How does the rest of North Carolina perceive Charlotte? (Raleigh: university, tax)
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I've been reading threads in the general North Carolina forum, and it seems to be an understood concept that most of the rest of North Carolina treats Charlotte as if it's not "one of us." Allegedly, most of NC won't even vote for a candidate just because he/she hails from the Charlotte area. Are these just random misguided outliers or is there truth to this? Does it go beyond a city v. rural area thing, or does Charlotte get the cold shoulder in ways that the Triad or Triangle don't? Is Charlotte akin to Duke in this regard (i.e. something that is seen as just happening to be located in NC as opposed to being a part of NC). If so, what has caused this?
I'm assuming it was caused by carpetbaggers such as myself. I had the same experience in Northern VA. The rest of VA treats NOVA like a red headed stepchild.
I'm assuming it was caused by carpetbaggers such as myself. I had the same experience in Northern VA. The rest of VA treats NOVA like a red headed stepchild.
The Triangle has as many carpetbaggers as Charlotte (e.g., all the RTP workers, the entire town of Cary which stands for Containment Area for Relocated Yankees, Duke University students, etc.). Yet you never hear the Triangle getting smack-talked by the rest of NC. It has to run deeper than that because it seems that even native lifelong North Carolinans, if they hail from Charlotte, are viewed dubiously.
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Originally Posted by blueheronNC
I've been reading threads in the general North Carolina forum, and it seems to be an understood concept that most of the rest of North Carolina treats Charlotte as if it's not "one of us." Allegedly, most of NC won't even vote for a candidate just because he/she hails from the Charlotte area. Are these just random misguided outliers or is there truth to this? Does it go beyond a city v. rural area thing, or does Charlotte get the cold shoulder in ways that the Triad or Triangle don't? Is Charlotte akin to Duke in this regard (i.e. something that is seen as just happening to be located in NC as opposed to being a part of NC). If so, what has caused this?
I know some of the threads that you're talking about. In one of the threads it can pretty much be boiled down to jealousy. If it was simple city vs rural, wouldn't logic tell you that they'd have the torches & pitch forks out concerning Asheville?
It has to do with the history of this state, and focuses on the eastern part of thestate being historically the big tax generating region (tobacco, RJ Reynolds) and the western part of the state being historically Republican rather than Democrat.
All of my friends/coworkers when I lived in Raleigh were Northerners and that was 13 years ago! I don't know that I had an opinion on Charlotte or even thought about it much to be honest. I don't recall anyone really saying anything negative about CLT back then. I have several friends in the Gboro area and they never comment on CLT either.
It has to do with the history of this state, and focuses on the eastern part of thestate being historically the big tax generating region (tobacco, RJ Reynolds) and the western part of the state being historically Republican rather than Democrat.
That's it in a nutshell.
Most of us are too young (no offense) to know of such a history. Therefore, it is pretty much jealousy... And if post-DNC Charlotte makes a transformation similar to that of post-DNC Atlanta, the jealousy will only get worse.
I mean let's face it, look at Atl vs the rest of Georgia (heck, vs the rest of the south in general). There's EASILY a 40-50 year gap in development between central Charlotte and central Atlanta (so just imagine how wide that gap is with other southern cities). There is a silent fear in NC that Charlotte will eventually "pull away from the pack" like Atlanta has done; thus creating an economic "black hole" in NC. It is happening to an extent, with the Triangle being the only region in NC/SC standing in the way of Charlotte having Atlanta-like total dominance. Out of the 15 or so Fortune 500s in NC/SC, 9 of them are located within 20 minutes of Uptown Charlotte. That is a scary fact to non-Charlotte area Carolinians.
Becoming the "Atlanta" of the Carolinas is not such a bad deal for Charlotte, but how about the rest of the Carolinas? What's in it for them? That's the real issue here. The Carolinas never had to deal with a "major city"; never had to compete against one either. Having such a city in our own backyard is a threat to business as usual in these parts.
Think about it. What happens when the "major city" can offer jobs, great mass transit, awesome diversity, more entertainment etc etc etc. That would force local leaders in other areas to "up their game" so that they can keep their population from moving to the "big city". If they don't..... Well, look at Atlanta and the rest of Georgia as a perfect example of what would happen if the other towns don't step up.
IMO, it is MUCH easier for NC to hold a city like Charlotte back (this is done by limiting infrastructure dollars) than it is to support Charlotte and let her grow to her full potential (then having to compete economically with big city Charlotte).
