Perception of Charlotte Nationwide

[KJHburg]

and my international guest loved the look the pink Arlington condo tower in Southend.    Maybe I have overlooked something?  LOL 

Edited February 12 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

My South African friend took these and he loved our stadium, the uptown skyline, the airport and the viewing area, small towns like Mt Holly.   I took him and my other friend to every area of the city Matthews, Southend, drive through NoDa, Uptown, Mt Holly and Kannapolis.   I might have even showed him the only 24 hour Krispy Kreme doughnut vending machine on the planet too. 

He had heard of Charlotte from these sports: NASCAR and some WWE events he saw on South African TV.   He wants to come back before he goes back to SA and take a lap around the speedway and tour some race shops (my suggestion) 

He has been to NYC, DC, Miami. Charlotte and Raleigh and will take a trip to speak at a convention in Vegas ( I am teaching him about In N Out Burger)   Saw the Charlotte sign in Bitty and Beau's as my other friend originally from South Africa who lives in Greenville NC ran the East Carolina Vocational Center.     Eastern Carolina Vocational Center | Employment Services for Persons with Disabilities (ecvcinc.com)

I told him we were the 2nd largest banking center after NYC.    So he has been to #1 and #2 banking centers in the USA! 

He also got the largest piece of Biltong I have ever seen at the South African Shop in Matthews.  (He said it was done the proper South African way and we learned they are the only people in the USA who do it the "correct South African way"

Home Page (southafricanfoodshop.com)  

So if you want some authentic Biltong head over to Matthews on Independence Blvd right off I-485.  

KJ's International Tours and I have not had this much fun since I drove my British friends all over the metro area! 

Charlotte is 'n groot stad.   Charlotte ni mji mzuri!     (that is both main languages Afrikaans and Swahili.)  Unfortunately, I dont have a translator into the many other languages spoken there. 

 

 

Edited February 14 by KJHburg

[Phillydog]

https://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/north-carolina/experiences/news/why-is-everyone-moving-to-this-southern-city

Nice article.

 

 

[LKN704]

Not necessarily Charlotte-related, but I often find myself interested in the "longevity" per se (longevity meaning how long one lives there) of those who move into modern, luxury high-rise buildings. 

I'm personally opposed to living in a modern apartment buildings for a myriad of reasons...I often find that they are poorly built compared to older buildings, and often have a number of maintenance issues that don't exist in older buildings. Case in point: I lived in a "luxury" building twice, and both times it was a mess. At the building in DC, the fire alarms went off multiple times a week. The central AC unit was always broken. The kitchen sink flooded twice. The building's fire suppression system activated once and ruined my sofa. The walls were so thin that I could hear my neighbors at all hours of the day. The building in Charlotte also had issues with the fire alarms constantly going off and thin walls. I couldn't wait to get out of both buildings once my lease was up. 

For the past year and a half I've lived in a "high rise" (for DC at least...8 stories tall) that dates from the 1920s...love it! It's a beautiful old building with cute architecture. Can't hear my neighbors thanks to the solid, thick walls (covered in lead paint no less!). No issues with the plumbing or fire alarm. Because it's so old they are constantly working to maintain it, both inside and out. The corridors are better kept than those found in the two luxury buildings above. 

Surely I am in the minority with the way they are going up in Charlotte and other pier cities...

Edited February 16 by LKN704

[KJHburg]

2 hours ago, Phillydog said:

https://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/north-carolina/experiences/news/why-is-everyone-moving-to-this-southern-city

Nice article.

 

 

here is one of the comments on that article referenced above:

""I am a Boston native and San Francisco resident.  Work has taken me to Charlotte many times over the last 15 years.  I've also been to other "hot" cities like Austin, TX and Nashville, TN and frankly, no city in the South compares to the changes or qualities of Charlotte.  3 hours from sub-tropical beaches and the most beautiful mountains on the East Coast -- not to mention one of the coolest cities in the US: Asheville is just 2 hours away.  Charlotte - and North Carolina - are understated, not boisterous bloviators like Atlanta, Austin, or Nashville and it deserves credit for its progressive past and forward-looking future.  If I were ever to leave SF for the East Coast, Charlotte would be my first choice. ""

[LKN704]

If they think Asheville is the coolest city in the US I would hate to see what said commenter views as an uncool city. 

[davidclt]

10 hours ago, LKN704 said:

If they think Asheville is the coolest city in the US I would hate to see what said commenter views as an uncool city. 

Asheville feels like Seattle super-lite from 25 years ago and at 1/16th scale. 

Edited February 17 by davidclt

[DMann]

I think Greenville SC IS what Ashville says it IS.

