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The only thing to do in Charlotte, Rock Hill, or Concord is to shop, eat, and enjoy nature which is what I like to do, but it does get somewhat boring doing the same stuff over, so I recommend taking a hike or kayak down the Catawba, it's not what you would call a 'vacation' city by any means, but an everyday living city
I'm am from Charlotte and it is mind-numbingly boring. I am from Chicago, Illinois originally and in comparison Charlotte doesn't hold up at all. Charlotte is a banking town, but we like to pretend we are a big city it is actually pretty hilarious. Everyone gets all excited about "Downton Charlotte", but it really isn't much of a city at all. On most nights, by eleven o'clock everyone has returned to where they actually live outside the city and the place is pretty much vacant except for the occasional homeless person. No one understands how to use the subway or which side of the sidewalk to walk on, etc. For anyone who has ever lived in a real city it is extremely annoying. Moreover, everyone has monogram bumper stickers on their car that are slightly nausea inducing.
I'm am from Charlotte and it is mind-numbingly boring. I am from Chicago, Illinois originally and in comparison Charlotte doesn't hold up at all. Charlotte is a banking town, but we like to pretend we are a big city it is actually pretty hilarious. Everyone gets all excited about "Downton Charlotte", but it really isn't much of a city at all. On most nights, by eleven o'clock everyone has returned to where they actually live outside the city and the place is pretty much vacant except for the occasional homeless person. No one understands how to use the subway or which side of the sidewalk to walk on, etc. For anyone who has ever lived in a real city it is extremely annoying. Moreover, everyone has monogram bumper stickers on their car that are slightly nausea inducing.
Please tell me where the subway is in Charlotte......
I'm am from Charlotte and it is mind-numbingly boring. I am from Chicago, Illinois originally and in comparison Charlotte doesn't hold up at all. Charlotte is a banking town, but we like to pretend we are a big city it is actually pretty hilarious. Everyone gets all excited about "Downton Charlotte", but it really isn't much of a city at all. On most nights, by eleven o'clock everyone has returned to where they actually live outside the city and the place is pretty much vacant except for the occasional homeless person. No one understands how to use the subway or which side of the sidewalk to walk on, etc. For anyone who has ever lived in a real city it is extremely annoying. Moreover, everyone has monogram bumper stickers on their car that are slightly nausea inducing.
Chicago is boring. It isn't a real city at all. They like to pretend they're big, but they aren't and it's hilarious.
Chicago!? why would you compare it to Charlotte, I have to visit family there all the time and it is just god awful. I was there last week in fact, I had a nephew born, and I was there long enough to turn into a popsicle and not get shot. That is just about all you can do there. Sure there are some very nice parts of the city but it just a city over run by crime and income gaps. No thanks.
I'm going to outline a sort of pros and cons of what Charlotte has and what Charlotte lacks (I'll make a list at the end). I am actually a native born Charlotte guy in my mid-upper twenties. I have traveled and lives many, many cities and states within the United States, from every part of the coast. The only reason I chose to move to Charlotte, from being away for the last 15 years, is because of family. After spending a great amount of time in north, I was quite happy to move here, only based on the weather. I am outdoors guy. I love the mountains and the beach, and therefore, I can't imagine living anywhere else, except maybe California or Washington, but I have already done that. So, after much thought, and really I tried keeping any positive or negative emotions out of these thoughts, but Charlotte is still on the verge of becoming a vibrant city, though I already think it is a good city. Compared to the obvious cities like Detroit, Charlotte is a very good city. It's a safe city. It's a city where families can raise their children with a good education in a very sporty environment (I mean sporty in a good way, since I love sports). The trees are very pretty. If you go into places like Queens College area in Charlotte, it feels very pretty. I like history too, so seeing some of the historical architecture is important to me (which is why I love Charleston). There are plenty of corporate jobs in financial, banking, and sales industries. Charlotte has some pretty good craft brews coming. There's the NFL and NBA stadiums. There is actually a lot of growth and money coming out of the city. There's even some art districts and events (if you do your homework in finding them). It is a very spread out city, so it takes forever to find anything. The problem is it's mall and retail city, where people thrive off suburban adventures. It other words, Charlotte is lacking an "edge." An edge doesn't have to be bad; it can be a good edge. There needs to be some youthful, vibrant places not only for young people but for older people to enjoy. A lot more "headlining" musicians need to find their way to Charlotte. Charlotte people need to find their way in appreciating them. There is also a need for diversity. Whenever I say that, someone's like "We have plenty of this color!" I don't mean that. I mean, we need a diversity of people, from different ethnic and religious backgrounds moving to Charlotte. "Bible belt" people should want this, because this adds purpose to their "evangelical" life. It's good to have a "part of the world" in you backyard sometimes. You grow through it. I think most importantly, we need parks and water. A lot cities got either lakes, beaches or rivers, but Charlotte seems to have no central water resource within its metro. Also, there aren't any parks to "escape" everything. It lacks the mountains or or wilderness a city needs. Also, most people are growing accustomed a "biking" culture. Charlotte needs not only more mountain biking trails (hence, more parks), but it needs more on-paved trails. It also needs a direct music and arts culture (yes, I know about NODA and Plaza Midwood--I'm happy they exist). People, young or old, need "something" to do on the weekend besides walking around their neighborhoods, going to the same old restaurant, or watching TV. It would help to have more parks, events, and music venues in Charlotte. Not only that, but there needs, absolutely needs to be more shops or places to explore for coffee other than Starbucks. In all, Charlotte needs more business risk-takers with highly developed plans to be innovative and cater to other needs, whether locally or technologically. Charlotte also needs a community that demands rights for biking transportation and expanding recreational needs. There also needs to be an organized way of finding out music, events, and other art-related fun things to do.
