Your first week in Charlotte

The first week in a new city is errands with a view. This guide turns it into a plan: seven days, each with the errand that has to happen, the thing worth doing after, and where to eat. It assumes you’ve closed on a house or signed a lease and the boxes are in. Businesses link to the directory; the government pieces link to our resources guides.

Day one: the address

Utilities first. Duke Energy covers electricity across most of the metro; the South Carolina towns have York Electric Cooperative and York County Natural Gas Authority, the latter serving York County for more than 60 years. Water is the city or town. Internet is Spectrum, AT&T or Google Fiber in Charlotte, and Comporium across the South Carolina line with gigabit service. Trash is municipal inside the towns and private outside; Waste Pro covers south Charlotte and Union County. The utility checklist has the whole list. Eat: pizza delivered, because you have no plates. Hawthorne’s covers south Charlotte and Huntersville.

Day two: the state

North Carolina gives new residents 60 days to get a license and register the car; South Carolina’s window is similar. Both require an appointment or a long wait, and the DMV in Charlotte is a full morning. Book online, bring two proofs of address, the title and proof of insurance. The insurance changes when the state does; Wil Lawson in Mint Hill, Latorre Insurance (Spanish spoken) and Gill-Holler in Fort Mill write both states. Eat: Famous Toastery for the breakfast before the DMV; you’ll need it.

Day three: the money

Open the local account. The credit unions are the Charlotte move: Truliant, Family Trust in York County, Nova in Kannapolis. For a bank with a branch you’ll walk into, Fifth Third, Uwharrie Bank in Concord, Bank of York and Encore Bank for the boutique version. If you own a business, this is the day for a CPA who knows both states’ rules; the moving guide lists them. Eat: the cheap eats guide, because you just opened an account and you’re feeling frugal.

Day four: the doctor and the vet

Establish care before you need it. The finding a doctor guide explains the Atrium-or-Novant decision and lists the practices taking new patients; a direct-primary-care office like Clarity Health DPC will see you this week. For the dog, the dog owner guide sorts the vets by town; Clear Creek Animal Hospital offers a free new-client exam. Save the urgent-care address in your phone today. Eat: a real dinner. Brickhouse Tavern in Davidson if you’re north, Hickory & Heart if you’re south.

Day five: the grocery, and the library card

The chains are everywhere; the reason to go local is Super G Mart, the biggest international grocery in the Carolinas, and the farmers markets in the farms guide. Then the library: Charlotte Mecklenburg Library‘s regional branches are open Sundays 1 to 5, the card is free with a proof of address, and it comes with digital books, museum passes and a teen room. It’s the best thing your taxes buy. Eat: cook, finally. The Meat Mafia steak, picked up in Lake Wylie, if the kitchen’s unpacked.

Day six: the lake

Every Charlotte resident needs to see the lake in the first week, so it stops being a rumor. Ramsey Creek Beach in Cornelius in summer, Jetton Park’s shoreline any season, the county’s fees and rules in our Lake Norman guide. Lunch at LakeHouse on the water, a beer at BoatYard if there’s a band. If you live south, swap the lake for Lake Wylie and the Wylie guide.

Day seven: the city

Uptown on a Sunday: park once near the ballpark, Romare Bearden Park for the skyline, the Mint Museum, the urban greenway south to Freedom Park and back. Lunch at Monarch Market. The Uptown public spaces guide has the route. Then home, and the second week, which is the one where you find your coffee shop; the ranking will help.

The car, since you’ll need one

Charlotte is a car city outside the light-rail corridor, and the first week is when the car problems show up. Tuffy Tire and Auto, Henn Automotive, 77 Auto and Star Autowerks are independent shops for the inspection the state requires with registration. All Action Auto Glass and Auto Glass Experts handle the windshield the interstate gravel will crack. And if the move left you carless, Town & Country Ford, Honda Cars of Concord, Hendrick and Subaru Concord are the dealers in the directory. Eat, since this is an extra day: the Dairi-O drive-in in Harrisburg, in the car you just fixed.

The kids, if you have them

School enrollment happens the first week, not the second: the district needs the lease or deed, immunization records and the last report card, and the assigned school can be full, which sends a kid to an overflow school until a seat opens. The schools guide explains the districts. For the under-fives, the preschool waitlists in that guide are the reason to call before the boxes are unpacked.

The things that can wait, but not long

Voter registration, which comes with the license in both states if you check the box. The dentist and the eye doctor, in the doctor guide. A gym, from the fitness guide, which will get you the friends the errands didn’t. The town page for wherever you landed, which lists the businesses within a mile. And the tip form, for when you find the thing this guide missed. Welcome to the second week.