Perception of Charlotte Nationwide

[queensguy06]

^I would say that is a very, VERY deceiving statistic. Having spent a lot of time in Denver over the past year Charlotte pales in every aspect in terms of size (except maybe that stat you threw up there). And about the ticker...I can honestly say the vast majority of people new exactly - or nearly exactly - where Charlotte is when I told them where I was from. Very few people actually thought it was in South Carolina. But I will say living in the South Carolina suburbs, not many people new Charlotte sat right on the state line in the middle of the two states.

[Durhamite]

I lived in Aurora and worked in Englewood, CO in 2001/2002. Most of my co-workers were from the mountain west region and knew little or nothing about the South in general.

[HopHead]

I spent almost 6 months working in San Francisco this past year... Quite honestly, they new little about the South as well. They are kind of in their own world out there. Outside of New York and DC, they knew little about where cities were at... and I worked with a bank and IT geeks like myself!

[Guest]

As a Panthers fan living in Giants Nation, Giants fans up here don't seem to be worried about us, which is weird, because they were handled pretty easily by the Cowboys. I eavesdropped on a spirited conversation in an elevator on wall st. today and we were not the topic of conversation, we were a brush off. They were talking about what they thought was an "impending" Giants-Steelers Superbowl, too bad we aren't going to let them get that far...

[Charlotte_native]

As a Panthers fan living in Giants Nation, Giants fans up here don't seem to be worried about us, which is weird, because they were handled pretty easily by the Cowboys. I eavesdropped on a spirited conversation in an elevator on wall st. today and we were not the topic of conversation, we were a brush off. They were talking about what they thought was an "impending" Giants-Steelers Superbowl, too bad we aren't going to let them get that far...

Good!

[HopHead]

As a Panthers fan living in Giants Nation, Giants fans up here don't seem to be worried about us, which is weird, because they were handled pretty easily by the Cowboys. I eavesdropped on a spirited conversation in an elevator on wall st. today and we were not the topic of conversation, we were a brush off. They were talking about what they thought was an "impending" Giants-Steelers Superbowl, too bad we aren't going to let them get that far...

Not surprising, considering the Panthers still are not getting much respect in the press. Which is why I really want the Panthers to lay the smackdown on the Giants this weekend. You don't need to be a bunch of drama queens, like all the teams in the NFC Least, to make a run at the Super Bowl!

[ohioaninSC]

Not surprising, considering the Panthers still are not getting much respect in the press. Which is why I really want the Panthers to lay the smackdown on the Giants this weekend. You don't need to be a bunch of drama queens, like all the teams in the NFC Least, to make a run at the Super Bowl!

I have no doubt the Panthers will be the overrated Giants. Heck, they lost to my other team, the lowly Cleveland Browns, and they had Plax then. I think Carolina steamrolls that overrated team, and gets the #1 seed in the NFC

[caterpillar2]

Lol, well the Panthers are SC's team too!

For what its worth, the Buc's coach congratulated "North Carolina" on its win last week. Apparently to him they are the North Carolina Panthers.

--

I recently went to a large wedding in Georgia (not Atlanta) and I decided to experiment with the whole "where is Charlotte" thing. When the conversations came around to where I lived I tried saying "Charlotte, North Carolina" and "Charlotte." I came away from the experiment feeling like saying "Charlotte" was enough to make people understand. The number of people to whom I had to specify "North Carolina" was insignificant.

I noticed that in general, most (if not all) younger people knew about Charlotte- at least enough to know where it is. Many knew people who were looking for jobs here or were looking themselves.

I noticed that the non-young people either knew Charlotte well because of business, knew some basics, or had no clue whatsoever. Everyone knew of Charlotte's existence but some weren't sure about anything beyond that. I only had to explain where it was to a handful of people. Only one person said it was in SC, but I think they might have been unsure/confused since I had told them I was from SC and how it was great that I live so close to my hometown. Or it might have been the alcohol.

The general sentiment of those that knew of it was that it was a big banking city. One guy called it the new New York (this was right after BofA purchase of Merryl). A few people commented on the Panthers. Nobody brought up NASCAR.

It doesn't mean that Charlotte is small, it means that Americans are ignorant.

