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Really, I would seriously like to know where is Charlotte adding jobs?? They have had one of the highest unemployment rates going. They are laying off at BOA.
These announcements have all been made within the last year to year and a half, and these are just the larger announcements:
• Premier Inc. healthcare alliance moved its corporate headquarters to Charlotte, creating over 300 jobs here over the next five years
• Zenta Mortgage Services will create over 1,000 jobs over the next five years and is making Charlotte its center of operations in North America
• Babcock & Wilcox, a technology provider for power-generation systems and a manufacturer of nuclear components, was spun off from its parent company and moved its corporate HQ to Charlotte (F1000 company)
• Swedish home-appliance manufacturer Electrolux moved its North American headquarters to Charlotte and will create over 700 jobs in the next five years
• Husqvarna moved its North American headquarters to Charlotte, bringing 160 jobs
• Siemens Energy is expanding its gas turbine manufacturing facility that will create 825 new jobs in Charlotte in the next five years
• Citco Fund Services, which provides services to hedge funds and other financial firms, is expanding into Charlotte, creating over 250 jobs
• Hewitt Associates, one of the world’s largest providers of human resources outsourcing and consulting services, plans to add 463 jobs to its Charlotte workforce over the next three years
• Snack mackers Lance Inc. (based in Charlotte) and Snyder's of Hanover Inc. (based in PA) will merge to form Snyder's-Lance, Inc. and will be headquartered in Charlotte. This merger will make the new company a F1000.
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Originally Posted by MikeandIke27
Its Not Dead but it is A lil boring. As I find Alot of people from Charlotte coming here on the weekends to be entertain( especially the Gays). I know on the weekends I hit the bars first and then around 2:00am im off to the club.. Even though there is No entertainment District in Atlanta its is Jumpin as they put it lol
As I understand it, Atlanta has a substantially large gay population, so I would expect the nightlife there to cater to the gay community in a way that's simply not the case here in Charlotte.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeandIke27
Compared to this NO!! and this is just a few examples
Those videos show what's going on inside certain venues, not what's happening on the street. There's a difference. A venue can be abuzz on the inside, but that doesn't mean that there's a cohesive energy and buzz at the street level. Although Atlanta is still a ngihtlife city, it did take a big blow in that department when Buckhead Village was razed.
Yes venues are where the main actions goes on at walking up and down a street isn't that exciting... Most cities u see u can't even drink on the street.. But there are pockets are bar hopping places in Atlanta... Crescent ave in midtown had pubs lounges and that big club called Opera.. Which is one of the videos I showed.. Castleberry hill, east village crescent ave, Lindbergh center.. Are areas where u will find bars and clubs located in one area.. And it's not a small crowd at these places..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poseidon704
These announcements have all been made within the last year to year and a half, and these are just the larger announcements:
• Premier Inc. healthcare alliance moved its corporate headquarters to Charlotte, creating over 300 jobs here over the next five years
• Zenta Mortgage Services will create over 1,000 jobs over the next five years and is making Charlotte its center of operations in North America
• Babcock & Wilcox, a technology provider for power-generation systems and a manufacturer of nuclear components, was spun off from its parent company and moved its corporate HQ to Charlotte (F1000 company)
• Swedish home-appliance manufacturer Electrolux moved its North American headquarters to Charlotte and will create over 700 jobs in the next five years
• Husqvarna moved its North American headquarters to Charlotte, bringing 160 jobs
• Siemens Energy is expanding its gas turbine manufacturing facility that will create 825 new jobs in Charlotte in the next five years
• Citco Fund Services, which provides services to hedge funds and other financial firms, is expanding into Charlotte, creating over 250 jobs
• Hewitt Associates, one of the world’s largest providers of human resources outsourcing and consulting services, plans to add 463 jobs to its Charlotte workforce over the next three years
• Snack mackers Lance Inc. (based in Charlotte) and Snyder's of Hanover Inc. (based in PA) will merge to form Snyder's-Lance, Inc. and will be headquartered in Charlotte. This merger will make the new company a F1000.
As I understand it, Atlanta has a substantially large gay population, so I would expect the nightlife there to cater to the gay community in a way that's simply not the case here in Charlotte.
Those videos show what's going on inside certain venues, not what's happening on the street. There's a difference. A venue can be abuzz on the inside, but that doesn't mean that there's a cohesive energy and buzz at the street level. Although Atlanta is still a ngihtlife city, it did take a big blow in that department when Buckhead Village was razed.
Last edited by MikeandIke27; 09-22-2010 at 06:00 PM..
People say "ohhh and ahhh" when it comes to Charlotte being a very livable place. It would be awesome to have the nightlife and attractions of a place like New Orleans, but I'd take Charlotte's everyday quality of life any day of the week. I just think you're at the point in life where things like nightlife is just as or more important than career advancement, owning a home, and other quality of life issues. It's natural to feel like that when you're younger.
