent" protests blocking internet traffic, ripping open the back of trucks and burning the cargo..... So not the area's best impression of behaviour....

Thank you for the reply.  hopefully things settle down with the protests by next Sunday.

Found some nice rental houses in union county.

Glad you took the page and link the way I meant it, not how I   typed it. I was giving the location in case I hosed the direct link. The site City Data will be you best bet, the local forum I believe is Charlotte at http://www.city-data.com/forum/charlotte/ Their detailed page on Union county is http://www.city-data.com/county/Union_County-NC.html

I also forgot to mention some of the best parts about living here , you will be 2.5-3 hours ride to the mountains or to the beach. Charlotte & Monroe is  right in between both. So making a day trip is easy.

If you have a bike great roads for scenic rides and some for challenging turns.

Hiking? Mountains-to-Sea Trail  and the  Appalachian Trail will cover any long distance and enough parks and waterfalls to keep them fresh and new for years of exploring. I highly suggest Roan Mtn and Carver's Gap(This side is free and has the grassy balds that aren't above the treeline for growth, just trust me it is a great hike with a great photo chance where a rock out cropping is in the middle of Rhododendron, so you look like you are standing a sea of flowers) Big Bloom is towards mid July to late July(local rangers will give detailed info for when that season) for the Rhododendron being in bloom. Plus you have the Balds which are a unique feature. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roan_Mountain_%28Roan_Highlands%29 Park splits NC and Tennessee. then There is Mount. Mitchell, highest point east of the Mississippi.  There so many guides/webpages you get overloaded for options close to you and within day tripping or camping overnight.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is a great drive but is very well packed when the leaves start turning.

Rock climbing is great, even ice climbing in the winter. Weather will also be hit or miss on snow & ice in the mountains. Many planned trips to ice climb in January & February had me in a thin T-shirt rock climbing, yet I have seen ice in late may at the base of water fall.   Seriously the weather is screwy here,  in few days you can go from cold to warm and back to cold again.  Ski and/or Snowboard you're covered but we get a more compact type than powder for snow.

Great white water and a great man made white water park.

Like Amusement parks and roller coasters ? See Carowinds .

If you fish and/or hunt NC and SC will have you covered.

Scuba dive? Graveyard of the Atlantic, 3 German U-boats

Into Aviation, a hidden gem is Carolinas Aviation Museum  with a very large dedicated subject matter library. Although you should  check if going on the weekends for what air shows some of the aircrafts may be at for  display.

Racing? NASCAR is king. Seriously if living in Union county or in North Mecklenburg areas expect to see drivers and their crews.

The downside is the area is not big on preserving history, so expect newer rather than older. But hey those historical marker signs are cool trade off...   Although you'll find, Multiple Native American tribes  history . With Revolutionary war and Civil war history.  Various Pockets exist in certain areas and the Appalachian Mountains are mixed. Not to  mention places like Mt. Airy /Mayberry(Andy Griffin fame).

If you want land and open space stay out of these dense population centers ,  Charlotte(spills over the county lines and state line for suburbs), Ashville, Raliegh-Durahm-Chapel Hill(aka Research Triangle for their big medical specialists and research departments, a big perk if you need a top of the country specialist), Wilmington.  There are few others, you can see them from maps.

Mass Transit is very limited.

Weddington....Waxhaw....Wesley Chapel....Unionville.....keep your kids out of Monroe School district.

What company by the Airport. I work next to the Airport. We share some fence line. PM if you want to.

Welcome to bumper to bumper traffic everyday

Union County is much nicer than Mecklenburg county. If you move before the elections, be sure to vote for Frank Aikmus for county commissioner.
The Sheriff is the best we have had in decades.
One thing about Union County: most services are private. While there is county water and sewer, most homes are not connected, and have wells and septic tanks.  Most Garbage is picked up by a private company. Only Monroe has a full time fire dept, rest are volunteers.