Perception of Charlotte Nationwide

[HighRiseHillbilly]

Word gets around.  A relative of mine  was in a cab in Philly & the cab driver, who was not American, said he's heard of Charlotte as have his fellow countrymen. He wants to buy a house here. Never been here before. Just heard it's great.

[KJHburg]

Many of Charlotte's faith groups work extensively in Africa like SIM (which was founded an missionary group  to Africa) and of course Billy Graham Evangelic Association and Samaritans Purse  also work extensively in Africa.  Many of these Operation Christmas Child boxes arrive in Africa and one of the huge cargo planes always takes off from CLT.  

I was in Australia many years ago and when I said "Charlotte" he said racing! As our corporations have grown larger like SealedAir more internationals know of this Charlotte USA not to mention all the European and Asian businesses here.  

[RiverwoodCLT]

I was in Kenya a few years ago, and I know some of them know where Charlotte is because they sent us a   Religious  banner to our church

[kermit]

Setting aside the sinister aspects of twitter bot accounts for a second., I find it hilarious that the russian programers felt it necessary to include  the “NC” qualifier on a spoof of a city of Charlotte account.

The russians did not feel the need to include it on other fake NC sites (e.g. fayetteville and asheville) 

 

Edited June 4, 2018 by kermit

[Synopsis101]

No NC after Charlotte : )

https://www.engadget.com/amp/2018/06/07/fox-sports-world-cup-behind-the-scenes/

[AuLukey]

We stayed at a Marriott in DC this past week and found something unexpected; as soon as you turn on the tv in your room there is a Marriott video loop highlighting the innovations that take place in their Charlotte (no NC) City Center location. They call it “M Beta” and they really hype up Charlotte in both the video and on their website for the hotel. Here’s a little bit from their site:

 

“Charlotte has undergone dramatic growth over the past decade, and we are right in the middle of it all. Charlotte Marriott City Center breaks the mold of hotel innovation trends with a whole new way of thinking. The evolving Charlotte community has brought an influx of entrepreneurs and businesses that embrace change, making it the ideal location for our innovation hotel. Part showcase, part lab and all hospitality.”

 

I can’t say for sure, but I feel like this same video probably plays in every Marriott in the nation (if not the globe.)

 

https://www.marriott.com/hotel-info/cltcc-charlotte-marriott-city-center/m-beta/22umtoc/home-page.mi

[kickazzz2000]

On 6/9/2018 at 6:11 PM, AuLukey said:

We stayed at a Marriott in DC this past week and found something unexpected; as soon as you turn on the tv in your room there is a Marriott video loop highlighting the innovations that take place in their Charlotte (no NC) City Center location. They call it “M Beta” and they really hype up Charlotte in both the video and on their website for the hotel. Here’s a little bit from their site:

 

“Charlotte has undergone dramatic growth over the past decade, and we are right in the middle of it all. Charlotte Marriott City Center breaks the mold of hotel innovation trends with a whole new way of thinking. The evolving Charlotte community has brought an influx of entrepreneurs and businesses that embrace change, making it the ideal location for our innovation hotel. Part showcase, part lab and all hospitality.”

 

I can’t say for sure, but I feel like this same video probably plays in every Marriott in the nation (if not the globe.)

 

https://www.marriott.com/hotel-info/cltcc-charlotte-marriott-city-center/m-beta/22umtoc/home-page.mi

Corporate loooooves that property lol

[AuLukey]

Corporate loooooves that property lol

 

And no “NC” in sight. But come on man, those updates are ridiculous!

[kickazzz2000]

20 hours ago, AuLukey said:

 

And no “NC” in sight. But come on man, those updates are ridiculous!

You should see my unread emails

 

[KJHburg]

what a Nashville UPer had to say about a weekend in Charlotte and I must say I agree!   (GH stands for Green Hills the best mall in Nashville but believe me I have been there no where near as nice or upscale as SouthPark)

Just spent the weekend in Charlotte for my first visit and was very impressed.  The B of A and Duke power buildings are impressive in architectural style and height, much more so than any of our talls.  I don't like bashing our architecture like many do, but have to say we are significantly behind Charlotte.  The condos and apartments downtown or Uptown as they call it are also sharper and vary more than ours.  Their NFL stadium has brick and glass and has significantly more curb appeal than NIssan Stadium and is right downtown as is their relatively new AAA baseball park, which does look similar to First Tennessee Park here.  I love Nashville, but hate to admit that we are behind Charlotte and don't even get me started on how beautiful their high end mall is called South Park....all brick, heavily landscaped and has a very upscale consistent look, couldn't find one bill board like we have in GH.  

