Greensboro vs Charlotte

[MZT]

I joined this late (these city vs city debates are so tiresome.) But having grown up in G'boro and lived in Charlotte now for 3 years, I'd sum it up as this:

If you don't care about professional sports, NASCAR, or high-rise living, then Greensboro has everything Charlotte has. It's just a smaller city with fewer choices-- which isn't always bad, b/c you can make up your mind faster, and probably get there a little quicker.

[GreekFreak]

You forgot shopping......Charlotte beats any of NC city in shopping.....even SC as well.....

[monsoon]

This thread was a legitimate request by someone to compare Charlotte and Greensboro as a place to relocate to.

Yet we always seem to attract juveniles who insist on wasting everyone's time with my city is better than yours replys. I am sick and tired of these boosterism posts that go "my city beats every other city on the planet" It's too bad that some forumers just can't understand that we don't want that here and they serve absolutey no purpose except to piss people off.

Greekfreak you are banned.

[NcSc74]

I have a sweet spot for the BORO. I went to college there and I have to say I loved it. It is a growing city that is not booming so much that it can't keep up with the growth. As others have stated it is located in a favorable location on 85. When I was going to NCA&T I had friends from up north and most of them stayed becasue they liked the atmosphere and of course it was cheaper to live there while holding on to some the urban personality they liked.

[RiverwoodCLT]

If you like a smaller city go to Greensboro.

If you like a larger city come to Charlotte.

I see a lot of good things in both cities.

With LRT coming to Charlotte, I think you could not go wrong with Charlotte.

A lot of good is coming along the LRT lines.

ALL cites in NC have good as well as some things people do not like. You will never find a perfect place.

I love NC, and I pull for all cities in NC. I lived outside of NC for 12yrs.

I was never so happy to get back to NC. Living out side of NC, I have seen how we could enhance our state like roads.

Some people will never be happy where they are, and there is no hope for them.

[cityboi]

I agree with you about the music scene, and the venues are key. There are many very talented Greensboro-based musicians. What venue is opening downtown soon? Is it another Action Greensboro project, or is it grassroots?

True, there is even a restaurant bar called Rum Runners thats opening up in DT Greensboro. It will feature live music with dualing pianos.

I joined this late (these city vs city debates are so tiresome.) But having grown up in G'boro and lived in Charlotte now for 3 years, I'd sum it up as this:

If you don't care about professional sports, NASCAR, or high-rise living, then Greensboro has everything Charlotte has. It's just a smaller city with fewer choices-- which isn't always bad, b/c you can make up your mind faster, and probably get there a little quicker.

I've always viewed Greensboro as a smaller Charlotte. Greensboro just has an older feel and is more of a college town.

[orulz]

Out of all the major cities in North Carolina, I would say that Greensboro's downtown feels the most livable. Charlotte is making strides in that direction, but downtown Greensboro has a human scale that Charlotte really lacks, with its massive skyscrapers and still-undeveloped parking lots.

I'm not counting Asheville or Wilmington as major cities, by the way. I don't know about Wilmington, but if Asheville were in there I'd put it higher than Greensboro.

[cityboi]

What I like about Greensboro is that its has both small town and big city qaulities. Greensboro is in the middle, a medium sized city. And its centralized location makes trips to Charlotte and Raleigh shorter. I think if you are strictly a big city type person, you'll like Charlotte better. Its interesting because I remember seeing a local docomentary on Greensboro and it talked about how the city was in a position to be as big and as cosmopolitan as Atlanta today. But around the turn of the century local leaders kept a tight leash on the city and didnt want the city to grow fast. Evidence of Greensboro potential growth at the time exist in downtown today. The 17-story Jefferson Standard building was the tallest building in the south when it opened in 1923. But if leaders had let the city grow at the time, Greensboro would look very different from today and would resemble Atlanta. That would even affect how big Charlotte would be today. In the early part of the 20th century Greensboro and the Triad was the economic engine of the Carolinas.

[voyager12]

I live in Charlotte and want to point out that we have several funky,historic, and walkable neighborhoods: Dilworth (where I live a very openly gay happy life:-) Elizabeth, Southend, Plaza-Midwood, Wilmore and Wesley Heights , Noda,and more. All of these neighborhoods have great character, many include small main streets with local restaurants and stores and are generally progressive and Democratic. Yes, Charlotte is a classic New South city and I love seeing all the new towers going up. We really have the best of both worlds in our town and the conservative atmosphere is changing with the increasing number of transplants. If you want to live in a thriving city that is laser focused on achieving its potential move to Charlotte.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

...Its interesting because I remember seeing a local docomentary on Greensboro and it talked about how the city was in a position to be as big and as cosmopolitan as Atlanta today. But around the turn of the century local leaders kept a tight leash on the city and didnt want the city to grow fast... But if leaders had let the city grow at the time, Greensboro would look very different from today and would resemble Atlanta. That would even affect how big Charlotte would be today. In the early part of the 20th century Greensboro and the Triad was the economic engine of the Carolinas.

