Would Clt be 1st tier (Mia, Atl) by now

[InSoManyWays 0]

I love my city but sometimes I think we'd be a first class major city by now if we weren't held back by NC government Mayberry-esque 'death to the big bully Charlotte' politics. And by this I mean withholding funds for roads and development, favoring Raleigh over us, and flat out ignoring some requests. The boys in Raleigh must have something against Charlotte becoming 'too big for it's britches'.

[hauntedheadnc 9]

Western North Carolina sort of feels the same way -- that we're at least underrepresented if not outright ignored by the State. However, after studying how the state conducts its business, sometimes that can be a good thing. If the NCDOT would never again darken the door of Asheville-Hendersonville, I'd be a happy man. They destroy whatever they touch.

[Guest donaltopablo]

As for the original title, I don't think Atlanta (or Miami) are 1st tier cities just yet. We are close, but when I think of first tier cities I have to limit that to New York, Chicago, and LA. We just don't have the international recongition, the commerce level, the population, the city life, or the culture yet. Sure, Houston has the diversity, sure Charlotte has the commerce, sure Miami has the international recongition, but these are all tier 2 cities in my mind who have some of these properties, not all.

Since I don't live in NC, or follow it's politics I can't really comment on the specifics there. I can tell you, that almost ever big city in a state is put down by the rest of the state in state politics. Atlanta suffers from this, NYC suffers from it in NY, etc. It's a pretty normal thing.

[tocoto 0]

I agree that big cities are generally hated by residents in the rest of the state. It's silly because the big city is generallly the major source of wealth, jobs, entertainment for the entire state. I think big cities give more than they get.

As for what are first tier cities this is a question that has been tackled many times before. It's hard to say unless you have been to all of the big cities, and I have been to many not all. IMO opinion NYC is in a league of its own by a large margin. Chicago, LA, Bay area, Boston and DC/Balt are in the next tier. Philly, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Seattle, Detroit, Denver, Charlotte? make up the next.

I think I'll start a thread in the cities section on this.

[Guest donaltopablo]

You might want to go ahead and put it in open debates, those get pretty heated

Everyone's qualifications are different for tiered cities. I think Charlotte would be helped by my support from their local government, but I'm not sure I think it would be dramatically different from what it is today (maybe better roads, early adopting of transit infrastructure). But being hated by the state governemnt is nothing new, and something that Charlotte must and will learn to cope with as it continues to grow and be the "big guy."