South Charlotte: Young, fresh and growing

On a Charlotte map, the sprawling southern region looks like the edge of the universe, nowhere near the heartbeat of the city.

Well, I've lived there - still do - and can attest that south Charlotte is by no means aloof. It's well connected to Charlotte proper, but it also has a culture of its own.

For most of my youth (I'm 24), we lived on a cut-through street between Randolph and Providence roads in Cotswold, at the northern border of south Charlotte. It was Beaver Cleaver idyllic.

My two brothers, sister and I went to neighborhood schools, and the yellow school-bus doors opened at our driveway.

We had neighborhood Easter-egg hunts and kickball tournaments in our backyard. My childhood best friend still talks about the game when my pregnant mom sprinted around the bases.

But we eventually outgrew the beloved house. My parents decided to move more south, to a neighborhood off Providence Road, near the Arboretum Shopping Center.

As a 12-year old, I thought the nine-mile move was devastating, something I'd never recover from.

It's amazing how resilient we can be.

I soon realized that south-south Charlotte had a lot to offer.

Though our former street was teeming with kids, most of Cotswold isn't. It's common for couples to buy in that part of town, raise their kids and retire there.

South-south Charlotte is where you see the turnover - new homes, new families, new youngsters. There aren't many 100-year-old homes, but the new-leather smell of the area has advantages. There are plenty of local sports leagues, and the public schools are some of the state's best for academics and athletics.

Should you opt for private school, you'll find most of the city's biggest are within a five-mile radius.

There are well-executed shopping centers with big names, specialty boutiques and countless restaurants, from fast food to fine dining.

And according to my (unscientific) estimates, south Charlotte is a major hub for frozen yogurt joints.

Though the area could practically be its own municipality (in fact, some politicians have even thrown around the idea in Ballantyne), accessibility is still one of the area's strong suits.

A trip uptown takes only about 30 to 35 minutes - no interstate driving necessary.

I recently spoke with a long-time south Charlotte resident who lives near the intersection of Ballantyne Commons Parkway and Providence Road. She and her husband moved here about 50 years ago. Back then, the area was all fields and farmland.

When they were young, her daughters sat along Providence Road and counted the cars - usually about three an hour.

These days, about 37,000 cars travel that stretch of road every day.

So yes, the area is no longer a quiet retreat from big-city life, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a resident who regrets their decision to move south.

Because not only is south Charlotte a vital part of the city's heartbeat, it has developed a pulse of its own.