Charlotte doing well attracting Creative Class according to The New York Times

[voyager12]

A very interesting NYT article concerning the competition for young grads amongst cities. ...Pertinent quotes follow : " From 1990 to 2000 The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce study said, the number of 25- to-34-year-olds with four-year college degrees in the city increased by 46 percent, placing Atlanta in the top five metropolitan areas in terms of growth rate, and a close second to San Francisco in terms of overall numbers. Charlotte, N.C., also outperformed Atlanta, with a growth rate of 57 percent, the second highest in the country after Las Vegas. " (Note the NC appendage )

" "In some cases, cities have done well in the competition without even overtly trying. Charlotte has done well without either a major university or the kind of strong identity

[krazeeboi]

I can't believe they mentioned the NASCAR Hall of Fame in connection with attracting the "young and hip."

[appatone]

Ok, that is a bit of a snide backhanded compliment to Charlotte from the NYT reporter but honestly, can any of you tell me what Charlotte's identity is? It's

a problem we have to confront and solve.

[voyager12]

We have been down this road before, but I really don't think that those of us who point out what we believe are deficiencies should be automatically considered "complainers" and "bad" Charlotteans or mediocre thinkers. I have been to charettes, Point8 Meetings and Council workshops. Being an endless booster and not listening to constructive criticisms is just as non-productive there should be room for all viewpoints, this forum being a great example of that I also would like to point that officials in Atlanta said part of their success in attracting so many young people was their hands off approach to "branding" the city. They really did nothing and they let Atlanta's amenities sell themselves. If cities campaign too aggressively it can come off as lame and trying too hard. Homegrown factors that helped ATL according to the study: CNN,Coca-Cola,HQs, Cartoon Network ( ), Emory,CDC, major Intl Airport, progressive and welcoming city government, that attracts a thriving black professional class, a large international presence, and a thriving gay community. So perhaps Charlotte is on to something....cities with personality that don't have to sell themselves : Austin,Portland,SF, have more people than they can handle, perhaps we should follow Atlanta's lead and just be ourselves, whatever that is. Here is non-slogan slogan for you : Charlotte "Whatever you want it to be". I like it!

[monsoon]

If I read that right, he is basing that article off the difference between 1990 and 2000. It's hard to get excited by an article that is based on 7 to 16 year old data. I think they were trying to fill space in the paper and this is the kind of stuff that does that. Get a statistic, cook up some kind of conclusion, write a story to that implies this conclusion.

[voyager12]

I noticed that its rather dated too. I thought perhaps that you have to allow for a large amount of lag time before releasing findings. These surveys have become filler in newspapers and biz journals nationwide but I do think that you can find nuggets of information that can be interesting and thought provoking, although not to be taken as gospel.

[Minneapolitan]

Interesting article. I looked over information for the 1990 and 2000 census and the numbers aren

[atlrvr]

So perhaps Charlotte is on to something....cities with personality that don't have to sell themselves : Austin,Portland,SF, have more people than they can handle, perhaps we should follow Atlanta's lead and just be ourselves, whatever that is. Here is non-slogan slogan for you : Charlotte "Whatever you want it to be". I like it!

[voyager12]

Charlotte is also both blessed and cursed to be located between Charleston and Asheville. Two popular and historic cities overflowing with character. Comparisions are ridiculously unfair but you still make them! I moved here from Charleston, don't regret it one bit but I still catch myself at times. We are located too close to the behemoth that Atlanta has become to ever rise out of it's shadow. ATL has become a strong second tier city.. Atlanta is to Dallas as Charlotte is to Jacksonville, we are several rungs down. This is not necessarily a bad thing..we just need to differentiate which is tough to do because we share many similarities with the Capitol of the South on a smaller scale and are often lumped in with Atlanta by proxy. I used to think we could just say Nascar or Banking to define this city. Now I think that is too simplistic and does not represent how diverse we are becoming .Charlotte does not have a clear identity because we are made up of a mix of people from all over the country. We are conservative,liberal, hippie,preppy, and a mix of many other groups I can't think of right now. None are overly dominant and consequently we are hard to label.

