Charlotte VS Jacksonville VS Nashville

[larry]

It is hard to pick between Charlotte and Jacksonville. First, Jacksonville has Neptune, Jax Beach and other seaside towns that are nice. The driving situation is ridiculous. It is 40 miles across town and it is sooooooo spread out. Downtown is nice but nobody goes there at night because of the crime. And it is a real redneck city (not that that is particularly bad). If you are a fisherman and like the coast, Jacksonville is the best.

On the other hand, Charlotte is a easy city to get anyplace in 20 minutes (exception is rush hour). It is much more cosmopolitan that Jacksonville overall and seems to be much more urban. You can be in the mountains in 2 hours and the seaside nin 3 hours. The location is pretty good. Downtown is very nice, walkable and getting better every day as far as entertainment and cultural places. The neighbourhoods are absolutely gorgeous.

Nashville is a fine growing southern metro. There are quite a few things to do there. Dowsntown is improving. It isn't as nice as Charlotte. There are nice places to visit, ie. Hermatige. And, the mountains are very close by. My problem with Nashville is that it is too far from the sea.

As you can see, each city is great in its own way. It all depends on one's lifestyle. Since I am a ocean person, I would have to pick Jacksonville , and I would chose to live in one of the beach towns if I were to live there.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

You Charlotte people need to get real. You couldn't even get the ACC Football Championship game and Charlotte is in ACC country. Give it up! Jacksonville is passing you and it's quite apparent. No disrespect to Charlotte b/c it's a nice city but let's be real here. Also the none Charlotte can't touch Jacksonville in terms of the sheer number of good looking women of all races (Hispanic (not just Mexican as it is in Charlotte, white, black, asian). But it's like that all over Florida so there you go.

All I can say is... THE MIGHTY CARDINALS...

I don't like Jacksonville because of that UGLY modis building, that is quite possibly the silliest looking building I have ever seen. I cannot get pass that ugly building, but the river area is awesome looking, I put Jacksonville as a nice city to drive by on route to Orlando, I wouldn't stop there, for the neighborhoods around the highway look a little rough. Beaches are nice, but how often do you use a beach anyways, every time I go down there Northern Florida is cold.

Nashville is a state capital so it has that. I hate country, so I don't really appreciate the vibe Nashville has, I don't really see any reason to believe that it (Nashville) is going anywhere special. There is NO evidence of sustained economic growth or development.

Charlotte, where I live has some of the most livable, cleanest, and beautiful neighborhoods I have ever seen. Granted I live in the South Side, in an area where the average house is over 700k. Charlotte has the best housing for the buck I have seen in any city, I can get an absolutely beautiful house for much less then anywhere else. Charlotte's downtown, or rather uptown is booming. I may purchase a condo in the coming months and some property as an investment. The scene is that good. Charlotte is not really a touristy town but a perfect living town.

In the end it does matter want you want. Do you want a bunch of drunk spring break teens or do you want a clean comfortable living with the big city atmosphere just a little bit away? I can live anywhere I want, and I live in Charlotte.

[Viper]

Most of Jacksonvilles interstates go through its old neighborhoods giving it a bad impression from the freeway. The exception being the southside of I-95 and I-295. Charlotte is not alone in the large communities with housing at half a million to much more. We've got plenty of that going on right next to and in DT and lots more on the Southside (just like Charlotte's southside).

Uptown Charlotte took off in the 90's and Jax is fixing to do the same thing that Charlotte went through now.

Nashville had great overall growth in the 90's but most was in the outskirting towns and countys. Getting Murfreesboro added to your MSA sure helped didn't it?

[satalac]

All I can say is... THE MIGHTY CARDINALS...

Nashville is a state capital so it has that. I hate country, so I don't really appreciate the vibe Nashville has, I don't really see any reason to believe that it (Nashville) is going anywhere special. There is NO evidence of sustained economic growth or development.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

nashville is a lot more than country music. if you go there looking for guys in cowboy hats, that's all you're gonna see and end up missing the whole city. and explain the "NO evidence of sustained economic growth or development"? we've landed the corporate headquarters of some major companies in the past few years.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

Cracker Barrel, Aladdin Industries, Caterpillar Financial, Dollar General, Gaylord Entertainment Company, CNA Insurance, Geneseco, HCA, Primus Automotive Financial Services, Willis.

These are the Major Corporate HQs listed on your Covention and Visitors Bureau.

I am sorry but these will not propel you to the top.

I think Nashville is more on par with Raleigh.

