CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Two Charlotte-based companies have recently moved to South Carolina, but officials say the Queen City shouldn't be worried.
"There is nothing wrong with a company wanting to make a move to reduce its cost of operating," said Charlotte Regional Partnership CEO Ronnie Bryant.
We see the trend with homeowners, crossing the state line for lower taxes.
"I-77 in the morning, you see just as many cars going into South Carolina as you see cars from South Carolina going into North Carolina," Bryant said.
Many Charlotte businesses are weighing the same option.
"For a growing metropolitan area, outward migration is natural," Bryant said.
Red Venture announced their move from Charlotte to Lancaster County, S.C., earlier this year and now Bradman Lake Group, a company that designs shrink wrapping and packaging materials, is looking to head out of Charlotte.
Bradman Lake wants to move to the SouthCross Corporate Center. It's just outside of Rock Hill and just over the state line.
Companies are getting lured away, not just with lower taxes, but also more space and quick access to Interstate 77.
"As long as the company remains within the 16 counties of our region, we're OK with that," said Bryant.
Bryant wants us to think of the Charlotte area as a regional economy, one that includes four counties in South Carolina.
"Lancaster, York, Chester and Chesterfield," he said. "We're just not concerned about a move from North Carolina to South Carolina. We're concerned about a move from North Carolina into Texas or North Carolina into Illinois."
"When a company moves into South Carolina, into Lancaster for example, or into York County, no one loses their job. It's just a matter now of changing their driving habits," Bryant said.
