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Old 03-26-2018, 01:57 AM
 
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,809 posts, read 34,419,348 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlotte485 View Post
“I don’t think it’ll ever be the New York, Boston, Philly type.”



Neither will Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, LA, Austin, Kansas City, Denver, Washington DC and the list goes on. If DC resembled NYC or Philly at all.... I would not be moving there.
I hate to break it to you, but Philadelphia, Baltimore, & DC have similarities.
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Old 03-26-2018, 06:54 AM
 
6,321 posts, read 10,248,030 times
Reputation: 3835
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mdez View Post
Good to hear Charlotte will start adding more urban development to give it a more “city” feel but I don’t believe it’ll be urban like a New York, Philly, Boston type of urban.
LOL, really going out on a limb with that statement. Very few cities are “NY, Philly, Boston type of urban.”

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mdez View Post
Walkable to a certain extent, yes. But it really depends on the neighborhood you’re in. My neighborhood not so much unfortunately.
Of course. That statement is true in virtually every other city.
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Old 03-26-2018, 07:26 AM
 
3,859 posts, read 4,234,705 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mdez View Post
Actually the majority of DC is fairly urban
No offense because I now know what you're after but No, most of DC is suburban. It might be worth it to give parts of more urban Charlotte a chance. However, if you dead set on relocation, wait it out and head back, I like Philly but once you leave there are gonna be lots of things about Charlotte you will miss.
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Old 03-26-2018, 10:57 AM
 
222 posts, read 193,078 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Aristotle View Post
No offense because I now know what you're after but No, most of DC is suburban. It might be worth it to give parts of more urban Charlotte a chance. However, if you dead set on relocation, wait it out and head back, I like Philly but once you leave there are gonna be lots of things about Charlotte you will miss.
Have you ever been to DC? What exactly is your definition of urban/suburban? If you think DC is suburban, then What does that make Charlotte? DC is a lot more urban than Charlotte.
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Old 03-26-2018, 11:53 AM
 
571 posts, read 707,449 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Aristotle View Post
No offense because I now know what you're after but No, most of DC is suburban. It might be worth it to give parts of more urban Charlotte a chance. However, if you dead set on relocation, wait it out and head back, I like Philly but once you leave there are gonna be lots of things about Charlotte you will miss.
I lived in the DC area for 16 years and, no, most of the DC is NOT suburban. There are a few suburban neighborhoods in northwest DC (like Friendship Heights and Cleveland Park where I should point out that Metro is still accessible), but the vast majority of DC residents live in urban neighborhoods. It is true that most of the DC metro area -- areas outside of the District -- are suburban, but not the District itself. But even some of the suburbs (much of Arlington and Alexandria, parts of Bethesda, to name a few), are fairly urbanized.
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:08 PM
 
571 posts, read 707,449 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Aristotle View Post
Probably urban enough for us but some people fancy a denser urban environment. In my experiences, it's grossly overrated but so is living on a tobacco farm in rural NC if that's not your thing.
I grew up in small town NC, and later lived in suburban Charlotte, but I have spent most of my life since then in urban areas outside of NC. At this point, I cannot conceive of living in a city where I can't walk to most of the things I need. I hate (loathe) being car dependent. There is nothing "overrated" about living in an urban environment with all the accessibility, and not having to deal with traffic. This is why young people are flocking back to the city. People who live in these urban environments, where they walk instead of drive, tend to be more fit than people living in suburbs. It's much healthier. It's too bad that Charlotte destroyed most of the urban fabric that it had, and that most of its boom time growth in recent decades has been suburban in nature. Now that a younger generation is rejecting automobile dependency, it makes it difficult for a city like Charlotte because, while other cities are revitalizing their old urban neighborhoods because of this shift, Charlotte doesn't have much of this sort of infrastructure available to take advantage of this change.
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:22 PM
 
Location: Washington DC
4,980 posts, read 5,335,935 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brichard View Post
I lived in the DC area for 16 years and, no, most of the DC is NOT suburban. There are a few suburban neighborhoods in northwest DC (like Friendship Heights and Cleveland Park), but the vast majority of DC residents live in urban neighborhoods. It is true that most of the DC metro -- areas outside of the District -- are suburban, but not the District itself. But even some of the suburbs (much of Arlington and Alexandria, parts of Bethesda, to name a few), are fairly urbanized.

Of a metro of 6,000,000, only 700,000 actually live in the district. or 12% of the population. That is less than the population of Fairfax County.


My point is. You can't put cities that have a metro popuation of 3 million or less and expect it to be as dense or built up as cities that have metros of 6 million or 20 million.... On top of looking at a city like Houston or Atlanta or Phoenix... they have the population and it still doesn't give Boston/Philly/NYC vibe...