[durham_rtp]

I voted for Charlotte, though I feel that it and Nashville are getting very close to being on par. I have never been to Jacksonville, so I won't commit on it. But I have lived in Charlotte and visited Nashville. Though Charlotte isn't the funnest place to visit, it is a great place to live. I just has an addicting energy...like you know good stuff is happening and will continue to happen. I think Nashville is a cool place too, even if i don't like all the country music too much . I currently live in Raleigh but I know that I would not mind living in either Charlotte again or Nashville.

[afh]

I voted for Charlotte, though I feel that it and Nashville are getting very close to being on par.  I have never been to Jacksonville, so I won't commit on it.  But I have lived in Charlotte and visited Nashville.  Though Charlotte isn't the funnest place to visit, it is a great place to live.  I just has an addicting energy...like you know good stuff is happening and will continue to happen.  I think Nashville is a cool place too, even if i don't like all the country music too much  .  I currently live in Raleigh but I know that I would not mind living in either Charlotte again or Nashville.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In your last post you mentioned it being cold in Jax when you go down. Well, I can tell you that Jax doesn't get snow and Charlotte does so there you go. Also I would venture to guess that Charlotte has more cold days than Jax does. Who uses a beach you ask? I don't know, good looking women who wear thongs who like to jog down the beach. People who like to tan and enjoy ocean breezes. People who just like to chill out for a bit, maybe hangout at a couple of clubs or restaurants. Also, none of the Charlotte or Nashville people commented on the point I made comparing the women in all three cities.

[afh]

It is hard to pick between Charlotte and Jacksonville.  First, Jacksonville has Neptune, Jax Beach and other seaside towns that are nice.  The driving situation is ridiculous.  It is 40 miles across town and it is sooooooo spread out.  Downtown is nice but nobody goes there at night because of the crime.  And it is a real redneck city (not that that is particularly bad).  If you are a fisherman and like the coast, Jacksonville is the best.

On the other hand, Charlotte is a easy city to get anyplace in 20 minutes (exception is rush hour).  It is much more cosmopolitan that Jacksonville overall and seems to be much more urban.  You can be in the mountains in  2 hours and the seaside nin 3 hours.  The location is pretty good.  Downtown is very nice, walkable and getting better every day as far as entertainment and cultural places.  The neighbourhoods are absolutely gorgeous. 

Nashville is a fine growing southern metro.  There are quite a few things to do there.  Dowsntown is improving. It isn't as nice as Charlotte.  There are nice places to visit, ie. Hermatige.  And, the mountains are very close by.  My problem with Nashville is that it is too far from the sea. 

As you can see, each city is great in its own way.  It all depends on one's lifestyle.  Since I am a ocean person, I would have to pick Jacksonville ,  and I would chose to live in one of the beach towns if I were to live there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Ok, my man you say Jax is a real realneck city. Right, this coming from a city in the State of North Carolina that enjoys its NeckCar and its left hand turns. Ok, but Charlotte is more cosmopolitan. I don't dispute that Charlotte is cosmo but easyyy there with the rednecky stuff. If you're a fisherman! C'mon my man! You don't have to be a ocean person to like Jacksonville. You just have to be a person who likes the relaxed, laidback life style that Jacksonville and the other cities in Florida offer. That's why you have a number of Southern California people who move to Florida and Jacksonville in particular. Comparing the two cities are like comparing apples to oranges. Both give you a different taste. The lifestyles of the three cities and even the three states are totally different. You're going to get a totally different lifestyle living in Jacksonville than you would Charlotte and Nashville.

[monsoon]

... Also, none of the Charlotte or Nashville people commented on the point I made comparing the women in all three cities.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Because it was a pretty ignorant point to make on a forum such as this. No one is interested in your opinion of women on this board and if that is all that you can dwell on, I recommend you go elsewhere. And while we are at it tone down your criticism of other people's posts.

[RiversideGator]

I know a guy from Jacksonville who moved to Charlotte for a job. He says it is an ok town, but he cannot wait to move back when the opportunity arises. Unfortunately, Charlotte does beat Jax when it comes to jobs in banking/finance due to NC's liberal banking laws in the 70s and 80s. It really is an anomaly (fortunately for Charlotte) for such a relatively insignificant place to be the second largest banking center in America. So, I would say that Jacksonville beats Charlotte and Nashville in quality of life, but loses to Charlotte in banking/finance. Score it a win for Jax overall though.

