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Granted NC's wealth of cities and development is spread throughout the state in several different metro areas, but I certainly don't believe that it was done purposefully. The cities of NC developed over hundreds of years into what they are...no one sat down and mapped it all out. The cities of GA developed over hundreds of years into what they are...no one sat down and mapped it all out. Each state is what it is, and I guess there are advantages to the way each is developed. I know you're only responding to comments made about NC, but you can't really believe that anyone "planned" things to turn out they way they did.
I don't mean to imply that state leaders sat down and consciously planned out how the cities across the state would grow; however, leadership by state officials have contributed to the growth throughout NC in a way that hasn't happened in Georgia. When you know the history of NC, which I'm sure you do, you can see why. For most of its history, NC was a poor state. During the early 1800's, the state acquired the nickname "The Rip Van Winkle state" because people considered the state's economy to be laggard while those of neighboring states zoomed past it. I've read that during colonial times, it was called a valley of humility between two mountains of conceit, with those mountains being the colonial powerhouses of Virginia and South Carolina. Georgia, SC, and Virginia all had prominent cities from the start, which also happened to play major roles in the Civil War (Savannah, Charleston, and Richmond, respectively). NC didn't have that luxury, so state leaders implemented certain things in order to bring prosperity to the state. As I mentioned before, that included liberalizing the banking laws as early as the 1930's (which brought prosperity to Winston-Salem and Charlotte) and the creation of RTP in the 1950's (which greatly benefits Durham and Raleigh). RTP in particular is the best representative of this strategy by state leadership. Here's a portion of the park's history from its website which shows this:
The idea for RTP stemmed from the need to reverse a number of negative economic trends facing the North Carolina economy. In the mid-1950s, North Carolina’s per capita income was one of the lowest in the nation. In 1952, per capita income in North Carolina was $1,049, compared to $1,121 for the eleven state Southeast region, and $1,639 for the continental United States. In addition the state’s economy was dominated by low-wage manufacturing industries such as furniture, textiles, forestry, and small-scale agriculture. The state was facing a serious "brain drain" as graduates in the state were leaving in search of better jobs, and those attending college outside the state were not returning.
I posted this to point out how RTP in particular was conceived as an economic engine for the entire state. While it obviously benefits the Raleigh-Durham area most directly, other research campuses have sprung up throughout the state (with varying degress of success) and they have been brought under an umbrella structure to try and bring some of RTP's success to those other campuses. Smaller examples of targeted statewide initiatives that I cited previously include intercity passenger rail and Global TransPark, even though many question the wisdom of GTP; nevertheless, it was still an attempt at spreading the wealth throughout the state by modeling it after RTP. Once state leaders implemented these things, they naturally brought prosperity to the cities. I'm not saying all of the successes of NC's cities was a direct result of policies that the state implemented, like the success of the textile industry across the Piedmont, but a lot of them can be attributed to that. Let me put it like this: in NC, it's more like it was the state that largely (not exclusively) helped to put its cities on the map. In Georgia, it's Atlanta that has put Georgia on the map. NC has had better leadership at the state level, but no city in NC has had leadership to the level that Atlanta has had.
Judging by the 46 pages of this thread it would appear that Atlantans have have a lot to say about Charlotte despite their claims. Me personally I could care less. It's not like the city I live in or the city I'm from defines me as a person. It's not like if somehow Charlotte is better than Atlanta I'm less of a human being. I hope both Atlanta and Charlotte continue to grow and in the process of doing so eliminate the negative stereotype of backwards unedgemacated southerners. It's amazing how ignorant some people can be of other parts of the country while at the same time refusing to see those same negative qualities where they come from. There are backwards unedgemacated people in other parts of the country as well despite what those people might lead you to believe.
What is all this crap you just posted lol... I thought this thread was about how do Atlantians feel about Charlotte am I missing something here?? Is Interstate and roads the only arguement you have ?
