Columbia Off-Topic

[emerging.me]

You know, I think that article explains my lack of enthusiasm in a nutshell: I call Charlotte "The Plastic City" for a reason; everything has to be planned and new and contrived. How in the world can people think a gritty are can be made? A gritty area/entertainment district evolves. It may be helped along by city improvements once it begins its evolution, but things like that happen by chance for the most part. A good example of this is 42nd Street in NYC. It used to be gritty and dirty and had a reputation, but it was cool and it was real. I was in NYC in July and remarked to a friend of mine (who lives in Chelsea) how boring 42nd Street and Times Square are today. That neighborhood is more like a theme park than a neighborhood, today, with chain restaurants and upscale stores. I hate to tell everyone (Tem, are you listening?), the mark of a great city is not just the number of upscale stores, restaurants and bars a place has, but it is the cool stuff that college students and other lower income people have that makes a place cool, too.

HA! I hear what you're saying about Charlotte, but you gotta give 'em this... it's clean! Also, next time you are up there check out the NoDA neighborhood... I think you'll find it refreshingly gritty, fun and original. NoDa is a great example of what West Columbia could do with the State Street, Meeting Street area.

[krazeeboi]

^Watch for that area to get whitewashed as well. NoDa is in the process of being "discovered," which means that the people who made it "cool" in the first place are starting to get pushed out.

At any rate, I think the role of the local government should be to prime the pump of private investment, and once that happens, the rest should take care of itself (outside of things like infrastructure, public parks, etc.).

[Chtimi]

You know, I think that article explains my lack of enthusiasm in a nutshell: I call Charlotte "The Plastic City" for a reason; everything has to be planned and new and contrived. How in the world can people think a gritty are can be made? A gritty area/entertainment district evolves. It may be helped along by city improvements once it begins its evolution, but things like that happen by chance for the most part. A good example of this is 42nd Street in NYC. It used to be gritty and dirty and had a reputation, but it was cool and it was real. I was in NYC in July and remarked to a friend of mine (who lives in Chelsea) how boring 42nd Street and Times Square are today. That neighborhood is more like a theme park than a neighborhood, today, with chain restaurants and upscale stores. I hate to tell everyone (Tem, are you listening?), the mark of a great city is not just the number of upscale stores, restaurants and bars a place has, but it is the cool stuff that college students and other lower income people have that makes a place cool, too.

It's worrying. A friend of mine has visited Charlotte and say the inhabitants of this city looked to him as "made in plastic", people there are too neat and robotic for him. Maybe you have just answered why.

I hope many places in Columbia, also industrial patrimony, are protected against the destruction. Columbia resembles to Lille, there is a mix of modern and older buildings, not too regular and green. The whole center of Lille was renovated and fortunately it's beautiful and living, not artificial. I like it.

[krazeeboi]

Good to see you again, Chtimi!

[JT Boy]

You know, I think that article explains my lack of enthusiasm in a nutshell: I call Charlotte "The Plastic City" for a reason; everything has to be planned and new and contrived. How in the world can people think a gritty are can be made? A gritty area/entertainment district evolves. It may be helped along by city improvements once it begins its evolution, but things like that happen by chance for the most part.

I've only been to Charlotte a handful of times, but nothing about it seems appealing or interesting. It just seems to be a city filled with mega-business boosters, which has brought it a huge amount of success of a certain kind, but it will never really be a complex, intriguing, world-class city, just a big banking hub. And no offense to any bankers on the forum, but bankers are not known to be the most fascinating, adventuresome, chance-taking people in the world.

I think their city slogan should be "Charlotte: Everything's Super!" or "Charlotte: Less traffic than Atlanta (for the time being)."

Edited September 14, 2006 by JT Boy

[803metlife]

I've only been to Charlotte a handful of times, but nothing about it seems appealing or interesting. It just seems to be a city filled with mega-business boosters, which has brought it a huge amount of success of a certain kind, but it will never really be a complex, intriguing, world-class city, just a big banking hub. And no offense to any bankers on the forum, but bankers are known to be the most fascinating, adventuresome, chance-taking people in the world.

I think their city slogan should be "Charlotte: Everything's Super!" or Charlotte: Less traffic than Atlanta (for the time being)."

I can agree!!! I like Charlotte being as a neighboring city but it's very overated. Alot of people are saying that Charlotte is a very boring city. Charlotte reminds me of a smaller Seattle. Seattle is a family city not really focus toward the younger crowd just big businesses. The city itself is amazing with pretty glassy highrises but no real character.

Edited September 14, 2006 by 803metlife

[803metlife]

Yes, they are a bunch of losers. I don't even go to the comments page anymore, it's a waste of time. I just love how people from Greenville go on there to bash Columbia, don't they have their own newspaper.

You guys are not going to believe this , if you go to wikipedias website and look up columbia, under columbia economy someone wrote Greenville is awesome . I found that rather funny how someone took out there time to edit Columbia wekipedia page to put Greenville is awesome. Check it outWikipedia

Edited September 14, 2006 by 803metlife

[BrasilnSC]

^ lol. Yeah, somebody in Greenville needs to get a life.

