Merry Oaks Neighborhood Association

NEWCOMERS INFORMATION

April, 2006

We're a established city neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The city of Charlotte, North Carolina is populated by approximately 500,000 people and lies at an elevation of 721 feet. It is also the nation's 5th largest urban area.
The city is conveniently located just 2 hours from the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains, one hour from several world-class golf courses, and 3 hours from excellent Carolina beaches.

If you like tree shaded streets, relatively large lots, walking your dog or cycling, yet still within easy reach of the city, then Merry Oaks is for you. Click on “About Merry Oaks Neighborhood Association” on our home page for background of the neighborhood or the “Local Government” link for information on Charlotte. We’ve gathered a few facts listed below to tell you about our neighborhood but please let us know if you have questions.

· Merry Oaks is adjacent to Plaza-Midwood and borders the Charlotte Country Club with access to Eastway Drive and Central Avenue corridors. There is less than a 10-minute driving commute to uptown, a real gas saver. We have bus service nearby to downtown and trolley cars are in the planning stages.

We are not a homeowners association, but an association of civic-minded residents with interests in sustainable living, maintaining the environment and keeping Merry Oaks a pleasant place to live.

• Merry Oaks had 56 average “days on the market” for homes sold between Sept. 2005 and March 2006. Note this does not include the most active home sale period in Charlotte, which is Spring.

• Merry Oaks had a range of home sales prices in this same time period from $118's (fixer-uppers) to $189,900. Prices continue to rise rapidly in 2008.
(real estate information provided courtesy of Austin Seagrave, realtor.)

• Merry Oaks has an active neighborhood organization for social events, infrastructure improvement and crime prevention. Membership is recommended but not mandatory. Dues are $10 per household per year.

• We are less than two miles from the hot “Plaza Central” retail and entertainment district. Antiques, a library, bookstore, coffee shops, bank, bakery, pubs, ice cream, pizza shop, grocery, drugstore and unique retail shops and restaurants are available.

• Merry Oaks now connects to Plaza-Midwood with a bicycle and pedestrian path. A new 80' bridge across Briar Creek connects greenway paths between Plaza Midwood and Merry Oaks.

• Merry Oaks has a neighborhood park on the elementary school campus with a concrete, measured walking trail and a second trail connecting to Merry Oaks Road. Basketball, playground equipment and a large grass ball field are already in place. A community flower and native plant garden area serves both the neighborhood and as an educational tool for the school. The Charlotte Park and Recreation Dept. is developing this area as a recreation center.

• Merry Oaks has a beautiful elementary school, Merry Oaks International Academy, with an interior courtyard, atrium style entry hallway, and leading edge technology and media center. For more information see the CharMeck website at: http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/allschools/merryoaks/index.htm

• The greenway along Briar Creek is well underway and the asphalt pathways provide for easy walking, skating and bicycling between Merry Oaks and the adjacent Plaza Midwood neighborhood. Herons, hawks, wood ducks and bluebirds are often sighted near Briar Creek.

• Merry Oaks had improved landscaping installed by the City in 2004 including 65 street trees, shrubs and other plantings. Six new neighborhood signs were installed in July of 2003.

•We have a low crime rate compared to the rest of the central city. There is no formalized neighborhood watch system but simply a very effective neighbor caring about neighbor system. A population mix of retirees, young professionals and home based business persons, and regular walkers/runners/cyclists ensures watchful activity in the neighborhood.