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What an asinine rant. Every city/town/region has a culture, Charlotte's a mix bag of old/new, transplants, banking, Nascar, etc etc. I mean really, what is the culture of Omaha or Des Moines? Who fckn cares...they have one and culture doesn't have to be pre-WWII or slap in you in the face to exist.
You do realize that every generation or so industry changes and people have to adapt. Automation is replacing a lot of non-skilled jobs, not Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton didn't coerce one ivory tower right wing executive to move a job to China or Mexico. America is competing in a global workforce environment because of advancements in technology, the adaptation continues.
I can't speak for Des Moines, but Omaha has none (which is why I've turned down job offers moving there, from a friend that finally left himself because Omaha sucks). Many of the more recently-rising cities have none, which just happens to be most of the southern and midwestern "bread basket" cities.
That doesn't mean Charlotte isn't capable of having culture. Our issue is a lot of infighting. You have hardcore right-wingers in the Ballantyne area fighting with hipsters around the city center. Noise complaints from people who willingly move next to drag strips or music halls, and then massive gentrification that has turned places like east Charlotte into a warzone because all of the "undesirables" were corralled into the same locations.
You clearly are a recent transplant if you have no idea how devastating Clinton ushering China into the WTO was to this entire state. Bill didn't coerce them, he just knowingly allowed them to do it so he could make some kickbacks on it.
That is the biggest pile of uniformed gobbledygook I've read in quite some time.
Maybe if you've lived here for more than 10 seconds, you would have seen it happen. I remember back when Comar closed their 13 plants in this region immediately after Bill got China to join the WTO, and that was just one of the many that closed in the early-2000s.
Also, the NC tax incentive issue is no secret here.
"But years after these jobs were announced by executives and state leaders, most failed to fully materialize, a WRAL News analysis found. More than 100 companies named in job announcements since 2009 have since reported no new jobs. Some have laid off workers or closed up shop altogether."
"For those projects, Perdue announced the creation of 39,562 jobs during her tenure.
Data show that only 38 percent of those jobs have been created, despite the projects being a cumulative 75 percent of the way through their grant cycles.
Even among the 146 projects closed out or past their ramp-up period, companies created 8,774 of the 19,537 announced jobs – less than 45 percent.
Since 2009, commerce data shows 127 projects have reported zero new jobs out of a promised 17,592. About half of the companies reporting zero jobs created still have time to catch up, although only 18 are less than halfway through their grant cycles."
That's only one quick article I can find, but I've seen similar going back to 2003 or so, around the time locals started losing decent jobs and realizing we'd be forced to compete for jobs already filled by some transplant getting shipped in from New York or San Diego. This is also the reason for our abysmal economic equality and economic mobility.
The smartest thing for a local to do is save what little we can and move before the economy crashes again. Transplants chasing their jobs here have created vacuums in decent places like DuPage county just west of Chicago, and Freemont, CA. The issue is that those places are better (I can attest the Chicago region is much better, even if south Chicago is like west, east, and north Charlotte), and thus, end up costing more since you get benefits like real local transportation.
I can't speak for Des Moines, but Omaha has none (which is why I've turned down job offers moving there, from a friend that finally left himself because Omaha sucks). Many of the more recently-rising cities have none, which just happens to be most of the southern and midwestern "bread basket" cities.
That doesn't mean Charlotte isn't capable of having culture. Our issue is a lot of infighting. You have hardcore right-wingers in the Ballantyne area fighting with hipsters around the city center. Noise complaints from people who willingly move next to drag strips or music halls, and then massive gentrification that has turned places like east Charlotte into a warzone because all of the "undesirables" were corralled into the same locations.
You clearly are a recent transplant if you have no idea how devastating Clinton ushering China into the WTO was to this entire state. Bill didn't coerce them, he just knowingly allowed them to do it so he could make some kickbacks on it.
You have proven a point. You know **** all (nothing) about American cities. I even know Omaha quite well. If you knew anything about Omaha, you would be familiar with the Old Market, River front, and the many old factories and buildings that are in the Old Market and the thriving activity that goes on there. Omaha has a history with the Union Pacific RR, Mormons, Indian issues, and an abundance of history and cultural remnants. It was the stockyard capital of the "west" at one time and is still big in that area. Omaha has a really good zoo, Strategic Air Command headquarters, and excellent shopping areas. One would be blind and totally out there to say that Omaha sucks. Hell, I'm from London and I like it there. Maybe you would enjoy Council Bluffs across the river. It seems more up your line. You should move back to the little burg from which you came. Oh yea, Omaha is a big insurance town and home to many famous Americans. Bet you didn't know any of that.
You have proven a point. You know **** all (nothing) about American cities. I even know Omaha quite well. If you knew anything about Omaha, you would be familiar with the Old Market, River front, and the many old factories and buildings that are in the Old Market and the thriving activity that goes on there. Omaha has a history with the Union Pacific RR, Mormons, Indian issues, and an abundance of history and cultural remnants. It was the stockyard capital of the "west" at one time and is still big in that area. Omaha has a really good zoo, Strategic Air Command headquarters, and excellent shopping areas. One would be blind and totally out there to say that Omaha sucks. Hell, I'm from London and I like it there. Maybe you would enjoy Council Bluffs across the river. It seems more up your line. You should move back to the little burg from which you came. Oh yea, Omaha is a big insurance town and home to many famous Americans. Bet you didn't know any of that.
When anyone includes the sophomoric term "sucks" in a post give it up because they'll never get it. But you just proved my point, every place has a sense of history, culture, etc even Omaha and whether a person choses to embrace it or not is an individual decision. Omaha is very nice but it's culture doesn't slap folk in the face or people know much about it's influence on jazz/blues, etc...amongst other things. I highly doubt folk have a clue that Charlotte was ground zero for the nation's first gold rush. I do think Charlotte and most NC cities are woefully pitiful with creating a buzz about their unique histories. It seems they're afraid it might attract more tourist/visitors?
I think TB has a point about Charlotte straddling fine line to maintain it's button down image while the creative class is slowly moving it towards a more vibrant and energetic city to the chagrin of the old guard.
I am a native of north Georgia and keep evaluating if Charlotte is the right place for me (my family has lived in the south since 1608) most of that in North Carolina.
The 2 biggest potential complaints I think I would have about Charlotte
1. nonwalkability/sprawl (although I don't think this would be as bad as say Atlanta)
2. the heat (despite being a southerner, I despise the long, hot summers. I'd move up north but problem is the north is full of (in my experience) less than hospitable people, especially once they hear my accent and find out I am from the south)
That really depends on where you go in the North.
For example, NYC and upstate NY are like two different planets.
Also, I think Southerners mistake Northerners straightforward attitudes for hostility. People in smaller cities and rural areas in the North can be much more similar to Southerners than you might expect.
My biggest beef with Charlotte is the traffic.....the city planners really did a horrible job with the layout of the streets and continue to make boneheaded decisions in this regard. If you look at a map of the city, it appears that as Charlotte grew, they just paved the meandering cow trails.
That and the stunning lack of personality and history.
If Charlotte was a person it would be Pamela Anderson....... a beautifully polished exterior without much substance underneath.
Sorry, but in architecture (as well as in construction) vernacular is applicable. Vernacular architecture is built to local needs and with available construction materials. It implies construction designed by local builders who aren't schooled in architecture.
"...That is two contradictory terms..."
Them are?
Vernacular construction?
Is that the professional term for the crappy, cheap way they build houses here?
Lol....
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