Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No one said anything about overreliance, so where are you getting that from? The name of the game is diversification.
The new annexation laws took effect recently, like within the past year or so.
OK.
Economic diversification takes years. You act like you can just flip a switch and everything will be better. Take a lesson from the Rust Belt... you're in it for the long-haul. Meanwhile, other Sun Belt cities are probably going to start attracting people that would've otherwise moved there. Economics is not some unimportant thing. It's the number 1 reason for people to move.
Interesting. Well I guess we'll find out if it actually does have an effect.
Economic diversification takes years. You act like you can just flip a switch and everything will be better. Take a lesson from the Rust Belt... you're in it for the long-haul. Meanwhile, other Sun Belt cities are probably going to start attracting people that would've otherwise moved there. Economics is not some unimportant thing. It's the number 1 reason for people to move.
Interesting. Well I guess we'll find out if it actually does have an effect.
And so does overreliance on one industry.
You're not saying anything I, or Charlotte leaders, don't already know so I'm not sure where the sermon is coming in at.
Diversification had been taking place in Charlotte for years. Once again, the number one employer in Charlotte is actually Carolina's Healthcare Center, which is actually one of the largest public hospital systems in the nation. Charlotte is also home to the largest electric power utility company. Charlotte also has a significant manufacturing presence. So Charlotte is definitely diversifying. While the boom times won't last, the name of the game is sustainable growth. This is definitely where Charlotte is going.
In regards to the unemployment in Charlotte. Some believe that Charlotte still has plenty of jobs. so they move here unemployed. This is part of the reason Charlotte's unemployment hasn't gone down as fast as others.
Diversification had been taking place in Charlotte for years. Once again, the number one employer in Charlotte is actually Carolina's Healthcare Center, which is actually one of the largest public hospital systems in the nation. Charlotte is also home to the largest electric power utility company. Charlotte also has a significant manufacturing presence. So Charlotte is definitely diversifying. While the boom times won't last, the name of the game is sustainable growth. This is definitely where Charlotte is going.
In regards to the unemployment in Charlotte. Some believe that Charlotte still has plenty of jobs. so they move here unemployed. This is part of the reason Charlotte's unemployment hasn't gone down as fast as others.
Again, you can't excuse high unemployment because of population growth when cities like Austin are growing just as fast and yet have much lower unemployment.
There is actually a misconception that Charlotte is a one trick pony and depends heavily on banking. While Charlotte does generate a higher percentage of its GDP from banking, the largest employer is actually Carolina's Healthcare System. The other largest employer is actually another Bank that is no longer HQ'd in Charlotte. Furthermore, Charlotte is now home to the largest electric power utility company in the country. Charlotte also has a large manufacturing presence. Once again, I am not saying that this makes Charlotte above and beyond the other areas but just want to shed light that Charlotte is waaaaay more than banking.
Concerning Charlotte's economic recovery, it is actually deeper than what people think. It is in response to the banking crisis and to old manufacturing jobs that aren't coming back. Furthermore, Charlotte id still growing fast and not everyone moving here is employed. So this its why Charlotte is still recovering and has a high unemployment rate. And on paper, Charlotte had recovered fully. However, in reality it still has some work to do.
As far as neighborhoods go, that is subjective. Are you suggesting Charlotte is lacking great neighborhoods? How many neighborhoods in Charlotte have you been to?
Last year I did a co-op with several different universities where we studied socioeconmic advantages and disadvantages to many of Charlotte's neighborhoods, as well as the cultural and human geography aspects of the city. I am doing the same thing in Atlanta come June with GSU. I am actually looking forward to going to Atlanta. I was pretty excitied to go to Charlotte to see all that LYNX had done, but I left very disappointed in Charlotte. That is of course my opinion. The only cities that I really enjoyed in the South were Miami and Atlanta. I studied at UF in Gainesville and would frequent ATL because it was one of the few "real" cities in the region. I have been to several neighborhoods in Charlotte because we studied both the good and the bad, and I mainly focused on the ecomomic inequality of these neighborhoods. I spent over two months in Charlotte and its neighborhoods pretty much five days a week the entire time, while spending some weekends up in Huntersville and Lake Norman because one of the the local univerisity graduate students was from the area. I have spent more time in Charlotte than I have Columbus, and I only live three hours from Columbus. My overall opinion and observation is that Columbus has more diverse and viable neighborhoods than Charlotte. They were lively and full of all kinds of people. I could literally go from the Short North down to German Village or the Brewery District and found different kinds of people, restaurants, etc and they were all full of people out and about enjoying what each distinct neighborhood had to offer. You're right, what neighborhoods you prefer are subjective, but what I found in Columbus had much more diversity to it than Charlotte, and that had something to offer for everyone from the university students, gays, empty nesters, or gentrifiers. So subjectivity is key, but Columbus had more for all kinds of different people.
As far as some of the neighborhoods I did studies in:
Myers Park (more affluent studying)
I stayed in University City
More suburban Southpark
South End/Uptown
North Davidson (Seriously needs to learn something from Columbus' Short North)
Midwood
Those are more of the better off places we studied where places had a lot of construction or gentrifying. Did you want to know the bad ones too?
I'm definitely not "praising Charlotte's growth". Multiple links can prove that. The fact that Columbus isn't on those list is more than likely the reason you're getting so defensive.
