Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Charlotte is phenomenal. Let me give you some advice to make your transition easy:
1) The locals or long time residents LOVE it when you tell them how things were in NY. If you have thought of a difference between wherever you are coming from and believe it to be superior (no matter validity), make sure and share your opinion. Everyone here loves it when someone moves and tells them how they have been doing it wrong here. There is utterly no reason, other than not hearing your opinion, that things are the way they are here.
2) People down here must be stupid due to the way they speak, so make sure and judge the heck out of them based on their accents. One reason the people here speak slow is so that you can interrupt them often. If you are both interrupting
AND sharing your opinion about how things were done better in NY, bonus points.
3) People down here must not know how to drive. be sure to show them by using your horn just like you're in NY and cutting people off.
4) Any time it threatens to snow and the community reacts due to lacking the equipment/staffing - just tell them how much snow you got in NY and how they don't know how to drive. tell as many people as you can that the community must just not be as smart or know how to do it as well in NY. (see #1)
5) If you go to the grocery and notice that it's not as crowded, and get a sense that people are aware of their surroundings/personal space, take that as a green light to cut in front of people and race them wherever you are going. Just because a small semblance of southern hospitality with regard to respect for others still survives, is no reason to not act like you're back in NYC. These hicks need to be shown how to get shopping done!
6) Assume that the public schools here are awful. Take any positivism re: CMS with a grain of salt but hang on dearly to the negative story your aunt told you who visited once. Schools must be bad here since everyone talks so slow and funny. This can relate to #1 as well.
7) Ask around for NY pizza, bagels, coffee, etc. instead of trying the establishments that have been in place for decades. No sense in trying anything new.
8) Buy a cookie cutter house in the middle of a field 20 miles or more outside town in an area with little traffic because you get so much more space for your dollar. Tell everyone back home about it.
8b) When more people move and drive on highways designed for interstate travel, congesting them with local commuters, complain because it's not your fault while you ironically, sit in traffic and contribute to congestion. Justify the time wasted by reminding yourself that you live in 1000 square feet more than you had in NY for the same price. Try to forget that you really don't need, or use, that space in your house. Try to forget about the cost of gas. Compare it to NY where the commute would be more time and you would have less space.
9) Don't adopt any of the local culture. Root for teams where you came from (these teams suck and have no history). Don't check out any local art (it is probably no good). Don't eat at any independent owned restaurants (probably run by slow talkers and don't have good cawfee or bahgels). Don't join a church or community group. If you do get involved in politics, refer to rule #1.
10) If you see someone holding a door for you, or making eye contact to say "thank you", "please", "Yes Sir", "Yes Ma'am", ignore their existence and stare into space as if confronted with a foreign language. Just because some relics attempt to be polite, they have obviously not evolved into the fast functioning, superior culture you brought from NY.
11) If you have an experience in life, then it must apply to all people in that area. It doesn't matter if statistics prove your experience was an anomoly, or if you are discounting how you behaved or were perceived. What only matters is your perception. Now apply the self-centered conclusion to the situation to all other aspects of your life and spread the word.
That's a bit all for now. Enjoy your time here and bless your heart.
In all seriousness - I hope you enjoy it here. Charlotte is a great place to live due to and despite all of the transplants. We certainly owe a good bit of our economic growth and diversity of art/food/culture to the population growth. There's a bit of truth in every stereotype, but I believe that accepting everyone and celebrating our strengths is the path to a more integrated and successful community. Make it your own!
OMG, this cracked me up, especially numbers 8 & 9. It's sad but there is a little truth to a lot of this.
There is an ignorant perception that NYC has high crime, based on the crime of yesteryear and media misperceptions. Today, NYC is one of the safest big cities in the nation.
There is an ignorant perception that NYC has high crime, based on the crime of yesteryear and media misperceptions. Today, NYC is one of the safest big cities in the nation.
This is true for now, but those who actually live in NYC are seeing it start to trend the wrong way. de Blasio's decision making and horrible relationship with the PD are starting to taint this image - it takes time to catch-up, but eliminating the major reasons that the crime is so low like proactive policing and profiling (whether you agree with stop and frisk or not), has consequences. They can't pad the numbers when the cops are doing half the job they did before de Blasio forever.
I'm originally from Smithtown, Long Island. My wife and I relocated our family to Charlotte a few years back. Charlotte has a lot to offer. Geography wise, it's located 2 hours or less from the mountains for hiking and skiing, 2 hours the other way, you can access some amazing beaches. The city, referred to as "uptown" is large enough to provide all the entertainment and restaurants you can desire, but not so sprawling you can't get in and out of it easily. Nowadays, fewer and fewer people that live in Charlotte, were born in NC. You'll find many transplants from the NE and Florida. Whether you're looking for city living or to head out to the suburbs, there're a number of great areas and options. The economy has a solid base with the banking sector which provides some economic stability. Lastly, the weather is perfect, it provides for enjoyment of all the seasons, but nothing too severe (although this summer was a hot one...) Best of luck with your relocation. Simply put, WE LOVE IT!
