ATl people how do you really feel about Charlotte?? (Atlanta: school, university)
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.
The never ending comparing of these two cities actually proves how similiar they are. It seems that the size of the airport, the number of high end stores and the size of the metro and other statistical data that proves that Atlanta is larger is always pointed to as the difference between the two cities. I have often heard that Atlanta is a bigger Charlotte and that Charlotte is decades behind Atlanta. Suggesting that Charlotte will be Atlanta in 30 years. Thats like saying Charlotte is A little duck and Atlanta is a big duck there may be a difference in size but they are both ducks.
I believe these comparisons are made due to the fact that both cities have not matured and are still growing. Both are new to major league status, of course Atlanta reached that status 30 years before Charlotte.
The culture of a place is what makes it different not the number of highrises. Think New Orleans and Charleston SC. Is Atlanta more similiar to New Orleans than Charlotte or is Charlotte more similiar to Charleston SC than Atlanta? The distinctive culture, cuisine,street life of New Orleans and Charleston two matured cities set them apart from the Atlanta's and Charlotte's of the New South.
Thats like saying Charlotte is A little duck and Atlanta is a big duck there may be a difference in size but they are both ducks.
This is true, but only up to a point.
Atlanta is ultimately in a different league than Charlotte - all there is to it. Once a city has been over 2 mil or so in population for more than a generation or so, as Atlanta has, then a certain big-city mentality sets in. People become used to having things like professional sports teams in most of the sports, concerts and other major events always (or at least almost always) stopping in town on their way through the country, major stores, and various other amenities to choose from. Not only that, but the city becomes known for giving certain things to the culture. The fact is that Charlotte hasn't been a big town long enough to provide the country (and world for that matter) with a MLK, Civil Rights, CNN, and Ted Turner (whatever you think of him) yet. Nothing against it - and if it keeps growing, it will have its day I have no doubt, but it's ridiculous in my view to claim that it's in the same league as Atlanta.
It depends upon your definition of league. The mere fact that we have this constant comparison of Atlanta and Charlotte and not Atlanta and Birmingham or Greenville is proof that Charlotte has muscled it's way into the conversation when you speak of cities of the southeast like it or not. Both cities will continue to grow and Atlanta will continue to be the largest and the conversation will continue. I actually have spent a lot of time in Atlanta and I have enjoyed the city when I am there and it does feel more like home ( Charlotte) to me than any other city I have visited and I have visited every city of the top 25 in the country except Boston more than once.
League For me would be its global status and international status. The things that Atlanta has accomplished in the last 30 years is Amazing. Atlanta metro still grows alot faster than Charlotte metro. last year 2009 Charlotte only added 40 thousand people Atlanta added 90,000. Charlotte still has alot of work too Do to be in the same tier or to be compare because If we did a list of things Atlanta would come out on top in almost every catergory.. The city can pretty much do everything Atlanta can do but on a much smaller scale... People even try to compare Southpark to Buckhead... I think Charlotte wants to Have Atlantas status.
I for one do not understand why Charlotte would want to pick Atlanta as its role model. I have nothing against Atlanta but one Atlanta is enough. The Atlanta metro should continue to outgrow Charlotte's. Atlanta serves as the center of a much wider region than does Charlotte. As an example there are three major airports within 100 miles of Charlotte airport. Charlotte metro has a million plus metro to its immediate north and another million plus metro to its immediate south that has most of the amenities that its population seeks. South Park is not Buckhead and the residents of South Park are doing all it can to avoid becoming like Buckhead The same as the residents of the Queens road area who fought against it becoming a corrider of highrises ala Peachtree buckhead. Atlanta is a large Metro that is trying to leverage that large metro population into being a tier one city. Thus the quote above that Atlanta is a city of over two million which attempts to puts it in the same league as Philly and Chicago the same as some do in trying to move Charlotte into Atlanta's league Charlotte is not Atlanta and I am very comfortable with it never being in Atlanta's league since the real Atlanta is only four hrs away.
I for one do not understand why Charlotte would want to pick Atlanta as its role model. I have nothing against Atlanta but one Atlanta is enough. The Atlanta metro should continue to outgrow Charlotte's. Atlanta serves as the center of a much wider region than does Charlotte. As an example there are three major airports within 100 miles of Charlotte airport. Charlotte metro has a million plus metro to its immediate north and another million plus metro to its immediate south that has most of the amenities that its population seeks. South Park is not Buckhead and the residents of South Park are doing all it can to avoid becoming like Buckhead The same as the residents of the Queens road area who fought against it becoming a corrider of highrises ala Peachtree buckhead. Atlanta is a large Metro that is trying to leverage that large metro population into being a tier one city. Thus the quote above that Atlanta is a city of over two million which attempts to puts it in the same league as Philly and Chicago the same as some do in trying to move Charlotte into Atlanta's league Charlotte is not Atlanta and I am very comfortable with it never being in Atlanta's league since the real Atlanta is only four hrs away.
Charlotte doesnt need to model its self after Atlanta but it can take a few notes on how to get to that Glabal status.. Whether people like to mention them are not, there alot of things that Atlanta has done right and if it didnt the city wouldnt be where it is today.... Actually Atlanta is a metro of 5.6 million and its in the same league as phildelphia globally. City layout may not be the same. Almost everything else it is. No city in the South is on Chicagos level..
