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What is Ballantyne?

DigitalSky

By DigitalSky
in Charlotte Coffee House

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tuthdoc Unincorporated Area

tuthdoc

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I don't want to pick a fight here but I have to say that the negativity here is terrible. If you don't like the Ballantyne area, go ahead and purchase as much empty land or foreclosures as you can and do with them what you see fit...cattle farm or another urban core...it's all up to you if you can make it pay.

A couple of things:

Ask any realtor and they will tell you that the majority of homes sold over $1m are cash deals. There will be fewer foreclosures than you may anticipate. As far as being over extended, it's a national problem - not a Ballantyne one. People all over the country run up there credit cards and then consolidate on a home equity so they can pay out their sneakers and stereos over 30 years. :cry:

Statistically, Americans are the worst savers in the world and save less as a percentage of income of any other first world nation.

Someone earlier brought up a point that was completely ignored: when older cities were developed, there was much less dependence on the car. Now, even with mass transit available, most pigfat Americans still want to drive. Where else in the world would you see an increase in SUV sales with gas prices doubling??? Where I live in NY now, it is a HELLISH commute to NYC. 2 hours each way in bone crushing traffic and type-A personalities only to spend $35 just to park. Yet, they voted in Nassau to close the railroad branch here in 2007 because it is so under-utilized. On any given day, count the number of SUV's with only one person in them and 7 free seats.

I guess what I'm saying is that as much as you may dislike the suburban mentality, it is evolving to fit the needs and habits of the people who live there - not the other way around. Since only 1-2% of the population wants to live in an urban core area, you'd be wasting a lot of time convincing people otherwise. Instead of all of the negativity, why not put some positive energy into creating smarter developments where they are happening and educating the public about them. Push for "green" development, open spaces and parks, bike trails and lanes, tax incentives for tele-commuting and work-from-home technology, and a hundred other progressive ideas. The developers make their money by building what the people want - influence the people to want something better.

Just my opinion...

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skysdalimit Whistle-Stop

skysdalimit

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Well, my girlfriend lives in Ballantyne, and most of the stereotypes simply aren't true. However, some elitism does exist, as some people in her neighborhood are really pissed that the back of some dude's house is sided, they are so distraught by this that they raised money to brick his back, and even then the poor man won't do it. And my gf's dad is wanting to buy a 4th car!!! That is ridiculous, seeing only he, his wife, and my gf can drive. But, I guess if you have the money...

But people in Ballantyne generally are very nice people, and, contrary to popular belief on these forums, there is quite a nice neighborhood atmosphere and community involvement there.

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DigitalSky City

DigitalSky

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Well, my girlfriend lives in Ballantyne, and most of the stereotypes simply aren't true.  However, some elitism does exist, as some people in her neighborhood are really pissed that the back of some dude's house is sided, they are so distraught by this that they raised money to brick his back, and even then the poor man won't do it.  And my gf's dad is wanting to buy a 4th car!!!  That is ridiculous, seeing only he, his wife, and my gf can drive.  But, I guess if you have the money...

But people in Ballantyne generally are very nice people, and, contrary to popular belief on these forums, there is quite a nice neighborhood atmosphere and community involvement there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The brick thing is a little crazy but I do agree that not all "Ballantynians" are stuck up... (maybe thats cuz you and I are Providence people)

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  • 4 months later...
atlrvr Metropolitan Area

atlrvr

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^ I can't believe they would print such bland rhetoric as that. I'm not going to bad mouth Ballantyne, but why would anyone feel the need to write a several paragraph personal essay about why they like shopping at chain stores.......change the author's name, city name, and street names, and this letter could be syndicated to any other metro newspaper in the country.

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DigitalSky City

DigitalSky

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Other big places were there first, like the Arboretum shopping center and the Piper Glen golf course community. But what's swallowing south Mecklenburg's identity is Ballantyne -- a sprawling 2,000-acre development with homes, stores, offices, a spa resort and golf.

This excerpt from an article paints a different picture of Ballantyne, saying it's "swalling south Mecklenburg's identity" http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/liv...de/12672886.htm

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Unifour Whistle-Stop

Unifour

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Statistically, Americans are the worst savers in the world and save less as a percentage of income of any other first world nation.

Someone earlier brought up a point that was completely ignored: when older cities were developed, there was much less dependence on the car. Now, even with mass transit available, most pigfat Americans still want to drive. Where else in the world would you see an increase in SUV sales with gas prices doubling??? Where I live in NY now, it is a HELLISH commute to NYC. 2 hours each way in bone crushing traffic and type-A personalities only to spend $35 just to park. Yet, they voted in Nassau to close the railroad branch here in 2007 because it is so under-utilized. On any given day, count the number of SUV's with only one person in them and 7 free seats.

