Liberal City in North Carolina (Charlotte, Raleigh: place to live, stats, moving to)

[HillsboroughNative]

Honey if ya'll want a liberal place look no farther than good ole Orange County (Hillsborough, Carrboro, Chapel Hill). Our own county fools err I mean commissioners openly state that Republicans, such as myself, are not welcomed. You can't get anymore liberal than that.

But beware, unless you are alright with it, we do have insane taxes. And therefore the natives are not welcomed here either because they have all been priced out of our hometown(s).

[anifani821]

I am a native. Charlotte is what I would label a "moderate to moderate-conservative" city. It is a city w/ a small town feel in many ways. It all depends on where you are spending your time in CLT as to how socially conservative it will feel. But "liberal" is simply not a word I would use to describe CLT.

If others feel they have found a niche in CLT and feel CLT is liberal - then I say - GREAT! I am happy that this city offers different strokes for different folks. For me, I just haven't seen the "liberal" side of CLT . . . but maybe it exists in areas where I have not spent my time.

[cyntmac]

Places like college towns and environs or better yet Boulder Co, Asheville, Burlington VT, etc- seem like the most liberal places because they are a bit like a bubble. They don't yet have big city problems and people can idealize them in their mind and not be dissapointed when they actually visit or move there. A city like Charlotte is too real world to have that protective bubble around it.

In my experience liberal people can also be very racist. They are self proclaimed or self avowed liberals and don't see the world for what it is. They love the bubble and big cities that might have some of what they are looking for would have too many negatives for them. I sometimes think the reason I would not like to live in a place like Boulder is because of this attitude. The area itself is beautiful and it has a strong lefty hippy vibe but at this point in my life I have already spent too much time in the real world and can't go backwards now. If that makes any sense. I don't know if Asheville is filled up with Boulder types yet. It could happen in the future though.

[urbancharlotte]

Originally Posted by anifani821

I am a native. Charlotte is what I would label a "moderate to moderate-conservative" city. It is a city w/ a small town feel in many ways. It all depends on where you are spending your time in CLT as to how socially conservative it will feel. But "liberal" is simply not a word I would use to describe CLT.

If others feel they have found a niche in CLT and feel CLT is liberal - then I say - GREAT! I am happy that this city offers different strokes for different folks. For me, I just haven't seen the "liberal" side of CLT . . . but maybe it exists in areas where I have not spent my time.

The liberal areas are places like Uptown, South End, Noda, Plaza Midwood, Elizabeth, Hawthorne, Freedom Drive area, Central Avenue area, Albemarle Rd area, and quite a few others. I must admit that Charlotte (and no NC town) is liberal like San Fran. In an earlier post, I said that NC nationally is a moderate state. By NC standards however, Durham and Charlotte are pretty liberal. By national standards these towns are not. I hope that clears things up.

[urbancharlotte]

Originally Posted by cyntmac

Places like college towns and environs or better yet Boulder Co, Asheville, Burlington VT, etc- seem like the most liberal places because they are a bit like a bubble. They don't yet have big city problems and people can idealize them in their mind and not be dissapointed when they actually visit or move there. A city like Charlotte is too real world to have that protective bubble around it.

In my experience liberal people can also be very racist. They are self proclaimed or self avowed liberals and don't see the world for what it is. They love the bubble and big cities that might have some of what they are looking for would have too many negatives for them. I sometimes think the reason I would not like to live in a place like Boulder is because of this attitude. The area itself is beautiful and it has a strong lefty hippy vibe but at this point in my life I have already spent too much time in the real world and can't go backwards now. If that makes any sense. I don't know if Asheville is filled up with Boulder types yet. It could happen in the future though.

I love your post. You are one of the few people that I've seen who has a REAL understanding of what it is to be liberal. In places like San Fran, the liberals there are very prejudice of ANY one that is not like them. For instance, many of them assume that a person from the south is a country backwards gay bashing "bible thumper". San Fran is a perfect example of liberals "in a bubble". Their beliefs and culture is so opposite of "the rest of America" that it is almost cult like. When measured to places like San Fran, NC is very conservative.

