It seems like the perception of Charlotte has had a greatly increased over the last 5-6 years. However the past year I believe Charlotte's reputation has grown more than all of the 90's. I think being named "city of the future" means that Charlotte as a brand and name will become even more popular, and respected. How do y'all think we are percieved, and do y'all feel that the past year or so has been extremely good for Charlotte's respectability?

I've had an associate from ATL and Miami in and out of town with large scale investors from all over for the past few months. The people I've met with come from large metro areas and without fail every one of them has become interested in Charlotte. Without fail every one of them have said they had heard of us and had previous interest, but actually seeing the city and what is going on here was more than they expected.

Mixed bag here is Boston....some think we sleep with our sisters and others comment on how they have family or friends who have moved and love it. About 75% know that its in North Carolina. Universally, no one (besides that have been) know how big it is. They've all heard of it, but have no concept of relative size. It's hard to describe though, because they all consider Boston to be a "small city"....they have NYC envy here. People like using Charlotte-Douglas rather than Atlanta for connecting flights.

I generally get positive feedback when I travel and mention my hometown. I get a lot of it's so "clean" and "green", and " Well I did not think there was much there but your airport sure is nice!". And finally "You must be so happy to be so close to Asheville and Charleston so you can go somewhere on the weekends" (IMG:http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

Whats funny is I talked with someone from Indianapolis recently who was convinced Indianapolis was twice as big as Charlotte. He said, "nah, Charlotte's about the size of Fort Wayne, IN, it's nowhere near as big as Indianapolis."

So yeah, we got a way's to go in terms of national perception. One sign that the city is maturing is that I don't care any more. When a city begins to like itself for what it is, then nothing else matters.

Haha, that is so funny and TRUE at the same time.....I've had the same experiences when I was living in Boston....but it's usually the more educated people and more cultured people that know Charlotte isn't some hickville that has nothing to offer...I'll tell you one thing, they knew Charlotte way more than they knew Columbia. And yes, they do have NYC envy.

Apart from some people in some larger cities who thinks that the earth stops at the boundaries of their areas, and apart from people who loathe red states, I think the perception of Charlotte nationally is positive.

Charlotte is well-perceived in DC. Seems like everyone up here wants to relocate to the greater Charlotte area upon retirement. Obviously, Charlotte isn't seen as a cosmopolitan mecca or a huge city... but that, and real estate prices, is the attraction.

I love getting random text messages from friends here at Virginia Tech, saying how much they love Charlotte the first time they visit and they didn't realize that it was so clean and big.

Well, on a global scale, in europe, I did spot, many times, a person wearing Carolina Panthers or Charlotte Hornets apparel.

I think we better let them know the hornets aren't here anymore (IMG:http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

haha, yea. That was a few years ago, when they were around. Sometimes it upsets me of how many people around the US think of Charlotte.

I work with a lady that moved to Charlotte 2 years ago from Los Angeles. She is in her late 40's and has lived in that area most of her life. She wanted to move to the east coast so she and her fiance visited many different cities. I think she mentioned Atlanta, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, Norfolk, Wilmington and Charlotte. Obviously they opted for Charlotte but said they were convinced long before the move that this was going to be the place they ended up settling in. She said even in LA she new friends that had friends or relatives here and often talked about how much they liked it. She went back to visit her family a few weeks ago and after fighting through "traffic snarls and snobby people" (her quote), she was quickly reminded as to how much more she loved it here.

That's pretty much how I feel as well. I used to be so concerned with all of so many of these trivial matters. I found I don't care whether or not people think Charlotte is big or progressive. I like it, that's what matters. Of course we all know size isn't everything so I hope we come to value what makes us different from other cities instead of searching for what we can do to make ourselves like other cities. I think that is the next big hurdle on our path to truly becoming a fully realized city. It will take digging into our history as a people to define ourselves from our competitors.

I loathe red states, and I think Charlotte's alright.

Charlotte is a little island of blue is a big sea of red. At least in that i can be happy. It reminds me of what my friends in Atlanta used to say about their city and their state:

"Once you are outside the beltline, you're back in Georgia!"

I think Charlotte is definitely moving into big city status nationally, it just takes some time. I actually heard the guys on PTI refer to Charlotte twice in the same show without using the 'NC' attachment! Some of the national coverage we are receiving is due in part to Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods playing together in the Pro-Am tourney at the Wachovia Championship tomorrow.

Well, I would say that there are 3 islands of blue in a red state, maybe 4 (not sure about Asheville Metro)

That's loads of tolerance you guys are showing right there.