You're right in that Charlotte may not ever be on Atlanta's tier, and if so, I seriously doubt it will happen in any of our lifetimes, but what constitutes your basis of future population growth? Nightlife isn't the cause of growth; it's an effect. As long as a city continues to add jobs and provide a low cost of living, it will grow. And Charlotte is clearly continuing to do that.
I don't remember saying that nightlife was a catalyst for growth....but funny thing is you mentioned quality of life.....Atlanta offers a great quality of living standard....any home you can buy in Charlotte yu can find a comparable one in any of Atlanta....Atlanta offers the best of both worlds.....Charlotte just offers a suburban lifestlye with 2 skyscrappers in the mix. I think Dunwoody could hold its own against all of Charlotte.....can't wait until 2011 finally be back in a real city!!....
In any area of city living and amenities Atlanta ***** slaps the hell out of Charlotte. Instead of oooohhhsss and aaaaahhhhhsss for Charlotte.....you get is that it?.....the oooohhhsss and aaaahhhsss go to the real Queen City of the South......Atlanta
Your assessment of Atlanta's architecure seems to ignore the large inventory of historic highrises, concentrating on only the tallest buildings on the city's skyline. Look a little deeper and you'll discover some real gems that are nowhere near as tall or as modern: Candler, Hurt, Flatiron, Biltmore, Georgian Terrace, The Ponce, The Fox Theater, The Healy, etc etc etc.
I live within a stone's throw of the Georgian Terrace and the Fox Theater, and both are gorgeous landmarks.
I worked on a project in 2004 with the lead architect who designed the Hearst Tower, and yes, I even mentioned it in an earlier post.
Common sense would tell everyone that we're talking about metro areas, not the actual city limits only.
Any discussion about grid patterns is irrelevant today, unless you're hoping exurban counties will adopt this development approach.
Why Charlotte is so hell-bent on becoming an international big city is beyond me. Both here and on urbanplanet.org, Charlotte area posters seem obsessed with "urbanity." Over-defending Charlotte goes against the intended purpose.
Atlanta is my home, and it is a big cosmopolitan city blanketed in a wide layer of smog, that's easily visible flying into town.
My only hope is that one day Atlanta and North Georgia will be supported, tended to, and looked out for, with the same level of dedication, intelligence, and resources that North Carolina boasts today .(Excluding Charlotte-who feels neglected by the state).
I'll take anyone on, who can intelligently defend any other state against North Carolina, when it comes to taking care of, looking out for, and planning for the state's future and improved prosperity.
If you must have the last word, singling out one statistic, like Savanahh's port, isn't enough, we aren't in the 6th grade.
Yes venues are where the main actions goes on at walking up and down a street isn't that exciting.
I strongly disagree. Go to Adams Morgan in DC or Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica or Ybor City in Tampa and find out for yourself. Maybe you've not had much experience with nightlife in other cities, but you couldn't be more wrong about that. And the fact is that there is energy on the street because there are destinations and venues that draw pedestrians. I could have easily shown clips of venues, but that doesn't speak to the buzz that nightlife creates on the street. When people speak of a city's nightlife, they are generally speaking of synergy on the street that's created by destinations and venues that are within relatively close proximity to each other. That's why Buckhead Village was so popular.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajjam
I don't remember saying that nightlife was a catalyst for growth
But that was clearly your implication. You spoke about how you felt as though our nightlife in Charlotte was lacking, and then went on to make predictions about Charlotte's future growth. Either you were implying that nightlife causes growth, or your thoughts aren't cohesive.
Quote:
....but funny thing is you mentioned quality of life.....Atlanta offers a great quality of living standard....any home you can buy in Charlotte yu can find a comparable one in any of Atlanta....Atlanta offers the best of both worlds.....Charlotte just offers a suburban lifestlye with 2 skyscrappers in the mix. I think Dunwoody could hold its own against all of Charlotte.....can't wait until 2011 finally be back in a real city!!....
Charlotte also has the benefits of being a smaller city as well: less crime, less pollution, less congestion, etc. Charlotte also benefits from having a more cordial relationship with its state and from being less balkanized than Charlotte. Those are quality of life aspects as well. But Charlotte isn't your cup of tea, and I get that. No need to go off the deep end of stupidity ("2 skyscrapers in the mix") though. But I think it's a shame that you're not making the most of where you live in the meantime. I know you're something of a tweenybopper, but time is a valuable asset. Using it to lament your present state instead of enjoying it for what it is isn't a wise use of it.
Common sense would tell everyone that we're talking about metro areas, not the actual city limits only.
Any discussion about grid patterns is irrelevant today, unless you're hoping exurban counties will adopt this development approach.
Why Charlotte is so hell-bent on becoming an international big city is beyond me. Both here and on urbanplanet.org, Charlotte area posters seem obsessed with "urbanity." Over-defending Charlotte goes against the intended purpose.