•  

[KJHburg]

A couple more from Nashville UP since Charlotte was brought up under Nashville  Bits and Pieces.   Someone said said something about Charlotte lacking history (which I admitted is correct) but that we have some history uptown but it is just overwhelmed with our huge tall buildings.   I posted a picture of One Tryon Plaza, Latta Arcade and Iveys building. 

So these comments came in:

^Very nice... I hope those never get replaced, especially the Latta Arcade!  What a gem!"

"Charlotte is just an incredibly clean city. Even the historical buildings that were preserved don’t look historical. "

It is nice to hear what others think of course but I know all this because I have been to every major city in the country and know while Charlotte is not perfect it is pretty  spectacular in its own way. 

[Nick2]

I was talking  to a guy who lived in NC all his life (he's  only 22) and never been to CLT. He finally  went last weekend and was blown away. He was expecting  it to be like Raleigh  and Greensboro. He said he felt like he was in NYC.  He also said he didn't know food could cost as much as it did at farenheit lmao.

It's  crazy to imagine that there are north carolinians who haven't been to the queen city before. But people  who are from really rural and isolated  parts of the state may never have the chance to do so.

[elrodvt]

37 minutes ago, Nick2 said:

I was talking  to a guy who lived in NC all his life (he's  only 22) and never been to CLT. He finally  went last weekend and was blown away. He was expecting  it to be like Raleigh  and Greensboro. He said he felt like he was in NYC.  He also said he didn't know food could cost as much as it did at farenheit lmao.

It's  crazy to imagine that there are north carolinians who haven't been to the queen city before. But people  who are from really rural and isolated  parts of the state may never have the chance to do so.

Hate to think what would happen if he did go to NYC then.  ;- )

[asthasr]

8 hours ago, Nick2 said:

But people  who are from really rural and isolated  parts of the state may never have the chance to do so.

I grew up in the foothills and I can say that it goes beyond just "never having the chance." The feeling, a lot of the time, is that Charlotte/other urban areas are not available to them. They simply won't go. I've still got friends from my hometown who will talk about how they can't find a job, and I will tell them, you know, Charlotte's right there, they could come and find something. "But it's so far," etc. It's 45 minutes or an hour -- a bad commute, yes, but not insurmountable. You could make it work! But it's as if we have a wall around the county in some peoples' minds.

(Also weird are the "Oh, I've been to Charlotte, I didn't like it" people who, it turns out, drove by the city on 85.)

[cjd5050]

9 minutes ago, asthasr said:

I grew up in the foothills and I can say that it goes beyond just "never having the chance." The feeling, a lot of the time, is that Charlotte/other urban areas are not available to them. They simply won't go. I've still got friends from my hometown who will talk about how they can't find a job, and I will tell them, you know, Charlotte's right there, they could come and find something. "But it's so far," etc. It's 45 minutes or an hour -- a bad commute, yes, but not insurmountable. You could make it work! But it's as if we have a wall around the county in some peoples' minds.

(Also weird are the "Oh, I've been to Charlotte, I didn't like it" people who, it turns out, drove by the city on 85.)

 

This isn't a rual thing.  It's human nature for many people to fear change.  There are just as many people who grow up in a part of the city, never leave their surroundings and are unable to pull the trigger on moving somewhere else and possibly more affordable because 'it's so far' from home.  

[asthasr]

7 minutes ago, cjd5050 said:

This isn't a rual thing.  It's human nature for many people to fear change.  There are just as many people who grow up in a part of the city, never leave their surroundings and are unable to pull the trigger on moving somewhere else and possibly more affordable because 'it's so far' from home.  

Yep, I know. My post was mainly about the "never having the chance" phrase. There are a lot of people who will never want to partake of our fair city, no matter what amenities are on offer, simply because it's different than their previous experience.

[kermit]

On 6/20/2018 at 10:10 PM, Nick2 said:

It's  crazy to imagine that there are north carolinians who haven't been to the queen city before. But people  who are from really rural and isolated  parts of the state may never have the chance to do so.

Its not just rural residents. Growing up in Durham, Charlotte was nothing more than Carrowinds to me. I never had a reason to do anything in the QC until my mid-20s when I happened to start dating someone who grew up here and she began to show me the neighborhoods. For me there was no reason to go to Charlotte because there was nothing I couldn’t get in Durham (or Greensboro for important concerts) and it felt silly to spend any money in Charlotte when much more interesting trips could be made to Atlanta or DC (even Richmond). 

