Is Charlotte cosmopolitan? (Hickory, Garner, Davidson: showing, home, university)

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by rsqm3

that doesnt count. The diversity integration if accepted at the time of the first wave of immigration when everybody is all different and talking different languages and wearing different colors counts for something: once the chldren of those have them put through the school wringer and become all culturalized the same way , that hardly counts as integration.

You have a point. I guess it could then be argued whether being cosmopolitan necessarily includes the first generation integration in a highly visible way, or simply having the ethnic presence in the city although clustered into scattered enclaves throughout the city?

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

You have a point. I guess it could then be argued whether being cosmopolitan necessarily includes the first generation integration in a highly visible way, or simply having the ethnic presence in the city although clustered into scattered enclaves throughout the city?

Perhaps I misunderstood the OP's question, but the definition of "cosmopolitan" that I assumed the OP meant is "sophisticated, wordly" and not just a matter of diversity as far as people being from many different ethnic and/or cultural backgrounds. Charlotte does have many different cultures here, but unfortunately, except for a few festivals (or restaurants!) and perhaps on college campuses. . . a rich exchange of cultural traditions is not really that much of a part of life in Charlotte. I am sure it can be found . . . but again . . . one would have to seek such opportunities out. Anyway, that has been MY experience.

[Carolina Blue]

Originally Posted by anifani821

Very well put. However, you will not hear many natives express this sentiment. I knew I was "missing something" b/f I lived elsewhere, but I really did not understand how much I was missing until I moved BACK here.

I am a native but have lived in other cities. Even when I lived here, I flew to NYC, Chicago, and drove to ATL for art exhibits, plays, etc.

While living here (grew up in nearby county, went to undergrad and grad school here, 18 years of career here) - I managed to find what I needed and enjoyed, but it was a very "pieced" approach. Maybe drive to Winston for one particular play, drive to Raleigh for an art show or Opera, fly to NYC for MOMA exhibit, Charlotte Symphony tickets, drive to Charleston to hear an author speak . . . forget trying to find a classy jazz club here, for example, but you can hear jazz at such places as college campuses if you keep up w/ college event calendars.

After living where these things were much more accessible and not so difficult to "put together" - I can truly say . . . my feeling about CLT is - if you can afford to belong to a Country Club . . . you will be able to experience a fairly cosmopolitan lifestyle, w/ upscale social events revolving around your club . . . Even then, you will have to make an effort to find out what is going on in nearby cities, or fly somewhere like CHI, NYC or drive to ATL - to really experience the arts, concerts, etc.

I am not saying there is never a concert here in CLT that I want to attend - but I have to really look and often find I have to go out of town. You can still have good a good time here, and especially so if you enjoy the Blue Ridge Mountains and/or the beach, and Golf. There is a lot of talent here . . . so you may have to settle for a community theatre production- but I have seen some great work at community theatres!

But no . . . this is not a cosmopolitan city. Just my opinion, of course. Things like a Dead Sea Scroll exhibition do not rate high on my list of "must do's", but a King Tut exhibit does as would a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit and a Gaugin retrospective. Luckily, I was able to take advantage of the last three exhibits b/c I found out where they were . . . and made trips.

I stay amazed that people w/ the Big Bucks in this town seem mainly interested in promoting their own lifestyles, rather than contributing to the arts. Of course, there is altruism here, but not on the scale I would expect to see in a city w/ this many people making such high incomes.

I have a theory that a lot of the money goes to endowments at colleges, hospitals and for churches, rather than the arts. Of course, that is just a guess.

With all due respect, I’d consider your assessment of Charlotte completely off base. When it comes to supporting the arts, Charlotte is one of the leading cities in the country, in both support and arts giving (dollars). Yes, we had one little local theater company that shut its doors recently, but there are others still kicking. You might want to check out some of these links…

SPREADING THE WEALTH; As a Booster of the Arts, One City Proves a Model - New York Times

Charlotte Observer | 11/11/2007 | City of head-turners

Top 25 Arts Destinations: From Sea to Shining Sea | Article | AmericanStyle Magazine Art Galleries, Art Collectors, Museums, Art Fairs, Handmade Crafts, Arts Travel

Charlotte, ''New South'' Top Nation in Arts Philanthropy, Surpassing ''Old Money'' Cities in Northeast and Midwest; Charlotte Also Ranks High in Volunteering And Faith-Based Engagement. Industry & Business Article - Research, News, Information, Conta

And as for jazz. There are several venues in Charlotte that have jazz shows and a few that are strictly dedicated solely to jazz music. For example, have you ever been to the Jazz Café? They’ve had people such as Alex Bugnon and Nick Colionne very recently. As a jazz enthusiast I’m sure you’re familiar with both of those names. Not bad for medium sized city, for a genre of music that quit franking is struggling “everywhere”.

