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Boring Charlotte


King_of_queen

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I read that. I read many threads. I read your photo-laden thread on Asheville as well. My opinion is based on what I've seen. I have yet to see evidence that Asheville has more activity than uptown charlotte. I also have yet to see evidence that any other carolina center city does. Aside from linking me to a thread about Charlotte (since I am familiar with Charlotte), care to link me to a thread on some other city that perhaps you feel I overlooked?

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I assume that you did not look at big ass beer. In fact based I would be surprised that you looked at all since the Asheville threads have not been accessed in a very long time.

In any case it is my opinion that Asheville, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Chapel Hill, and possibly Greensboro all have more lively downtowns than Charlotte, especially on the weekends. And outside the Carolinas the list grows even more which was part of my original statement on this item. If you disagree you are more than free to do so, but I have not seen where you have offered any proof on anything.

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In any case it is my opinion that Asheville, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Chapel Hill, and possibly Greensboro all have more lively downtowns than Charlotte, especially on the weekends. And outside the Carolinas the list grows even more which was part of my original statement on this item. If you disagree you are more than free to do so, but I have not seen where you have offered any proof on anything.
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I do not see how anyone can conclude that we are more lively than Asheville. Charlotte is making strides but there is no comparison. Asheville is consistently alive with a wonderful zoo of human diversity and art on the streetlevel because of the city's and surrounding region's beauty. Uptown has scattered nodes of life that are specifically tailored to a few and while I welcome the future projects by and large because they will at least bring more "life" they are also narrowly focused and will not produce the urban diversity needed to have a truly integrated core.

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Fair enough. Then based on what I've learned from this forum I think your point has no factual basis. There is far more going on in Uptown charlotte than in the center city of any other Carolina city, Asheville included...even on the weekends.
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I have not been to Asheville enough to have my own opinion on this, but my brother recently moved to Asheville. He is a punky vegan anarchist type with dreads, all black clothing, and the smells to match. He recently visited here with a bunch of friends. At one point, I said, something like 'so Charlotte is pretty boring compared to Asheville'. They all said that there is a lot going in Charlotte that I'd be surprised about. They said this city was not boring.

It shocked me, but I think there must be something to it. Most people in this city simply assume there isn't much going on, but if you look, and you're part of stuff, you find a lot going on. However, as others have said in other threads, most of that activity doesn't really happen within downtown, but rather in the neighborhoods like Midwood, South End, North Davidson Street, and Elizabeth. But those places are still part of Charlotte.

I think Charlotte can be boring for boring people, and interesting for interesting people willing to find interesting things to do. But uptown is boring for people who don't find any interest in working, living, or doing any of the events or going to the establishments there.

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I was over on Wikitravel and found this interesting and encouraging take on our fair city: Charlotte's most unique neighborhoods lie in the inner ring, as well as most of the city's "underground" activity. As a result, these areas have a highly local flavor and are just beginning to be discovered by tourists.

I think Charlotte's more lively and funky side is mostly hidden because this city does have a well earned reputation a being a perfect place to raise a family and it's dominated by yuppies. It's hard for those in other categories to get equal time. There are a diverse array of groups to join and events to go to but it takes awhile to get connected enough to find out what is going on, then you finally bump into someone who knows someone to get you onto an email list or you miss everything. There needs to be better promotion of Charlotte's less boring side.

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Everyone has their own definition of "lively" and their own ideas about what makes an area "good" or "fun". We all have our own ideas about how we would like to see things here. For that reason someone that likes the vibe in Asheville (galleries, restaurants, cafes) condensed in one main downtown will really prefer that town. Those that like higher end entertainment, expensive restaurants, sports, straight-bar meat markets :) will like Charlotte. They provide for two different types or mindsets of people. I wish Charlotte had more gay life downtown but just because it doesn't I won't say the city is lacking in a "good" downtown. I would like to see less of a crisp new city -- but that isn't Charlotte.

It appears everyone is talking about and expecting certain things in one part of the city also -- the very center city. Why not compare the thousands that daily shop and eat in and around Southpark - that appears quite lively and in terms of human activity might be more lively than Asheville though someone that likes downtown Asheville (like me -- my family is from Montford in central Asheville) won't want any part of the nightlife or other "life" in Southpark.

What about 7th Street Corridor, Thomas Street, NoDa? Those areas all have plenty to do and growing activity -- does that not count since they are not in the city core or not close enough?