I guess what I'm saying is that as much as you may dislike the suburban mentality, it is evolving to fit the needs and habits of the people who live there - not the other way around. Since only 1-2% of the population wants to live in an urban core area, you'd be wasting a lot of time convincing people otherwise. Instead of all of the negativity, why not put some positive energy into creating smarter developments where they are happening and educating the public about them. Push for "green" development, open spaces and parks, bike trails and lanes, tax incentives for tele-commuting and work-from-home technology, and a hundred other progressive ideas. The developers make their money by building what the people want - influence the people to want something better.

Just my opinion...

This exactly correct. The truth is, the whole world is suburbanizing. As income rises and living standards improve, the people choose bigger and better. Or at least what they perceive as better. Far less crime, Bigger homes because they want more room for kids, something of a yard, a bigger, tougher car (truck or SUV) because they feel safer in them, and a much nicer neighborhood. The truth is, all cities are expanding suburbanly for these same reasons. Not everyone wants an urban lifestyle, including this one. I hate being around other people. Most people seem cold, immoral/amoral, and disrespectful. The last time I was in DC, someone stepped on my foot so hard my shoe came off. He didnt bother to say excuse me or I'm sorry. All I could hear was a bunch of foul language and loud, bone rattling music from car after car. Not to mention all the obscene t shirts and pro-marijuana bumper stickers. A lot of people don't wanna live being bombarded with that day after day. Of course you will say there are bad people everywhere, which is true. It's just that it is everywhere all around you in an urban setting. Also, keep in mind that American society isn't the same as other advanced societies. The USA has the highest rate of violence and gun violence in the industrialized world by far. I don't blame people for seeking something better. I mean I agree that suburbs could be improved, and better planned, but I don't wanna live near hordes of people and I never will.

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ngp Whistle-Stop

ngp

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Not everyone wants a suburban lifestyle, including this one. I hate being around other people. Most people seem cold, immoral/amoral, and disrespectful. The last time I was in Birkdale Village, someone stepped on my foot so hard my shoe came off. He didnt bother to say excuse me or I'm sorry. All I could hear was a bunch of foul language and loud, bone rattling music from car after car. Not to mention all the obscene t shirts and pro-marijuana bumper stickers.

I made two changes to your above quote.

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Unifour Whistle-Stop

Unifour

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It is true that suburban living isn't perfect either, I am saying that I can see why someone would prefer it to urban living. Ive been to both city and suburb quite a bit, and life does appear less harsh in the suburbs than in the city. I personally don't enjoy urban or suburban living. I can see why urban living would be exciting, but to me, the bad outweighs the good. I can also see why most people choose the suburbs. If given a choice I'd choose them as well, just not in one that offers the typical type lifestyle. I am a country boy, always will be. I enjoy cities, and love to see them grow, but it isn't for me I don't think.

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ngp Whistle-Stop

ngp

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I don't quite get what you are doing or trying to say... I hope it isn't something rude or disrespectful of my views.

I'm just saying that suburban living generally carries all the negative trappings of urban life. Lots of people, lots of noise, lots of traffic. The only way to escape it is to either hide away in a car or flee to a gated housing development, which doesn't strike me - personally - as a desirable alternative to urban living. You see, I have rural roots. I love the quiet and the space and the airiness of it all. For me, living far out in the suburbs would be giving up all the good things about rural life, but getting none of the positives of urban life.

My point, if I actually have one, is that I like my urbanity pure and my rurality purer. The suburbs generally take from both but give very little back.

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atlrvr Metropolitan Area

atlrvr

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*Agrees with the two previous posters*

I'll also add that when I lived in very suburban South Charlotte in a community with a HOA and all the ammenities, our house was broken into, my car was vandalized with $2000 worth of damage, pranksters would run behind everyone's house and flip off the houses power at the fuse boxes, and I would be woken many night by the sound of kids racing their horrible little import cars with gigantic exhaust pipes though the main neighborhood street.

Since moving in town a year and half ago into a nice older neighborhood that also happens to be 3 blocks from public housing, I have had 0 problems except for 1 potted plant stolen out of the front lawn.

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DigitalSky City

DigitalSky

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I'll also add that when I lived in very suburban South Charlotte in a community with a HOA and all the ammenities, our house was broken into, my car was vandalized with $2000 worth of damage, pranksters would run behind everyone's house and flip off the houses power at the fuse boxes, and I would be woken many night by the sound of kids racing their horrible little import cars with gigantic exhaust pipes though the main neighborhood street.