My sentiment exactly about metro versus city. Let's keep it simple
I should make myself clearer on the grid front. I say grid and I know everyone is automatically thinking replica of Manhattan's street system, but perhaps I should say "block" system of streets instead. As long as blocks aren't a third of a square mile around with dendritic low density housing parcels within the block, a walkable neighborhood and more sustainable neighborhood more easily served by public transit can be formed. East Atlanta, Druid Hills, Poncey-Highlands, Inman Park, Grant Park, Decatur, etc are neighborhoods without perfect square blocks, but they are relatively walkable. Aside from select in town neighborhoods, Atlanta has a low density, dendritic, sprawled out area larger than just about any other metro. That's a problem.
What I was saying since this is Atl vs Charlotte in a sense is that Atl has more block pattern neighborhoods than Charlotte and will more easily and handily be a walkable cosmopolitan city. The Buckhead Village area for instance is the size of all of Uptown Charlotte, and once Streets gets back on track and other developments catering to all income and entertainment needs are built, the secondary market of Buckhead will be more of a "city" than Uptown Charlotte.
I also agree with your sentiment that Charlottans (is that correct?) are very insecure about their city and too often seek outside appeal and support. I come from a hometown very insecure about itself, Jacksonville. We have to compete with Orlando 2 or less hours away, Tampa-St. Pete, Miami-Ft. Laudie-Palm Beach, and more for crying out loud. The media constantly attacks the city for every aspect we are talking about on this thread, but the citizens have stopped caring what others think, and many have taken it upon themselves to try to develop a unique identity (we also have the best website for metro/urban issues in the country specific to one area...methinks.)
From a resident of Atlanta to posters from Charlotte: stop trying to be the "Next Atlanta" or the "New York of the South" or this that and the other. Come up with a unique identity called Charlotte. Your leadership in the city is great. Keep pushing for transportation and mixed use projects and continue to diversify your economy. Expand UNC-Charlotte and Queens College, etc and you will only grow better as a city. And planning wise, tell your MPO you don't want to be like Atlanta. Emulate land/transportation planning strategies from the 1930s and before, add a touch of 21st century, and you won't go wrong.
From a resident of Atlanta to posters from Charlotte: stop trying to be the "Next Atlanta" or the "New York of the South" or this that and the other. Come up with a unique identity called Charlotte. Your leadership in the city is great. Keep pushing for transportation and mixed use projects and continue to diversify your economy. Expand UNC-Charlotte and Queens College, etc and you will only grow better as a city. And planning wise, tell your MPO you don't want to be like Atlanta. Emulate land/transportation planning strategies from the 1930s and before, add a touch of 21st century, and you won't go wrong.
I don't think you should take the sentiments of a few misguided Charlotte posters and from that, conclude that we're trying to be the "next Atlanta." It's almost like you're insinuating that in city council meetings, our leaders are brainstorming to come up with ideas to one up Atlanta or something, LOL. We're not trying to build edge cities that rival, or even exceed, Uptown in terms of office space and jobs, and we're not trying to become a magnet for urban music artists. We're focusing first and foremost on quality of life issues and going from there. Everything that you just spelled out are things that we're already doing. Atlanta leaders have actually mentioned Charlotte--visited even--in order to map out their future in terms of transportation, specifically the Beltline project, so that shows we're doing something right.
Let's also remember that Atlanta hasn't always been secure in its identity (especially pre-Olympics), and still struggles with that just a bit even now--along with other Sunbelt cities of similar size like Dallas, Houston, and Phoenix.
Trust me I am trying to make the best out of my time here.....but it is hard to do for me......I try to get out and enjoy Charlotte but I keep thinking......the one in Atlanta is better or....if I was I New York.....basically I am spoiled living in major cities......I'm just not a medium city person.....so I can't enjoy Charlotte like I want to....had I been from Durham and then moved to Charlotte id be in heaven....but I feel like I downgraded....I've always been an impatient person...and I don't want to wait 20 years for things other cities can currently offer me
Trust me I am trying to make the best out of my time here.....but it is hard to do for me......I try to get out and enjoy Charlotte but I keep thinking......the one in Atlanta is better or....if I was I New York.....basically I am spoiled living in major cities......I'm just not a medium city person.....so I can't enjoy Charlotte like I want to....had I been from Durham and then moved to Charlotte id be in heaven....but I feel like I downgraded....I've always been an impatient person...and I don't want to wait 20 years for things other cities can currently offer me
I think this is probably the most honest and level-headed response I've read from you on here.
I'm glad that you are realizing that your problem really isn't with Charlotte, but with midsized cities period. With few exceptions, you'd feel like you were lacking if you lived in just about any other city Charlotte's size. The bottom line is that across most categories, it's simply unfair to compare Charlotte to a significantly larger city, and one that's been so for a very long time. I have a good friend that lived in Charlotte for a few years, moved to Atlanta for about five or so years, then moved back here for a promotion with his job. At first he was also talking about what Charlotte lacked in comparison to Atlanta (although nowhere near as stridently as you, LOL), and while he still misses Atlanta and wouldn't mind moving back, he is forming his own social circle here and is beginning to enjoy Charlotte for what it is. I do agree that it's good to move somewhere that can offer you more than what you're looking for if you current city can't provide it, but if you have no choice in the meantime, do the best you can with what you have.
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