[CorgiMatt]

You guys are not going to believe this , if you go to wikipedias website and look up columbia, under columbia economy someone wrote Greenville is awesome . I found that rather funny how someone took out there time to edit Columbia wekipedia page to put Greenville is awesome. Check it outWikipedia

It must be obscure. I looked and I don't see it.

[krazeeboi]

They can get edited pretty quick. At one point, after mentioning Columbia's metro population, someone wrote "but it is still much smaller than the Greenville-Spartanburg Anderson metro population." It's crazy.

[BrasilnSC]

They can get edited pretty quick. At one point, after mentioning Columbia's metro population, someone wrote "but it is still much smaller than the Greenville-Spartanburg Anderson metro population." It's crazy.

I think it all goes back to the jealousy factor. If someone goes through all that trouble, like 803 said, it is apparent they are envious.

[803metlife]

They can get edited pretty quick. At one point, after mentioning Columbia's metro population, someone wrote "but it is still much smaller than the Greenville-Spartanburg Anderson metro population." It's crazy.

Someone did change it that fast. That's ridiculous

[krazeeboi]

Wikipedia actually has editors to monitor vanadalism of that sort, so those types of things are taken care of rather quickly.

[goodbye]

You guys are not going to believe this , if you go to wikipedias website and look up columbia, under columbia economy someone wrote Greenville is awesome . I found that rather funny how someone took out there time to edit Columbia wekipedia page to put Greenville is awesome. Check it outWikipedia

Damn, that crap really sucks! Doesn't do anything to help either city, IMO. I sure hope it isn't one of the younger UP members.

[krazeeboi]

I hope not. Because anyone can edit Wikipedia, you often get all kinds of people on there.

[monsoon]

...... industrial patrimony, are protected against the destruction. .....

Can someone give a definition of industrial patrimony?

[krazeeboi]

It must be one of those French things...

[Chtimi]

It must be one of those French things...

Not so French. You pamper your historical patrimony too. Same in Europe. In Germany the whole Ruhr industrial patrimony has been renovated, the old factories get a new life, the steel mills becomes museums. In Lille the factories were also renovated and now the tourists rush to see them. Thanks to Waccamatt I saw some industrial buildings of Columbia, they have style, hence my hope they are protected or will be.

[CorgiMatt]

This is way off topic. In fact, I'm posting it here only because I mainly post in Columbia forums. But I'd like to ask a question that allows only one answer. Name a city besides your own whose name you are in love with. Just the name, a name that you have just always loved for a city. A city name that makes you, if you are the obsessive type at all, obsess. One that makes you want to live there just so you can write it as your return address on an envelope and look at it and say it, and just reflect on the sound of it because it is so beautiful and cool. I'll go ahead and tell you mine:

Philadelphia

[TheSuperPope]

Nothing really special but there is something about Jacksonville, Fl I've always loved and hope *fingers crossed* as soon as I graduate a job I'm being interviewed for pulls through

[emerging.me]

This is way off topic. In fact, I'm posting it here only because I mainly post in Columbia forums. But I'd like to ask a question that allows only one answer. Name a city besides your own whose name you are in love with. Just the name, a name that you have just always loved for a city. A city name that makes you, if you are the obsessive type at all, obsess. One that makes you want to live there just so you can write it as your return address on an envelope and look at it and say it, and just reflect on the sound of it because it is so beautiful and cool. I'll go ahead and tell you mine:

Philadelphia

OK, I'll play...

Austin

[The_sandlapper]

That's though but I'd have to say if I could choose only one it would be NYC or at Westchester Co. NY.

[waccamatt]

Provincetown, Mass.

Not so French. You pamper your historical patrimony too. Same in Europe. In Germany the whole Ruhr industrial patrimony has been renovated, the old factories get a new life, the steel mills becomes museums. In Lille the factories were also renovated and now the tourists rush to see them. Thanks to Waccamatt I saw some industrial buildings of Columbia, they have style, hence my hope they are protected or will be.

Chtimi, I'm sorry I haven't been emailing much lately, I've worked the last 12 days straight.

[Chtimi]

Chtimi, I'm sorry I haven't been emailing much lately, I've worked the last 12 days straight.

Relax, I understand.

[Chtimi]

This is way off topic. In fact, I'm posting it here only because I mainly post in Columbia forums. But I'd like to ask a question that allows only one answer. Name a city besides your own whose name you are in love with. Just the name, a name that you have just always loved for a city. A city name that makes you, if you are the obsessive type at all, obsess. One that makes you want to live there just so you can write it as your return address on an envelope and look at it and say it, and just reflect on the sound of it because it is so beautiful and cool.

In France : Montpellier.

In the United States (Not Columbia, SC since I'm Columbian of heart) : Provincetown, Massachusetts.