The Racine Family

Home, Family, & Hokies

We Moved!

DC to CLT View this post on Instagram Date night in our new city ❤️ We fulfilled a dream to move to Charlotte, NC. Loving the people, weather, restaurants, Lake Norman, everything; Charlotte is such a good fit for our family! . . . . . . #theracines #charlottenc #cabofishtaco #huntersvillenc #wemoved #datenight #margaritas #noda […]

DC to CLT

Ever since Jimmy and I started dating, we had a goal to move South. We like the people. We like the weather. We fit. I was always drawn to Charlotte, NC. Charlotte was always the plan. When we found ourselves in a hard part of life, we’d often say to each other “move to Charlotte with me?” It was cute. Originally we thought we’d move after being married for two years. That clearly didn’t happen. Then, we had Bennett and did not want to move with a baby. Finally, Bennett turned two, Jimmy was ready for a new work challenge, I have an amazing work-remote job, the housing market in the DC area was red hot [thank you Amazon], so it was the perfect time.

To start, we renovated our house in Falls Church, VA.

Kitchen before renovation
Kitchen before Renovation

I wouldn’t say I recommend a “down to the studs” kitchen and multi bathroom renovation while living in the house and being there full-time with a toddler, because I am primarily a stay-at-home-mom. Naps are hard when there are power tools operating below his crib. Dust caused sneezing. There were so many safety hazards in every room. And, we had to be confined to just one or two rooms in our house.

Gutted kitchen during kitchen renovation
Gutted Kitchen
baby gate during kitchen renovation
Baby gates were key to keep Bennett away from the power tools

Our house was a construction zone for four months. The final product was definitely worth it! We had great feedback from potential buyers on loving the kitchen and bathrooms.

renovated kitchen
Renovated Kitchen

Next up, selling our house. Thankfully, this was a relatively easy process. We ended up receiving two offers and selling for $10k over list price.

Finally, it came time to move. Jimmy got a moving bonus, so we hired full-service movers. They came, packed us up, and loaded two trucks. We took the essentials in our two cars and headed to NC.

I would like to say that we met the movers at our new house and we’re happily setting in, but that is not the case. Despite looking at over 20 houses, we haven’t found “the one” yet. So, we’re in a short-term apartment and 90% of our belongings are in storage. This is less than ideal with a heavy stepping toddler and an anxiety-prone dog. But, we’re making the best of it.

We’ve only been here a short while, but we love it already! We love the people, love the weather, love all the activities, and we have everything we could ever want and more. Feeling so blessed!

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