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Old 01-08-2009, 03:13 AM
 
16,626 posts, read 29,278,105 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DrGonzo33 View Post
people in Atlanta do not obsess over Charlotte the way people in Charlotte obsess over what people in ATL think about them as a city.
Charlotte is just another small southern town to people in ATL. If they think of Charlotte at all they think of Mayberry and Andy Griffith. When I lived in Charlotte the media and people in general ALWAYS said we are another Atlanta, to the point of obsession. We are Atlanta now that we have a NBA team/NFL Team, big tall building in UpTown, , new Wendy's/Taco Bell on Independence Blvd..WE ARE WORLD CLASS LIKE ATLANTA .. etc
Charlotte is not even on the radar to people in Atlanta, they are too obsessed with themselves to think about CLT, they think everyone in Charlotte is a hillbilly . It is just another small city like Birmingham Al as far as people in Atlanta are concerned, that is if they even know Charlotte is in NC and not SC, seems like most people in Atl think CLT is in SC.
When I moved to Atlanta and told people I was from Charlotte they asked me if there were dirt roads in Charlotte, they had no idea, some of them didn't knwo one single thing about Charlotte other than it was maybe up I-75 or I-85 or maybe in South Carolina, or Tenn. or somewhere beyond Alpheretta in the great wilderness of the Non-Atlanta region where there are no flush toilets and no one has any teeth.
Atlanta is just so much bigger than Charlotte that there is no real comparison of the cities.

If you compared Chicago with Atlanta then Atlanta looks like some hicktown. People in chicago are not obsessing over Atlanta or worrying about what people in Atlanta think of Chicago, they think everyone in Atlanta is a hillbilly and just write it off as that.
Same thing with CTL and ATL.
Charlotte will NEVER be as big as Atlanta, as Atlanta will always outgrow Charlotte. Charlotte is about the size Atlanta was in say 1979, but even in 79 Atl had the MARTA
From someone who knows Atlantans and Atlanta well, what you said is so true. To Atlantans, Charlotte = Birmingham, Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Augusta, Raleigh, etc.
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Old 01-08-2009, 06:02 AM
 
Location: Triangle, North Carolina
2,819 posts, read 10,366,874 times
Reputation: 1518
Quote:
Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127 View Post
Let 'em have it...

Charlotte today, very much reminds me of the Atlanta of 1984. Their beltway isn't quite complete, they opted for light rail instead of a MARTA type system, but yes, they are for better or worse, WELL on their way to being the next Atlanta. My guess - in 2030, Charlotte will equal metro Atlanta as it is today, regarding population, sprawl, and yeppers - traffic.

yippie.
Few updates, the Beltway is now complete.
Reviewing many responses I will offer a few comments as I spend about 1 week per month in downtown Charlotte.

At least in present day, I have yet to run across anyone who states that Charlotte is the next Atlanta. In all honesty, when I tell folks I live in Atlanta I receive an ok or a cringe. Of course, when I get the cringe I always ask why and the first thing that comes up is the crime question. Granted, Charlotte is no angel in that catagory either, however most start at crime and end up talking about Atlanta's panhandling issues.

On growth, when you take the city of Charlotte in comparison to the city of Atlanta, Charlotte today is actually larger. The Charlotte City limits is close to 700,000 people where Atlanta just topped 500,000. Now, when you take the entire metro area into account the numbers change.

We in the Atlanta area need to review our city leadership. One must keep in mind that we almost lost Coke to Charlotte if not for private business and the owner of the fish tank providing land for the WOC move since the Queen would not handle the issues around the Underground. Also, though part economic the Atlanta Business Chronicle announced that Bank of America will be departing the Bank of America building and heading full force to their Charlotte HQ.

Population is what it is. The SE is the migration hub, though through census studies and projections, North Carolina's growth rate is higher than Georgia's and they are prediciting by 2010 to 2012, NC will surpass GA in population. Of course in my opinion Im not angry, we have enough now!

All have positives and negatives, but we do have to admit that the leadership for the City of Charlotte far surpasses that of here in Atlanta. As one poster stated there are so many vs.'s threads in regard to Atlanta and whoever. Each time it gets down to one large difference in the Atlanta negative, Lousy Leadership! Outside of that Atlanta is the capitol of the Southeast and the city CAN BE the Jewel.
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Old 01-08-2009, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Atlanta
7,731 posts, read 14,284,505 times
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Slight correction, Georgia. The Northern arc of the beltline (North of I-85) is still not complete.

The only reason Charlotte's pop is almost up to 700,000 is the incredibly easy annexation laws of North Carolina. The City of Charlotte is much larger than the City of Atlanta in area.

That being said, I do believe Charlotte is trying to learn from a lot of our mistakes. Anyone that hasn't been lately would absolutely be blown away by the differences in our Downtowns (or, Uptown as Charlotte strangely calls theirs). Uptown Charlotte is almost spotlessly clean, booming in all quadrants around the core, home to a growing and diverse mix of bars and restaurants and a population that really seems to be embracing an urban lifestyle. The panhandling issue there is almost non-starter compared to our situation.

Bottom line, Charlotte is doing a lot of things right - but they will never surpass Atlanta is size or importance IMO.
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Old 01-08-2009, 09:31 AM
 
Location: West Cobb County, GA (Atlanta metro)
9,191 posts, read 33,761,178 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnatl View Post
That being said, I do believe Charlotte is trying to learn from a lot of our mistakes.
Unless you've been here at least a few years, most don't know this, but, a few years back, a number of Mayors from cities that were experiencing growth around the U.S. had a conference in Atlanta. The reason? They wanted to see a City that had made a variety of mistakes due to rapid growth, and wanted to make sure their cities avoided those same mistakes as they continued to grow. In other words, for these people, Atlanta was the poster child of "What NOT to do".

