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Well having come from Chicago I would say that I somewhat agree with Charlotte not having much culture or personality. I know I will get flamed for this, but please hear me out! I'm not saying that the PEOPLE of Charlotte aren't cultured, educated, or interesting... more so just that (so far as I've found, in the year I've been here) there aren't many centralized areas that cater to that particular "nerd" crowd.
I haven't found many (any?) book clubs that read exclusively classics or philosophical works. I haven't found any bookstores that can really compare to Seminary Co-Op in IL. No clubs like the Green Mill for good jazz, poetry, and fabulous drinks. However, there are plenty of people I've met here that, whatever level of education they may have, are more than happy to discuss books, politics, poetry, history, etc. It's just that there aren't centralized intellectual hot spots so "culture" is more dispersed and harder to track down.
Plus, this area is a banking center and that is reflected in a lot of the people I meet here. Many of my fellow grad students are returning to school after a 5-10 years working in banking, so the people I've met in humanities and social science departments are very different from those I met in Chicago. Both students and professors are more likely to have spent time in corporate America as opposed to having been holed up in a coffee shop reading Derrida since they were 20 years old.
If you're looking for a thriving intellectual community that is easy to find and join I'd look elsewhere. If you like a diversity of opinions and backgrounds and don't mind having to be more proactive in finding nerdy enclaves then I'm sure you'd be happy in many neighborhoods here. Hell, I live in Kannapolis where hardly anyone has advanced degrees but I've been friendly to people and gotten to have some nice conversations and learned a lot along the way!
I recently met a person from Chicago that told me that people that say that cultural venues do not exist here are not looking. This person told me that he has joined acting associations and several other cultural organizations. He was discussing snowbirds that make such nufounded complaints. Chicago is many times bigger than Charlotte,therfore Charlotte will not have nearly as much to offer as Chicago. Nevertheless, there are tons of cultural things in which one can become involved in Charlotte. Charlotte is one of the leading cities in the nation with people over 30 having college degrees. In 1865, Charlotte had a population of less than 2,000. Charlotte naturally does not have the historical homes and interesting places as Charleston, Savannah, Petersburg, and other places. But, we are definately not any less sophisticated than people from where you come. I am just defending my city that takes too much unwarranted abuse from outsiders.
I recently met a person from Chicago that told me that people that say that cultural venues do not exist here are not looking. This person told me that he has joined acting associations and several other cultural organizations. He was discussing snowbirds that make such nufounded complaints. Chicago is many times bigger than Charlotte,therfore Charlotte will not have nearly as much to offer as Chicago. Nevertheless, there are tons of cultural things in which one can become involved in Charlotte. Charlotte is one of the leading cities in the nation with people over 30 having college degrees. In 1865, Charlotte had a population of less than 2,000. Charlotte naturally does not have the historical homes and interesting places as Charleston, Savannah, Petersburg, and other places. But, we are definately not any less sophisticated than people from where you come. I am just defending my city that takes too much unwarranted abuse from outsiders.
No need to defend... at least not from this outsider!
Like I said, it's here, you just may need to look a little more and be more open-minded to find it. The downside of that is that it takes more time and effort and there are some things you just won't find. The up side is that, since it's not like Hyde Park where you can throw a stone and hit a Ph.D. and artsy cafe, you are bound to encounter more interesting and diverse people along the way!
Well having come from Chicago I would say that I somewhat agree with Charlotte not having much culture or personality. I know I will get flamed for this, but please hear me out! I'm not saying that the PEOPLE of Charlotte aren't cultured, educated, or interesting... more so just that (so far as I've found, in the year I've been here) there aren't many centralized areas that cater to that particular "nerd" crowd.
I haven't found many (any?) book clubs that read exclusively classics or philosophical works. I haven't found any bookstores that can really compare to Seminary Co-Op in IL. No clubs like the Green Mill for good jazz, poetry, and fabulous drinks. However, there are plenty of people I've met here that, whatever level of education they may have, are more than happy to discuss books, politics, poetry, history, etc. It's just that there aren't centralized intellectual hot spots so "culture" is more dispersed and harder to track down.
