Amy Baldwin

Annie Carlano's career brought her to Charlotte in June from Santa Fe, N.M., where she was senior curator at the Museum of International Folk Art.

Amy Baldwin: I've moved around a lot, so I've had my share of newcomer Thanksgivings. I've always found a seat at a family dinner table and I'm grateful for that.

This is the second in an occasional series on five things to do in various areas around Charlotte. Today's focus: around Lake Norman.

Life's simple pleasures can bring people together

Charlotte has no military base. No fort. No battleship. No military installation. Yet we have an interesting war history.

The waves of moderates and independents who've moved here have made this a battleground state, one that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has a chance to win, pollsters say

Janet Carothers lived in Pittsburgh her entire life, raised four children there and saw eight grandchildren born there. And then in summer 2007, she left her city and family for a new life in the Charlotte area.

It's times like now – fall – when I miss my native Ohio. By late September, the air is crisp there and shorts are packed away.

Newlyweds Kathren and Aaron Rosales made a bold move in March. They relocated to Charlotte from Honolulu – without jobs. They had visited just once, two months before.

Julia Allen is a Charlotte newcomer as far as work goes, but she doesn't live here yet.