Perception of Charlotte Nationwide

[Commoner]

Fark picked up on it as well. Most commenters ask rhetorically why Charlotte was on the list. One enthusiastic Pittsburgher (sp?) feels vindicated.

http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=3392668

[rockhilljames]

Bah.

Bah, I say.

...but perhaps this will keep more Yankees from moving down here.

[Charlotte_native]

Bah.

Bah, I say.

...but perhaps this will keep more Yankees from moving down here.

I like the Yankees! (and the Hispanics, Asians, Californians, some of the Floridians, and especially the Texans!)

Edited February 14, 2008 by Charlotte_native

[palmetto75]

While addressing congress today Ben Bernanke singled out Charlotte as a prime example of how a region/metro area can have major shifts in the economic base and prosper greatly. We of course know ths already, but thought it was a nice little plug on Capital Hill for the Queen City.

[Sabaidee]

While addressing congress today Ben Bernanke singled out Charlotte as a prime example of how a region/metro area can have major shifts in the economic base and prosper greatly. We of course know ths already, but thought it was a nice little plug on Capital Hill for the Queen City.

Ben Bernanke grew up in SC, and his retired parents lives in Charlotte so he is pretty familar with Charlotte.

[VistaLakes01]

I like the Yankees! (and the Hispanics, Asians, Californians, some of the Floridians, and especially the Texans!)

Hey! What's wrong with some Floridians? I don't think Charlotte should be on the top ten on that list, but even though Orlando has the 8th worst commute time in the country and the weather is unbearable for 4 months out of the year, we must have lucked out somehow. Although I really don't witness any complainers here that often, I'm sure Charlotte doesn't either. Maybe we aren't miserable because of the many options for recreation on the weekends??

[1979Heel]

You know, I am not miserable in Charlotte. Here are some things that make me happy here:

• Good job, great manager, great clients. I know some 10% of Charlotteans live on food stamps and I believe we as a community have some responsibility for our fellow Charlotteans, but 90% of us are ok and some of us are doing well.
  
• Beautiful neighborhoods. Old classics, mid-century American, lots of in-fill, condo highrises, even new suburbs. We have lots of choices.
  
• A nascent light-rail line. Thank goodness it is up and running. Our roads need work and Raleigh screws us regularly on this, but our traffic is so mild compared to many places. And if traffic is that big a concern, please live close-in as I and many others do.
  
• Museums. We have a few and we'd like more, but how often do people go to museums? How often do people attend concerts, lectures, debates, other markers of intelligentsia? When I lived in Los Angeles, people went to the Getty once and considered themselves chic. Please.
  
• Schools. So many complaints, so little effort to accomplish improvements. Some of the most vociferous complainers actually live in neighborhoods with the best (and they are quite good) schools. We all share responsibility for the schools as they are a public trust. Every time you hear someone complain, please ask them what they have done to improve things.
  

Charlotte is not perfect. In many ways it feels too new, it's too conservative (for my tastes), it relies too much on 2 giant banks and a crappy airline, it too often values manners over truth (Elizabeth Dole, are you listening?), the avalanche of newcomers makes it difficult to develop loyalties and a sense of place. Still, most places are envious of us and our success. We should value our success and continue to build upon it. My experience tells me that there is good and bad everywhere and you will find what you seek.

Edited February 29, 2008 by 1979Heel

[Charlotte_native]

Hey! What's wrong with some Floridians?

nothing -- it was completely in jest! I work with a handful of Floridians and it was really for them

[VistaLakes01]

nothing -- it was completely in jest! I work with a handful of Floridians and it was really for them

Ok, thanks, because a lot of us are pretty cool people and depending on what part of the state we come from we may have a little salsa blood in us which makes us fun!

[atlrvr]

I was chatting with a senior executive of a division of RBC Capital Markets today that is based in Cleveland, and he was telling me how they were planning to concetrate all growth in Charlotte because of the perception that it is a good banking center, and that they have such a tough time recruiting top talent to Cleveland. Their other offices are in Tampa, Chicago, and San Francisco, and D.C., but they are focusing on building up Charlotte, because they think it is the best place to attract the quality banking professional they desire.

[Raintree21]

Apparently our little university research park is getting a name for itself too because Tessera Technologies is planning on investing $30 million into its Charlotte site and 185 more jobs.

[Minneapolitan]

I was chatting with a senior executive of a division of RBC Capital Markets today that is based in Cleveland, and he was telling me how they were planning to concetrate all growth in Charlotte because of the perception that it is a good banking center, and that they have such a tough time recruiting top talent to Cleveland. Their other offices are in Tampa, Chicago, and San Francisco, and D.C., but they are focusing on building up Charlotte, because they think it is the best place to attract the quality banking professional they desire.

What division because RBC Capital Markets has offices throughout the United States?

