Don’t know how much $$ you want to spend but Huntersville, Cornelius, Concord, Mathews, Pineville, Gastonia and even down to Ft Mill SC are all ring towns to Charlotte... Of all of them Gastonia might be the least expensive.
You could add a few miles and get up to Kannapolis and almost to Salisbury and Statesville...The interstates are pretty good feeding into Charlotte tho I77 is only 2 lanes and quite busy during normal rush hours.
Good Luck
I must be north of the city. SC is not an option. This is a critical power job serving Charlotte and Greensboro. Charlotte being the emphasis. Thanks
I guess one other thing to add is rush hour becomes a thing of the past. I will be 24-7 to take care of critical information in the central NC area. My focus is a nice area where my family can live.