Go back at read "afonega"'s posts, and then you'll see that most were originally used to defend Georgia. I then cited NC's statistics for the same topics including: ports, infrastructure, highways, recruiting business and industry, improving economic prosperity for state's residents.
Of course, this thread has veered somewhat away from comparing Charlotte metro vs. Atlanta metro. A verdict was reached several pages ago.
The true "LOL CRAP" comments FOLLOWING the verdict in which Atlanta wins are as follows"
1) Your comment which was made without first reading at minimum the last 5 pages of posts.
2) Your comment again, which offered nothing positive to the conversation.
3) All comments talking about historical structures.
4) All comments pertaining to street grid patterns.
5) Backtracking to specific comparisons not shared by both cities as a defense that one is better than the other. Metro Atlanta resembles most of America's biggest cities where true suburbs cluster around one central city. None of NC's metros evolved like this, and this is why Charlotte and Atlanta can't be compared to one another.
While I hope Charlotte one day gets the recognition it wants, my personal opinion is that NC's smaller metro setup is it's true appeal, and that growth across the entire state with prevent Charlotte from ever catching up with Atlanta.
Personally I believe that American cities occasionally hit "sweet spot" sizes, prompting explosive growth spurts continuing until critical mass is reached, followed by a slower growth period. I don't have any other explanation why in 1980, Raleigh(then-population 148,000), just started growing and doubled its population by 2000 (currently at 419,000). Less annexation occured than you might think.
I believe that Atlanta reached a sweet spot in the 80's when it reached about 2.5 million people. Factor in the brand new widened freeways in 1990 along with winning the Olympic bid, and Atlanta became what it is today.
So in closing, I am not guilty of posting CRAP, nor am I here only to pass time.
I've lived in five states including New York and California during the last 25 years, and I'm qualified to point out strength and weaknesses among the states. And I will gladly admit when I'm wrong or ill-informed about something.
Oh, and the posts defending nightlife in Charlotte compared to Atlanta, the South's "Sin City", are pointless. Atlanta's midtown has been a hub for hippies, sex, drugs, and ****(like me) since the 1970's. And my god, remember Buckhead Village in the 1990's? It's like Spring Break every night.
And I was shocked a few months ago when visiting Raleigh's Glenwood South/downtown warehouse districts. It was also like spring break with traffic jams, cruising, sidewalk food vendors, people everywhere, gay clubs and straight clubs intermingled side by side(R&B/hip-hop clubs too).
I couldn't believe how different it had become since I graduated in 1991 from NC State. Little ol' Raleigh is becoming an East Coast destination too.
Last edited by architect77; 09-28-2010 at 09:11 PM..
Go back at read "afonega"'s posts, and then you'll see that most were originally used to defend Georgia. I then cited NC's statistics for the same topics including: ports, infrastructure, highways, recruiting business and industry, improving economic prosperity for state's residents.
Of course, this thread has veered somewhat away from comparing Charlotte metro vs. Atlanta metro. A verdict was reached several pages ago.
The true "LOL CRAP" comments FOLLOWING the verdict in which Atlanta wins are as follows"
1) Your comment which was made without first reading at minimum the last 5 pages of posts.
2) Your comment again, which offered nothing positive to the conversation.
3) All comments talking about historical structures.
4) All comments pertaining to street grid patterns.
5) Backtracking to specific comparisons not shared by both cities as a defense that one is better than the other. Metro Atlanta resembles most of America's biggest cities where true suburbs cluster around one central city. None of NC's metros evolved like this, and this is why Charlotte and Atlanta can't be compared to one another.
While I hope Charlotte one day gets the recognition it wants, my personal opinion is that NC's smaller metro setup is it's true appeal, and that growth across the entire state with prevent Charlotte from ever catching up with Atlanta.
