Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Personally, I like both cities! Atlanta is bigger so they have more to offer, however, Charlotte is an up and coming city and they offer a lot, but in a smaller quantity compared to Atlanta! FWIW, both cities are great cities and they have something to offer according to what your tastes are!
Many North Carolinians don't even consider Charlotte part of "true NC". We could care less about it other than the Carolina Panthers. Charlotte may have pro sports but none are ever competitive and breed a loser mentality in the city (Bobcats? Gimme a break.). Visit any other town in NC and they have history, culture, museums and just better people. Even Charlotte's banking is shipping out of town. If you want to go to a winning area try RTP. Winning college sports (UNC/Duke), smarter people, genuine growth and never trying to be something we aren't. South Carolina should just annex Charlotte because NC doesn't want you. Also, Charlotte is probably the only metro area of its size in America without an elite University.
At least Charlotte has an active downtown with a skyline, something Raleigh does not have! And if Raleigh is not trying to be something that they're not, then why is Raleigh trying to gain a little bit of Charlotte status? Raleigh wants to get to Charlotte status the same way Charlotte wants to get to Atlanta status, b/c it is all about growth and recruiting newcomers to your area, if you don't grow, you stagnate! I'll give you that in most of the big schools in NC is located in the Raleigh/Durham area, however, you do know that a lot of those educated people do go to Charlotte once they graduate from those prestigous universities in the Triangle, you have a lot of UNC alum all over Charlotte! You may be on to something in that South Carolina should annex Charlotte, maybe they'll do a better job in helping Charlotte improve its infrastructure than those idiots leading the state gov't in Raleigh do! Also, you say that Charlotte's banking is leaving town, the last I checked, a good majority of its banking operations are still in Charlotte, yes Charlotte got hit hard by the banking crisis, but it is recovering and are beginning to add jobs again, yes Charlotte has high unemployment, but it'll probably be that way for a while. Raleigh was fortunate in that the great recession didn't hit its main sectors as hard as Charlotte! As for the sports, you can't argue with UNC and Duke, especially in basketball, b/c football is still lacking, but I'll take pro sports anyday! I know this is the Atlanta forum, but I had to respond to those comments! I have nothing against Raleigh and I'm rooting for both Charlotte and Raleigh to become major powerhouses b/c that'll be great for NC to have 2 major league areas in this state, but don't act like Raleigh is all that when it isn't, it may be a major college area, but it is still quite boring to me compared to Charlotte!
I agree with you particularly on points 3 and 4, although I think Atlanta's international profile has been established fairly recently (since Olympics).
However, even today Atlanta's international profile is probably somewhat limited to those in certain segments (people aware of civil rights issues, some parts of the business community, the media). In terms of general recognition among the wider populace, I'm not sure Atlanta's name recognition is a whole lot higher than Charlotte (and certainly lower than cities like Miami, Las Vegas, and even Seattle), but I could be wrong. And perhaps here your #4 point comes into play. People both nationally and internationally probably learn of Atlanta through its prominence as a transportation hub. Then again, this also gets into what has also been discussed on this forum a fair amount before, which is Atlanta's unique role (one which Charlotte is no where near approaching) as a "capital" for the region of the Southeast. A certain status accrues to the city just on that basis alone, apart from any attributes the place may or may not have.
GLOBAL CONNECTIVITY:
Quote:
The report also divides cities into different tiers based on their “connectivity.” Here’s a listing of the first five tiers: Strata I: New York Strata II: Chicago & Los Angeles Strata III: San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, & Washington Strata IV: Boston, Dallas, Houston, & Seattle Strata V: Denver, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, St. Louis & Detroit Strata VI:San Diego,Charlotte,Portland,Pittsburgh
The report places New York in its own tier, and Chicago and Los Angeles are the only second tier cities. Miami’s high position is attributed to its status as “Capital of Latin America”; San Francisco’s being the nation’s “western gateway/financial center”; Atlanta’s due to it being a “media center” and also to its role as being the “unchallenged capital of the large and growing South”; and Washington’s on account of its role as the U.S. national capital. In the fourth tier, “regional capitals in New England and the Pacific Northwest (Boston and Seattle) are joined by the two Texan world cities, one as regional center (Dallas) and the other as the world’s energy capital (Houston).”
Now this is not solely name recognition per se.But it does give a good idea of what is considered.
Now this is not solely name recognition per se.But it does give a good idea of what is considered.
Yep, I'm aware of that ranking. What I'm talking about though is recognition among wider populace, which is not going to recognize cities as much based on their status as a "media center" or capital of the growing South. That said, I may have been wrong to suggest that Atlanta's general name recognition internationally may not be any higher than Charlotte's. I think it's safe to say Atlanta - while not as popularly known as say Las Vegas or Miami - is far more well-known than Charlotte.
Many North Carolinians don't even consider Charlotte part of "true NC". We could care less about it other than the Carolina Panthers. Charlotte may have pro sports but none are ever competitive and breed a loser mentality in the city (Bobcats? Gimme a break.).
The Panthers have definitely had their competitive moments, and the Bobcats are a new franchise. People here LOVED the Hornets, but hated the management (Shinn).
Quote:
Visit any other town in NC and they have history, culture, museums and just better people.
Wow, "better people"? Are you serious?
Quote:
Even Charlotte's banking is shipping out of town. If you want to go to a winning area try RTP. Winning college sports (UNC/Duke), smarter people, genuine growth and never trying to be something we aren't. South Carolina should just annex Charlotte because NC doesn't want you.