There are too many variables to make such a claim.

Winston Salem was larger than Greensboro during that time, wasn't it?

[redjeep77]

^ yes, much larger......WS was one of the "big cities" in the south at the time. When it built the RJ building (the empire state is modeled after it), that was the tallest building south of Baltimore (1929 i believe). Charlotte overtook WS in the late 20's/early 30's as the largest city in NC. Greensboro and Charlotte grew up being texitle cities after the south started taking the textile industry from New England at the turn of the century. It's pretty amazing how demographics have changed over the years.

[monsoon]

I agree. I don't think Charlotte became the largest city in the state because Greensboro "let it".

[cityboi]

I didnt mean that Greensboro let Charlotte become the largest city. I meant that if Greensboro had grown to the size and status of Atlanta it could have possibally affected Charlotte's growth. For example, Bank of America would have likely been located in Greensboro. Greensboro was actually on its way to becoming a major U.S. city due to the city's geographic location and the railroad. But local leaders liked the status quo and kept Greensboro a small southern city.

[JDC]

It's true: Durham is a great city, and they're really doing cool things downtown, the Am. Tob'o project and the performing arts center will really reansform the area around the ballpark. We still go there often for art, music and food. But having lived there, I'd say that until they do something real about the crime situation, we wouldn't recommend it to our friends.

I couldn't agree with you more. I live in Durham and while I'm happy to be here, I probably wouldn't recommend it to someone who didn't mind hearing real live gunshots every now and again.

For the person who started this thread, if you want to live in a CITY, go with Charlotte. If you want to live in the suburbs, choose Greensboro. I'll take heat for saying this, but it's that's simple.

[MZT]

One thing about old time Greensboro, is that the city planners made sure it had room for wide streets downtown. Growing up there, I found it odd to visit WS and Charlotte and see 3 or 2 lane streets on the core grid.

The broad streets are rather fortuitous today, because the city has room to widen the sidewalks for pedestrians.

People on here kid around some about all the surface parking lots in Charlotte's core. Greensboro had 4 and 5 lane width, one way streets downtown in the 1980s. It made the city seem unusually "empty" during off hours.

[SouthJersey7]

One thing about old time Greensboro, is that the city planners made sure it had room for wide streets downtown. Growing up there, I found it odd to visit WS and Charlotte and see 3 or 2 lane streets on the core grid.

The broad streets are rather fortuitous today, because the city has room to widen the sidewalks for pedestrians.

People on here kid around some about all the surface parking lots in Charlotte's core. Greensboro had 4 and 5 lane width, one way streets downtown in the 1980s. It made the city seem unusually "empty" during off hours.

Agreed. Greensboro has wide enough streets downtown that they could have curbside parking on every street, nice big sidewalks AND still keep traffic moving smoothly. All it would take is a little planning. But when it comes to expecting city officials to do the most logical thing...

[hendersonville]

Raleigh is dirty compared to Charlotte or any other city.

[Damien]

I wouldnt say Raleigh is "dirty" although when compared to the sterility of Charlotte any city is "dirty". Charlotte is so clean it almost feels fake, like a movie set or something. At any rate, I dont think you can compare Charlotte and Greensboro. They are completely different in almost every way. The only thing I see that they have in common is the fact that they are both in NC.

[lma1973]

Greensboro and Charlotte are so different its no comparison. Charlotte has a big city feel and Greensboro has a small city feel. Charlotte is mainly new...downtown full of new glassy skyscrapers and LOTS of current growth. Has NFL, NBA teams.

The best city in the state IMO is Wilmington...bar none.

[cityboi]

belive it or not, the only real difference between Charlotte and Greensboro other than size are the downtowns. Outside of downtown Charlotte and Greensboro are no different. Charlotte's downtown is more like a major city.

[twincity]

belive it or not, the only real difference between Charlotte and Greensboro other than size are the downtowns. Outside of downtown Charlotte and Greensboro are no different. Charlotte's downtown is more like a major city.

Charlotte and Greensboro are no different outside of downtown?....

[redjeep77]

^ Yeah i guess they are no different.....other than the HUGE population disparity

[MR-2]

From Google Earth, downtown Charlotte and Greensboro look deceptively similar.

[krazeeboi]

Outside of downtown, Charlotte simply has more sprawl and SouthPark Mall. Just MHO.

[cityboi]

Charlotte and Greensboro are no different outside of downtown?....

Outside the downtowns, much of the city is sprawl just like any typical southern city. Outside downtown, there is no reall difference between Greensboro and Charlotte. The difference is in the downtowns. Charlotte's downtown is newer whereas Greensboro has alot of historic buildings, Charlotte obviously has more tall buildings, hotels and things of that nature downtown. Charlotte has a big city downtown and Greensboro has a small city downtown. Thats where the differences are.