Hey...what's the big hurry?

[Neo]

Go and live in a city that is not as large as Charlotte and you'll see the hospitality is quite alive and well.

Larger cities can be quite hospitable too. Having lived in Chicago I found that city to be friendlier overall than Charlotte...as did anyone that came to visit from Charlotte. I'm not so sure the problem can even be attributed to "yankees" making up any portion of Charlotte.

[atlrvr]

I would gladly wait 15 on a Lynx platform, where as if I had to wait 5 minutes at a red light, I would be driving up on the sidewalk. I hadn't ever realized that. Thanks.

[Miesian Corners]

I can say without a doubt that the pace of life at the Charlotte airport is anything but the fast lane stuff y'all have been talking about. Case in point: the moving sidewalk. The idea of the moving sidewalk is to get you from point A to point B a little more quickly. Those that want to stand and use it as a ride (at a whopping 2.2 mph) are supposed to stand to the right and allow those who are walking to pass on the left. Not at CLT. People just stand everywhere. Without a doubt, the epitome of lazy (and it's rude).

[atlrvr]

Maybe they are connecting passengers from St. Louis

I've noticed that too, but with the large number of non-residents there, I'm not sure who the blame should be pinned on, though I admit, I've seen plenty of airport workers guilty of what you've described. I think that still qualifies as obliviously self-centered though

[monsoon]

I don't buy this premise that driving a car is the reason there are so many people that don't have enough time here in Charlotte and thus are seen to be rude, self centered, etc. And I don't buy the premise that if they instead led a lifestyle where they could walk everywhere, then their lives would be much better than it is. That simple conclusion ignores what got them there in the first place.

I will point out that even here on UrbanPlanet, we have had endless complaints about mass transit from people getting frustrated and visibly upset because the ticket machines were too slow and they had to wait for the next train. Or the train was too crowded, they had to wait too long, and we even had complaints as trivial as having to wait 5 sec for water to come out of the water fountain. These are also signs of people, IMO, that are leading lives where any inconvenience is simply unacceptable.

I also don't buy the premise being made there are rude people here because of the arrival of non-Southerners, namely those from the North. Somehow this group, the Yankees as has been used here, is singled out as the cause which is laughable since Charlotte also gets significant immigration from the West, and from below the border and these people are somehow fine in comparison.

I think it all gets down to the fact that people are leading lives that make them impatient, rude, and frustrated because they spend too much time chasing after material things and status. It's as simple as that.

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There was a time BTW, when life was much slower in Southern cities like Charlotte because they had to take into account their geography. It was very common 100 years ago for all business to simply close in the summer afternoons because it was simply too hot to do business. People, who mostly did walk in those days, also would not venture out in 100 degree heat. Air conditioning of course changed all of this, but in many ways it was more a loss than a gain.

[Windsurfer]

I also don't buy the premise being made there are rude people here because of the arrival of non-Southerners, namely those from the North. Somehow this group, the Yankees as has been used here, is singled out as the cause which is laughable since Charlotte also gets significant immigration from the West, and from below the border and these people are somehow fine in comparison.

I think it all gets down to the fact that people are leading lives that make them impatient, rude, and frustrated because they spend too much time chasing after material things and status. It's as simple as that.

----------------------------------

There was a time BTW, when life was much slower in Southern cities like Charlotte because they had to take into account their geography. It was very common 100 years ago for all business to simply close in the summer afternoons because it was simply too hot to do business. People, who mostly did walk in those days, also would not venture out in 100 degree heat. Air conditioning of course changed all of this, but in many ways it was more a loss than a gain.

[JayGee]

I can say without a doubt that the pace of life at the Charlotte airport is anything but the fast lane stuff y'all have been talking about. Case in point: the moving sidewalk. The idea of the moving sidewalk is to get you from point A to point B a little more quickly. Those that want to stand and use it as a ride (at a whopping 2.2 mph) are supposed to stand to the right and allow those who are walking to pass on the left. Not at CLT. People just stand everywhere. Without a doubt, the epitome of lazy (and it's rude).

[Temeteron]

I think as more and more not just Northerners, but Mid-Westerners and West Coasters and people from Europe and dense Asian cities etc. move to Charlotte the pace will definately get faster. It's just common sense. And being from the south and being from the north has nothing to do with driving skills. Some people are agressive and some people are not. Ive lived in Boston , Columbia, and Charlotte.....and I've noticed 3 different paces. But even within those cities there are different paces. People in SC are by far the worst drivers out of everyone!

[Windsurfer]

People in SC are by far the worst drivers out of everyone!

[SmellyCat]

People in SC are by far the worst drivers out of everyone!

[Skyybutter]

Its no secret that some parts of the country are more pedestrian friendly. Unfortunatly Charlotte is not that friendly. Its not just in Charlotte either. I live in Concord and its like people hurry up so they dont have to think about maybe stopping for you. Seattle and Portland gladly stop for people. Transplants to Charlotte have brought this fast pace mentality and that works for some people, but not me. I will continue to stop and motion people across.

[schmopperX]

Its no secret that some parts of the country are more pedestrian friendly. Unfortunatly Charlotte is not that friendly. Its not just in Charlotte either. I live in Concord and its like people hurry up so they dont have to think about maybe stopping for you. Seattle and Portland gladly stop for people. Transplants to Charlotte have brought this fast pace mentality and that works for some people, but not me. I will continue to stop and motion people across.

[kewlaidkiddd]

People here are bad drivers - people everywhere are worse - I can say I can't stand going to other cities and driving when I travel because people are crazy.

I'm very open minded but I do have to agree with points that this was never a problem before Charlotte started getting a boom and all of the sudden more people moved in. I've lived in the area all of my life and Charlotte didn't get its boom until the mid 90's. Living in Concord, you could see it because all of the sudden housing developments sprang up everywhere. And in came SUV's Soccer Moms, and so on and so on. Do I think a bit of the rudeness in the attitude in driving came from elsewhere - I don't disregard it as a possibility. But I remember when life was much simpler - and I'm not even 30 years old yet.

I miss when you could leave your doors open here and could get from point a to point b without getting honked at for following the rules of the road or not having someone ride your butt the whole time, or having too many "close encounters". Close Encounters aren't close encounters if they happen every day.

Thats just my two cents.

[InitialD]

I was recently in Asheville and came across some of their relatively new traffic calming devices. Some drivers are pretty upset about somebody infringing on their god-given right to drive and fast and reckless as possible.

[caterpillar2]

I think you're doing the right thing. I lived in Portland for many years, and it's just a mentality that has developed over many years. It would take a much denser environment here for that to start to develop. Signage helps, but it would take years for this to be the natural instinct.

I think when you have a combination of Northerners and Southerners (I'm the latter), that's probably the worst combination of driving skills & attitude you could possibly get. Think about it, NASCAR mixes with Yankee road rage, LOL we're lucky there aren't smoldering cars and people laying everywhere.

It will just take time.

[jhaugens]

I think it's safe to say that the number of transplants has affected the city of Charlotte with the attitudes and approach to life.

When I lived in Gastonia and worked at CLT, most of the people I worked with did not live in the more urban areas of Charlotte. Typically border towns in South Carolina or west around Gastonia like myself. These people were far from being in a rushed pace on their own time.

Visiting downtown seemed a bit more rushed in pace. I'm sure this has expanded over the past four years even if it's slightly.

Take offense or not, it's something that happens, outsiders bring in luggage and some others take on that luggage or spew it right back to you. I hope I won't do that after living in Chicago for four years but it might come out somewhat.