Welcome. You'll love Charlotte.

Swim: The options are limitless. There are YCMA's all over and most of them have pretty good 25yd pools. Mecklenburg Aquatic Center in Uptown is a great pool where some Olympians train. Long course on Tuesday/Thursday mornings. Charlotte Latin also has long course as well I believe. There is also a long course pool up on the north side. Huntersville I think. The Lake Norman Y runs open water swims every other Saturday in the summer.

Bike: In and right around Charlotte can get a little dicey as any decent size city can. A lot people ride out and around the airport on the west side. You're also close the Blue Ridge Parkway which is supposed to be great riding. Haven't done it yet myself. You're not too far away from some rural areas where you can get away from a lot of traffic. If mountain biking is your jam there is the US Whitewater Center which has some good trails. Also just a fun place to hang out. There are some other good parks in the area for mountain biking. Head west/nortwhest to Brevard and Asheville and you'll find some great mountain biking.

Run: I mostly just stick to the roads near home and work. I live in a pretty good area for running (Dilworth) but most places should be alright.

Living in Dilworth which is near Uptown/Downtown is a good location for swimming and running, but maybe not so much for running. I have probably 3 solid pools within 5 minutes of my front door, might be more I don't even know about it. I love running around the area. Riding from my front door isn't always that fun. I'll stick to the trainer most of the time besides nice weekends in the summer. If you have kids, most folks don't recommend the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. I don't have kids so can't speak to that.

I would recommend looking into the traffic for where you'll be working and thinking about living. A lot of people I work with live in the some of the suburbs and can have pretty miserable commutes. Charlotte has gotten a lot more crowded recently and the infrastructure isn't ready it.

There are several good threads on Charlotte, NC training and living. Living IN Charlotte is great for swimming (MCAC as mentioned previously as well as YMCA pools, which are half decent comparatively) and running (any of the neighborhoods plus several local track and trail options IN the city - Renaissance Park and Backyard Trails).

Cycling is acceptable within the city. The Booty Loop is a good option if you've gotta get in some outdoor riding but don't wanna spend the time riding to get to a good area (i.e. west of the city past the Airport) although it comes with certain inherent risks. Convenience is huge though.

Dilworth, Myers Park, Chantilly, Plaza Midwood, NoDa, Uptown, Madison Park, South Park, Cotswold...all are good areas to live in Charlotte and have options ranging from "fixer uppers" to multi-million dollar homes. Good triathlon stores (well, one really), several good bike shops, great resources (i.e. swimming with the Olympians, or rather next to). Etc.

With the MCAC now closed for reno's, what is the next best option for swimming? I figure the YMCA's, but not sure I want to sign up for a membership to just swim. Are there any places in Charlotte area where I can pay per visit or just get a swim membership?

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J. Tyler Pate

Thanks for all the great info earlier. I'm here noe, and found the YMCA for swimming, loving the 4 mile creek greenway for running. Is there a website that lists local run and tri events?

Try the Run for Your Life and Charlotte Running Company websites for local running. Weekly rides.com has local rides covered. The Setup Events and Jones Racing Company sites should have most local tris covered.