But I'm glad you mentioned the fact Charlotte isn't like Philadelphia, Boston and New York City. A lot of you are molding your ideas of identity of being these cities.... That's not how cities grow anymore. People would prefer the suburbs that are increasingly urbanizing over say urban Detroit. And anyone who disagrees or sees the urbanity in Charlotte or soul/identity/yo momma is just brushed off as being uncultured because at one point, you lived in NYC... Lots of us have been, lived, visited different places, etc. But as of right now, I think we all live in the same place.
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:24 PM
 
Location: Washington DC
4,980 posts, read 5,335,935 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by southbound_295 View Post
I hate to break it to you, but Philadelphia, Baltimore, & DC have similarities.
DC also has similarities with Charlotte, Atlanta and southern cities. DC is much. much cleaner than the NYC area. That's getting off topic though. The only reason its relevant is that you can't expect Kansas City, Charlotte, Austin TX et al to resemble NYC, Boston or Philly.
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:48 PM
 
222 posts, read 193,078 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brichard View Post
I grew up in small town NC, and later lived in suburban Charlotte, but I have spent most of my life since then in urban areas outside of NC. At this point, I cannot conceive of living in a city where I can't walk to most of the things I need. I hate (loathe) being car dependent. There is nothing "overrated" about living in an urban environment with all the accessibility, and not having to deal with traffic. This is why young people are flocking back to the city. People who live in these urban environments, where they walk instead of drive, tend to be more fit than people living in suburbs. It's much healthier. It's too bad that Charlotte destroyed most of the urban fabric that it had, and that most of its boom time growth in recent decades has been suburban in nature. Now that a younger generation is rejecting automobile dependency, it makes it difficult for a city like Charlotte because, while other cities are revitalizing their old urban neighborhoods because of this shift, Charlotte doesn't have much of this sort of infrastructure available to take advantage of this change.
I 100 percent agree. Urban neighborhoods are being revitalized (gentrified) as millennials are starting to leave the suburbs and move into cities preferring that way of living over suburban lifestyles (they are not afraid of diversity like their parents and grandparents were). I'm with you, I loved living in a very large urban area full of diverse neighbors and great shops/restaurants that I could walk to anytime I felt like it. Hopping on the subway to get from point A to point B, and not having to depend on my car to get everywhere and worry about parking. The sunbelt cities of the southeastern and southwestern United States will never truly match this because of their mainly suburban infrastructures as you said.

Last edited by Mdez; 03-26-2018 at 01:01 PM..
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Old 03-26-2018, 01:07 PM
 
571 posts, read 707,449 times
Reputation: 565
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlotte485 View Post
Of a metro of 6,000,000, only 700,000 actually live in the district. or 12% of the population. That is less than the population of Fairfax County.


My point is. You can't put cities that have a metro popuation of 3 million or less and expect it to be as dense or built up as cities that have metros of 6 million or 20 million.... On top of looking at a city like Houston or Atlanta or Phoenix... they have the population and it still doesn't give Boston/Philly/NYC vibe...


But I'm glad you mentioned the fact Charlotte isn't like Philadelphia, Boston and New York City. A lot of you are molding your ideas of identity of being these cities.... That's not how cities grow anymore. People would prefer the suburbs that are increasingly urbanizing over say urban Detroit. And anyone who disagrees or sees the urbanity in Charlotte or soul/identity/yo momma is just brushed off as being uncultured because at one point, you lived in NYC... Lots of us have been, lived, visited different places, etc. But as of right now, I think we all live in the same place.

As I said, the urban population in the DC metro is not just inside the District. I never lived in the District, but I lived in Arlington in urban neighborhoods. I got rid of my car while living there because everything I needed was within walking distance of my home in Arlington, even my job. My doctor, grocery store, drug store, post office, restaurants, etc., I walked to all of it. The only thing was my dentist, who was in the District. But there was a Metro station near my home, so I took Metro to see the dentist. Where I live now (in San Diego), even my dentist is less than a 10-minute walk from my house.

As for cities like Atlanta and Phoenix, I lived in Phoenix years ago. It was a totally car dependent city and I hated it. Car dependency plus oppressive heat, not for me.

You state "Charlotte isn't like Philadelphia, Boston and New York City. A lot of you are molding your ideas of identity of being these cities.... That's not how cities grow anymore." You should come to San Diego. There are high-rise condos and apartment buildings going up all over downtown. And my neighborhood, which well outside of downtown, is mostly low-rise buildings and houses, but there are many projects going on with larger condo and apartment buildings. So I completely disagree that "that's now how cities grow anymore." Cities are growing this way now because younger generations are rejecting the suburbs. Every day I another residential development going up in San Diego, but it's only urban development. I know of no suburban developments. They may be out there, but all I see only new urban developments, and tons of it.

Last edited by brichard; 03-26-2018 at 01:19 PM..
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