[davidclt]

19 hours ago, KJHburg said:

not boisterous bloviators like Atlanta, Austin, or Nashville

"[a] Vale of Humility between Two Mountains of Conceit"

[KJHburg]

10 hours ago, LKN704 said:

If they think Asheville is the coolest city in the US I would hate to see what said commenter views as an uncool city. 

he said ONE of the coolest cities in the country not the coolest.  He is spot on with his comments in my book.

[Phillydog]

25 minutes ago, davidclt said:

"[a] Vale of Humility between Two Mountains of Conceit"

Bloviators...  Truest comment they made.  

[DownEast]

10 hours ago, Phillydog said:

Bloviators...  Truest comment they made.  

Everyone knows you wrote that review, Phillydog. Lol. 

[Nick2]

Not necessarily a good take on CLT but american dad brought up Charlotte in an episode I randomly came across.

 

 

[KJHburg]

Well HGTV named Concord one of the 30 best small town downtowns.  And it is quite charming.

https://concordnc.gov/Services/Community/News/ID/113/HGTV-Names-Concord-One-of-America’s-Most-Charming-Small-Town-Downtowns

[KJHburg]

I put the renderings for both Crescents Carson Southend and Riverside's Queensbridge Collective on a thread in the Nashville UP called Travel Observations of other cities.  They post new buildings and developments all over the country but rarely if ever anything in Charlotte or even Raleigh.  So I shared those renderings here are some comments.

""All these new and upcoming projects throughout our great country are exciting . But the one question I have is ; why does it seem that all the proposals in almost every city ( even the smaller ones) have creativity and flair and Nashville keeps getting boxes? Sometimes same architectural firms, same development companies, but we get blue glass box and painted stucco.""

""Good question! I think some of the developers coming to Nashville are still skittish and afraid to be bold still being cheap."

""Dang some top notch proposal if you ask me! Very impressive.""

So the Queen is getting some respect.  Nashville is indeed booming but many of their towers do look alike but a few are starting to break out.  They do have some great residential towers going up. 

 

[nakers2]

Recently visited New York City, most people who asked where I was from knew where Charlotte was (two financial hubs, so not a massive surprise) Also saw a book on murals in the time of Covid (in a gift shop on the 101st floor of 30 Hudson Yards) that featured the Purell (Liquid Gold) mural in Charlotte. Charlotte's own Krispy Kreme also has a Times Square store, which was interesting. 

Not really regarding perception, but my general perception was that most of the places I ate at and shopped at, with exception of the highest end establishments, were on par with what you'd find here, just in far greater quantity. I don't think you could've said that even a decade a go here, especially when it comes to Asian cuisine. 

[rancenc]

From the web edition of Lonely Planet!

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/best-neighborhoods-in-charlotte

[turbocraig]

On 3/21/2022 at 9:20 PM, rancenc said:

From the web edition of Lonely Planet!

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/best-neighborhoods-in-charlotte

I want the SouthPark they show in their pic.

[KJHburg]

Category Big Cities and the answer is....    is it Raleigh?

Edited March 25 by KJHburg

[DMann]

Boy George?

 

[Hushpuppy321]

Sportscaster on Fox mentioned (while I watched the game) that Charlotte FC may have the most intense fan support even though it’s a brand new Club.  Does anyone know if that’s a possibility?  Haven’t followed MLS much but I believe I’ve heard that ATL & Seattle have some pretty rabid fans!

[Phillydog]

On 3/25/2022 at 6:19 PM, KJHburg said:

Category Big Cities and the answer is....    is it Raleigh?

Gastonia?  

Did they get it correct?

 

[KJHburg]

1 minute ago, Phillydog said:

Gastonia?  

Did they get it correct?

 

Not sure I did not see that episode I just saw the post on twitter. 

[Nick2]

On 3/25/2022 at 6:19 PM, KJHburg said:

Category Big Cities and the answer is....    is it Raleigh?

@Phillydog they didn't get it correct. No one knew it and the one person who tried to answer did guess Raleigh lmao. I actually saw that episode live. 

I was going to post here about it but forgot lol

[nakers2]

1 hour ago, Nick2 said:

@Phillydog they didn't get it correct. No one knew it and the one person who tried to answer did guess Raleigh lmao. I actually saw that episode live. 

I was going to post here about it but forgot lol

Probably a combination of factors. Queen Charlotte was not one of the more famous queens, so if they hadn't bushed up on their monarchs they might've been more focused on trying to find out who *she* was before even thinking of cities. Also, despite actually not being the norm, a lot of people might assume Raleigh to be bigger because it is the capital city. What's more, a lot of folks might assume it's a trick question, or it's the classic NC/SC mix up.