Perception of Charlotte Nationwide

[Richhamleigh, DC]

Think big or go home.

[Guest]

Here ya go - I don't love Hilton Head. 
I bet "Queen City" means nothing to the majority of people who  live here and it certainly wouldn't draw anyone here. Love the Crown Jewels though. ;-)
We should get back to a focus on the beer industry and join up with Asheville. Best Beer Cities in the south or something along those lines?
 

Thank you, I never understood what the allure of Hilton Head was, I hated it when I went.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[go_vertical]

I don't think "Hotlanta" is the result of any civic leaders' bright idea. I would say that it can be attributed almost entirely to the local hip hop community. 

[rancenc]

1 hour ago, go_vertical said:

I don't think "Hotlanta" is the result of any civic leaders' bright idea. I would say that it can be attributed almost entirely to the local hip hop community. 

I have heard of that nickname for Atlanta going back to the 80's!  Rumour as it the the band the Allman Brothers coined it back in the early 70's!

 

[elrodvt]

We should strive to keep up with Cleveland:

https://www.theonion.com/cleveland-finishes-construction-on-new-elevated-sewer-s-1823332951

Edited April 15, 2018 by elrodvt

[KJHburg]

10 hours ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

Thank you, I never understood what the allure of Hilton Head was, I hated it when I went.
 

Well for the for the rest of y'all who may be interested in a beach vacation let me know. My condo stays booked most of the time but always have some time for others to enjoy the hard packed sand, very wide beaches,  the best bike friendly resort in the southeast, great restaurants and bars, and closeness to historic Savannah.  But I digress just message me.

As for Charlotte's slogan I think you just build off the Queen City especially if you are talking about tourism.  I think there is a lot of you could do expect the royal treatment, royal jewels etc.  As for business marketing I don't think it is as important.   Does Keep it Weird attract business to Austin?  Maybe maybe not better as a tourism slogan.  Does Atlanta really have a slogan and no one can deny their success in attracting tourists and businesses?  Hotlanta is only one I know of unless you say Peach of the south or something.  

Edited April 15, 2018 by KJHburg

[tozmervo]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

Well for the for the rest of y'all who may be interested in a beach vacation let me know. My condo stays booked most of the time but always have some time for others to enjoy the hard packed sand very wide beaches,  the best bike friendly resort in the southeast, great restaurants and bars, and closeness to historic Savannah.  But I digress just message me.

As for Charlotte's slogan I think you just build off the Queen City especially if you are talking about tourism.  I think there is a lot of you could do expect the royal treatment, royal jewels etc.  As for business marketing I don't think it is as important.   Does Keep it Weird attract business to Austin?  Maybe maybe not better as a tourism slogan.  Does Atlanta really have a slogan and no one can deny their success in attracting tourists and businesses?  Hotlanta is only one I know of unless you say Peach of the south or something.  

...which kind of bike

[KJHburg]

17 minutes ago, tozmervo said:

...which kind of bike

that would be the non motorized kind  the motorized kind would like Myrtle Beach better I would think. 

https://www.hiltonheadisland.org/see-do/biking/biking-maps

[elrodvt]

I assume you can only use the condo if you have tattoos on the biceps, eat McD's 3 times a day and drink Bud? 

[hauntedheadnc]

I wonder if perhaps Charlotte should take a page out of Columbia's playbook and make light of its worst aspect.  Columbia is well known for having the same climate as the devil's dirty wet asshole, and its slogan is "Columbia: Famously Hot".  Charlotte -- I hate to say this, but it's true -- is known by outsiders looking in for being boring.  So, rather than try to say that a city which seems to consist entirely of parking decks, unadorned beige boxes, and blue glass is something it isn't, why not make fun of what it is?  Show people there's more to the city than a bunch of suits running around denying loans and signing foreclosures on your dead mother's house.  Laugh at yourself.  Run commercials with interracial groups of attractive millennials having the time of their lives and talking about how boring Charlotte is while they're doing whatever it is that millennials do for fun in Charlotte.   If there are any murals or any public art that is not of the corporate plaza variety, whose primary artistic message is "Look!  Here's some art!", have the attractive millennials file past it while talking about how boring Charlotte is.  Have the millennials pop in to one of the five or so buildings in the city that predates the 1970's while talking about how boring it is that Charlotte has no history.  If there's any building for the millennials to go that isn't a plain beige EIFS box or plain glass box have them discuss how boring the city's architecture is there.   

"Charlotte: It's boring!"  