Personally I believe that American cities occasionally hit "sweet spot" sizes, prompting explosive growth spurts continuing until critical mass is reached, followed by a slower growth period. I don't have any other explanation why in 1980, Raleigh(then-population 148,000), just started growing and doubled its population by 2000 (currently at 419,000). Less annexation occured than you might think.
I believe that Atlanta reached a sweet spot in the 80's when it reached about 2.5 million people. Factor in the brand new widened freeways in 1990 along with winning the Olympic bid, and Atlanta became what it is today.
So in closing, I am not guilty of posting CRAP, nor am I here only to pass time.
I've lived in five states including New York and California during the last 25 years, and I'm qualified to point out strength and weaknesses among the states. And I will gladly admit when I'm wrong or ill-informed about something.
Oh, and the posts defending nightlife in Charlotte compared to Atlanta, the South's "Sin City", are pointless. Atlanta's midtown has been a hub for hippies, sex, drugs, and ****(like me) since the 1970's. And my god, remember Buckhead Village in the 1990's? It's like Spring Break every night.
And I was shocked a few months ago when visiting Raleigh's Glenwood South/downtown warehouse districts. It was also like spring break with traffic jams, cruising, sidewalk food vendors, people everywhere, gay clubs and straight clubs intermingled side by side(R&B/hip-hop clubs too).
I couldn't believe how different it had become since I graduated in 1991 from NC State. Little ol' Raleigh is becoming an East Coast destination too.
Still your futing over something that the OP didnt ask for.. This thread is about Atlanta and Charlotte ...None of what you have said is geared toward what the OP asked for..
I literally have several emails from folks who have posted comments that were thought of as negative on the Charlotte Forum and were given infractions for trolling. I myself have received several infractions from the same Charlotte Cheerleaders. Funny thing is this character qcdreamin recently posted lies on the Charlotte Forum stating that there several clubs, bars, and nightlight in the University Area of Charlotte. When I called him or her on it - because I am in Charlotte a few days a week (in the University Area) - he quickly posted something else basically admitting he lied.
Charlotte is nice medium size city. BUT PLEASE STOP LYING!!!
There is plenty of nightlife in university nobody lied. I lived in Charlotte for 20 years and go home every weekend. i will be happy to meet you in person and actually show you around Charlotte in a civil manner
FYI- This thread has become really ugly. This was not my intention at all when i started this thread.Also I have received infractions myself from ATL moderators. Everybody on citydata has received an infraction. ATL posters aren't special in this regard.
Judging by the 46 pages of this thread it would appear that Atlantans have have a lot to say about Charlotte despite their claims. Me personally I could care less. It's not like the city I live in or the city I'm from defines me as a person. It's not like if somehow Charlotte is better than Atlanta I'm less of a human being. I hope both Atlanta and Charlotte continue to grow and in the process of doing so eliminate the negative stereotype of backwards unedgemacated southerners. It's amazing how ignorant some people can be of other parts of the country while at the same time refusing to see those same negative qualities where they come from. There are backwards unedgemacated people in other parts of the country as well despite what those people might lead you to believe.
Really? No kidding? We're so isolated here we would have never known!
I don't mean to imply that state leaders sat down and consciously planned out how the cities across the state would grow; however, leadership by state officials have contributed to the growth throughout NC in a way that hasn't happened in Georgia. When you know the history of NC, which I'm sure you do, you can see why. For most of its history, NC was a poor state. During the early 1800's, the state acquired the nickname "The Rip Van Winkle state" because people considered the state's economy to be laggard while those of neighboring states zoomed past it. I've read that during colonial times, it was called a valley of humility between two mountains of conceit, with those mountains being the colonial powerhouses of Virginia and South Carolina. Georgia, SC, and Virginia all had prominent cities from the start, which also happened to play major roles in the Civil War (Savannah, Charleston, and Richmond, respectively). NC didn't have that luxury, so state leaders implemented certain things in order to bring prosperity to the state. As I mentioned before, that included liberalizing the banking laws as early as the 1930's (which brought prosperity to Winston-Salem and Charlotte) and the creation of RTP in the 1950's (which greatly benefits Durham and Raleigh). RTP in particular is the best representative of this strategy by state leadership. Here's a portion of the park's history from its website which shows this:
The idea for RTP stemmed from the need to reverse a number of negative economic trends facing the North Carolina economy. In the mid-1950s, North Carolina’s per capita income was one of the lowest in the nation. In 1952, per capita income in North Carolina was $1,049, compared to $1,121 for the eleven state Southeast region, and $1,639 for the continental United States. In addition the state’s economy was dominated by low-wage manufacturing industries such as furniture, textiles, forestry, and small-scale agriculture. The state was facing a serious "brain drain" as graduates in the state were leaving in search of better jobs, and those attending college outside the state were not returning.