The local news media found out about it and it was mentioned for a day on a couple of the stations. Shirley Franklin refused to comment on it when they asked her how she felt about that. Needless to say, Shirley didn't exactly meet the Mayors with a plate of doughnuts.

I can't remember who they all were, but if memory serves, I do think representatives from Charlotte were part of that group that came here. Also Austin, and a few others. So anyway, if the earlier comments about how nice (and bumless) downtown Charlotte is are true, it looks like they did indeed learn some things on their visit.
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Old 01-08-2009, 09:44 AM
 
1,303 posts, read 2,080,860 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127 View Post
Unless you've been here at least a few years, most don't know this, but, a few years back, a number of Mayors from cities that were experiencing growth around the U.S. had a conference in Atlanta. The reason? They wanted to see a City that had made a variety of mistakes due to rapid growth, and wanted to make sure their cities avoided those same mistakes as they continued to grow. In other words, for these people, Atlanta was the poster child of "What NOT to do".

The local news media found out about it and it was mentioned for a day on a couple of the stations. Shirley Franklin refused to comment on it when they asked her how she felt about that. Needless to say, Shirley didn't exactly meet the Mayors with a plate of doughnuts.

I can't remember who they all were, but if memory serves, I do think representatives from Charlotte were part of that group that came here. Also Austin, and a few others. So anyway, if the earlier comments about how nice (and bumless) downtown Charlotte is are true, it looks like they did indeed learn some things on their visit.

Thats because charlotte is a smaller mid sized city thats why you odnt see all the bums same goes for jacksonville tampa orlando etc the bigger the city the more problems you have trust when charlotte gets the size of atlanta you will begin too see crime will go up and everything and everyone keeps talking about this city pop thing jacksonville is larger than charlotte but if you told charlotte people that they would say no you have too look at the whole region 2.5 million vs 5.4 million
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Old 01-08-2009, 09:50 AM
 
Location: St Simons Island, GA
23,299 posts, read 43,744,365 times
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Charlotte is like Atlanta's younger, more naive sister who, unlike Big Sis, hasn't lost her virginity in the back of a pickup truck yet.
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Old 01-08-2009, 10:04 AM
 
Location: Atlanta
7,731 posts, read 14,284,505 times
Reputation: 2774
Quote:
Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127 View Post
Unless you've been here at least a few years, most don't know this, but, a few years back, a number of Mayors from cities that were experiencing growth around the U.S. had a conference in Atlanta. The reason? They wanted to see a City that had made a variety of mistakes due to rapid growth, and wanted to make sure their cities avoided those same mistakes as they continued to grow. In other words, for these people, Atlanta was the poster child of "What NOT to do".

The local news media found out about it and it was mentioned for a day on a couple of the stations. Shirley Franklin refused to comment on it when they asked her how she felt about that. Needless to say, Shirley didn't exactly meet the Mayors with a plate of doughnuts.

I can't remember who they all were, but if memory serves, I do think representatives from Charlotte were part of that group that came here. Also Austin, and a few others. So anyway, if the earlier comments about how nice (and bumless) downtown Charlotte is are true, it looks like they did indeed learn some things on their visit.
I remember this, Greg. I think there were also people from Denver on that trip.

We have the same thing here, it's called LINK. Every year a group of Atlanta movers and shakers go on a big field trip, but I honestly can't remember where the most recent destination was. I do remember that the last several trips though have given many Atlantans Light Rail envy!
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Old 01-08-2009, 10:05 AM
 
719 posts, read 1,691,353 times
Reputation: 220
Quote:
Originally Posted by Georgia View Post
As one poster stated there are so many vs.'s threads in regard to Atlanta and whoever. Each time it gets down to one large difference in the Atlanta negative, Lousy Leadership! Outside of that Atlanta is the capitol of the Southeast and the city CAN BE the Jewel.
But, in fairness, Atlanta has one problem that from what I understand NC has really not had to face (at least since the end of the Jesse Helms era) and that is a rural downstate that goes out of its way to stick its thumb in the city's eye. Maybe the city has not always conducted itself perfectly either, but the hostility of this state to its urban engine of prosperity is something that cannot be overlooked when considering the challenges that Atlanta faces and has always faced.
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Old 01-08-2009, 10:05 AM
 
Location: Atlanta
7,731 posts, read 14,284,505 times
Reputation: 2774
Quote:
Originally Posted by LovinDecatur View Post
Charlotte is like Atlanta's younger, more naive sister who, unlike Big Sis, hasn't lost her virginity in the back of a pickup truck yet.

LOL! How true.
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Old 01-08-2009, 10:09 AM
 
Location: Atlanta
7,731 posts, read 14,284,505 times
Reputation: 2774
Quote:
Originally Posted by WilliamM View Post
But, in fairness, Atlanta has one problem that from what I understand NC has really not had to face (at least since the end of the Jesse Helms era) and that is a rural downstate that goes out of its way to stick its thumb in the city's eye. Maybe the city has not always conducted itself perfectly either, but the hostility of this state to its urban engine of prosperity is something that cannot be overlooked when considering the challenges that Atlanta faces and has always faced.
This is very true, WilliamM. The biggest shaft the State of NC ever gives Charlotte is shorting them on transportation funding in favor of the RDU area. There really isn't the out-and-out hatred of the States largest city like what we have to deal with here. Hell, North Carolina already has intra-State rail up and running - has for several years now.

We USED to be the most progressive State in the South. That was a long time ago, sadly..........
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