5 minute read
Why We Love Readers Tell Us What Makes Their Town Special
Why We Love
The Boesch family (left to right): Brandan Boesch, Sammy, Michelle Boesch, Jeff Boesch, Sadie and Taylor Boesch
Cornelius
Huntersville
Being from a small beach town in New Jersey, what drew us to Cornelius was the fact that the lake and the city are only minutes apart. As a family, we enjoy the new and upcoming restaurants and businesses in our area. We enjoy the small town feel and the Southern people. We have lived here for 16 years and don’t plan on going anywhere else. We have never felt more welcomed in a town like Cornelius. The education here is exceptional and is only expanding. We have met so many people from different walks of life, which has taught our children diversity. Lake Norman is a beautiful place to be, especially in the summertime. In the warmer months in downtown Cornelius, they have a “First Friday” event full of food trucks, vendors and entertainment that is fun for all ages. Cornelius is now home to a new cultural arts center that will be amazing for everyone. There is also a new public recreation center in Cornelius that has offers swimming pools, gymnasiums and playgrounds, if you need to get some movement in. There is plenty to do in Cornelius from breweries to parks — you name it. It is a perfect distance from the mountains and Charlotte. You can spend the day seeing the beautiful fall leaves and mountain views to being back to see the night life in the city. There is always something to do living in Cornelius. Moving here was one of the best decisions we have ever made.
~The Boesch Family
I should first say my husband and I are transplants to North Carolina. He is from Illinois, and I am from New Jersey, and we met here in North Carolina. We have raised our children here and this is the place we call home.
We love living in Huntersville for many reasons — first off, it is a melting pot of people moving here from all over the U.S. and we have a great opportunity to meet many incredible new people every day and hear about so many new stories. Beyond the excitement of new friends, there are so many benefits to living here. Even though the area has grown so much over recent years, it still provides a great small town feel with many of the conveniences of a larger metropolitan area. There are so many great shopping, dining and entertainment options at our fingertips; Birkdale Village is a fun and popular destination for many locals and visitors, too. The great outdoors is right here with access to the largest man-made lake in the state, and there are miles of trails for hiking and biking. Golf is fantastic in the area with Birkdale Golf Club, Skybrook Golf Club and Northstone Country Club all located in Huntersville.
We believe the proximity to so many other nearby destinations is hugely appealing. The fact that Charlotte is 20 minutes away just adds so many options, not to mention we’re also only a few hours to the mountains or the ocean.
Finally, we love the climate. The summers are warm and beautiful, the spring and fall are the best weather seasons and the winters are cool but mild. The best part is we do not receive a lot of snow in Huntersville like we did up north, but if we want that, we can run up to the mountains.
We love Huntersville. We have lived here for 24 years, raised our family here and are happy to call it home.
From left, Marianne, Connor, Kayla and Jeff Thomas enjoying some zipline time.
~ Marianne M. Thomas
Denver
In the early and mid-1970s, so many people were leaving the Charlotte area for the chance to live on the newly formed Lake Norman, and my family was one of them. We started coming to Denver in the mid-1960s soon after Lake Norman was created. We had a lake lot where we camped, and my parents eventually built a house and moved here when my father retired in 1973.
After Bill and I married we would spend weekends at my parents’ house in Denver because of all the lake offered. I was from Charlotte and Bill grew up in a small town near Charlotte. Bill worked for Duke Power, and when he got the chance to be transferred to McGuire Nuclear Station, we grabbed it and we moved to Denver. He had wanted to get back to small town living. This made Denver perfect! We moved here in 1977.
Our son, David, was born in 1983. At that time, Denver had only elementary, one middle and one high school. So, he went to school with the same people during his entire education. Our friends’ children are David’s brothers and sisters. He formed lifelong friendships here. Denver will always be his hometown.
Now Denver is filled with people, restaurants, stores, businesses and traffic. And it just keeps growing. We used to complain that we had to drive to Charlotte for everything. Now we complain that the traffic is so bad because we have all those things here.
We weren’t born here, but this is our home. We are rooted here. We have watched Denver grow from a sparsely populated two-lane highway — no stoplights, just a crossroads “in beautiful downtown Denver” with a flashing red caution light at Stacy’s restaurant (a Denver staple). We have grown and changed as Denver has grown and changed. Denver is home. Denver is family.
~ Kathy and Bill Anderson
Tell us what you love ...
There are so many things to love about our Lake Norman area towns and all of our local attractions, so we’d love to hear about what you love — directly from you!
Whether it’s your love for a town you now call home, or a favorite park that you enjoy, or a fun party place to swing from an anchor on the lake, we want to hear about it all. Send us a love letter to your favorite town, getaway, distraction, whatever has captured your heart and attention, and we’ll share it with our readers. Submissions should be about 250 words and should be accompanied by a photo to help tell the story of your romance.
