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Just one thing, Charlotte is only three hours from the South Carolina Beaches and Columbia two hours from the mountains of North Carolina
I only lived in Columbia for summer school and spent a lot of time working in Charlotte but this is my take.
Charlotte is more like Atlanta than two any other southern cities.
The professional sports, athletes, and non-southerners transfering into the city and making southerners the minority, change the face of both cities. They no longer have that southern feel.
South Park/Dillworth/Meyers Park remind me of the whole Buckhead area as do the Lenox Mall vs. South Park Mall.
Traffic in both cities horrendous.
I'd take Columbia over either on any day.
And what's up with Charlotte always either changing the name of the street on you mid drive or they all have the same name?
I live in Columbia now, (in Elmwood Park, but we are about to move to Heathwood) and I used to live in South Park area of Charlotte.
I know both very well. I would compare South Charlotte to South Columbia where South Park and Myers Park is like Shandon/Heathwood and then further South is like Forest Acres. Noda reminds me of Earlewood and parts of Elmwood Park.
In Columbia, the Vista and downtown is like... well Uptown.
North of Charlotte up to Lake Norman reminds me of Spring Valley and Lake Carolina.
Fort Mill reminds me of how Lexington used to be. Obviously Lake Murray is like Lake Wylie.
I have no IDEA how to classify Irmo anymore. I see parts of Irmo/Harbison and St. Andrews as declining right now. Lake homes retain their value but St. Andrews is falling apart.
People who call Columbia a hick town OBVIOUSLY never get out, don't know anybody and don't have any friends.
Charlotte is more expensive, shinier, newer and has banking and IT money. Columbia's economy is based in government, military, higher education, manufacturing and some transportation. Columbia has less money, plain and simple. It also has less traffic. People are pretty friendly in both places, but obviously Charlotte has more transplants.
I like Columbia's "patina" and quirkiness, other people like Charlotte's shiny new-ness. It's probably easier to make a name for yourself in Columbia. It's probably easier to attain a 6 figure income if you are an MBA/CPA/Finance/IT person in Charlotte. Charlotte has the money to be more supportive of the arts, but Columbia is pretty darn "artsy". The food is good in both places.
The drive to the beach is shorter from Columbia. :-P The drive to the mountains is shorter from Charlotte.
Columbia city council and leadership is SO IRRITATING! They are bonkers. In fact, voters all over SC are absolutely bananas. I'm gonna be charitable and chalk it up to "quirkiness". (I live in Columbia now, so I have to put a positive spin on it to make myself happy. :-P )
eh? What's important to you? Do you like shiny new things or quirky charming things?
i agree with that, good post.
i would add that in 1920, Richland County and Mecklenberg County had the same population, about 78,000 and 80,000 respectively. Today Richland has 385,000 and Mecklenberg has 910,000.
Charlotte has grown far more rapidly than Columbia, which explains why Columbia has retained a much more "southern" cultural fabric.
Thanks for the post folks! I'm a Charlotte native that still lives in Charlotte and will be in Columbia for most of next week for work. I am hoping I can find some decent restaurants and things to do in the evening. I do not want to be in my hotel room when there may be something worth visiting/doing.
I'm a minority in my mid 20s so I am hoping I don't stick out like a sore thumb!
Neither have the big, huge, nasty, ugly FLYING ROACHES that Charleston does. The locals call them Palmetto Bugs.
Dont be fooled. They are huge, ugly, nasty roaches that literally FLY. They'll jump off a wall and fly at you!!!
I though it was the movie "Men in Black", remember the giant roaches? Those giant alien roaches, if real, surely trace their ancestry to Charleston.
And by "big" I mean measured in inches. Just when you think you've seen the biggest one ever, one night you'll be walking to your apt and see the Goliath, some new, creeping bast*rd that is 3-4 inches long and about to take flight upon your footsteps.
Neither have the big, huge, nasty, ugly FLYING ROACHES that Charleston does. The locals call them Palmetto Bugs.
Dont be fooled. They are huge, ugly, nasty roaches that literally FLY. They'll jump off a wall and fly at you!!!
I though it was the movie "Men in Black", remember the giant roaches? Those giant alien roaches, if real, surely trace their ancestry to Charleston.
And by "big" I mean measured in inches. Just when you think you've seen the biggest one ever, one night you'll be walking to your apt and see the Goliath, some new, creeping bast*rd that is 3-4 inches long and about to take flight upon your footsteps.
american cockroaches (the big, black, flying roaches) are common in Columbia as well as Charleston.
the cool thing about palmetto bugs and roaches is that if you ever get bored around the house take a bb gun and practice your sniper skills. i can usually pick them off pretty easily now. its like call of duty in my house sometimes. just be careful of the ricochet.
the cool thing about palmetto bugs and roaches is that if you ever get bored around the house take a bb gun and practice your sniper skills. i can usually pick them off pretty easily now. its like call of duty in my house sometimes. just be careful of the ricochet.
This is a very funny post.
As someone who has never lived with roaches (or at least roaches like we have around here), I ******* <---(use your imagination) HATE them. Being HUGE is bad enough but the speed at which they move just makes me quiver.
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