I for one do not understand why Charlotte would want to pick Atlanta as its role model. I have nothing against Atlanta but one Atlanta is enough. The Atlanta metro should continue to outgrow Charlotte's. Atlanta serves as the center of a much wider region than does Charlotte. As an example there are three major airports within 100 miles of Charlotte airport. Charlotte metro has a million plus metro to its immediate north and another million plus metro to its immediate south that has most of the amenities that its population seeks. South Park is not Buckhead and the residents of South Park are doing all it can to avoid becoming like Buckhead The same as the residents of the Queens road area who fought against it becoming a corrider of highrises ala Peachtree buckhead. Atlanta is a large Metro that is trying to leverage that large metro population into being a tier one city. Thus the quote above that Atlanta is a city of over two million which attempts to puts it in the same league as Philly and Chicago the same as some do in trying to move Charlotte into Atlanta's league Charlotte is not Atlanta and I am very comfortable with it never being in Atlanta's league since the real Atlanta is only four hrs away.
Atlanta is 5.4 mil
Philly is 5.8 mil
Chicago is 9.7 mil
Charlotte 1.7 mil
Actually Atlanta and philly are in the same league, and Atlanta is probably going to outgrow Philly in 2 decades or less. And Philly isn't in Chicago league either.
Atlantans look at Charlotte like a baby sisters. We are rooting for Charlotte to grow and it will, but with that said so still is Atlanta. But you know what, I would be very interested in knowing what are Charlotte's leaders are planning on developing for the future of the city. I know FT Worth trinity river project is more impressive than the Dallas version.
The Metros of Philly and Atlanta couldn't be more different. The only thing they have in common is a Metro population amount. First Atlanta metro covers a area larger than the state of Massachusetts 8300 plus miles. Philly has an equal or greater population in less than half the land area 3,800 square miles. Atlanta proper and Philly proper are equal in square miles both about 135 sq miles but the population of Philly Proper is 1,500,000 and Atlanta is 540,000. Atlanta metro is isolated in that it does not connect to any other major metro only miles of lovely rural landscape. Philly metro connects to other major metros with millions of people. Those in Charlotte may guilty of booterism but some Atlanta backers are guilty of the same thing when it tries to transform a sprawling metro of 5 Million into a "city" of two million. I am not a Philly promoter but if you're definition of a cities "league" is more than the number of skyscrapers it contains and the population of its metro than Philly can match up with any other city in this nation including LA and Chicago, the only exception would be NYC.
The Metros of Philly and Atlanta couldn't be more different. The only thing they have in common is a Metro population amount. First Atlanta metro covers a area larger than the state of Massachusetts 8300 plus miles. Philly has an equal or greater population in less than half the land area 3,800 square miles. Atlanta proper and Philly proper are equal in square miles both about 135 sq miles but the population of Philly Proper is 1,500,000 and Atlanta is 540,000. Atlanta metro is isolated in that it does not connect to any other major metro only miles of lovely rural landscape. Philly metro connects to other major metros with millions of people. Those in Charlotte may guilty of booterism but some Atlanta backers are guilty of the same thing when it tries to transform a sprawling metro of 5 Million into a "city" of two million. I am not a Philly promoter but if you're definition of a cities "league" is more than the number of skyscrapers it contains and the population of its metro than Philly can match up with any other city in this nation including LA and Chicago, the only exception would be NYC.
They both get the same global reconignition ... Thats the most important league. If you are talking about the city layout then no there different.. If you are using the to say were not in the same league then No city in The south is in the same league as Philly...
Atlanta has notable strengths which Charlotte lacks, the biggest difference being our universities. UNC Charlotte is nice, but it’s not the same kind of civic asset as Emory, Ga. Tech, GSU, Agnes Scott, Morehouse , Spelman, SCAD, & Oglethorpe. And in the arts, Atlanta is far ahead – just compare the Atlanta Symphony, High Museum, and Alliance Theatre with their Charlotte counterparts .Charlotte is not dead and boring either. Charlotte has come along way in the past ten years in terms of nightlife, culture, transportation and the arts.
Buty you do here this.in Charlotte, Every week there is an article written about “are we good enough”, “what do other cities think of us...
Charlotte seems to have the lowest self esteem of any major metro in the SE, even though it is second in most categories only to Atlanta (I am not counting S FL, Tampa, or Orlando). It is weird, but Charlottans seem to not be able to develope their own identity, and they MUST, absolutely MUST be compared to Atlanta, NYC, or other large cities. Coming from Jacksonville, I thought we had a low self esteem, but after reading about Charlotte, meeting natives, and visiting...I conclude that Charlotte has literally wiped its slate clean only to try to be some other city. If you go downtown, there are maybe two pre-war buildings. The rest is completely new or built within the last 20-30 years tops. There are not very many older neighborhoods with older building fabric. I love Charlotte's clean, sleek appearance, but it seemed like it was trying WAY too hard.
Atlanta at least has history and old "stuff." That old stuff gives it more culture and identity. Hek, even Jax and Birmingham have almost as much old "stuff" as Atlanta, something Charlotte has lost forever because it destroyed it all.
Has Charlotte ever considered comparing itself with Austin, TX or its neighbor Raleigh, NC more often? Both of those cities are growing tremendously fast, are all new, and Raleigh has a very similar demographic moving there. None of those cities will catch up to Atlanta until 4-5 decades + after Atlanta quits growing.
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.
