Gastonia, NC Reviews (2024)

Rating 4 out of 5

Living in Gastonia for me has been an adventure that's how I would describe it. I have lived her my whole life and My family has been here so it has been an adventure. I have met some lovely friends here and I will same that Gastonia is not the worst place, it is very diverse and a small town. honestly, everyone here literally knows everybody. it's not the best town but with the people? everything changes.

Rating 3 out of 5

Gastonia is an okay place to stay at. There is not much to do here and most things are in neighboring cities like Charlotte. There is a drug problem in this area and people are generally conservative here. There are mostly older white people who stay here, though black people and Hispanic people are seen here as well. Gastonia is not too safe, depending on where you stay in certain neighborhoods. Gastonia is generally rural/suburban with country folk and people who stay in the mountains as well. If you find a decent area you may be somewhat comfortable, however, be aware that there's not much entertainment or food places to go to.

Rating 4 out of 5

Gastonia is a very interesting place, it is however at a convenient location between Charlotte and other cities in the area.

• Current Resident
• 4 months ago

Rating 3 out of 5

Gastonia, while not rural, is pretty small compared to busy cities like Charlotte. It's pretty run down and there isn't much to do in the area. There are a couple of fun hangouts, but the Eastridge Mall is on the brink of shutting down and many places are poorly kept. The people, for the most part, have southern hospitality as long as you steer clear of the more rundown areas and are respectful. It's not a very exciting place, but there are still opportunities and nice people to meet. It's a better place to live to easily commute to Charlotte, where the prices of living are sky-high. Gastonia is becoming more populated, and with that, there will more likely be more stores and attractions for people living there. For now, though, Gastonia remains ultimately unremarkable and unnoteworthy.

• Current Resident
• 8 months ago

Rating 4 out of 5

I love the town. its not overwhelming like charlotte. i wish the property tax would go down so i cold buy a home but i do love it.

Rating 5 out of 5

This town has helped me recover from many problems in my past. I look forward to spending the entirety of my teenage here and find myself quite endorsed by the beauty of the community and nature around me in day-to-day life.

Rating 2 out of 5

Considering it was once a great town. Use to have a thriving downtown. No great department stores. You have to outside the city for that. The council and both political parties are always causing racial drama. They care nothing about the citizens. They have destroyed natural habitats. I use to watch eagles, deer and foxes. Now just cars and more cars. Trust me if they can turn on gastonians, they will turn on you for a buck. They schools are terrible. I suggest try to find a private school. The healthcare is horrible. You have to go outside of the city for that. Everything is county owned so no Atrium for us. They wasted millions on a racist ball park. We use to be a textile city. That would have made more since. Unfortunately the commissioner's would prefer racism to harmony. The police, courts and healthcare as well as utilities are owned by the city or county. If you do decide to move here make sure you have Duke energy. City utilities extremely high.
High crime

Rating 3 out of 5

I have lived in this area most of my life. I've moved around the country quite a bit but always end up back here to be with with family. Overall I'd rate Gastonia as average. Fairly high crime for it's size. I've been witness to quite a few shootings, robberies, drug deals, etc. in this town not to mention the ones I only heard stories about. Several neighborhoods are infested with drug houses. Police here are untrustworthy and are just as likely to berate the victim as they are the criminal. Otherwise, there are many nice people here as well. Schools are pretty poor. Especially Foresview High and Hunter Huss High. These schools in particular are notorious for violence and drug activity. The teachers in these schools have been well known to sell drugs to students. The North Carolina education system is pretty decent as a whole however and students who focus on success will do well in the state's education system. Homelessness is problematic, but not as bad as LA or NYC.

• Current Resident
• Dec 19 2022

Rating 2 out of 5

Very hard to get around town, infrastructure is outdated in most parts. It has a very nice rural feeling in most parts, but the crime of “big cities” is very strong here. There seems to be huge issues with juveniles, as well as shootings weekly. Your chances of becoming a victim of crime is so high. I moved here a year ago and force myself to shop a county over.

Rating 3 out of 5

Gastonia is an alright place to live. There is plenty of different people who live here so social opportunities do exist. The amount of opportunity for entertainment and fun is lacking. as far as employment is concerned there is a fair amount but many people here commute to neighboring towns and cities. Safety is a small concern here for me at least.

Rating 3 out of 5

Gastonia is very varied but somehow still very conservative. It's not far from Charlotte, but Gastonia itself has little to do.

Rating 1 out of 5

If you do not have transportation, I do not recommend you moving here. It is essential to have a car if you want to get around. The bus only runs every hour; it is not like NYC. Most places in Gastonia don't have cross walks for pedestrians, which makes walking dangerous. There are limited to no resources in this city. Most people don't receive any assistance or services. The health insurance is horrible in this state.

• Current Resident
• June 16 2022

Rating 5 out of 5

Gastonia is very diverse. The landscape and scenery is very beautiful. There are plenty of restaurants and shops without all of the traffic of a bigger city.

• Current Resident
• Apr 12 2022

Rating 1 out of 5

Gastonia like anywhere has it beautiful places but majority of them do not stay like that over night. Downtown Gastonia has to be the worst after night fall, there are shootings, and tons of people on drugs. The homeless shelter is always full or out of supplies for those in need and so people are left outside to freeze in the below 20 degrees F. Gastonia NEEDS a serious change and upgrade.

Rating 2 out of 5

The cops there brutalize homeless, taze service dogs and when called on it refuse to release body cam footage. In addition to this BS the city also shut down a church providing food and showers to people in need.