Charlotte or Columbia? (Charleston, Sumter, Myrtle Beach: houses, buy, theatre)

[temeteron]

Charlotte may not be perfect, but at least it has a diverse population, with a huge amount of people from other parts of the world, an INTERNATIONAL airport that you can fly out to major cities not just rinky dink small towns like Columbia's flights, CLT has major sporting events, major concerts, Plenty of World renowned shopping and Italian brands; something you cant find in Columbia, where can you find Gucci, Prada, or Diesel in Columbia? nowhere! People in CLT are waaay more open-minded than in Columbia....in Columbia if you are not White, Conservative, Southern, that wears Khakis, Oakley Shades, Rainbow flip flops, and Palmetto gear you are looked at like you are crazy. I swear I never get the looks from people the way I get looks from people in Columbia when I wear my hair spiked up and dyed and my Italian brand outfits that are fitted. In Columbia they think you are gay if you wear anything that is fitted, and so what if you are gay? Well, in Columbia it does matter! I'm sorry if you guys dont feel this way but I do...and I have been born and raised in Columbia, but I have lived in several other places, and have been to several other states and countries, and SC in general is by far the most backwards place I've ever been to/lived.

[Akhenaton06]

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen: Charlotte is inherently a better city based on.....fashion. Yeah, that's what most people look for when trying to decide where to live.

[sandlapper]

I know that's the first thing I do when I get to a town I've never been in before. "Show me the mall, I need to spent copious amounts of money on things I already have, away".

[sandlapper]

Justde87

Job availability for ex-military there. Not sure what type of jobs do ex military usually take. Columbia is the capital so there will be state govt. and with the presence of Ft. Jackson the military has some presence there as well. The chances of starting a business in Columbia for African Americans is pretty good. The area has the largest amount of minority owned firms in the state. My buddy actually moved to Columbia from Greenville to start his business. As far as housing take your pick. Personally I would choose the Northeast area, but I grew up in the burbs. I know other former would recommend some nice inner city neighborhoods as well. The area that I grew up in Irmo/St. Andrews would be a good choice as well. Market for African American hairstyle should not be a problem the area is about 40% black so the client base is there.

Good luck with your search!

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by sandlapper

I know that's the first thing I do when I get to a town I've never been in before. "Show me the mall, I need to spent copious amounts of money on things I already have, away".

Exactly. I mean everyone knows that if a city doesn't have high end Italian brands, it must be garbage. Never mind things like education, the economy, the quality of life, the cost of living, the climate--you know, the frivolous things that only shallow people care about. Just show me where I can get a $100 8 oz. bottle of hair gel so I can sport my spiked 'do so people will know that I'm "couture!"

Oh yeah, and make sure that "international" is in the name of the airport. It doesn't have to actually have international destinations like half of the airports that have that term in their names, but that's extremely important to me. It will just make me sleep better at night.

[justde87]

Sandlapper,

Thanks for your response. It helps to know as much as possible. My job in the Army is Human Resource. Do you know of the possibilites for jons in the banking arena? Thanks again...

[Chi2Midlands]

Originally Posted by temeteron

Charlotte may not be perfect, but at least it has a diverse population, with a huge amount of people from other parts of the world, an INTERNATIONAL airport that you can fly out to major cities not just rinky dink small towns like Columbia's flights

Columbia Metropolitan Airport has non-stop flights to:

Atlanta
Charlotte
Chicago
Cincinnati
Dallas
Detroit
Houston
Memphis
Orlando
Philadelphia
New York (LaGuardia & Newark Airports)
Washington (National & Dulles Airports)

Please enlighten me as to which of these cities are "rinky dink".

And as wonderful as Charlotte's airport is (as a Northeast Richland resident, I usually fly out of Charlotte due to typically lower fares), aside from a couple dozen Mexican/Caribbean/Central American tourist destinations, international flights are limited to:

Frankfurt
London
Munich
Toronto

Which is great for a mid-sized city like Charlotte, but it's not like you can fly non-stop to a whole boatload of "world class" cities like Tokyo, Paris, Milan, Singapore, Sydney, Sao Paolo, Johannesburg, Mumbai, etc. It's a good mid-size international airport, not Atlanta or New York.

Plus, comparing Charlotte to Columbia in terms of their airports' destinations is really apples and oranges. It would be like bemoaning that Milwaukee or Indianapolis doesn't have as many destinations or international flights as Chicago.

[Chi2Midlands]

Originally Posted by Chi2Midlands

And as wonderful as Charlotte's airport is (as a Northeast Richland resident, I usually fly out of Charlotte due to typically lower fares), aside from a couple dozen Mexican/Caribbean/Central American tourist destinations, international flights are limited to:

Frankfurt
London
Munich
Toronto

In addition, I personally find complaining about not being like Charlotte useless, especially since so many Columbia residents occasionally drive up I-77 for the relatively short 75-90 minute drive to take advantage of anything that might not be in Columbia (or at least not yet) - like more/cheaper flights, more shopping options, etc. When we used to live in Northern Virginia near DC, we would even occasionally drive an hour-plus to Baltimore for a specific restaurant we liked there or to fly out of Baltimore's airport if the fare was cheap enough (and this with supposedly "classier" Washington in between!). It's no different for Columbians to drive up to Charlotte. Heck, you can even split the difference if you so please - you can live in Rock Hill or Lancaster or any in-between towns and plausibly commute/shop/fly out in either direction. Do we really need SouthPark Mall to be next door to be considered "cool"?

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen: Charlotte is inherently a better city based on.....fashion. Yeah, that's what most people look for when trying to decide where to live.

Yes, fashion is what we're all worried about. If I have an overwhelming desire to purchase clothes I can't locate in Columbia(rare), I would go to New York to shop, not to Charlotte.

As far as the gay community, as mentioned by Temeteron without any hard data; Columbia has so much more per capita than Charlotte does. Pride Parade? Columbia yes, Charlotte no. First community center in the Carolina's? Columbia yes, Charlotte no. When the Human Rights Campaign Foundation had a fundraising dinner in Charlotte they asked Charlotte's mayor to give the welcome speech. Guess who refused and guess which city's mayor gave the welcome in Charlotte? Yes, Columbia's.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by justde87

Sandlapper,

Thanks for your response. It helps to know as much as possible. My job in the Army is Human Resource. Do you know of the possibilites for jons in the banking arena? Thanks again...

Columbia has a lot of banking oriented jobs and don't forget about credit unions, too.