Chuck and Priscilla Sawicki moved back to Charlotte in 2007, about 35 years after they first called it home. And they took up residence somewhere they never would have imagined: uptown.
The Sawickis lived in a house in southeast Charlotte before. This time, they bought two two-bedroom condos at Fifth And Poplar, had them gutted and created a custom floor plan.
You can visit their home during the Fourth Ward Holiday Home Tour on Dec. 5-7.
The condo has three bedrooms - the master with a large sitting area and bath - and Priscilla and Chuck each have an office. The condo is decorated with art and mementoes from around the globe, collected during their travels in their 46-year marriage.
The Sawickis left Stuart, Fla., where they'd been for 20 years, because they don't golf, fish or boat. And in their retirement - he as a financial planner and she as a real estate agent - they wanted to live smack in the middle of a nice-sized city. They had always been partial to North Carolina, said Priscilla, who graduated from Duke University. They like the milder climate and change of seasons here.
Before choosing Charlotte, they visited Raleigh, Asheville, Chapel Hill and Durham. Raleigh's downtown didn't offer much, Priscilla said. The other towns were too small. They chose to revisit Charlotte after Priscilla read an in-flight magazine story on the city. They planned a trip here and stayed at a hotel uptown.
"We were blown away by the change," Chuck said.
"When we left in the early 1970s, you wouldn't come to this downtown area. It was dirty and unsafe," Priscilla said. "Coming back it was a total surprise. It's like being in a totally different city."
Chuck noted all the things they enjoy right outside their door - restaurants (Alexander Michael's is a favorite), Charlotte Bobcats and Carolina Panthers games, the public library, North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Levine Museum of the New South and Discovery Place.
Priscilla said they also enjoy living in a building of all ages - babies to senior citizens - and nationalities. (The Indian couple down the hall has been advising them on their upcoming trip to India.)
The Sawickis are also active in the uptown community. For two years they have mentored a student at Irwin Avenue Elementary in Fourth Ward. Once a week they go to the school to help the student with his schoolwork. Chuck has also been helping raise money for the fifth-grade class' annual trip to Washington. The couple is also starting to get involved with First Ward Elementary.
"We are committed to really improving the uptown schools," Chuck said.
The couple has always been active in volunteering. They both grew up in Army families and always moved around, so it's what they know, Priscilla said.
"From day one, you jump in and get involved in the community," she said. "You don't look back."
Got a question or comment about Living Here? Let me hear it. abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com, 704-358-5179.
@Nyx.CommentBody@