This place rocks. Seriously its a fantastic city. Clean, everyone is beyond nice, weather is great (but I'd rather be hot than cold), extremely affordable cost of living, professional sports directly in the city (Panthers, Hornets, Knights all in Uptown Charlotte). One major benefit that often gets overlooked is the American Airlines hub at CLT airport. There are direct flights EVERYWHERE, domestic and international. Charlotte metro is ~2.6mm (2/3 the size of the state of CT).
Gastonia is a 20 minute drive from the uptown area. I agree with
@polycom that having some additional context (age, interests, family status, budget) would be useful in more specific advice like places to live, things to do, etc. If you're a family man looking for quiet and great value, Gastonia or Belmont would be worth considering living in themselves. Gastonia/Belmont area is roughly 90k in population by themselves.
The craft beer scene is beyond incredible. There are breweries everywhere and they are almost always slammed. The warm weather year round means everyone is always out on the patio socializing. As previously mentioned everyone is nice and friendly, its easy to talk to people here and the work culture is very flexible even in the financial institutions (I work for a Bulge Bracket here).
Charlotte is also great location wise in that its close to a TON of great beaches (Charleston, Kiawah, Savannah, Hilton Head, Wilmington/Wrightsville, etc). No, Myrtle doesn't count as a great beach. Asheville is close by if you're an outdoorsy type.
Shoot me a personal message if you want to grab a beer on Monday after your interview. Happy to walk through more detail in person.