<p>I live in Charlotte, and its definitely on the rise. Your gonna have crime in any major city, and the cost of living, compared to cities up north, is reasonable. That being said, its kind of a cookie cutter city. Most of the culture, at least in my experience, is superficial and limited to small pockets in the city. The nightlife is there, but don’t expect much variety in terms of what you will find there. Most of the bars are pretty similar in terms of atmosphere. And you WILL need a car to get around, period.</p>