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The people are for the most part nice in Charlotte. It is pretty clean and I am not aware of a big drug problem. There is quite a bit of crime, but it typically is localized to the less than desirable areas. The shopping is good, but there isn't much boutique shopping to speak of. US Air's hub is here so you can get a direct flight to a lot of places.
I have to stick to my guns about it not having lots to do, but I guess it really depends on what you are looking for. I would suggest you checking out the website:
It will list the event going on in and around Charlotte. You will have to wade through the random things like Reiki meetings and the like to find stuff going on in and around the city.
Charlotte isn't a very artistic or cultured place to live on a day to day basis. The major plays come here, but there aren't a lot of intimate venues for local artistic endeavor. The one area of the city that people often talk about as artsy (NoDa) is about a 3 block area. That is as artistic as it gets (unless you consider crafting an artform).
I am in my early 30's and most of the people I know are about that age. We have all tried Match.com and eHarmony and I don't know anyone who has had any luck on any of the websites. The single men my age are typically divorcees with several small children and many don't have a lot going for them (yeah, I know that's a generalization).
People here are very churchy. One of the 1st questions you will typically be asked is about the church you go to or type of church you are looking for. You will then get an invitation to church. Again completely family oriented. I once sat in a service where the minister prayed for the single and the diseased in the same breath (Thanks, right?)
Don't get me wrong there are happy people here. I just can't say that I know any single people that are particularly satisfied. Sorry for being such a downer, but I wished someone had told me all of this before I came here. I seriously would have stayed on the West Coast.
Thanks for your response. I appreciate your honesty. As far as meeting men goes, personally I don't believe the internet is a very successful approach. I lived in Albuquerque NM for 13 years and believe me, the pickings were REALLY slim there. I tried those websites and was severly disappointed. I did have one long live-in relationship that lasted 5 years, but outside of that all my relationships were long-distance ones (I travelled alot in my job - thank God). I really believe that had I not wasted the remainder of my youth living there I would be married right now. So my advice to you is that if you can't meet anyone worthwhile in Charlotte, get out while you are still young enough - because, trust me, the pickings will only get slimmer the older you are.
About the church thing, I realize the south is very religious, but was hoping Charlotte was a bit more open-minded in that regard. I have family in Jackson, Ms. and one visit there and I knew I couldn't live there. Not only is it an ugly city, but absolutely everything revolves around the church - my family's entire social life revolves around their church and the people in it. I'm not putting anyone down who goes to church and has religious beliefs (I consider myself more spiritual than religious) but I don't want to live in an environment where you are judged according to that.
It's also disappointing to hear the art scene is pretty much nonexistant there.
I still see good points to Charlotte for me. 4 seasons and a mild winter are a plus. I could not go back to a really cold climate again (was born and raised in St. Louis). Also, aside from the taxes, it's pretty affordable. I'd be in California in a hearbeat were it not for the cost of living. I visited there often when I lived in New Mexico. I loved San Diego.
Honestly, the main reason I'm considering the south (Florida, except the northern part of it really isn't like the south) is the weather and the cost of living and also the friendliness of the people.
I do have one more question. Have you made good friends there? At my age, that is honestly more important to me than meeting a man (statisically I'm screwed in that area). Like I said, there are a lot of single people in south Florida but the quality of them is low. However, if there are few single people in Charlotte that limits my ability to make friends. I realize singles in my age brackett are the minority everywhere but I have always had younger friends - I'm young at HEART. Thanks.
I would like the nightlife to have more variety. It is a one trick pony with its love of bars. In my previous post I spoke about enjoying more intimate venues where various artist can come and showcase their artform. I would like there to be more festivals and events that aren't 100% about kids. I was sent a list of movies that were going to be playing at a park near my home and was surprised to see that they were all G rated. I get not doing rated R movies, but they couldn't toss the adults a bone and have a few PG movies?
I am more a wine drinker, but found myself at the beer and bourbon festival last year, just because I knew there wouldn't be a clown painting faces and a bouncy house in sight.
I do not hate children, I just don't think life should revolve around them. I also think that there are at least more than a few people in Charlotte that would be interested in some adult oriented activities (in a non-gutter minded kind of way).
Are you serious? That's really bad. Personally, I do NOT particularly like children. Never have. I am really surprised that the festivals there are so child-centered. I'm going to look up the demographics. It's hard to believe there would not be enough single people there to support some of the activities you are talking about.
I do have one more question. Have you made good friends there? At my age, that is honestly more important to me than meeting a man (statisically I'm screwed in that area). Like I said, there are a lot of single people in south Florida but the quality of them is low. However, if there are few single people in Charlotte that limits my ability to make friends. I realize singles in my age brackett are the minority everywhere but I have always had younger friends - I'm young at HEART. Thanks.
I have made some good friends. Strangely, at a church that I visited for a while. They are far more religious than I am, but are nice people, so I make the effort to spend time with them. I have also made some friends at work. Someone told me today that I needed to find some groups to join to broaden my horizons so I am tossing that in as a possibility to meet people.