[AuLukey]

Just a quick blurb from ESPN that doesn't make Charlotte look to "happenin." This is an article talking about the Panthers getting rid of backup QB David Carr:

The fans in Carolina, who take anything involving the Panthers to extremes (mainly because they're the only real show in town), rejoiced when he joined the team.

Boy, we're in bad shape if that's the case! Luckily, the words "North Carolina" never came up, but I guess neither did the word "Charlotte" either. So, giving ESPN some credit, they didn't discredit Charlotte to any readers who aren't aware of where the Panthers play.

[bork]

Just a quick blurb from ESPN that doesn't make Charlotte look to "happenin." This is an article talking about the Panthers getting rid of backup QB David Carr:

Boy, we're in bad shape if that's the case! Luckily, the words "North Carolina" never came up, but I guess neither did the word "Charlotte" either. So, giving ESPN some credit, they didn't discredit Charlotte to any readers who aren't aware of where the Panthers play.

The other way to read this would be -- A writer from somewhere else mistook Charlotte's passion for our team for boredom.

[Justadude]

Considering he used the word "Carolina" as if it was the name of the city, I suspect this guy is speaking more out of stereotype than fact.

[HopHead]

Charlotte has been ranked by Forbes as the #8 place out of "100 best places to live and launch." Or in other words, start a new business in a place with a lifestyle appeal: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fsb/08...unch.fsb/8.html

[Raintree21]

Charlotte has been ranked by Forbes as the #8 place out of "100 best places to live and launch." Or in other words, start a new business in a place with a lifestyle appeal: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fsb/08...unch.fsb/8.html

Wait a minute, we were just on their list of Top 10 Most Miserable Cities... They need to make up their minds! Are we in a great city or not?

[cltheel.sdl]

In the article they say that Charlotte has "affordable options such as Ballantyne, Cotswold, and Plaza Midwood." Maybe Plaza Midwood, but not so much the other two. I feel like the people who made up this list may not really know too much about the cities they posted.

[Raintree21]

Do they ever?

[HopHead]

Wait a minute, we were just on their list of Top 10 Most Miserable Cities... They need to make up their minds! Are we in a great city or not?

Haha, yea I was thinking the same thing when I saw that. I was also suprised that Atlanta wasn't even listed since someone at Forbes seems to be embedded with that town. Also, where do they get population statitistics from anyways? 596k seems pretty inaccurate.

[1979Heel]

Actually, it was Fortune, not Forbes. Forbes hates Charlotte.

596k was the city's population afer the 2000 census, I think.

Edited March 29, 2008 by 1979Heel

[Charlotte_native]

Sorry to post this in more than one thread, but it applies to a couple!

Here is what folks in ATL have to say about Charlotte and particularly our public transport and attempts to add density to curb sprawl...

http://www.communityinvestmentnetwork.org/...ba&type=123

[HopHead]

Sorry to post this in more than one thread, but it applies to a couple!

Here is what folks in ATL have to say about Charlotte and particularly our public transport and attempts to add density to curb sprawl...

http://www.communityinvestmentnetwork.org/...ba&type=123

Ahh, that's a nice read. It's great to have some Charlotte envy from Atlanta instead of the other way around for a change

[ChiefJoJo]

Thought this was an intereting take on us from the outside (ATL):

http://www.communityinvestmentnetwork.org/...ba&type=123

Thanks for posting this.

It was bad enough when several of the top banks in Atlanta were gobbled up by banks in Charlotte.

Now Charlotte is beating Atlanta when it comes to transit and land-use.

MARTA CEO Beverly Scott asked Parker how many buses he has in his bus fleet. About 400, he answered.

"We have 609 buses at MARTA, and we are probably four times your size," Scott said.

In addition to the dedicated sales tax, the Charlotte system gets significant support from the state of North

Carolina. The state contributed about 25 percent of CATS capital costs. The state also allocates money for

about $13 million to $14 million of the system's operating costs, roughly 10 percent of the transit system's

budget.

By comparison, MARTA and other local public transit agencies get virtually no financial support from the

state of Georgia.

"We are letting a city [Charlotte] that historically has been way behind us [Atlanta] gain ground quickly on us," Olens said. "I've

spent enough time watching. I want to DO."

LOL, I didn't realize Atlanta was that far behind. I guess Atlanta's plan has been MARTA rail and throw in a few buses and call it a day. I'm sure there wasn't any gloating going on behind the scenes with a Raleigh delegation visiting one month and then Atlanta the next. I guess it's fair to say that among major cities, Charlotte is probably the model city in the southeast with respect to transportation and land use planning.

[AuLukey]

I guess it's fair to say that among major cities, Charlotte is probably the model city in the southeast with respect to transportation and land use planning.

Which is a very sad, sad fact when you think about it. Charlotte may be ahead of the other southern cities, but we have a long way to go to catch up to northern planning. But, it's awesome to see that a city "four times" our size is recognizing us in envy. That's the first time I've genuinely seen that happen outside of the backlash after the NHOF decision, which would be natural for any city competing for the same thing.