Share
Julia Allen is a Charlotte newcomer as far as work goes, but she doesn't live here yet.
Since starting her fundraising job at Discovery Place in July, she's been commuting from Hickory, where she lives with husband Tim and son Stephen, a fourth-grader who told mom she was “working at the coolest place ever.”
“I feel very much like a newcomer, but I am not new to North Carolina,” said Allen, 35, vice president for advancement for the science museum on North Tryon Street uptown.
Allen grew up in Easley, S.C., near Greenville, and remembers coming to Charlotte with her family to go to – where else? – Discovery Place. She went to college at Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory. In her previous job she worked in fundraising for nine years for her alma mater.
The family plans to relocate to the Charlotte area by the start of next school year at the latest. It takes time to move two careers. Tim works in sales for Hanes Industries in Conover.
Allen said she doesn't mind the hourlong commute – except possibly on days like the Friday when a wreck on Interstate 85 made for a two-hour trip home.
By taking their time, Allen hopes she and her family are able to really get to know the area. During a late July interview, she talked of living in one of the close-in neighborhoods that ring the center city.
But a month later she talked about Belmont in Gaston County.
“It still has a small-town feel but is still very convenient to (Charlotte),” she said. And it “has a really quaint downtown and big green open spaces and good schools.” She also likes that, like Hickory, it's a smaller town with an institution of higher learning – Belmont Abbey College.
What neighborhood or community do you think Allen and her family should consider? E-mail me your recommendations and I'll post them on my blog at www.charlotteobserver/ living.com.
By the way, if you are thinking of going to Discovery Place, you should know that all or parts of the museum will be closed during a 17-month, $31.6million renovation beginning in January.
From January 2009 to February 2010 one side of the museum – first the Church Street side and then the Tryon Street side – will be closed while the other remains open. From February 2010 to June 2010 the entire center will be closed while the work is finished and new exhibits are installed. Details: www.discoveryplace.org.
Got a question or comment about Living Here? Let me hear it. abaldwin@ charlotteobserver.com, 704-358-5179.
