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Not having yet been to Austin, I'm sure Charlotte has more greenery since it is in the Piedmont, but to say that Austin is almost like a desert is highly inaccurate. It sits along the Colorado River with three lakes in the city, and the western part is in the hill country which resembles the Piedmont in terms of geography and vegetation.
Not true. There are areas in the Austin area that do indeed have more a desert like climate and therefore not a lot of green.
But that's not characteristic of the entire area so it's inaccurate to say the whole area is like a desert.
Austin is situated on the Colorado River, with three man-made (artificial) lakes within the city limits: Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake), Lake Austin (both created by dams along the Colorado River), and Lake Walter E. Long that is partly used for cooling water for the Decker Power Plant. Mansfield Dam and the foot of Lake Travis are located within the city's limits.[52] Lady Bird Lake, Lake Austin, and Lake Travis are each on the Colorado River.[27] As a result of its straddling the Balcones Fault, the eastern part of the city is flat, with heavy clay and loam soils, whereas, the western part and western suburbs consist of rolling hills on the edge of the Texas Hill Country...
Austin is located at the intersection of four major ecological regions, and is consequently a temperate-to-hot green oasis with a highly variable climate having some characteristics of the desert, the tropics, and a wetter climate.
This is a pretty unique feature of the city and such ecological diversity could be considered a plus compared to other cities.
But that's not characteristic of the entire area so it's inaccurate to say the whole area is like a desert.
Austin is situated on the Colorado River, with three man-made (artificial) lakes within the city limits: Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake), Lake Austin (both created by dams along the Colorado River), and Lake Walter E. Long that is partly used for cooling water for the Decker Power Plant. Mansfield Dam and the foot of Lake Travis are located within the city's limits.[52] Lady Bird Lake, Lake Austin, and Lake Travis are each on the Colorado River.[27] As a result of its straddling the Balcones Fault, the eastern part of the city is flat, with heavy clay and loam soils, whereas, the western part and western suburbs consist of rolling hills on the edge of the Texas Hill Country...
Austin is located at the intersection of four major ecological regions, and is consequently a temperate-to-hot green oasis with a highly variable climate having some characteristics of the desert, the tropics, and a wetter climate.
This is a pretty unique feature of the city and such ecological diversity could be considered a plus compared to other cities.
I'm sorry if I came off as blunt. It wasn't my intent. Your're right on ecological diversity being a plus. I have never been to Austin myself, but have friends who have been. They said that some parts reminded them of the desert. Austin does have it's share of greenery though. I've heard a lot of people tell me they thought Austin was overrated. On the other hand, a lot of people come to Charlotte and admit that it is a lot nicer than they thought it would be. Not that we are underrated city, but Austin gets a lot of hype. Charlotte on the other hand, not as much. I still have to tell some people that Charlotte is in NC. Although we are becoming a lot more recognizable, especially since the DNC.
The problem with Charlotte is the gap between the haves and the have nots. This is exacerbated by proximity to South Carolina. The have nots are sucking in services as are the ever growing number of commuters from South Carolina who naturally don't contribute to the tax base.
Charlotte is not big enuf to adequately compensate for the drain on resources. Charlotte is great, in a snapshot, but I worry that it will never reach potential.
Charlotte would only be in danger of becoming the next Detroit if Bank of America failed. Even then, the city seems to have been doing some diversifying as of late which is great for the future. However, there still aren't enough jobs to absorb the unemployed let alone people who are still moving to Charlotte. The city is still recovering from the 2008 financial crash and is in worse shape than Raleigh-Durham economically. Charlotte doesn't need any more transplants without jobs moving there right now. I think wishes of urbanists/hipsters should be handled by the private sector at this point or at least put on the backburner to providing incentives to companies that might wish to create jobs in Charlotte.
As for comparison, I wouldn't compare Charlotte to Austin. They are completely different types of cities. Charlotte is more comparable to Raleigh-Durham, San Antonio, Indianapolis, or even Dallas on a smaller scale. Charlotte will never have the 'hip' factor attracting young people across the nation to Austin, but is a great place for the career minded young professional while still having quality cultural amenities.
given that im from Texas, I can so without a DOUBT that Austin is VERY overreated. Downtown itself is filled great nightlife, beautiful buildings, big crowds, etc. But OUTSIDE of Downtown, Austin is not very exciting nor is it asthetically pleasing. It does remind you of a large country town. As you are driving through, it APPEARS to be extremely dead.
Sorta like New Orleans> you see the commercials, the parties, the umbrellas, the slots machines, the flashing (****), the "everything else" , and it makes NOLA appear to be CONSUMED by all of this. And people dont really that ALL of this "Excitement" is confined to about an area as big as Church and College St (uptown). toped off by N. Caldwell. THATS IT. NOLA is just exciting on just a few streets. And the rest of the downtown and city is dead and crime ridden. But as a VISITOR, you probably wouldnt know that.
Same with Austin..if you stay in the downtown area, then it looks great. If you venture out into everyday life, Austin is not this amazingly beautiful city . its a very rural, country looking city (ofcourse with nice, new parts), but it is VERY EXTEMELY COUNTRY. Its not nearly as urbanized/citi-fied as Houston, Dallas, or even SA.
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It wasn't my intent. Your're right on ecological diversity being a plus. I have never been to Austin myself, but have friends who have been. They said that some parts reminded them of the desert. Austin does have it's share of greenery though. I've heard a lot of people tell me they thought Austin was overrated. On the other hand, a lot of people come to Charlotte and admit that it is a lot nicer than they thought it would be. Not that we are underrated city, but Austin gets a lot of hype. Charlotte on the other hand, not as much. I still have to tell some people that Charlotte is in NC. Although we are becoming a lot more recognizable, especially since the DNC.