[caterpillar2]

2007 estimates: Denver Aurora MSA is 2.4 million, Charlotte Gastonia Concord MSA is 1.6 million. Denver Aurora Boulder CSA is 2.9 million, Charlotte Gastonia Salisbury CSA is 2.2 million.

Regarding municipal population, yes Charlotte is larger. Denver is a city - county government (no excuse - just saying).

If you go to Denver, it is obvious that they are a bit larger. According to the World Almanac, Charlotte metro is 1.6 million (2006) and Denver 2.4 million. Denver is the number 21st largest metro while Charlotte is number 36.

[CHARtoSF]

Charlotte metro is over 2 million if I remember correctly. Can't remember the last time I saw those numbers. Also, I think the city is around 20th largest in the states.

Anybody have any accurate info?

[monsoon]

The Charlotte MSA is about 1.6M people, more or less. You are thinking of the CSA, the 6500 Sq/Mi area that surrounds CLT that is currently estimated at 2.1M-2.2M.

[CHARtoSF]

I keep getting the MSA and the CSA confused, my bad.

Anyways, thanks for the clarification.

[AuLukey]

Charlotte metro is over 2 million if I remember correctly. Can't remember the last time I saw those numbers. Also, I think the city is around 20th largest in the states.

Anybody have any accurate info?

Most sources I have seen of late estimate Charlotte to be between the 17th and 19th largest city by city limit population. It doesn't count for much more than just being on a "list" though. But the metro itself is normally in the 30's.

As for the perception of Charlotte nationwide, I had another observation while taking a brief vacation with my family up in NYC this past week. My mother would always include the "North Carolina" marker when telling people she is from Charlotte. I asked her why she did this and she informed me that it became a habit from when she used to go on bank trips (she is retired now, but worked for just about every large bank Charlotte has been home to these past few decades.) It is funny to me that, even in banking, Charlotte still isn't always automatic for people.

Most people I talked to in New York seemed to have a feel for Charlotte without the moniker "NC." I got a kick a few times though when as soon as the word "Charlotte" came out of my mouth, instantly the other party would ask "North Carolina?" That happened at least a dozen times. I didn't know there were any other major cities by the name of Charlotte out there. But I guess since there is a Charlotte, NY (all 1713 people strong,) then that may have been the reason.

[monsoon]

^Charlotte is flanked by two Charlestons and Charlottesville, Virginia. Charleston, SC is no doubt much more famous Charlotte, NC, and Charlottesville, Va was often mentioned in the very popular, at the time, The Waltons. (Walton Mountain was presumably near there.) On a national scale, I can't really think of anything that would make Charlotte stand out enough for people to pay attention to it enough to figure out where it is located. It's a city that tore down it's history and replaced it with anyplace USA.

If you were to go to wherever you were and ask where Kansas city was located, what answers would you get? Even better, would they know there isn't a wrong answer to that question unless Kansas or Missouri wasn't their answer. Geography isn't the strong suit of young Americans it seems. I am reminded of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww. This individual, BTW, received a degree from one of the best high schools in the Carolinas.

[caterpillar2]

Most sources I have seen of late estimate Charlotte to be between the 17th and 19th largest city by city limit population. It doesn't count for much more than just being on a "list" though. But the metro itself is normally in the 30's.

As for the perception of Charlotte nationwide, I had another observation while taking a brief vacation with my family up in NYC this past week. My mother would always include the "North Carolina" marker when telling people she is from Charlotte. I asked her why she did this and she informed me that it became a habit from when she used to go on bank trips (she is retired now, but worked for just about every large bank Charlotte has been home to these past few decades.) It is funny to me that, even in banking, Charlotte still isn't always automatic for people.

Most people I talked to in New York seemed to have a feel for Charlotte without the moniker "NC." I got a kick a few times though when as soon as the word "Charlotte" came out of my mouth, instantly the other party would ask "North Carolina?" That happened at least a dozen times. I didn't know there were any other major cities by the name of Charlotte out there. But I guess since there is a Charlotte, NY (all 1713 people strong,) then that may have been the reason.

I personally find that most people in NYC are very familiar with Charlotte. They normally comment that their friend or relatives moved there and love it. That is the new status quo that I noticed for NYC. As a matter of fact, a huge percentage of people I meet in the NE express a desire to move to the Charlotte area. I also find that most people I speak to in London are familiar with Charlotte thanks to the international airport and banks. It seems to be Americans that think that Charlotte is the city with the big mansions (Charleston).