Charlotte’s featurelessness did begin to change for me when the Hornets arrived — that was the first time that the QC could offer me something I could not find in Durham. Sadly I rarely came to games because it just felt silly to pay for a hotel room in a city that felt so similar to Durham in every other way. (This was just my perspective as a teen from Durham in the 80s it is completely unrelated to my opinion of contemporary Charlotte)

Edited June 22, 2018 by kermit

[cjd5050]

59 minutes ago, asthasr said:

Yep, I know. My post was mainly about the "never having the chance" phrase. There are a lot of people who will never want to partake of our fair city, no matter what amenities are on offer, simply because it's different than their previous experience.

I get it.  My point was mainly about the urban/rural divide being a one way street for many.    There are a lot of people who will never take in 'small town' America.  I have my thinking as to why this is the case but there are many reasons.  

Edited June 21, 2018 by cjd5050

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

1 hour ago, kermit said:

Its not just rural residents. Growing up in Durham Charlotte was nothing more than Carrowinds to me. I nver had a reason to do anything in the QC until my mid-20s when I happened to start dating someome who grew up here and she began to show me the neighborhoods. For me there was no reason to go to Charlotte because there was nothing I couldn’t get in Durham (or Greensboro for important concerts) and it felt silly to visit Charlotte when much more interesting trips could be made to Atlanta or DC (even Richmond) for esentially then same $. 

Charlotte’s featurelessness did begin to change when the Hornets arrived — that was the first time that the QC could offer me something I could not find elsewhere. Sadly I rarely came to games because it just felt silly to pay for a hotel room in a city that felt so similar to Durham. (This was just my perspective as a teen from Durham in the 80s).

I didn't live in Charlotte in the 80s, but I can understand your perspective back then.  I grew up in Winston-Salem and viewed Charlotte as a pro city and the Triangle area as a college city.  I chose Charlotte over NC State for college...the city was a big factor for me.  More recently (within the last decade), Charlotte has done a great job creating some separation from the other cities in NC.  Besides the obvious big two draws, Panthers & Hornets (not to mention the lakes, Nascar, Carowinds, etc), the city is truly becoming a destination for many.  The number of upscale hotels that we have/under construction, our restaurant/bar scene has improved drastically, and even the retail (soft) has improved and will get even better in the coming years.  Lastly, I think one of the biggest advantages too, is the interconnectivity of our neighborhoods via the light rail.  You can go to a brewery/shops in Southend, catch a game uptown, and then end the night with some music in Noda, all while never getting into a car.  That's pretty advantageous in my book.  It's not perfect, but we're going in the right direction.  We're not quite a 24/7 city (probably will never be), but we are probably one of the best 18-hour cities.  If you're ever bored, just youtube "Charlotte Vlog" or "Charlotte Trip" and you'll get all kinds of perspectives ranging from flight attendants, first-timers, staycations...pretty interesting lol. 

[Nick2]

https://m.ranker.com/list/best-cities-for-african-americans/ranker-travel?ref=also_ranked&pos=3&a=0&l=706634&ltype=n&g=1

Kinda silly ranking  but CLT made the top spot for best cities for african americans. Durham and Raleigh also were in the top 10.

[KJHburg]

20 minutes ago, Nick2 said:

https://m.ranker.com/list/best-cities-for-african-americans/ranker-travel?ref=also_ranked&pos=3&a=0&l=706634&ltype=n&g=1

Kinda silly ranking  but CLT made the top spot for best cities for african americans. Durham and Raleigh also were in the top 10.

Actually  Charlotte and Atlanta are consistently on lists like this and have been for years.  It is really not surprising. 

[Cadi40]

Nashville citizens that have been to Charlotte, Look up to us. And if you’ve been to Nashville, You’d know why. Not necessarily in the Nightlife spectrum, But in other Categories such as Density, Transit, And even Diversity. 

[KJHburg]

24 minutes ago, Cadi40 said:

Nashville citizens that have been to Charlotte, Look up to us. And if you’ve been to Nashville, You’d know why. Not necessarily in the Nightlife spectrum, But in other Categories such as Density, Transit, And even Diversity. 

They have height envy too they love how tall our buildings are here.  Do you realize the new Legacy tower would be the tallest building in Tennessee? 

[Crucial_Infra]

3 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

They have height envy too they love how tall our buildings are here.  Do you realize the new Legacy tower would be the tallest building in Tennessee? 

Maybe we can work out a trade. Give them Legacy in exchange for a piece of their nightlife? 

[Nick2]

15 minutes ago, Crucial_Infra said:

Maybe we can work out a trade. Give them Legacy in exchange for a piece of their nightlife? 

Or Nashville's culture/history.