PROS/WHAT CHARLOTTE HAS
-safety (except Hidden Valley, etc.)
-good education system
-good economical system
-trees & some nature
-nice shopping centers
-some job opportunities
-some romantic restaurants
-mix of country feel
-a somewhat sports-active environment (not really everyday-active environment)
-stadiums, families, etc.
-churches
-acquaintances & people to meet (nice families)
-some craft goods
CONS/WHAT CHARLOTTE NEEDS
-bikeways
-coffee shops
-historical features (not suburb neighborhoods & shopping centers)
-art venues
-music/event venues
-parks, wilderness, and more recreational areas
-water sources: rivers, lakes, etc. (just more sight-seeing opportunities)
-diversity
-an acting theater
-local businesses
-science research centers & intellectually stimulating atmosphere
-various kinds of restaurants (besides Italian and American)
-more innovative & creative jobs
-a theme: something that makes the city unique
-organized ways to get involved
-farmer's markets
-committed and growing lifelong friendships that are enjoyable to have
-radio stations that offer more music than just rap/country/Christian/pop
NEUTRAL/WHAT I LIKE ABOUT CHARLOTTE & NC
-I'm a Panthers fan (not to mention Hornets & Tar Heels)
-I like southern chicks more so than northern chicks
-Big fan of the local craft brews
-Love the fact that people are into sports here
-Like that people are more mature about their work lives here
-Mountains and beaches! Great
-More job opportunities than other places in America
-Most native NC people are friendly
-Smart for a southern state; research triangle; (don't mean to be cliche on southern people--I love you guys)
-Did I mention the southern girls are hot? Especially North Carolina girls. They're real, genuine babes.
Last edited by 8redlion8; 01-24-2014 at 07:36 PM..
I normally don't post so often on one thread but I'm going to rant for a second. Charlotte is a boring city if you are a boring person. It is as simple as that. There is a large enough night scene that if you were young you could find plenty of things to do. We have kids and just about every weekend I am completely busy. I'm either attending a kid's sporting event, going to see one of Charlotte's teams, hanging out with friends, boating, going to the park, attending concerts, dates with the wife, taking a weekend trip to the beach, mountains, and sometimes up to DC on long weekends. If you think Charlotte is boring than I am sorry you can either find some friends, move, or sit on your couch all weekend and complain on message boards (yes I know i'm doing the same right now). Charlotte is a growing city that is now focusing on the culture aspect that a city needs. 8redlion8 sorry but unless you are good at terraforming, than you can't magically put water features in the city but why would you, you're 30 minutes away from two fairly large lakes, rivers, and a hour and a half away from mountains. It will continue to maintain their banking oriented economy and with Wells still wanting to move their headquarters from San Fran here; it will continue to grow and Raleigh and the research triangle will keep the tech jobs. I talk about it a lot but I've experienced living in over eight major cities and the only one I would choose over Charlotte is maybe San Francisco. The weather is nice, the people are nice, and I NEVER get bored but hey I guess that's just me.
CONS/WHAT CHARLOTTE NEEDS
-bikeways
-coffee shops
-historical features (not suburb neighborhoods & shopping centers)
-art venues
-music/event venues
-parks, wilderness, and more recreational areas
-water sources: rivers, lakes, etc. (just more sight-seeing opportunities)
-diversity
-an acting theater
-local businesses
-science research centers & intellectually stimulating atmosphere
-various kinds of restaurants (besides Italian and American)
-more innovative & creative jobs
-a theme: something that makes the city unique
-organized ways to get involved
-farmer's markets
-committed and growing lifelong friendships that are enjoyable to have
-radio stations that offer more music than just rap/country/Christian/pop
Next. Maybe you should've used this website called Google before creating this list.
Majority of this list is what you would like Charlotte to have, not what Charlotte needs.
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