[jednc]

Have you ever heard someone say there are two types of people in this world. Those that divide everyone into two types and those who don't. Well, think that when it comes to cities there are two types of people. The builders and the Bitc... I mean complainers.

Charlotte is a city for builders. A good Charlottean is one who relishes the blank canvas not the finished work. A Charlottean is about the journey, not the destination. Not that they don't think about the destination, but after living here for a while you learn that you'll always be pushing that destination further away when ever you get close. Charlotte is loaded with success stories of "We moved here from X city where we loved going to the local (fill in business here). When we got to Charlotte we were shocked there wasn't one so we quit our jobs and opened one ourselves and couldn't be happier." These are the people who have brought to life our center city hoods. A good Charlottean thinks "we don't have it, I'll build it, buy it, create it." Right now most of my friends are in their mid 20s and a good chunk of them are working boring jobs to eliminate debt, finish off Masters, and generally prepare themselves to open their "dream" businesses around 30. While they may never be rich, Charlotte affords people this opportunity by nature of its size, affluence, ease of networking, and general lack of amenities that most cities of similar size have. This combination can be like magic for someone who dreams of owning a small business.

Then you've got the complainers. Those who say, "Charlotte doesn't have X. Charlotte should have X. Charlotte sucks, Austin has X. When will Someone realize that Charlotte needs an X" When all the while a potential future opportunity is staring them in the face. These people are the ones more resigned to accept their fate in the world of mediocrity and simply assume that the world of creative vision that creates engaging places is the work of another and their job is to enjoy the finished product. And for some reason they seem to hope that if they complain loud enough someone "with the ability to do something" will hear there cries and give them what they demand.

Charlotte does have it's fair share of both but if it weren't for the first category we would all be living in Salisbury or Winston Salem right now and talking about their growing skylines and recreation options, all the while feeling sorry for the 25,000 redneck saps living over in piddily ole' Charlotte. Some may argue that I view the world through rose colored glasses tinted by youth but I say this city is ripe for the plucking when it comes to small business ownership, and Charlotte's lack of this or that is an opportunity not a liability. Is it a lifestyle for everyone? Of course not, that's why we have so many other options. But no matter what your job, it's important to remain a builder by spirit and to involve yourself in everyway possible. Attend the public meetings on new developments, lend your patronage to locally owned businesses and be apart of the creative solutions in some way. Learn the cities history, it's unique qualities, visit its museums and become an informed Charlottean. In that process one can learn loads about Charlotte's identity.

Frisbee golf is pretty much what a lot of people refer to as a "hippy" sport . Just like regular golf but played with a frisbee and instead of holes you have baskets.

[krazeeboi]

It's an interesting concept.....Nashville is stigmatized that its a great place to move if you love country music, Austin is stigmatized that it's a great place if your liberal and like rock, seattle and portland are where you go if you want to be a hippy loafer, San Fran is where you go if your gay......Charlotte is where you go?????

[davidals]

If you like NASCAR, Billy Graham, and want to be married by age 25.

[krazeeboi]

And he works at Wachovia.

[graydog]

Talking to a contractor recently who said people come to Charlotte to make their fortune. He's been in the business for 20+ years, seen a lot change and talked to a lot of people. I think he's onto something. It's the new gold rush. The fortune depends on the person. For us it was an awesome job, better pay with 40% less housing costs, great weather, and opps. to invest in real estate. We also found great people who work hard. So yes Charlotte is where you come to make your fortune, however small. It's more than what you had elsewhere.

[uptownliving]

Charlotte now has a pole dancing gym. Is this a sign that Charlotte has arrived on the creative scene?

Video

[monsoon]

I notice that one of the contestants on this season's Design Star on HGTV is identified as coming from Charlotte, NC.

[atlrvr]

I saw that too.....he received lots of praise from the judges, though he didn't get a lot of air time.

[rjp212]

The Penguin was on Food Network tonight.