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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poppydog
Most of the flagship colleges in the state are in the Triangle, UNC, Duke, NC State, but there are also smaller schools like NC Central, Meredith, Peace, St Augustine, and others, plus NC has a very good community college system. Durham Tech and Wake Tech both offer a lot, plus Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro and even Alamance Community College near Burlington.
Colleges and universities in the Charlotte area include Davidson (top tier liberal arts school) and then UNC-Charlotte, Queens, Belmont Abbey, and more plus branches of other colleges like a branch of Wake Forest (based in Winston-Salem). Charlotte has good community college options, too, like CPCC, Central Piedmont Community College.
Both Charlotte and Raleigh are very suburban with very small downtown cores compared to Philly or other northeastern cities. Charlotte traffic can be pretty bad. Raleigh traffic is not fun at rush hour either, but I think Charlotte's might a little worse. Neither is probably as bad as Philly, but it's not just smooth sailing either.
Durham is very vibrant and creative. Worth a look.
Having worked in Philly for many years, traffic isn't significantly worse than Charlotte, unless an accident causes gridlock, because of the large influx of people using public transportation. However, rush hour is much longer there because of staggered hours.
Seems like you just want to get out of Philly and are interested in exploring some different career paths.
Quote:
I'm aspiring to get my degree in either Journalism or PR/Communications; I also plan to curate and show my work in art galleries, so a strong art community matters to me.
I think there are plenty of schools that offer communications and many art opportunities around. Best bet is to come visit and see what you think.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by poppydog
Seems like you just want to get out of Philly and are interested in exploring some different career paths.
I think there are plenty of schools that offer communications and many art opportunities around. Best bet is to come visit and see what you think.
I don't think that the OP is actually in Philadelphia, but rather in one of the western suburbs, possibly on the Main Line. Certain towns on the Main Line have a reputation for being a bit uppity. I think they still have debutante balls & coming out parties. I don't know if the West Chester reference was from living there or going to West Chester State.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by poppydog
Plenty of Deb Balls in NC! Charlotte, especially.
Yup. I see the notices in my weekly paper at "that time of the year". The Philadelphia Inquirer used to carry the notices & pictures in the "Society" section but was pressured to drop that practice & rename the section to "Living" about 30 years ago. Last I knew the practice continues, minus the big city newspaper coverage.
Hi, everyone. I'm considering moving to a few different cities and Charlotte is one of them on my list. I've narrowed it down to several choices (Louisville, Pittsburgh, Durham, Charlotte) and your input will greatly help me. In brief, I'm a free-thinking writer and artist in my early 20's. I'm aspiring to get my degree in either Journalism or PR/Communications; I also plan to curate and show my work in art galleries, so a strong art community matters to me. I'm originally from Philadelphia, but I truly do not have a typical Northerner attitude (LOL). Philly has a large art community, but I don't like the attitudes and unfriendly people I often encounter in and around the city to stay for the art.
Here's what I'm wondering: is Charlotte a cultural and artsy city? I'm looking for great schools with good programs in writing and the arts, and a relatively affordable environment where people truly care about art so I can get a head start in my career.
Second, the age-old question, but an important one: Is it difficult to fit in as a Northern transplant? I'm very friendly, sociable, an easy going driver...so I don't see this as a huge issue for me, but I wanted to hear from other Northern transplants about their personal experiences. I don't expect life in Charlotte to mimic East coast life, but I thought Charlotte would be good for me since I've heard it's a busy and vibrant area (a must for me).
I've heard some great things about Charlotte and I'm excited to learn more. Thank you!
Louisville and Pittsburgh stand out to be a better fit to you...more artsy and progressive. Charlotte is a southern banking town. Very white collar, clean and nice, but it is not as "artsy-fartsy" as Louisville. It is also a good clip larger than Louisville and almost as big as Pittsburgh size wise.
You fit perfectly into the Highlands of Louisville
Colleges are not nearly as good as those in NC...but they are good and can give you what you need for very cheap if you establish state residency. You can also tap into the IU (IUS) and Indiana state college system as a Louisville resident for instate Indiana tuition.
I would think Asheville NC would be more for you, although I am not sure what the education program up there is like. As a native I can tell you Charlotte's art scene is lacking but getting better slowly. We have our pockets of hoods, NoDa and Southend host some of the larger galleries and crawls, but this is definitely a business town. Throw on a golf shirt and earn as much as you can, to buy a huge overpriced house is the mentality of much of the city.
So you're basing your opinions of Philadelphia based on West Chester. . .OK, to each his own.