Charlotte put NC on the map when Raleigh was just a sleepy backwater Southern town. I hope you realize it's really relatively new to the growth game.
NC would be crazy to give up Charlotte, which is the closest thing to a true big city in NC and it will take Raleigh a LOOOONNGGG time to reach Charlotte's level. Two pro sports teams, expanding rail-based transit, several F500 companies, a burgeoning skyline, etc.
Quote:
Also, Charlotte is probably the only metro area of its size in America without an elite University.
Try Dallas and Phoenix. And Raleigh/the Triangle is becoming one of the few metros of its size without any kind of rail-based transit.
Last edited by Akhenaton06; 09-09-2010 at 04:05 PM..
The Panthers have definitely had their competitive moments, and the Bobcats are a new franchise. People here LOVED the Hornets, but hated the management (Shinn).
Wow, "better people"? Are you serious?
Charlotte put NC on the map when Raleigh was just a sleepy backwater Southern town. I hope you realize it's really relatively new to the growth game.
NC would be crazy to give up Charlotte, which is the closest thing to a true big city in NC and it will take Raleigh a LOOOONNGGG time to reach Charlotte's level. Two pro sports teams, expanding rail-based transit, several F500 companies, a burgeoning skyline, etc.
Try Dallas and Phoenix. And Raleigh/the Triangle is becoming one of the few metros of its size without any kind of rail-based transit.
Charlotte IS NOT what put NC on the map. North Carolina's cachet and reputation around the world can be attributed to its natural beauty and highly-regarded vacation destinations. Charlotte can be credited in the business and bankings worlds for putting NC on the map.
It may take a LOOOOONGG time for Raleigh's skyline to get where Charlotte's is, but for the last time, the population of the 5-6 counties touching Mecklenburg is only slightly larger (200,000-300,000) than the 5-6 counties of the Triangle. Because NC's metros already touch one another, larger CSA population figures or the self-proclaimed "Charlotte Region" can be translated as "there is one city, metropolis in nature, in which 13-18 counties depend upon for their jobs."
Charlotte IS NOT what put NC on the map. North Carolina's cachet and reputation around the world can be attributed to its natural beauty and highly-regarded vacation destinations. Charlotte can be credited in the business and bankings worlds for putting NC on the map.
The latter is what I'm referring to. Several states are on the map in terms of natural beauty and highly-regarded vacation destinations (e.g., SC), but not all of those states have begun making their mark economically in a big way on a national level, and Charlotte has helped NC tremendously with that. The bottom line is that it's an extremely ridiculous notion that many NC'ers don't consider Charlotte to be "true NC" and would rather see it "annexed" by SC. I mean you can't even take something like that seriously.
Quote:
It may take a LOOOOONGG time for Raleigh's skyline to get where Charlotte's is, but for the last time, the population of the 5-6 counties touching Mecklenburg is only slightly larger (200,000-300,000) than the 5-6 counties of the Triangle. Because NC's metros already touch one another, larger CSA population figures or the self-proclaimed "Charlotte Region" can be translated as "there is one city, metropolis in nature, in which 13-18 counties depend upon for their jobs."
Yep, and this is a big reason why the Charlotte area has amenities that the Triangle and other similarly-sized multinodal metros (e.g., Hampton Roads) do not.
Charlotte IS NOT what put NC on the map. North Carolina's cachet and reputation around the world can be attributed to its natural beauty and highly-regarded vacation destinations. Charlotte can be credited in the business and bankings worlds for putting NC on the map.
It may take a LOOOOONGG time for Raleigh's skyline to get where Charlotte's is, but for the last time, the population of the 5-6 counties touching Mecklenburg is only slightly larger (200,000-300,000) than the 5-6 counties of the Triangle. Because NC's metros already touch one another, larger CSA population figures or the self-proclaimed "Charlotte Region" can be translated as "there is one city, metropolis in nature, in which 13-18 counties depend upon for their jobs."
Back in the 90's I can say that it was Charlotte that made N.C. in my opinion,but as of the las 5-8 years Raleigh has really been a major focus on most people minds in my opinion.Raleigh owns the future.Just my opinion.
Well, at least Charlotte had enough forsight and common, progressive thinking sense to realize that they needed a rail system. Atlanta is still building and expanding highways with no thought of the need for funding and expansion of the current rail system. Pathetic.
Well, at least Charlotte had enough forsight and common, progressive thinking sense to realize that they needed a rail system. Atlanta is still building and expanding highways with no thought of the need for funding and expansion of the current rail system. Pathetic.
So a system built 3 years ago AFTER the city of Charlotte had over 600,000 people that is 9.6 miles of light rail is progressive but in Atlanta a heavy rail system built when the population of was half of what it was of Charlottes in 1974 which is about 5x as big as Charlotte's is not progressive?
Not to mention almost simultaneously the airport got the biggest upgrade that made it able to achieve the amount of success that no other city in the region can even come close.
While MARTA is not expanding at the moment ,there ARE plans however due to funding there is focus on a streetcar systems.One that will be included in the Beltline which is one of the biggest developments in America.
Quote:
The Atlanta BeltLine is a $2.8 billion redevelopment project that will shape the way Atlanta grows throughout the next several decades. The project provides a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor circling downtown and connecting 45 neighborhoods directly to each other. The Atlanta BeltLine is the most comprehensive economic development effort ever undertaken in the City of Atlanta and among the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment projects currently underway in the United States.
If you are gonna talk patheticthen leave the bias out.That is whats truly pathetic.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
From Brookings
then leave the bias out.
That is whats truly pathetic.