The Jazz Cafe N.C. >> Great Food >> Great Sounds

As far as the topic at hand, like a lot of questions on here, unfortunately this one is very subjective. I would simply say that, in my opinion, Charlotte is very cosmopolitan; as cosmopolitan as a mid-sized southern city could possibly be.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Carolina Blue

With all due respect, I’d consider your assessment of Charlotte completely off base. When it comes to supporting the arts, Charlotte is one of the leading cities in the country, in both support and arts giving (dollars). Yes, we had one little local theater company that shut its doors recently, but there are others still kicking. You might want to check out some of these links…

SPREADING THE WEALTH; As a Booster of the Arts, One City Proves a Model - New York Times

Charlotte Observer | 11/11/2007 | City of head-turners

Top 25 Arts Destinations: From Sea to Shining Sea | Article | AmericanStyle Magazine Art Galleries, Art Collectors, Museums, Art Fairs, Handmade Crafts, Arts Travel

Charlotte, ''New South'' Top Nation in Arts Philanthropy, Surpassing ''Old Money'' Cities in Northeast and Midwest; Charlotte Also Ranks High in Volunteering And Faith-Based Engagement. Industry & Business Article - Research, News, Information, Conta

And as for jazz. There are several venues in Charlotte that have jazz shows and a few that are strictly dedicated solely to jazz music. For example, have you ever been to the Jazz Café? They’ve had people such as Alex Bugnon and Nick Colionne very recently. As a jazz enthusiast I’m sure you’re familiar with both of those names. Not bad for medium sized city, for a genre of music that quit franking is struggling “everywhere”.

The Jazz Cafe N.C. >> Great Food >> Great Sounds

As far as the topic at hand, like a lot of questions on here, unfortunately this one is very subjective. I would simply say that, in my opinion, Charlotte is very cosmopolitan; as cosmopolitan as a mid-sized southern city could possibly be.

Great post! Thanks for saving me the trouble I wanted to dig up an old post of mine with this kind of info, but didn't have the energy.

[SunnyKayak]

A great source for various charlotte culture
CharlotteCultureGuide.com: Art, Dance, Music, History and more in the Charlotte, North Carolina region!

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by SunnyKayak

A great source for various charlotte culture
CharlotteCultureGuide.com: Art, Dance, Music, History and more in the Charlotte, North Carolina region!

Thank you for the post and the link. I hope it will enlighten others who are perhaps not familiar w/ what is available in the CLT area.

I am familiar w/ Charlotte's art scene, and have been for over 40 years. I am glad that others feel satisfied w/ what is offered here, including the venues. I do attend whatever interests me and my family . . . but often find myself very frustrated b/c Raleigh and/or Atlanta will book/present the concert/play/ballet/opera I wish had played in CLT.

And I still say - altruism and philanthropy here are more often expressed through contributions to hospitals and churches than to the arts. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it means others need to step up and support the Arts. A newspaper article can't more clearly define what is right here to plainly see. Please point out a Charlotte museum that can compare to the Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City, for example. Or the holdings/exhibits at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk. I am not disparaging the Mint Museum. In fact, I would encourage everyone to be more generous so the Mint Museum continues to grow. But the fact remains - check out what other similar sized MSAs have to offer as far as museums and their holdings, as well as their visiting/traveling exhibits. Now check out the churches and hospitals. See where the endowments are going to universities and colleges. I am in no way trying to diminish the importance of those contributions but it does mean those dollars are not going to the Arts.

I am no novice to travel or entertainment or the arts. I am going to DC to hear a concert at the National Cathedral in the coming weeks. I am NOT comparing DC to CLT - I am merely stating that I am willing to spend the time and money to support the arts. But I am often disappointed at both the venues and the offerings here in CLT.

Carolina Blue - I have not been to the Jazz Cafe and will have to rectify that. Thank you for pointing that out.

I mean no disrespect to those of you who happen to disagree w/ my assessment of Charlotte. I am an NC native, grew up here and have spent most of my life in this region . . . and I am glad the rest of you are satisfied here, since you are paying your taxes and raising your families here. I would rather live here than most places, but that doesn't mean I don't notice what I feel are deficiencies. I make my contributions and support the Arts, so I feel my opinion should count - and it DOES - if to no one but me, LOL.

