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Charlotte against Atlanta is a no brainer, especially if we consider the metro areas. However, Mecklenburg county, of which Charlotte resides, is actually quite similar to Fulton county. They are roughly 540+ square miles and over 900k in population. There are several differences between the two. Charlotte dominates most of the area in Mecklenburg and there are only 7 municipalities. Atlanta doesn't dominate the area of Fulton and there are 14 municipalities. While the politics of the state as well as the counties are different, I think that these two counties are quite an intriguing. So, fellow friends. Compare and contrast the two. Some things to consider:
Which will hit 1 million first?
Which offers the most bang for the buck?
Which has more going economically?
Which offers the most diverse array of living arrangements?
Which county, including ALL of the municipalities, is more cohesive?
Which will hit 1 million first? Charlotte is growing faster, so I'd say Charlotte.
Which offers the most bang for the buck? This can be both.
Which has more going economically? Atlanta has 1 or 2 more 500's than Charlotte, but Charlotte was recently ranked one of the best places to work/find a job.
Which county, including ALL of the municipalities, is more cohesive? Charlotte without question.
Which will hit 1 million first? I don't know. They currently about dead even but Mecklenburg county does appear to be growing faster.
Which offers the most bang for the buck? I would say Fulton but this is subjective. Fulton is not that expensive and you get all of the amenities of Atlanta.
Which has more going economically? Fulton. Not only does Fulton include downtown ATL bit also Midtown, Buckhead and the massive Dunwoody/Perimeter office district. I would imagine the GDP of Fulton would be substantially higher.
Which offers the most diverse array of living arrangements? I don't know how much variety Mecklenburg offers but I do know that Fulton offers a huge variety of living arrangements due to its irregular geographical shape. You have south Fulton which is hardly developed, central Fulton which is downtown/midtown/buckhead/perimeter, and north Fulton which is highly suburban.
Which county, including ALL of the municipalities, is more cohesive? I would be shocked if Fulton was more cohesive. Because of its irregular shape, Fulton is very divided with it's development. You really have to factor Cobb, Gwinett, and especially Dekalb counties when talking about what cohesiveness Atlanta has. I'm going to assume Mecklenburg is more cohesive.
I had a feeling this would happen. This is just a reminder that this is more than just Atlanta versus Charlotte. This also includes Matthews, Huntersville, and Cornelius against Roswell, Sandy Springs, and Alpharetta .
I had a feeling this would happen. This is just a reminder that this is more than just Atlanta versus Charlotte. This also includes Matthews, Huntersville, and Cornelius against Roswell, Sandy Springs, and Alpharetta .
Yeah, but the northern suburbs of Atlanta are an economic force to be reckoned with. Alpharetta probably stacks up to Ballantyne well, but Mecklenburg has no match for Sandy Springs/Perimeter which is actually the largest office district in the metro and where most of the metro's corporate headquarters are located. On the other hand, Fulton County really doesn't have a match for Huntersville/Cornelius in terms of that lakeside lifestyle (that's in other parts of the metro).
Mecklenburg County is definitely more cohesive; Fulton County has too many "anti-cities" that have incorporated in recent years and there's much more balkanization.
Most diverse array of living arrangements? Definitely Fulton. Dowtown, Midtown, Buckhead, the streetcar suburbs, neighborhood villages, mill villages, pure suburbia, etc. Mecklenburg has its own versions of these (except for downtown; Uptown Charlotte lacks the historic urban stock and large university of downtown Atlanta and is a little more like Midtown to an extent) but not nearly as many.
I had a feeling this would happen. This is just a reminder that this is more than just Atlanta versus Charlotte. This also includes Matthews, Huntersville, and Cornelius against Roswell, Sandy Springs, and Alpharetta .
Why did you create the poll then? Most people aren't too familiar with the counties so of course they are going to see Atlanta vs Charlotte.
The 2009 estimate for Fulton was over 1 million. The 2010 Census counted something like 10% less than that. I have no way of knowing that an undercount did not occur, but there are many who assume one must have, it seems based solely on the 2009 estimate being much higher than the census count. If anyone has any other reason why an undercount 'must' have occurred, I'd be interested to hear it.
Why did you create the poll then? Most people aren't too familiar with the counties so of course they are going to see Atlanta vs Charlotte.
I created the poll to have a comparison between the counties. Many people know the cities, but Charlotte is about twice the of Atlanta. However the counties they reside are roughly the same size. NC and GA are close in population and these counties are their most populous counties. It's quite a microcosm of the urban areas of the state.
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