I keep getting the MSA and the CSA confused, my bad.

Anyways, thanks for the clarification.

Keep in mind that both Monsoon and I are using data from 2006. The area has grown at a rate of 70K per year.

[monsoon]

^Actually places like Anson county, part of the MSA and CSA are losing people. If the real question is "how urban is Charlotte?" then we are most likely taking about a place with about 450K people. That's about it. The CSA as mentioned above, covers over 6000 sq miles, the MSA covers over 3500 sq miles, and even the city sprawls out around 300 sq/miles.

[JayGee]

I saw a report on CNBC.com about the top 10 relocation cities from Relocate.com. Charlotte was no. 9. But what was funny is that it was in the form a slide show, the picture being that cities skyline or some other downtown, distinguishing shot. Except for Charlotte. They have a picture of an interstate sign.

Link to No Respect

[Temeteron]

I saw a report on CNBC.com about the top 10 relocation cities from Relocate.com. Charlotte was no. 9. But what was funny is that it was in the form a slide show, the picture being that cities skyline or some other downtown, distinguishing shot. Except for Charlotte. They have a picture of an interstate sign.

Link to No Respect

WOW how awful

[atlrvr]

Two things...that interstate sign is in Columbia!!! I'm sure they pull stock photography, but they didn't even bother to find a picture that was actually in the state. Secondly, we were ranked 3rd on the list as it was in decending order.

[maratletter]

I'm a "the glass is 75% full" type of person. It might be argued that someone flipping through the city pages would see several photos of big cities---big deal. However, subliminally, only one photo has "Charlotte" that may be written into the back of the mind. Some big decisions are made in our sleep; perhaps this photo enhances Charlotte's chance of being selected?

[abttown]

That's pretty ridiculous. Photos of Charlotte (the skyline) are pretty easy to come by. I submitted a complaint to CNBC, so I'll see if I get a response.

[kermit]

I have noticed that, since the ML disaster, many financial industry observers have begun to jump on the incompetence of Charlotte's bankers.

One example of this is here: http://bankstocks.com/ArticleViewer.aspx?A...ArticleTypeID=2

sample quote: "Once again, the Charlotte mafia has turned temporary success into ultimate, catastrophic failure."

Not much substance there (this is a thread about perception after all) but if combine that with the comments on the WSJ on the BoA / ML articles you can detect a consistent theme of "Southern banking rubes have severely damaged our industry."

[JayGee]

... Secondly, we were ranked 3rd on the list as it was in decending order.

How 'bout that. You're right. Didn't look at the ranking.

I think Charlotte has one of the nicest skylines around because it is compact, not spread out like Atlanta. And yes, there are tons of photos of it.

On the recognition and "NC" issue that has obviously been discussed a lot lately due to the US Airways emergency landing, when I travel and people ask me where I'm from I generally just say "Charlotte" and I don't think anyone has ever said "Charlotte where?" or "Yeah, I really like Virginia" or anything like that. Usually there is a compliment and/or a comment that they know somebody that moved there and they love it, or "that's a really nice city". Ironically it seems to be just the media that feel the need to put "NC" after Charlotte all the time.

[caterpillar2]

How 'bout that. You're right. Didn't look at the ranking.

I think Charlotte has one of the nicest skylines around because it is compact, not spread out like Atlanta. And yes, there are tons of photos of it.

On the recognition and "NC" issue that has obviously been discussed a lot lately due to the US Airways emergency landing, when I travel and people ask me where I'm from I generally just say "Charlotte" and I don't think anyone has ever said "Charlotte where?" or "Yeah, I really like Virginia" or anything like that. Usually there is a compliment and/or a comment that they know somebody that moved there and they love it, or "that's a really nice city". Ironically it seems to be just the media that feel the need to put "NC" after Charlotte all the time.

Probably anyone smart enough to fly is smart enough to at least know a bit about their country, not like the average American that knows nothing about geography.

[monsoon]

The Russians think Charlotte is in South Carolina. I guess the good news here is they didn't add NC to it.

Here is a translated page of an article about the plane crash from Channel 1 in the Russian Federation.