When we ask who is the most liberal in NC, I must say that Durham and Charlotte are my picks however. This "cult like liberal attitude" can be found in much of Charlotte's inner neighborhoods. "Normal folks" are not very welcomed (hence, they never visit) these areas of Charlotte I am talking about. For example, I personally know of people that have moved out of and quit jobs in certain areas of Charlotte (South End, Noda, Plaza Midwood) due to the number of gays, racial "mixing", and Potheads in these neighborhoods. Charlotte as a whole is not like some of these neighborhoods. However, these neighborhoods together are roughly 250,000 people strong. Places like Asheville and Durham are not that populated. This is why I call Charlotte liberal. The "not so normal class" can be found in large numbers in inner Charlotte. However, places like Ballantyne and Providence Rd near Weddington are as "whitebread" as they come. Charlotte is without a doubt two cities in one. Many people are aware of "whitebread" Charlotte. I am not a product of "whitebread" Charlotte. I grew up in a very liberal neighborhood called South Side Homes. Most people in "whitebread" Charlotte has no clue where this neighborhood is. Liberal Charlotte is very aware of places like South Side Homes. Also keep in mind that there are only a hand full of these liberal areas of Charlotte represented on citydata. I think anyone that doubts Charlotte's liberalism should really walk (not drive) through areas like Plaza Midwood, South End, Noda, and Uptown. These areas are not liberal when compared to San Fran. They are liberal by NC standards though. These are not all of Charlotte's liberal areas but they are a good start for a walking tour. I think even a longtime Charlottean might be surprised (or scared) by these neighborhoods.

[metro.m]

Originally Posted by urbancharlotte

I love your post. You are one of the few people that I've seen who has a REAL understanding of what it is to be liberal. In places like San Fran, the liberals there are very prejudice of ANY one that is not like them. For instance, many of them assume that a person from the south is a country backwards gay bashing "bible thumper". San Fran is a perfect example of liberals "in a bubble". Their beliefs and culture is so opposite of "the rest of America" that it is almost cult like. When measured to places like San Fran, NC is very conservative.

When we ask who is the most liberal in NC, I must say that Durham and Charlotte are my picks however. This "cult like liberal attitude" can be found in much of Charlotte's inner neighborhoods. "Normal folks" are not very welcomed (hence, they never visit) these areas of Charlotte I am talking about. For example, I personally know of people that have moved out of and quit jobs in certain areas of Charlotte (South End, Noda, Plaza Midwood) due to the number of gays, racial "mixing", and Potheads in these neighborhoods. Charlotte as a whole is not like some of these neighborhoods. However, these neighborhoods together are roughly 250,000 people strong. Places like Asheville and Durham are not that populated. This is why I call Charlotte liberal. The "not so normal class" can be found in large numbers in inner Charlotte. However, places like Ballantyne and Providence Rd near Weddington are as "whitebread" as they come. Charlotte is without a doubt two cities in one. Many people are aware of "whitebread" Charlotte. I am not a product of "whitebread" Charlotte. I grew up in a very liberal neighborhood called South Side Homes. Most people in "whitebread" Charlotte has no clue where this neighborhood is. Liberal Charlotte is very aware of places like South Side Homes. Also keep in mind that there are only a hand full of these liberal areas of Charlotte represented on citydata. I think anyone that doubts Charlotte's liberalism should really walk (not drive) through areas like Plaza Midwood, South End, Noda, and Uptown. These areas are not liberal when compared to San Fran. They are liberal by NC standards though. These are not all of Charlotte's liberal areas but they are a good start for a walking tour. I think even a longtime Charlottean might be surprised (or scared) by these neighborhoods.

I think you see Charlotte in a different light than anyone I've ever known. Durham and Charlotte? Polar opposites.

[urbancharlotte]

Originally Posted by metro.m

I think you see Charlotte in a different light than anyone I've ever known. Durham and Charlotte? Polar opposites.

I think I can explain your experience with Charlotteans when it comes to being liberal. Charlotte is a city of nearly 700,000 and 280 sq/mi of land (think two "Raleighs" side by side). This is a city that has a fairly large population of people that only know their own little area of town and the way of life their area offers. The more liberal side of Charlotte aren't posting on websites. I am not considered a liberal, but I wish Charlotte liberals were on citydata sharing their stories with us. They are not however. You know how it is. If you don't make a noise, you don't exist. "Whitebread" Charlotte makes a noise on the internet. I have learned this much from posting on Citydata.

In time, I hope that people will open their minds to what I am saying about Charlotte because I speak for a group of Charlotteans that are not posting anything on these forums. Charlotte is known for being conservative. That is a fact. Chicago is called the "Windy City" yet Boston and Dodge City Kansas are much windier. This is why you can't go by what a city is known for. Being known for something does not make it true. The fact that Mecklenburg and Durham county had the highest % and number of votes for Obama shows that there is a social/political connection between these two counties in NC. I have been telling people about this connection even before the election. I was not surprised by the election results at all. I already knew what to expect from Meck and Durham. They are NC's liberals. Nothing more, nothing less.