[Cadi40]

I mean there’s as much to do as any other city our size, Heck even Atlanta. Sure Atlanta is better known, Has an aquarium and a few other things here and there, But for locals it’s not like they go to the CNN center everyday. Everything gets boring after a while, You just have to find yourself a way to keep busy, And in Charlotte it’s not hard to do that.

[NcSc74]

Just saw this on MSN.  Charlotte's skyline featured on the list of most impressive skylines.  The QC broke the top 20.  3rd best in the south 5th best if you count Tx cities.  May catch Denver soon...

 

 Most impressive skylines in America by the numbers http://a.msn.com/03/en-us/BBKJrp4?ocid=se

[11 HouseBZ]

2 hours ago, hauntedheadnc said:

Columbia is well known for having the same climate as the devil's dirty wet asshole

If you only knew how hard you made me laugh with this line. It's very true though. I'm gonna have to find a way to work this phrase into a conversation. Lol

[ah59396]

11 hours ago, Cadi40 said:

I mean there’s as much to do as any other city our size, Heck even Atlanta. Sure Atlanta is better known, Has an aquarium and a few other things here and there, But for locals it’s not like they go to the CNN center everyday. Everything gets boring after a while, You just have to find yourself a way to keep busy, And in Charlotte it’s not hard to do that.

So I partially agree with this.  I’ll say that I never understood how someone could be bored living in Charlotte.  I lived there for most of my life and still found plenty to do.  Though I suspect that was partially that my friends and family were always close by and I could make a good time out of having a pint at Boardwalks Billies if I had to...

 

 

However (and this is just my preference), it has always BEWILDERED me how far behind Charlotte is to other cities in the following:

restaurant options (variety and sheer volume)

dive bars

small music venues

local small business retail - virtually nonexistent compared to other cities.  Probably the most egregious problem....

casino close by

children/family activites (premier science museum [discovery is alright], zoo, aquarium, improved arboretum/botanical garden [sorry Daniel stowe])

lack of geographic features of interest (not much we can do about that) - mountains, ocean, river

 

 

 

Charlotte’s made leaps and bounds in a couple of those categories, especially in the last decade.  And I’m still bullish in my belief that the QC has one of the best craft beer scenes in the country and I’ll fight someone over it.  

But I think it’s important to note that while @Seabrooke looked like they had a great time; karaoke, drinks with friends, lunch and time spent at the park are things you can do in every decent sized American city.  Usually with greater options at your disposal.  

The WWC is definitely the wild card there.  And since we are talking “perception of Charlotte”, it’s another jewel the city needs to keep focusing on.  It’s unique and awesome.  It should absolutely be connected to the greenway network with dedicated ROW, incorporate overnight lodging and Tuck Fest hopefully continues to grow and mature into a legitimate outdoor sports and music festival.  Eventually I think Tuck Fest could be our SxSw for the outdoors.

[deleted]

42 minutes ago, ah59396 said:

lack of geographic features of interest (not much we can do about that) - mountains, ocean, river

Coming from San Diego which has awesome geographic features in abundance, I think Charlotte gets a bad wrap here.  We have Norman, Wylie, the Catawba (great for tubing for free with the family!), Crowders, reasonable driving distance to the ocean and mountains, etc.  Compared to a big portion of the country, I think Charlotte compares favorably.  I wish we had water in or near Uptown but the often mocked Little Sugar Creek Greenway (where I just ran on this gorgeous day) is actually pretty awesome from CPCC to Freedom park.  And outside of California, Charlotte's weather is among the best in the Continental US.  

I miss San Diego but it was a good decision to move here.  When people who've been ask how I could move, I say San Diego is a great place to visit and Charlotte is a better place to live (even though I may move back when my kids finish college).    

[ah59396]

44 minutes ago, JBS said:

Coming from San Diego which has awesome geographic features in abundance, I think Charlotte gets a bad wrap here.  We have Norman, Wylie, the Catawba (great for tubing for free with the family!), Crowders, reasonable driving distance to the ocean and mountains, etc.  Compared to a big portion of the country, I think Charlotte compares favorably.  I wish we had water in or near Uptown but the often mocked Little Sugar Creek Greenway (where I just ran on this gorgeous day) is actually pretty awesome from CPCC to Freedom park.  And outside of California, Charlotte's weather is among the best in the Continental US.  

I miss San Diego but it was a good decision to move here.  When people who've been ask how I could move, I say San Diego is a great place to visit and Charlotte is a better place to live (even though I may move back when my kids finish college).    

So I don’t disagree with your opinion, but my point is more than we aren’t perceived as a positive place for geographic features.  We kind of sell the “oh hey you can drive to stuff in 2+ hours”, but that’s not really in the metro.