This is the line of thinking that keeps non-Charlotte NC voters from putting a Charlottean in a major state office. That "Atlanta factor" fear is big in NC. One can almost sense that fear in the minds of North Carolinians when they say to Charlotteans "you are NOT an Atlanta" and "NC does NOT revolve around YOUR city"; "we HAVE other options in NC other than YOUR city". It's fear and jealousy Ani. I noticed it looooooong ago and I've often given our friends in Raleigh a hard time because of it. Like it or not though, we need the vote of those friends in Raleigh if we are going to change the politics of this state. Such a change would benefit both cities, but it's a very tough sell in Raleigh (mainly because some folks in Raleigh feel that the state capital should be NC's Atlanta and they aren't willing to go through Charlotte to accomplish that goal). IMO, the in-fighting between the two (west vs east) will be the death of this state, as folks outside of NC see them both as being "North Carolina". With that said, it is time for both sides to work together. That way, we can help each other reach our goals.
I don't really have anything to add, but I think it would be interesting to post this exact same thread in the North Carolina forum too and see how the answers differ from the Charlotte Forum ones.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by urbancharlotte
Most of us are too young (no offense) to know of such a history. Therefore, it is pretty much jealousy... And if post-DNC Charlotte makes a transformation similar to that of post-DNC Atlanta, the jealousy will only get worse.
I mean let's face it, look at Atl vs the rest of Georgia (heck, vs the rest of the south in general). There's EASILY a 40-50 year gap in development between central Charlotte and central Atlanta (so just imagine how wide that gap is with other southern cities). There is a silent fear in NC that Charlotte will eventually "pull away from the pack" like Atlanta has done; thus creating an economic "black hole" in NC. It is happening to an extent, with the Triangle being the only region in NC/SC standing in the way of Charlotte having Atlanta-like total dominance. Out of the 15 or so Fortune 500s in NC/SC, 9 of them are located within 20 minutes of Uptown Charlotte. That is a scary fact to non-Charlotte area Carolinians.
Becoming the "Atlanta" of the Carolinas is not such a bad deal for Charlotte, but how about the rest of the Carolinas? What's in it for them? That's the real issue here. The Carolinas never had to deal with a "major city"; never had to compete against one either. Having such a city in our own backyard is a threat to business as usual in these parts.
Think about it. What happens when the "major city" can offer jobs, great mass transit, awesome diversity, more entertainment etc etc etc. That would force local leaders in other areas to "up their game" so that they can keep their population from moving to the "big city". If they don't..... Well, look at Atlanta and the rest of Georgia as a perfect example of what would happen if the other towns don't step up.
IMO, it is MUCH easier for NC to hold a city like Charlotte back (this is done by limiting infrastructure dollars) than it is to support Charlotte and let her grow to her full potential (then having to compete economically with big city Charlotte).
This is the line of thinking that keeps non-Charlotte NC voters from putting a Charlottean in a major state office. That "Atlanta factor" fear is big in NC. One can almost sense that fear in the minds of North Carolinians when they say to Charlotteans "you are NOT an Atlanta" and "NC does NOT revolve around YOUR city"; "we HAVE other options in NC other than YOUR city". It's fear and jealousy Ani. I noticed it looooooong ago and I've often given our friends in Raleigh a hard time because of it. Like it or not though, we need the vote of those friends in Raleigh if we are going to change the politics of this state. Such a change would benefit both cities, but it's a very tough sell in Raleigh (mainly because some folks in Raleigh feel that the state capital should be NC's Atlanta and they aren't willing to go through Charlotte to accomplish that goal). IMO, the in-fighting between the two (west vs east) will be the death of this state, as folks outside of NC see them both as being "North Carolina". With that said, it is time for both sides to work together. That way, we can help each other reach our goals.
I get what you're saying, totally, urban, and agree, but what Ani said is an underlying factor.
For instance, when Bev told NCDOT to find the money & get 485 finished, they didn't take it from some hole in the wall project in the east, they took it from Kings Mountain & Shelby. Kings Mountain is more Democratic than Charlotte, but is lumped into Republican areas for representation. After they did that they realized that they had promised an improvement that part of that money covered in a job negotiation, so now they have to find that money & replace it. Oops.
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) to know of such a history. Therefore, it is pretty much jealousy... And if post-DNC Charlotte makes a transformation similar to that of post-DNC Atlanta, the jealousy will only get worse.
Well, look at Atlanta and the rest of Georgia as a perfect example of what would happen if the other towns don't step up.