Again, respectfully - if we continually have a chorus of "everything in Charlotte is great - we have it all here" - then how will it ever improve/change? That kind of Chamber of Commerce, cheerleader attitude ensures perpetuation of the status quo.

In my opinion, of course.

[nail in da coffin]

Originally Posted by anifani821

Perhaps I misunderstood the OP's question, but the definition of "cosmopolitan" that I assumed the OP meant is "sophisticated, wordly" and not just a matter of diversity as far as people being from many different ethnic and/or cultural backgrounds. Charlotte does have many different cultures here, but unfortunately, except for a few festivals (or restaurants!) and perhaps on college campuses. . . a rich exchange of cultural traditions is not really that much of a part of life in Charlotte. I am sure it can be found . . . but again . . . one would have to seek such opportunities out. Anyway, that has been MY experience.

well, that is not the definition of cosmopolitan.
1 cosmopolitan, ecumenical, oecumenical, general, universal, worldwide

of worldwide scope or applicability; "an issue of cosmopolitan import"; "the shrewdest political and ecumenical comment of our time"- Christopher Morley; "universal experience"



2 cosmopolitan

composed of people from or at home in many parts of the world; especially not provincial in attitudes or interests; "his cosmopolitan benevolence impartially extended to all races and to all creeds"- T.B. Macaulay; "the ancient and cosmopolitan societies



3 cosmopolitan, widely distributed

growing or occurring in many parts of the world; "a cosmopolitan herb"; "cosmopolitan in distribution"

[vindaloo]

Originally Posted by LaLa010

I know it's nothing close to NYC and I'm not asking you to compare it to NYC.

But regardless of other cities, would you say that Charlotte has a some-what cosmopolitan atmosphere?

You might want to look at the demographics of the city that can be found in some Charlotte web sites. About one out of eight people in Charlotte are from another country. To be considered a cosmopolitan city, one in ten need to come from another country. I think that to understand the ethnic layout of the city of Charlotte, you would have to understand the area history. Charlotte and the North Carolina area was originally settled by Scots-Irish, some Germans and some wealthy English (the one's that owned the big plantations). From the 1750s until the 1920s, there wasn't much immigration due to the economic recovery from the Civil War, etc. When immigration did began in the 20s, it was mostly people from Greece, Ireland, or Western Europe that had no problem with assimilating. Other than their strong connection with the church, the Greeks mixed in any neighborhood. Since then, immigrants moved into neighborhoods that weren't ethnic. That was probably because there weren't any and there was no need for 'safety in numbers'. Compared to many of the northeastern cities that did have ethnic areas, Charlotte had none. If immigrants had moved into Charlotte in great numbers as they did in the big northeastern cities, I am sure that there would be ethnic neighborhoods today. When ethnic areas exist like Little Italys, China Towns, etc. the cosmopolitan factor of the city is obvious. Charlotte doesn't have that factor which may or may not be unfortunate. Nevertheless, these people that would be living in Little Italy or Little Calcutta, or China Town are more likely to be your neighbors.

I remember reading a posting one time from a gay guy. He responded to another gay that was moving to Charlotte from another city about having a gay neighborhood. The gay Charlotte guy said that there are places where you can find lots of gays, but there is no real 'gay neighborhood'. He continued to say that there is no need for one. Gays have no problems in Charlotte. I think that was a great answer.
You have to believe that you will find plenty of interesting people in town, so don't worry. It isn't like Mayberry (but I like Sheriff Taylor and Barnie?)

To answer your question, yes Charlotte is cosmopolitan. I met a guy from Chicago when I was inquiring about the city and he said, "I can't understand how anyone can say that Charlotte is lacking. If they look they will find. I am involved in a acting organization, and numerous other cultural activites. Charlotte has a lot going on". If I am off track with my intrepretation of your meaning of cosmopolitan, I apologize. I think that many forget that Charlotte is evolving into a big, world recognized city and hasn't yet reached it's potential. As more people come here from all over the world, cultural activities will be added to local entertainment. That is part of the excitement of moving to such a city. One can grow and be part of the growth.

[RDH]

I visit Charlotte on business quite a bit, and while it's certainly not the center of culture, the city has a distinctive quality to it that i really love. Downtown is cool, and the area near where I stay (Hyatt off Fairview) beautiful and seems to have lots going on .

[Lovesmtnsmost]

Charlotte is not cosmopolitan

In my opinion of course