[RiversideGator]

AFH: I appreciate you supporting Jacksonville, but debating which city has the best women is kind of silly. I am sure that all three have fine looking ladies. Anyway, I dont think some people on here are that interested in women (I am married).

[satalac]

Cracker Barrel, Aladdin Industries, Caterpillar Financial, Dollar General, Gaylord Entertainment Company,  CNA Insurance, Geneseco, HCA, Primus Automotive Financial Services, Willis.

These are the Major Corporate HQs listed on your Covention and Visitors Bureau.

I am sorry but these will not propel you to the top.

I think Nashville is more on par with Raleigh.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

there are more than this. nashville is on another tier than raleigh.

[afh]

Because it was a pretty ignorant point to make on a forum such as this.  No one is interested in your opinion of women on this board and if that is all that you can dwell on, I recommend you go elsewhere.  And while we are at it tone down your criticism of other people's posts.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm sorry but dating is a part of a city's quality of life. That is why I brought the point up! Also, I did not criticize anyone's post. You recommend I go somewhere else b/c I made a point about something! Please, get over yourself. I mean no disrespect to anyone on this board but get over your self-righteousness.

[afh]

AFH:  I appreciate you supporting Jacksonville, but debating which city has the best women is kind of silly.  I am sure that all three have fine looking ladies.  Anyway, I dont think some people on here are that interested in women (I am married).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, I was just making the point b/c as I said in my prior post the dating scene is one of many important factors in the quality of life aspect for cities. Single people in their mid 20s to mid 30s are interested in such things.

[Neo]

I'm sorry but dating is a part of a city's quality of life.  That is why I brought the point up!  Also, I did not criticize anyone's post.  You recommend I go somewhere else b/c I made a point about something!  Please, get over yourself.  I mean no disrespect to anyone on this board but get over your self-righteousness.

Let's get over your own self-righteousness first. Please keep posts on this board fun and clean for everyone else.

[JunktionFET]

there are more than this. nashville is on another tier than raleigh.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cities in this range are all a close call when you're speaking in general terms. Raleigh is several tiers above Nashville in some areas, while Nashville exceeds Raleigh in others. Honestly, taken as a whole, I wouldn't be able to make a decision as to which one is above or below the other, I could only call it on specifics.

Nashville was chartered in Raleigh though, YAY!!

[Viper]

Jacksonville Business Rankings

Top-notch work force and quality of life make Jacksonville the Expansion Magazine consultants

[it's just dave]

Man, it took a while to read through this entire thread. I'd avoided it before.

I shall avoid it again (for the most part). You guys couldn't have picked three more different cities to compare in my opinion. Frankly, as a lifelong Nashvillian, I'm in love with my city, am proud of its accomplishments and hopeful for its future. How does it compare to Charlotte or Jacksonville? Who gives a rat's ass quite frankly? Charlotte's a wonderful city, so is Jacksonville ( I guess, I'm not much on putting either one on my travel schedule, but I trust what I see and read). I'm sure Charlotte doesn't give much of a rat's ass about Nashville either. Jacksonville? Hell, until the SB, not many people could even find it on map. I was 40 before I could find Charlotte on a map. I'm better at it now, thank you, but I didn't know where the heck it was except in one of the Carolinas. It just did not matter.

What I'm saying is that all these darn competitions are pretty boring. But if they make you feel good, knock yourselves out. I'll just continue to keep my rat's ass worth of caring here at home.

Keep building you towns guys, when I visit, I want to see it all. I want to come home impressed. Quite frankly, with Jax and Charlotte, I am.

[monsoon]

Dave its all good. We learn by comparing. As long as there is no bashing I think these polls are a good avenue to learn about other places. Everyone should take what they want from these things and just leave the rest behind.

[eastsider]

city rankings from various publications

Inc. magazine - 2004 top u.s. cities for doing business

jax 8th, nash 33rd, char 52nd

Entrepreneurs magazine - 2003 best cities for entrepreneurs

char 9th, jax 19th, nash 45th

Expansion management magazine - 2005 hottest 50 cities in america

nash 1st, char 4th, jax 10th

The annual gold guide to leading rankings 2004

jax 23rd, char 27th, nash 39th

Milken Institute - 2004 best preforming cities (creating & sustaining jobs)

jax 48th, char 50th, nash 68th

Forbes - 2004 best places for business

char 27th, nash 31st, jax 106th

Forbes - 2004 top 40 cities for singles

nash 29th, char 36th, jax n/r

Population Connections - 2004 kid friendly cities ( large cities )