I'm sorry all that happened to you. at my home in s Charlotte where we've lived for 9 years we've never had problems like that

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Unifour Whistle-Stop

Unifour

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*Agrees with the two previous posters*

I'll also add that when I lived in very suburban South Charlotte in a community with a HOA and all the ammenities, our house was broken into, my car was vandalized with $2000 worth of damage, pranksters would run behind everyone's house and flip off the houses power at the fuse boxes, and I would be woken many night by the sound of kids racing their horrible little import cars with gigantic exhaust pipes though the main neighborhood street.

Since moving in town a year and half ago into a nice older neighborhood that also happens to be 3 blocks from public housing, I have had 0 problems except for 1 potted plant stolen out of the front lawn.

Well, this sounds like a good example of all that is wrong with modern American society. Maybe I have been to unusual suburbs, but the ones I have visited (Cleveland, Washington, Atlanta, New Orleans, Richmond) were actually rather country like and mostly quiet. As I said, I don't enjoy PERSONALLY the city or suburb. I like the country for living, and the city for the access to more to see and do. Suburbs may or may not be better, but most people THINK they are. Maybe it is the greatest hoodwink ever pulled over our eyes, who knows. I had an aunt (deceased) who lived in Cleveland, in the city, and her son had his new car stolen, and he was a cop and they found an empty burnt out shell of a car with everything stripped off down to the hubcaps. They then set it ablaze. She also had someone break down her back door and her dog scared them off. She also constantly had things stolen, including lawn furniture. She was scared, and I can see why someone might set thier sights on something that MIGHT be better. I also had family outside Cleveland, and they never had so much as a passing car on Saturday night. It isn't just crime, and last time I saw any data, crime was higher in cities than suburbs, even though suburbs were more populated. Some people want trees, yards, and more room. Or at least more than can be found in the city. They want a mix of urban ameneties and country living. They exist because there is demand, not because people are forced into them. That was my (half) point. I'm merely making a personal judgment, I didn't say you had to agree. ;)

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  • 11 months later...
DigitalSky City

DigitalSky

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A new article on one's perspective of what Ballantyne exactly is

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/liv...de/15510762.htm

I even like living near two Targets within 5 minutes of each other because of what it says about the retail climate.

I like the way Ballantyne is laid out. No gas stations on the corners; they're tucked into enclaves off the main roads. No McDonald's or Burger King (gosh, even SouthPark has those), no convenience stores or dollar stores. All that is within minutes, and uptown is only 20 minutes away.

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voyager12 Town

voyager12

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I have always preferred urban living. Perhaps this is because I grew up on Hilton Head in Sea Pines Plantation which like most of the island is gated and uberplanned. Similar to Ballanytne, where everything is meticulously landscaped and all the buildings and mailboxes are the same color and conformist. Many people consider this arrangement to be perfection. I however, enjoy walking to the supermarket, having architectural and socioeconomic diversity, and not using my car for everything. Crime knows no boundaries in this town so I think that issue ends in a wash. Of course suburbanites and urbanites will disagree on who has it better...I admit that it sticks in this city dweller's craw that I have to travel down to Btyne for indie movies. How typical of tone deaf Charlotte, put the new artsy theatre in the most soullless part of town :lol:

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nmcheese Whistle-Stop

nmcheese

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and uptown is only 20 minutes away

That's a good one. Maybe between the hours of 21:00 and 06:00.

Back to the topic at hand: I appreciate some of the planning that's going on out there - townhouses and row houses that are walking distance to restaurants, a grocery store, some ammenities - however it seems very developer centered, not resident centered. It's not easy (except during rush hour, when traffic is parked) to get from one of the four corners of Ballentyne to another. i.e. if you were to live in one of the townhomes by the movie theater, then walk to Five Guys for dinner, then to Harris Teeter for groceries, then home, it's not really planned for that. The short distances make it possible, but the layout doesn't make it easy.

If there were pedestrian bridges, or a Euro style under-street shopping/walking area under the main intersection for that matter, it would improve pedestrian connectivity greatly in that area.

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adamparish Unincorporated Area

adamparish

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I'm not afraid to say that I like greenfield New Urbanism, but Ballantyne missed the boat big time by having gated communities within the development and by failing to mix different levels of residential together. The key to smart growth is mixing different grades of residential and commerical seamlessly together.

Ballantyne is not New Urbanism, and is best desribed as Cadillac Suburban Sprawl.

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