San Antonio, Austin, Cincinnati, St Louis - river

San Diego, Miami, LA - beaches

Denver, SLC, Boise - Mountains

Chicago, Madison, Minneapolis- Lakes

Las Vegas, Phoenix - desert 

you get the idea.

 

I do agree that charlotte does pretty damn well with what it’s got.  It can’t go out and build mountains or drop an ocean next door.  I’m hopeful the River District on the Catawba could be a defining characteristic for the city.  Fingers crossed!

[videtur quam contuor]

This is what Indianapolis has done with a former decrepit canal and non-navigable river (glorified creek):

 

http://www.sasaki.com/project/190/indianapolis-waterfront-master-plan/

[SgtCampsalot]

37 minutes ago, ah59396 said:

So I don’t disagree with your opinion, but my point is more than we aren’t perceived as a positive place for geographic features.  We kind of sell the “oh hey you can drive to stuff in 2+ hours”, but that’s not really in the metro.

From my anecdotal evidence, northerners are more accustomed to driving long distances for basic amenities than southerners. Probably because the cluster of northern cities are a few hours from each other, so everyone drives to the "next city" on any given weekend... also every drives like a bat out of hell up there, so any traffic moves swiftly.

Total blanket statement, but I've found it holds up.

Edited April 18, 2018 by SgtCampsalot

[hauntedheadnc]

1 hour ago, ah59396 said:

So I don’t disagree with your opinion, but my point is more than we aren’t perceived as a positive place for geographic features.  We kind of sell the “oh hey you can drive to stuff in 2+ hours”, but that’s not really in the metro.

Honestly though... It's really not a good selling point when a place advertises itself as being "just two hours from everywhere you'd rather be!"  

[KJHburg]

But location is important.  and Charlotte's location is great.  We have 3 major recreational lakes in Mecklenburg County.  People vacation at them, look up places on Airbnb.  Our lakes are a major attraction.  We have a major theme park Carowinds.  And yes our mountains 2 hours away and beaches 3 hours away are part of the package.  Just like LA and Orange County.  Ever try to get from the Inland Empire to the beach? Or get from Orange County to snowcapped mountains of southern California?  it is a drive but is apart of the areas appeal.   

People vote with their feet and with 50-60 people EVERY DAY moving here we must be attractive to someone in the country.   We are not too small but we are not too big, We are not too far from the beach or too far from the mountains.  We have great upscale restaurants and great dives.  We have great shopping best  between DC and Atlanta but small towns full of independent shops right outside of town.   And if the living was not good here, we would be shrinking in population like some other cities in the country mainly in the northeast or upper Midwest.    Our weather is an attraction again just like LA.   You can golf year round, your can boat year round,  you can dine al fresco 9-10 months of the year.  

 

Edited April 18, 2018 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

Maybe people just move here for the money but it sure hard to get them to leave LOL  High wages and low cost of living  hmmm sounds like the American dream. 

https://www.gobankingrates.com/making-money/cities-with-high-salaries-low-cost-of-living/#4

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

I wouldn’t necessarily say lack of geographic features is a bad thing either (or being a 2+ hour drive away).  Back in the day when I worked in the service industry, I took care of tons of guests visiting from the mountains/beaches.  Where one may escape Charlotte to vacay in the mountains or beach…there’s another person doing the same thing but escaping the beach/mountains to come vacay in the city.  Although beach life would be pretty sweet, I don’t think I would appreciate it as much (same with mountains) if I were to live there.  Having that short drive allows me to appreciate what we have to offer (geographically speaking) and to experience it as a vacation rather than everyday life.

[deleted]

2 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

This is what Indianapolis has done with a former decrepit canal and non-navigable river (glorified creek):

 

http://www.sasaki.com/project/190/indianapolis-waterfront-master-plan/

This is awesome.  I've never been to Indianapolis but it seems like the Midwest equivalent of Charlotte.

[videtur quam contuor]

I grew up there and the area just west of the center of downtown was and is state government ghetto. Several square blocks of limestone buildings. This is now a major tourist destination with the Zoo and many other attractions plus the river and canal. A major impetus for Indianapolis was UniGov, a unification of city and county government into one organisation. It helps to have the capital in the city because they approve this. Jacksonville did something similar and we three cities have similarities beyond just government style, population and NFL. Raleigh could do this. Anyone know if they have tried?

Edited April 18, 2018 by tarhoosier

[Cadi40]

Wish charlotte was actually doing something with River District other than practically building a Ballantyne close to the river. There’s not a ton of states that have fabulous  mountains and terrific beaches, I like to think of NC as the next California. Not literally but you get the point.