Other than jobs, what has Charlotte lost during the recession? It surely wasn't people because while other cities stagnated, Charlotte continued to grow, which explains the unemployment numbers.
You're comparing Charlotte to Detroit and Las Vegas, which is ridiculous.
Funny, because the "biggest embarrassment bank in the country", also is the 13th largest company in the county.
You're obviously very misinformed about Charlotte, so maybe you should look deeper.
According to the 2011 data that I looked at, it had 7:
I'm certainly not getting defensive, don't know if we could say the same for you. The fact of the matter is you're downplaying Columbus, while making sure everyone knows how great Charlotte is. Being negative and ignorant are two different things (from what you said in your one post). You may not be negative towards Columbus, but you reek of ignorance. "What is Columbus known for... Big Lots lol." Hmmm, according to the fortune 500 list, Columbus has 4 fortune 500 companies more profitable than Big Lots. That would be like me saying "What is Charlotte known for, Nascar or Lowes? Which one, take your pick."
Columbus' population has been one of the healthiest in the northern half of the country. The city population grew by almost 11% in the last decade, and had a population of 787,033 in 2010 and with the latest estimate in 2011 at 797,434. So I really don't care if Columbus makes it onto Forbes' fastest growing city list, but the fact that it is on several other crediable lists for such things as jobs recovered, one of the healthiest/diverse economies of major metro areas, etc... I'll take that.
Other than jobs? Jobs is huge! Well other than jobs.... really?
Cities with 5 or more FORTUNE 500 headquarters.
CityStateNumber of
Fortune 500 companies
New YorkNY45
HoustonTX22
DallasTX10
AtlantaGA10
MinneapolisMN9
ChicagoIL8
St. LouisMO8
San FranciscoCA8 CharlotteNC7
CincinnatiOH6
ClevelandCO5 ColumbusOH5
EnglewoodCO5
Los AngelesCA5
McLeanVA5
MilwaukeeWI5
OmahaNE5
PhiladelphiaPA5
PhoenixAZ5
PittsburghPA5
RichmondVA5
San AntonioTX5
And since you're denying Columbus of jobs recovered, this is from Columbus' main paper (The Dispatch) two days ago:
Quote:
Total employment in January was at 959,100, LaFayette said. The old peak had been 947,600 in January 2008.
BoA is a huge embarrassment. Foreclosure crisis ring a bell? A huge downfall to the American economy from the recent/ongoing recession. BoA was a prime candidate in the housing bust. Lets just hand out loans to people who can't afford them. BoA wasn't alone in this act, but they were certainly one of the front runners.
Charlotte to the likes of Vegas and Detroit because of casinos and automobiles like banking in Charlotte. We know Charlotte has more industries, but banking and the financial sector is huge in Charlotte, and Charlotte is really hurting until they can get back on their feet fully.
"Take a deeper look"... I feel like I am talking to a wall here. Maybe educate yourself on Columbus a bit.
I did read the article, lol. One can understand what it's about simply by the title, BTW.
That's how you get your info, just by reading the title. And you call yourself informed.
Could you please provide anymore reliable lists other than Forbes'? Bizjournal isn't going to cut it.
Could you?
Obviously populatiopn growth and economic growth aren't the same. Charlotte is experiencing both, Columbus is not.
Columbus IS experiencing both.
But again, so is Charlotte, along with population, like Austin, which is why the two are so close in the poll.
Judging a city with its ranking in the polls is like judging a poster on here based on their reputation points. I know some posters on here from other places, most of the other million I do not. Shocking! Most people with low rep points may be great people, others with high rep points may not; there's no way in telling what a person is like via rep points, and same goes for a random thread poll. Take into account how many Charlotte posters you have here versus Sacramento. I know there are a lot of California and Texas posters on this forum, maybe that's why Houston or San Diego always ranks above Phoenix (just throwing some random example out there).
Maybe you should be trying to defend the fact that Indianapolis is almost tied with Columbus.
So, that means what? Indianapolis has a lot of great qualities compared to Charlotte, again, it's a poll.
Not exactly. Depsite adding so many people years in a row, Charlotte has maintained it's traffic to a minimum and cost of living has not increased drastically (which is one of the main reasons many people are flocking to Charlotte).
Charlotte's traffic is actually very well controlled. They are finally finishing up the beltway in the northern half of the metro, but something Columbus has already done. I will agree with you here. Austin on the other hand is a good example of rapid growth and traffic congestion and a freeway network not able to keep up.
For a city that has been topping lists since around 2000 with population growth (while going through two recessions), and no sign of it changing anytime soon, I'm sure Charlotte will continue to grow like is has. As will Austin.
Austin, no doubt.
For Charlotte's unemployment to be so high, people still find it a desirable place to live. Now, with better economic news for the city, it gives them all the more reason.
Florida has a high unemployment rate, too. Livability has gone down pretty rapidly, and as a college graduate, I left Florida to find employment in the more diversified North.
Columbus' metro is larger than Charlotte's (for now), and according to you, there's so much more economically happening there, yet Charlotte's competing with a tier above Columbus as a Gamma+ city.
Broken record. I have read several posts in other threads how Charlotte is a Gamma+ city.
I'm not understanding what you're misunderstanding.
Neither do I.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