Charlotte has plenty of life, it just isn't perfect for each and every person any more than other cities are perfect for their entire populations.

Charlotte definitely doesn't have enough going on if you don't look -- like any place I've visited other than NYC or Toronto where you can't get out of the activity. Everyone here that I know that thinks Charlotte sucks never ventures out of their own rut.

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Things that people do at night when they go out:

1. Shop

2. Go to movies

3. Go to plays/shows

4. Hang out at the library

5. Clubbing

6. Just hanging out at a bar

7. Go out to eat

8. Visit a museum

9. Go on a tour (if you're a visiting tourist)

10. Go bowling

11. Go ice skating

12. Take an art/dance/music class

13. Listen to live music

14. Go see a comedian

15. Go to a sporting event (football, basketball, etc)

16. People watch

17. Go to a concert/circus/etc.

I'm sure that people with more of a life than me can add more to the list. Now, here's how I think Charlotte stacks up to this (thinking of DOWNTOWN only, and AT NIGHT only):

1. Nope. Unless it's for apples at Reids. Which I've done recently.

2. Nope. Coming soon to an Epicenter near you.

3. Yep. Lot's of choices here with the Blumenthal and Spirit Square. Even more once the Wachovia center opens up.

4. Great library in downtown. Fun place to hang out. (really)

5. I've never been big at the club scene...but there are clubs in downtown. Hip ones, even. So...yes.

6. Plenty of bars

7. Food choices out the wazoo.

8. Sort of. Here's the thing...and it's not just Charlotte...why the hell don't museums stay open later? The Cleveland Musuem of Art, one of the best in the country, closes at frappin' 4:30 in the afternoon. What the hell is up with that?! That being said, museum quality in downtown Charlotte is not up to par with other large cities. That will change once the Wachovia project is finished. Now...about those operating hours....

9. I've seen carriage rides downtown...are those tours?

10. Nope. There might be bowling in Epicenter, but I'm not counting on it.

11. Nope.

12. Yep. I, myself, have taken two painting classes at Spirit Square. The Tryon Visual Arts Center also has classes. Now...if only someone would open a dad-gummed glass blowing studio and hold classes!!!

13. Live music CAN be found in downtown, but it's primarily of the cover-band variety...not my favorite. Hopefully the live music scene downtown will improve

14. Yep. Comedy Zone is now downtown.

15. Yep. Two pro teams downtown with the possibility of a third (baseball) makes attending a sporting event pretty easy.

16. Not really. I mean, you can, but I was visiting Dallas and hanging in the West End one night and thought about how you could spend your whole night drinking one beer and people watching. TONS of people wandering around. Don't know if it's still like that.

17. Yep. Taxpayer funded arena means I get to see Usher and the Wiggles downtown. If I were in to that sort of thing. Maybe Disney on Ice.

Now then....that's not that bad as far as activities go. Feel free to add more to the list, and I'd be especially interested in comparing them to other Carolina's cities, as metro mentioned. Love to know how they stack up.

Peace out!

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I was in downtown Raleigh a month ago. Maybe a lot of this deals with knowing where to go...but it seemed dead as hell to me. There was one bar that had a lot of people in it, near the Powerstation development. Everything else was crickets chirping.

Hey...how's downtown Wilmington? Always seems pretty cool when I'm there.

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Before I moved to Charlotte from Charleston two years ago ( I can't believe it's been that long, I must be having fun :) ) I considered Atlanta. I see some similarities. They have Centennial Park with CNN Center and Coca-Cola Museum nearby ( skip the nasty free samples at the end of the tour :sick: ) We will have the Nascar HOF with nearby parkland. Piedmont Park is THE place to be in Atlanta for people watching ( ok,well mostly gay focused) but the park is popular across the metro to a wide variety of groups. I hope our reconfigured parks attract a similar loyal following . The closest we have right now to a "lively" park relatively near Uptown is very pretty and active Freedom. The replacements for Marshall and the other sectors should be more attractive and inviting like Freedom Park is. Similar to Charlotte's Dilworth, Plaza Midwood and NoDa, Atlanta does not have a central downtown retail district. Fun and interesting stores and cafes are scattered through Virginia Highlands, Midtown, Decatur, ( actually it's own city but considered a very popular Atl hood) and East ATL which is rapidly gentrifying similar to NoDa. Buckhead has always struck me as a more urban SouthPark on steroids. They have Atlantic Station and we have The Metropolitan. The Beltline proposal in Atlanta is focused on converting unused rail lines through the city into pathways and clustering mixed used development around it and Charlotte is extending the Greenway and encouraging Metropolitan like development. Growthwise we are not comparable currently but Atlanta is not as boring as it used to be and Charlotte is heading in the same "big city" direction :thumbsup: with hopefully better plans for handling growing traffic but I ain't holding my breath on that one.