I posted this to point out how RTP in particular was conceived as an economic engine for the entire state. While it obviously benefits the Raleigh-Durham area most directly, other research campuses have sprung up throughout the state (with varying degress of success) and they have been brought under an umbrella structure to try and bring some of RTP's success to those other campuses. Smaller examples of targeted statewide initiatives that I cited previously include intercity passenger rail and Global TransPark, even though many question the wisdom of GTP; nevertheless, it was still an attempt at spreading the wealth throughout the state by modeling it after RTP. Once state leaders implemented these things, they naturally brought prosperity to the cities. I'm not saying all of the successes of NC's cities was a direct result of policies that the state implemented, like the success of the textile industry across the Piedmont, but a lot of them can be attributed to that. Let me put it like this: in NC, it's more like it was the state that largely (not exclusively) helped to put its cities on the map. In Georgia, it's Atlanta that has put Georgia on the map. NC has had better leadership at the state level, but no city in NC has had leadership to the level that Atlanta has had.
The latest developments in research parks also exhibits NC's leadership and a real advantage over GA...Piedmont Triad Research Park in Downtown Winston-Salem is absolutely thriving through Wake Forest University; Centennial Campus of NCSU; NC Research Park in Kannapolis, backed by the UNC system; and Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro.
I doubt anyone would argue with you that Atlanta has definitely put GA on the national and world map.
There is plenty of nightlife in university nobody lied. I lived in Charlotte for 20 years and go home every weekend. i will be happy to meet you in person and actually show you around Charlotte in a civil manner
FYI- This thread has become really ugly. This was not my intention at all when i started this thread.Also I have received infractions myself from ATL moderators. Everybody on citydata has received an infraction. ATL posters aren't special in this regard.
It's easy to get drawn into ridiculous arguments with people on this site (that's lots of experience talking)...if you remember not to respond to derogatory comments with more derogatory comments it will make your time here more enjoyable.
Personally I love Charlotte...it has the disadvantage of sharing the limelight with an instate rival like Raleigh where Atlanta doesn't have a true peer city in GA. When someone thinks GA, they automatically think Atlanta; when someone thinks NC, they might think either Raleigh or Charlotte. That definitely gives Atlanta an attention advantage.
It's easy to get drawn into ridiculous arguments with people on this site (that's lots of experience talking)...if you remember not to respond to derogatory comments with more derogatory comments it will make your time here more enjoyable.
Personally I love Charlotte...it has the disadvantage of sharing the limelight with an instate rival like Raleigh where Atlanta doesn't have a true peer city in GA. When someone thinks GA, they automatically think Atlanta; when someone thinks NC, they might think either Raleigh or Charlotte. That definitely gives Atlanta an attention advantage.
qcdreamin - This Atlantan thinks that Charlotte is a terrific city that the entire region should be proud of! Like Atlanta, it's a very nice place. Perhaps you now have at least one answer to your original question... :-)
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over something that the OP didnt ask for.. This thread is about Atlanta and Charlotte ...None of what you have said is geared toward what the OP asked for.. 
We're so isolated here we would have never known!
