I would highly recommend York County. Either Fort Mill or northern Rock Hill. Mainly because:

1. The schools are good
2. The taxes are lower than NC
3. The commute is better than most parts of Charlotte
4. It's a nice area!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for the advice, Jane. What are Fort Mill and Rock Hill like in terms of shops, restaurants, etc?

Rock Hill is definitely bigger than Fort Mill and, therefore, has more in terms of shopping and restaurants than Fort Mill. Fort Mill has your standard surbuban restaurant fare including fast food places and a few stand outs like the Asian restaurant "Red Bowl" and a nice lunch spot called "The Peach Stand" which I believe I saw a review for on this website.

Rock Hill is much more spread. Exit 79 (Dave Lyle Blvd.) has many chain restaurants and a nice non-chain restaurant called "Harry & Jeans". Exit 81 has Outback and a few other more ethnic restaurants.

I think you will find that both have plenty of shops and restaurants but you will need to travel into Charlotte for more eclectic offerings.