Unfortunately, yeah I was serious about my last post that you responded to. It is very child centered, but I don't want you to change your mind based on just what I am telling you. Visit and stay for about a week. Walk around and go to any festivals that are going on. I would also suggest walking around Uptown at night on a weekend so you can get a feel for what the single people are up to. Go to NoDa and people watch for a while. Try Charlotte out and allow yourself to really understand what life is like here. I would suggest that you even stop people on the street and ask them what they love and hate. Don't let my opinion be the only one you get.
Location: Sunny Phoenix Arizona...wishing for a beach.
4,300 posts, read 14,951,960 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wanderer - Not Lost
I am a Cali-girl currently living in Charlotte (been here over 2 years) and have to admit to NOT loving it here. The cost of living is cheaper in that you can buy a house for next to nothing compared to LA, but services cost you a lot more. If you are used to paying $25 for a mani and pedi in LA, you should wrap your mind around paying $30-$40 for just a pedi. (I know this sounds trivial - but it is only an example of how much services cost here).
They do tax everything. I was shocked to discover that you have to pay a car tax (which isn't cheap), and people tell me that there are even pet taxes. (I don't have any so I don't worry about it.)
It is a great place to be married and have small children (which is what Forbes.com said about it), but if you are single and over the age of 25 you will be bored out of your mind. This is the experience that I am having as well as everyone else that I know that is single and over 25. Please don't tell me that only boring people are bored. It is easy to be bored in a city that almost exclusively caters to families and treats singles like we don't exist.
Can you say fried food. They fry everything here!. I miss being able to run to places and get good healthy fast food. You will find that you can't get anything healthy and fast here. You will also find that most restaurants don't have much healthy on their menu. It wasn't until I moved to the south that I discovered restaurants that did not have baked chicken or vegetarian items on the menu. They even put meat in their vegetables!
On the positive it is close to the beach (2.5 hours away) and the mountains. I live in South Charlotte which is pretty, but very slow. I would say live closer to Uptown and learn to love bars, since that is really the only thing to do.
I am advocating that you avoid Charlotte and pick a more dynamic place to live.
I paid 18.00 for my pedicure in Charlotte. I had baked chicken and veggies without meat. You need to explore more in Charlotte.
I paid 18.00 for my pedicure in Charlotte. I had baked chicken and veggies without meat. You need to explore more in Charlotte.
So glad you said that! I have never paid more than $20 for a pedicure in Charlotte - heck getting my eyebrows done has never cost me more than $8.00! I'm thinking that poster hasn't really explored Charlotte very much
Just FYI for anone trying to get info on Charlotte - Forbes is not a terribly reliable research tool. They put out an article in Feb 2008 listing Charlotte as the 9th most miserable city, in part because the job growth had not kept pace with the population growth. Then 3 months later in May, they published an article citing Charlotte as the 9th most recession-proof city, in part due its job growth and low unemployment rates. Can things really change that much in 3 months? I think not.
Just FYI for anone trying to get info on Charlotte - Forbes is not a terribly reliable research tool. They put out an article in Feb 2008 listing Charlotte as the 9th most miserable city, in part because the job growth had not kept pace with the population growth. Then 3 months later in May, they published an article citing Charlotte as the 9th most recession-proof city, in part due its job growth and low unemployment rates. Can things really change that much in 3 months? I think not.
Not many of us here are fans of Forbes - that's been stated plenty of times
So glad you said that! I have never paid more than $20 for a pedicure in Charlotte - heck getting my eyebrows done has never cost me more than $8.00! I'm thinking that poster hasn't really explored Charlotte very much
I fully admit to not having gone everywhere in Charlotte. I typically stay out of the seedier areas and I also don't go too deeply into the burbs. I most certainly don't leave Charlotte very much (too many Confederate flags for my taste). I do live on the nicer side of town and I am sure that service places do somewhat take advantage of that fact. My point was that in California it is easier to find these deals that you refer to. You don't have to go very far outside your own neighborhood, even if you live in one of the nicest areas of town and every restaurant serves several healthy dishes. I didn't say it was impossible to find a cheap manicure or a restaurant that serves baked chicken in Charlotte. A person is just less likely to find these things here than in Los Angeles (which is where I was born and raised, and know pretty well since I moved from there to here). So my comments were from the perspective of someone from Los Angeles to someone from Los Angeles considering coming here.
Last edited by Wanderer - Not Lost; 09-03-2009 at 03:51 PM..
Just FYI for anone trying to get info on Charlotte - Forbes is not a terribly reliable research tool. They put out an article in Feb 2008 listing Charlotte as the 9th most miserable city, in part because the job growth had not kept pace with the population growth. Then 3 months later in May, they published an article citing Charlotte as the 9th most recession-proof city, in part due its job growth and low unemployment rates. Can things really change that much in 3 months? I think not.
I wasn't suggesting that Forbes be your primary (or even secondary)source of information. I was just letting you know that I just didn't make up the part about the relative family friendliness of the city. I don't think this is a bad thing, but if you are without the husband and kids then you may want to think twice about moving to a city that is considered to be top of the list of places to raise a family.
Good luck finding the information you need and deciding on the best course for your life.
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