char 39th, jax 51st, nash 67th

Fortune 500 companies

charlotte 7 - 24 bank of america, 73 wachovia, 75 duke energy, 264 sonic

automotive, 297 nucor, 344 spx corp, 394 goodrich corp

jacksonville 3 - 162 winn dixie, 259 csx, 262 fidelity national financial

nashville 2 - 85 hospital corporation of america, 221 caremark rx

sperling's best places

education

high school grad - char 84.3%, nash 78.1%, jax 77.5%

2yr coll grad - char 8.8%, jax 8.2%, nash 6.2%

4yr coll grad - char 25.4%, nash 20.5%, jax 16.2%

PhD's - nash 9.7%, char 7.6%, jax 5.7%

climate

avg july high - jax 92, nash 90, char 89

avg jan low - nash 28, char 31, jax 43

economy

income per cap - char 25,581, nash 21,218, jax 20,419

household income - char 50,614, jax 39,793, nash 38,996

income tax - char 7%, jax 0%, nash 0%

crime per 100,000 pop

violent crime - nash 1607.3, char 1,345.3, jax 1,034.2

prop crime - char 7,484.3, nash 7,276.4, jax 6,117.5

[GaTechGuy]

I know colleges can play a key role in how a city develops. What Colleges are in each city?

I know the Nashville area has Vanderbuilt, Belmont, Fisk, Austin Peay, TSU, MTSU and then many other smaller colleges.

I'm not fimiliar with Jax and Charlotte colleges though...anyone care to list them?

[monsoon]

Charlotte area has the following

• University of NC at Charlotte

• Central Piedmont Community College

• Johnson & Wales (just built a brand new downtown campus)

• JC Smith University

• Queens University

• Davidson University

• Winthrop University

• Wake Forest operates a branch for MBAs

[Viper]

Jacksonville colleges and universities plus a few campuses.

Florida Metropolitan University

Florida Technical College

ITT Tech

University of Phoenix

University of North Florida

Jacksonville University

Edward Waters College

Florida Coastal School of Law

Florida Community College

Jones College

Webster University

Plus dozens of smaller schools and campuses.

[rockhilljames]

Charlotte actually has 9 Fortune 500 companies located in it's metro.

Family Dollar is located in Mecklenburg County and Lowe's is just outside of it.

[Spartan]

I agree with you on the point about Atlanta, but Spartan does have a point as well. There are examples where cities have bowl games and their growth still is unimpressive or non-related to the games. The Liberty Bowl is played in...good grief, I can't even remember the name of the city! One bowl game is played in Boise, Idaho. Boise is growing somewhat, but I can assure you that it has nothing to do with their bowl game...I believe their growth is more from the technology industry.

Jax landing the Super Bowl has already landed several hotel-building projects around Riverside and corporation CEOs have complemented the city greatly for its resources. Some have said that they might consider relocating there. So in a way, both of you are correct! I think the sports events are tied in to growth, but it REALLY depends on how the city and its leaders market and present it. If there is a poor presentation, a bowl game or other event won't help the city in a significant way.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Spartanburg has the Shrine Bowl. They play it over at Wofford College... What does that mean? Yeah its a bowl game, and yeah it brings some tourist dollars and visitors to the city. Spartanburg probably makes more money during the Panthers' training camp. I'm not saying that spots are irrelevant, but that they just don't 'make' a city.

All I can say is... THE MIGHTY CARDINALS...

I don't like Jacksonville because of that UGLY modis building, that is quite possibly the silliest looking building I have ever seen. I cannot get pass that ugly building, but the river area is awesome looking, I put Jacksonville as a nice city to drive by on route to Orlando, I wouldn't stop there, for the neighborhoods around the highway look a little rough. Beaches are nice, but how often do you use a beach anyways, every time I go down there Northern Florida is cold.

Charlotte, where I live has some of the most livable, cleanest, and beautiful neighborhoods I have ever seen. Granted I live in the South Side, in an area where the average house is over 700k. Charlotte has the best housing for the buck I have seen in any city, I can get an absolutely beautiful house for much less then anywhere else. Charlotte's downtown, or rather uptown is booming. I may purchase a condo in the coming months and some property as an investment. The scene is that good. Charlotte is not really a touristy town but a perfect living town.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It seems rather naive to judge a city based on what you can see from the interstate. Southside Charlotte is alot like the eastern part of Jax. From DT to the beaches is all the same style and quality of development you woudl see in southside Charlotte.