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For everyone who thinks that Charlotte is missing things, why not start a business?
If you think Charlotte needs a certain kind of bar or coffee shop or retail outlet, here's your opportunity!
As someone who was in the culinary industry for a decade, Charlotte is too fickle. Chains boom in Charlotte while locally owned places struggle unless backed by bigger investors. Restaurant industry is already tough enough, but add in how Charlotte seems to forget about a place after the hype dies down and you have a recipe for what we have now. The restaurant industry is pretty meek for a city this size, with 3 culinary schools churning out students.
All this crowing about what Charlotte lacks....it's probably the only city/metro in the Carolinas with a chance in hell of securing a big time HQ like Amazon. All those older, touristy places are cute....but business is business and not everybody needs to drink a beer in a 100 year old bldg across the street from the hotel where Ben Franklin took a dump to feel like I'm in a "real" city.
I think a lot of the "cool city" crap in the so-called requirements list is just that, crap/gimmicky publicity. Show me the money and the larger cities/metros with hella incentive packages will take this puppy home (airport size, business climate, talent base, etc etc.)
I think what hurts Charlotte is a lack of any one specific identity, culture or lifestyle that is only found here. You go to places like Austin, Nashville, Memphis and you've got a music scene that is pretty much their own thing. You go to Charleston and it's like walking into a copy of Garden & Gun or Southern Living. Charlotte just doesn't have that character and it's not something you can decide to have or manufacture.
I agree with the sentiments as well. Charlotte is a great place to live, but it is very average. I'm happy here, but when people come to visit us, we don't really have anything their city doesn't - that's what we could benefit from.
As far as HQ2, COL is already on the upswing and I'm glad the chances of Amazon choosing Charlotte are slim-to-none. Although it would be great for the economy down the road (years), lots of us "average" folks would suffer and the suburbs would only spread more and more.
Agreed, and it's great to see your face back on the forum
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Originally Posted by 28079
Agree, while a great place to call it home, not much from a touristic point of view.
Too bad we don't have a water front or anything unique to be a major attraction for tourists. Don't know what we can do about it either.
But I'm happy we dodged the Amazon HQ which would've increased our taxes and make traffic worst. Too big to swallow for our city.
1) Not only do we not have any major attractions that might appeal to tourists, this "void" is filled by marketeers, who come up with some really ridiculous stuff (e.g. LoSo; MoRo, etc.).
2) If we could get the River District to focus around the River - not a token gesture, but the real thing - we might have a one time opportunity to establish the Charlotte "brand." Look at what Greenville SC has done with Reedy Park - the City's centerpiece.
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Originally Posted by UDcc123
That article was an outsiders prediction. My understanding is that Amazon hasn't narrowed anything down yet.
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Originally Posted by CLT4
Amazon hasn't selected the city for HQ2.
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Originally Posted by Laowai
Publicly, Amazon has not ruled out Charlotte nor any cities to date.
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Originally Posted by BC1960
Umm, no one has won, so how can Charlotte have "lost"?
The Times might know something that the public doesn't.
This is just another newspaper guess. Nobody won or lost yet.
Charlotte needs to work with the outlying areas to build the area's brand. They should look at history to build some things to catch the interest of tourists & residents & Charlotte city officials need to talk to the TV stations & tell them to quit playing favorites with the local areas. When everyone is given the same treatment, it helps the whole area.
Agreed. I really hope that the City comes up with a spectacular plan for the River District.
***
Few people seem to realize that once Charlotte is built out, improvements will be patchwork at best. Better think ahead while changes can be made.
What happens 30 years from now, when Charlotte's cost of living is no longer below average-average, and the City has to stand on it's own merit.
Then what?
I like Charlotte, and am not ashamed of the City - far from it. If I didn't like Charlotte, I wouldn't have an interest in it's future.
But we have to deal with reality; when the City is built out, and costs go up, what will draw people here?
Charlotte has the requisite attractions in small numbers, no matter how much requisite cool its exurbanites think they think they exude. Charlotte had little to offer 35 years ago. It has even less today.
Traffic and bad drivers aren't cool.
I checked it out; this was taken on a Tuesday at rush hour:
I think what hurts Charlotte is a lack of any one specific identity, culture or lifestyle that is only found here. You go to places like Austin, Nashville, Memphis and you've got a music scene that is pretty much their own thing. You go to Charleston and it's like walking into a copy of Garden & Gun or Southern Living. Charlotte just doesn't have that character and it's not something you can decide to have or manufacture.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pumbaa
As someone who was in the culinary industry for a decade, Charlotte is too fickle. Chains boom in Charlotte while locally owned places struggle unless backed by bigger investors. Restaurant industry is already tough enough, but add in how Charlotte seems to forget about a place after the hype dies down and you have a recipe for what we have now. The restaurant industry is pretty meek for a city this size, with 3 culinary schools churning out students.
All this crowing about what Charlotte lacks....it's probably the only city/metro in the Carolinas with a chance in hell of securing a big time HQ like Amazon. All those older, touristy places are cute....but business is business and not everybody needs to drink a beer in a 100 year old bldg across the street from the hotel where Ben Franklin took a dump to feel like I'm in a "real" city.
I think a lot of the "cool city" crap in the so-called requirements list is just that, crap/gimmicky publicity. Show me the money and the larger cities/metros with hella incentive packages will take this puppy home (airport size, business climate, talent base, etc etc.)
I get what you're saying, and agree that a lot of it is gimmicky nonsense.
Charlotte's a beautiful town, and it has it's virtues; I do not regret moving here - at all. But there's a reason why people will pay a premium to live in NYC, San Fran, etc.; and it's because of the amenities that they offer residents.
Businesses will pay a premium to have a Manhattan address, because of prestige.
What draws businesses to Charlotte? Yes...there's a good labor pool here, transportation, etc. But what else? Charlotte's pretty affordable. As Charlotte grows, it will no longer be a bargain, and it will then have to compete toe to toe with other cities on the basis of merit. You wouldn't pay a high price for an average car, nor would you pay a premium to live in a City that hasn't carved out a niche of some sort. That's the intention of this thread; to secure Charlotte's future for tomorrow.
Yes, some of this is conjecture, but I have a feeling that the press knows something that the public doesn't.
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