Plus, this area is a banking center and that is reflected in a lot of the people I meet here. Many of my fellow grad students are returning to school after a 5-10 years working in banking, so the people I've met in humanities and social science departments are very different from those I met in Chicago. Both students and professors are more likely to have spent time in corporate America as opposed to having been holed up in a coffee shop reading Derrida since they were 20 years old.
If you're looking for a thriving intellectual community that is easy to find and join I'd look elsewhere. If you like a diversity of opinions and backgrounds and don't mind having to be more proactive in finding nerdy enclaves then I'm sure you'd be happy in many neighborhoods here. Hell, I live in Kannapolis where hardly anyone has advanced degrees but I've been friendly to people and gotten to have some nice conversations and learned a lot along the way!
I am a native Charlottean and I created a profile on city data forums just now simply to echo the sentiments expressed in this post by JanuaryGirl. There are some people who don't believe me when I say this, my wife for example, but there are places that, to me, give off a more intellectual, bookish vibe than other places.
I lived in France for about a year once and I find the culture in the city where I lived and in France generally to be markedly more intellectual than any other place that I've lived or visited. It is the case that statements like that can seem really fuzzy and without substance, but on France Culture radio station there are at least ten or fifteen programs that are about philosophy, not to mention the programs about other sciences. Philosophers are, I think, more prominent and respected in French culture and you find them frequently on tv and writing newspaper columns. The idea of a French minister of state writing a serious work of history, theory, or literature is not something rare in France as it is here. Philosophy is a standard course in French high schools and, if I'm not mistaken, its a required course. Obviously I have a bias for philosophical ways of knowing. My point is that, as JanuaryGirl sort of alludes to, there are places where a meeting people who have a passion for understanding the world and reality in a theoretical way is easier to indulge and there are places where it is harder.
There are, however, groups of people here in Charlotte who meet exclusively to discuss philosophical works though. I suppose that when one expresses desires like this one has to make it explicitly known that one isn't making a value judgment about the worth of people or the merit of their hobbies, it is more a question of taste.
All your comments are very interesting. And, yes, January Girl, Hyde Park is a dream of a neighborhood, and we often go there on Sunday afternoons to check out the 2nd-hand bookstores, the parks, the bakery where Obama used to buy his bialys etc. Chicago is wonderful....the city of neighborhoods.
Except that it is now 50 degrees F and we have not even gotten out of August yet. *Pained sigh* (Does anyone really believe in global warming? It just seems to have gotten colder round here, and I heard that ya'll also had a pretty cool summer....)
Yes, I do work for the Archdiocese of Chicago, and, no, I won't relocate until I have found a new job.
No need to defend... at least not from this outsider!
The up side is that, since it's not like Hyde Park where you can throw a stone and hit a Ph.D. and artsy cafe, you are bound to encounter more interesting and diverse people along the way!
And the person with a Ph.D is a treasure of some sort? I don't see the relevance? On the other hand, if you were in Raleigh, you would be more likely to hit a Ph.D with a stone than in Hyde Park.
And the person with a Ph.D is a treasure of some sort? I don't see the relevance? On the other hand, if you were in Raleigh, you would be more likely to hit a Ph.D with a stone than in Hyde Park.
Vindaloo, she means Hyde Park in Chicago, not Hyde Park in London.
and, yes, those with PhD's can often offer very stimulating discussions.
Hyde Park has changed a lot since I lived there (obviously). For that kind of educated atmosphere, you would have needed to go to Evanston back in the day.
oh, and, Lucy, Vindaloo does have a point...I think that I said it early on. The Raleigh/Durham area seems to attract more of the educated types.
not sure that you will find this kind of stimulation here in Charlotte.
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A question of taste