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Things that people do at night when they go out:

1. Shop

2. Go to movies

3. Go to plays/shows

4. Hang out at the library

5. Clubbing

6. Just hanging out at a bar

7. Go out to eat

8. Visit a museum

9. Go on a tour (if you're a visiting tourist)

10. Go bowling

11. Go ice skating

12. Take an art/dance/music class

13. Listen to live music

14. Go see a comedian

15. Go to a sporting event (football, basketball, etc)

16. People watch

17. Go to a concert/circus/etc.

I'm sure that people with more of a life than me can add more to the list. Now, here's how I think Charlotte stacks up to this (thinking of DOWNTOWN only, and AT NIGHT only):

1. Nope. Unless it's for apples at Reids. Which I've done recently.

2. Nope. Coming soon to an Epicenter near you.

3. Yep. Lot's of choices here with the Blumenthal and Spirit Square. Even more once the Wachovia center opens up.

4. Great library in downtown. Fun place to hang out. (really)

5. I've never been big at the club scene...but there are clubs in downtown. Hip ones, even. So...yes.

6. Plenty of bars

7. Food choices out the wazoo.

8. Sort of. Here's the thing...and it's not just Charlotte...why the hell don't museums stay open later? The Cleveland Musuem of Art, one of the best in the country, closes at frappin' 4:30 in the afternoon. What the hell is up with that?! That being said, museum quality in downtown Charlotte is not up to par with other large cities. That will change once the Wachovia project is finished. Now...about those operating hours....

9. I've seen carriage rides downtown...are those tours?

10. Nope. There might be bowling in Epicenter, but I'm not counting on it.

11. Nope.

12. Yep. I, myself, have taken two painting classes at Spirit Square. The Tryon Visual Arts Center also has classes. Now...if only someone would open a dad-gummed glass blowing studio and hold classes!!!

13. Live music CAN be found in downtown, but it's primarily of the cover-band variety...not my favorite. Hopefully the live music scene downtown will improve

14. Yep. Comedy Zone is now downtown.

15. Yep. Two pro teams downtown with the possibility of a third (baseball) makes attending a sporting event pretty easy.

16. Not really. I mean, you can, but I was visiting Dallas and hanging in the West End one night and thought about how you could spend your whole night drinking one beer and people watching. TONS of people wandering around. Don't know if it's still like that.

17. Yep. Taxpayer funded arena means I get to see Usher and the Wiggles downtown. If I were in to that sort of thing. Maybe Disney on Ice.

Now then....that's not that bad as far as activities go. Feel free to add more to the list, and I'd be especially interested in comparing them to other Carolina's cities, as metro mentioned. Love to know how they stack up.

Peace out!

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Everyone has their own definition of "lively" and their own ideas about what makes an area "good" or "fun". We all have our own ideas about how we would like to see things here. For that reason someone that likes the vibe in Asheville (galleries, restaurants, cafes) condensed in one main downtown will really prefer that town. Those that like higher end entertainment, expensive restaurants, sports, straight-bar meat markets :) will like Charlotte. They provide for two different types or mindsets of people. I wish Charlotte had more gay life downtown but just because it doesn't I won't say the city is lacking in a "good" downtown. I would like to see less of a crisp new city -- but that isn't Charlotte.

It appears everyone is talking about and expecting certain things in one part of the city also -- the very center city. Why not compare the thousands that daily shop and eat in and around Southpark - that appears quite lively and in terms of human activity might be more lively than Asheville though someone that likes downtown Asheville (like me -- my family is from Montford in central Asheville) won't want any part of the nightlife or other "life" in Southpark.

What about 7th Street Corridor, Thomas Street, NoDa? Those areas all have plenty to do and growing activity -- does that not count since they are not in the city core or not close enough?

Charlotte has plenty of life, it just isn't perfect for each and every person any more than other cities are perfect for their entire populations.

Charlotte definitely doesn't have enough going on if you don't look -- like any place I've visited other than NYC or Toronto where you can't get out of the activity. Everyone here that I know that thinks Charlotte sucks never ventures out of their own rut.

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