The biggest difference between Meck and Durham is distance, population, and business. Everything else about Durham is quite similar to many areas of Charlotte. Durham reminds me more of Charlotte's inner neighborhoods than Raleigh does. My Charlotte/Durham comparisons are strictly social. They are not size and business comparisons. The black population of these two cities have a lot to do with their similarities. Anyone that is not aware of Charlotte's similarities to Durham are probably not too familiar with inner Charlotte. Beattes Ford Rd, Rozzelles Ferry Rd, Freedom Drive, Little Rock Rd, Central Ave, North Tryon near uptown (pretty much the entire I-85 corridor of Charlotte) looks and feels like Durham. Graham St especially feels like Durham. I can name lots more areas of Charlotte that is Durham's twin LOL!!! I can name areas of Charlotte that is Greensboro and Raleigh's twin also. There are also vast areas of Charlotte that can not be found any where else in NC. It is just the nature of Charlotte's size. Liberal, conservative, small town, big city whatever. It is all here. Charlotte is a city that really can't be labeled yet. That is what makes this an interesting debate. No one is wrong no matter what they call Charlotte. I say Charlotte is on the liberal side by NC standards. So is Durham. I stand by those statements firmly yet I am not offended at all by those that tend to disagree. We are all entitled to our opinions!!!

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

^^You can't have a conversation about liberal places to live in NC without talking about Asheville, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro. Everything else is just a runner-up at best.

[cyntmac]

If your talking strictly about politics it would be a smaller city. I don't consider any of the large cities in the southeast to be very liberal in that regard. I see the point about chapel hill or asheville- they probably have liberal mayors and city councils but it doesn't mean that the surrounding area does. When places become very yuppiefied (like for example Austin where I lived for several years) the long timers always scream that the area becomes more conservative. Has this phenomenon not yet come to NC?

You really have to think about areas that have long been known as "liberal"- when they become overrun with mcmansions and suvs they really do start to swing more toward the center away from the left. Of course that would happen. I don't think that has anything to do with Charlotte(not sure) but in Asheville or Raleigh areas that could be the future. None of the people I know of who have moved to Raleigh area in the last 10 years would be what I would classify as liberal. In fact most of them I would classify as center leaning right definitely not left and out of the people I knew (I'm originally from NJ) they would be among the most conservative. None of them are that young and moved with kids so that has some impact but they are moving to that area for inexpensive housing not for progressive views.

If Charlotte has stable areas with lower middle class people- it will follow a slightly different pattern. It may not change much while some of the other cities actually become more conservative. How much of that sprawl-out is filled with actual liberals?

[urbancharlotte]

Originally Posted by cyntmac

If your talking strictly about politics it would be a smaller city. I don't consider any of the large cities in the southeast to be very liberal in that regard. I see the point about chapel hill or asheville- they probably have liberal mayors and city councils but it doesn't mean that the surrounding area does. When places become very yuppiefied (like for example Austin where I lived for several years) the long timers always scream that the area becomes more conservative. Has this phenomenon not yet come to NC?

You really have to think about areas that have long been known as "liberal"- when they become overrun with mcmansions and suvs they really do start to swing more toward the center away from the left. Of course that would happen. I don't think that has anything to do with Charlotte(not sure) but in Asheville or Raleigh areas that could be the future. None of the people I know of who have moved to Raleigh area in the last 10 years would be what I would classify as liberal. In fact most of them I would classify as center leaning right definitely not left and out of the people I knew (I'm originally from NJ) they would be among the most conservative. None of them are that young and moved with kids so that has some impact but they are moving to that area for inexpensive housing not for progressive views.

If Charlotte has stable areas with lower middle class people- it will follow a slightly different pattern. It may not change much while some of the other cities actually become more conservative. How much of that sprawl-out is filled with actual liberals?

Charlotte's "sprawl-out" is not liberal at all. I think you are getting my point just a little. The suburbs in Charlotte (most are not in Meck county) are very whitebread conservative. This is something we can all agree on. Inner Charlotte however has a large continueous stretch of young hippies (many of them are gay) that are without a doubt far left. They can be found in any inner Charlotte neighborhood in large numbers. Many of these liberals are daily transit riders and few of them actually own cars (let alone SUVs). This is a society of North Carolinians that are never talked about nor are they represented on citydata. They exist in large numbers in Durham and Charlotte, yet it is the yuppies of Durham and Charlotte that are only noticed on citydata. I think many of us on citydata are well read, but we are not well traveled. By not being well traveled, I mean we do not venture into areas of our state that don't fit our own reality. We tend to only go where "our likeness" can be found. Then we get on citydata and tell everyone that people unlike ourselves (liberals) don't exist in large NC cities like Durham and Charlotte.