Everyone defines quality of life differently. My own view is that Charlotte is an outstanding place to live Mon through Friday, but you may miss a few NY cultural amenities on the weekend (no Met, MOMA, Broadway, etc.). Having said that, Charlotte has a fantastic airport that puts you $200 dollars and two hours from NYC or Chicago. Additionally, you are 45 minutes or less to the lakes, a two hour drive to the Blue Ridge and 3.5 to the coast.
Do NOT worry about crime. WAY over-hyped. Prior to moving here I over-read and over-thought the whole crime thing. Bottom line: crime is all but non existent if you are living in a half-way decent area.
Everyone defines quality of life differently. My own view is that Charlotte is an outstanding place to live Mon through Friday, but you may miss a few NY cultural amenities on the weekend (no Met, MOMA, Broadway, etc.). Having said that, Charlotte has a fantastic airport that puts you $200 dollars and two hours from NYC or Chicago. Additionally, you are 45 minutes or less to the lakes, a two hour drive to the Blue Ridge and 3.5 to the coast.
Do NOT worry about crime. WAY over-hyped. Prior to moving here I over-read and over-thought the whole crime thing. Bottom line: crime is all but non existent if you are living in a half-way decent area.
I think this is true for pretty much anywhere you live. One key thing you can do to improve your quality of life, or is to stop watching the local news. All they do is highlight petty crimes in a sensational way. God forbid someone gets hurt because they'll really sensationalize it then. I think the local news does more harm in making people feel fearful and paranoid about crime than it does help informing our community. There are good doctors that support the advice to watch less of it if you have anxiety. I think everyone would be better off avoiding it.
Great points about the no comparison between weekend activities. I'm not sure there is anywhere in the world that can live up to the cultural offerings of NYC.
Charlotte is phenomenal. Let me give you some advice to make your transition easy:
1) The locals or long time residents LOVE it when you tell them how things were in NY. If you have thought of a difference between wherever you are coming from and believe it to be superior (no matter validity), make sure and share your opinion. Everyone here loves it when someone moves and tells them how they have been doing it wrong here. There is utterly no reason, other than not hearing your opinion, that things are the way they are here.
2) People down here must be stupid due to the way they speak, so make sure and judge the heck out of them based on their accents. One reason the people here speak slow is so that you can interrupt them often. If you are both interrupting
AND sharing your opinion about how things were done better in NY, bonus points.
3) People down here must not know how to drive. be sure to show them by using your horn just like you're in NY and cutting people off.
4) Any time it threatens to snow and the community reacts due to lacking the equipment/staffing - just tell them how much snow you got in NY and how they don't know how to drive. tell as many people as you can that the community must just not be as smart or know how to do it as well in NY. (see #1)
5) If you go to the grocery and notice that it's not as crowded, and get a sense that people are aware of their surroundings/personal space, take that as a green light to cut in front of people and race them wherever you are going. Just because a small semblance of southern hospitality with regard to respect for others still survives, is no reason to not act like you're back in NYC. These hicks need to be shown how to get shopping done!
6) Assume that the public schools here are awful. Take any positivism re: CMS with a grain of salt but hang on dearly to the negative story your aunt told you who visited once. Schools must be bad here since everyone talks so slow and funny. This can relate to #1 as well.
7) Ask around for NY pizza, bagels, coffee, etc. instead of trying the establishments that have been in place for decades. No sense in trying anything new.
8) Buy a cookie cutter house in the middle of a field 20 miles or more outside town in an area with little traffic because you get so much more space for your dollar. Tell everyone back home about it.
8b) When more people move and drive on highways designed for interstate travel, congesting them with local commuters, complain because it's not your fault while you ironically, sit in traffic and contribute to congestion. Justify the time wasted by reminding yourself that you live in 1000 square feet more than you had in NY for the same price. Try to forget that you really don't need, or use, that space in your house. Try to forget about the cost of gas. Compare it to NY where the commute would be more time and you would have less space.
9) Don't adopt any of the local culture. Root for teams where you came from (these teams suck and have no history). Don't check out any local art (it is probably no good). Don't eat at any independent owned restaurants (probably run by slow talkers and don't have good cawfee or bahgels). Don't join a church or community group. If you do get involved in politics, refer to rule #1.
10) If you see someone holding a door for you, or making eye contact to say "thank you", "please", "Yes Sir", "Yes Ma'am", ignore their existence and stare into space as if confronted with a foreign language. Just because some relics attempt to be polite, they have obviously not evolved into the fast functioning, superior culture you brought from NY.
11) If you have an experience in life, then it must apply to all people in that area. It doesn't matter if statistics prove your experience was an anomoly, or if you are discounting how you behaved or were perceived. What only matters is your perception. Now apply the self-centered conclusion to the situation to all other aspects of your life and spread the word.
That's a bit all for now. Enjoy your time here and bless your heart.
In all seriousness - I hope you enjoy it here. Charlotte is a great place to live due to and despite all of the transplants. We certainly owe a good bit of our economic growth and diversity of art/food/culture to the population growth. There's a bit of truth in every stereotype, but I believe that accepting everyone and celebrating our strengths is the path to a more integrated and successful community. Make it your own!
There is an ignorant perception that NYC has high crime, based on the crime of yesteryear and media misperceptions. Today, NYC is one of the safest big cities in the nation.
Kind of like there's an ignorant perception that anyone who has a southern accent is stupid.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Lol