I will tell you, right here, right now, I have been addressed as ma'am with much more consistency in Philadelphia than in anyplace in NC. That is my experience. I talk to people in stores in NC & I always did in Philadelphia & South Jersey. Obviously, since you stated that you're too good for Temple, you wouldn't consider Tyler, but you probably don't know that the campus isn't in Philadelphia. Temple also has a respected program for journalism. It's a state university. In NC you will pay out of state rates for tuition if you start in less than one year.
I considered being a curator at one time that's how I know that you need an MFA for that job. Very few schools offer it.
You need a game plan. Good luck with that.
I'm not basing Philly on solely West Chester. Living so close to Philadelphia, I've spent so much time in the city, it's been like a home away from home. I have a love/hate relationship with the city. Arts and culture are great, people and drivers not so much. The entire area, city and suburbs, has not made me feel as welcomed as other areas. I don't understand why you're being somewhat defensive toward me about this? As you said yourself, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
I'm very surprised to see the comment you made about being called ma'am. It has rarely happened to me, nor to anyone I have been with when visiting shops, offices or restaurants in the city, which I've done quite often. That's very unusual in my experience.
I have no idea why you also felt entitled to say I feel I am 'too good' for Temple, when the school's location simply is not for me, nor have I ever had an interest in living in somewhere as unsafe and unattractive as North Philadelphia. So far, all the comments you made have struck me as somewhat bullying, since you're completely skewing my words. If you feel that it's a negative thing to want to explore what life really has to offer rather than sticking around in pretty much the exact same area you've lived in, that is fine, but I feel it's good to expand one's horizons and leave one's comfort zone to try something different - which is exactly what I've done and will continue to do.
Anyway, thank you for your amazing positive energy and kindness. It's been SO pleasant conversing with you. Best of luck to you, too!
Louisville and Pittsburgh stand out to be a better fit to you...more artsy and progressive. Charlotte is a southern banking town. Very white collar, clean and nice, but it is not as "artsy-fartsy" as Louisville. It is also a good clip larger than Louisville and almost as big as Pittsburgh size wise.
You fit perfectly into the Highlands of Louisville
Colleges are not nearly as good as those in NC...but they are good and can give you what you need for very cheap if you establish state residency. You can also tap into the IU (IUS) and Indiana state college system as a Louisville resident for instate Indiana tuition.
Thanks for the links. I'll check out Louisville. I know it's supposed to be hot and humid there, but I'm used to harsh summers in my area as well, so that's not a huge deal. I'm hearing a lot of mixed insights about Charlotte. But I get the overall feeling that it may just not be artsy enough for me at the end of the day. It's confusing trying to make sense of it all, since on the one hand it could be a good fit, but on the other hand not so much.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by nomadicheart7
I'm not basing Philly on solely West Chester. Living so close to Philadelphia, I've spent so much time in the city, it's been like a home away from home. I have a love/hate relationship with the city. Arts and culture are great, people and drivers not so much. The entire area, city and suburbs, has not made me feel as welcomed as other areas. I don't understand why you're being somewhat defensive toward me about this? As you said yourself, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
I'm very surprised to see the comment you made about being called ma'am. It has rarely happened to me, nor to anyone I have been with when visiting shops, offices or restaurants in the city, which I've done quite often. That's very unusual in my experience.
I have no idea why you also felt entitled to say I feel I am 'too good' for Temple, when the school's location simply is not for me, nor have I ever had an interest in living in somewhere as unsafe and unattractive as North Philadelphia. So far, all the comments you made have struck me as somewhat bullying, since you're completely skewing my words. If you feel that it's a negative thing to want to explore what life really has to offer rather than sticking around in pretty much the exact same area you've lived in, that is fine, but I feel it's good to expand one's horizons and leave one's comfort zone to try something different - which is exactly what I've done and will continue to do.
Anyway, thank you for your amazing positive energy and kindness. It's been SO pleasant conversing with you. Best of luck to you, too!
Read your comment that you wrote concerning Temple. You said that you can do better than Temple. I commuted to college in the city. Why would I assume that you would not unless you stated that you wouldn't? Temple is far safer now than it was when I was in college & I had to walk up there to deliver a paper to a teacher who worked at both schools.
I'm certainly not bullying you. That is ridiculous. If you can't take someone familiar with both Charlotte & Philadelphia pointing out the obvious without making snippy comments that's not my problem. You have everything that you are asking for at your fingertips.
I think that you should pay attention to the poster who suggested Louisville.
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