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I have lived in Charlotte now for 25 years and have seen a lot of change. It wasn’t a city I visited and said “I want to live here” but rather a good opportunity / promotion with my job that brought me here. Over the 25 years I have been here, there has always been an underlying “nag” of feeling the city lacks an identity and soul and over the past few years that nag has gotten more intense. I tend to feel it is the explosive growth that has occurred over the last several years that is amplifying the root of why I have the nag. As best as I can describe it, it seems Charlotte is sterile, generic and continues to struggle to identify itself. It seems to feel the way to develop an identity is to erase its past. The concept to tear down anything old and build new seems to be the approach it takes to become “something” but what that something is still eludes me. I have seen pictures of the old downtown Charlotte and it is such a shame that those gorgeous old buildings and store fronts are all gone and replaced with glass and marble. Integration of the new with the old is what helps a city maintain its connection with who it was as it evolves. It is a novelty now to find anything from the past. And increasingly I am finding friends who visit or business associates who are in town describe the city as a lot of new that lacks an identity and soul. As I am starting to look at retirement in the next several years, I am evaluating if Charlotte is included in the picture. I find myself more and more entertaining the idea of relocating to a city that seems to know who it is and that I can feel connected with. At this point I feel I am going through the work / life motions in a place where I am feeling more and more disconnected. Just curious if others may be experiencing a similar situation. Thanks!
If you look at other cities in the Carolinas with lots of momentum (Durham, Greenville, etc), they all have very unique downtowns. Greenville has the Reedy River flowing right through the middle of it, and Main St is still adorned with older shops and restaurants that give it character. Durham is filled with early-20th century tobacco buildings that give it a uniqueness like no other city in NC, and it has not only kept but repurposed many of those buildings.
With its focus on growth at essentially all costs, Charlotte has knocked down and built over a lot of what used to give the city character. Granted, in terms of visual impressiveness, uptown Charlotte is punching well above its weight considering its population, but there's not much left of what Charlotte used to be, especially in uptown. There are some older mills and whatnot in South End and NoDa, but I'd argue that Gastonia and Concord have downtowns with more character than Charlotte does.
Well, I try to empathize with people looking for that identity & soul in this city. It's like, they really want to love this city, but they just can't for that lack of identity & soul thing. Yes, there are cities that offer that identity & soul you so yearn for, but they won't be perfect either. And those shortfalls won't matter though as long as they have an identity & soul. But if that's what is important to you, then it is probably time for a change. Not everyone really cares about such things. I've also lived here quite a long time (52 years) and when I have out of town friends from Seattle, Kansas City, and Phoenix, all I hear is how much they love Charlotte and wish they could live here. So, it's really a matter of what matters to you.
I wonder what does 'lack of identity and soul' really mean?
Charlotte is a place. To me it is about the people. My family is here, my career has been spent here, my friends are here. I like the weather (except for the extreme heat about 4 weeks a year). I love the change of seasons. I like the restaurants, libraries, cleanliness, trees, shopping, opportunities, etc.
I don't think a place is going to make anyone happy. That comes from within. If you need Charlotte to have something more then maybe it's time to move.
I have lived in Charlotte now for 25 years and have seen a lot of change. It wasn’t a city I visited and said “I want to live here” but rather a good opportunity / promotion with my job that brought me here. Over the 25 years I have been here, there has always been an underlying “nag” of feeling the city lacks an identity and soul and over the past few years that nag has gotten more intense. I tend to feel it is the explosive growth that has occurred over the last several years that is amplifying the root of why I have the nag. As best as I can describe it, it seems Charlotte is sterile, generic and continues to struggle to identify itself. It seems to feel the way to develop an identity is to erase its past. The concept to tear down anything old and build new seems to be the approach it takes to become “something” but what that something is still eludes me. I have seen pictures of the old downtown Charlotte and it is such a shame that those gorgeous old buildings and store fronts are all gone and replaced with glass and marble. Integration of the new with the old is what helps a city maintain its connection with who it was as it evolves. It is a novelty now to find anything from the past. And increasingly I am finding friends who visit or business associates who are in town describe the city as a lot of new that lacks an identity and soul. As I am starting to look at retirement in the next several years, I am evaluating if Charlotte is included in the picture. I find myself more and more entertaining the idea of relocating to a city that seems to know who it is and that I can feel connected with. At this point I feel I am going through the work / life motions in a place where I am feeling more and more disconnected. Just curious if others may be experiencing a similar situation. Thanks!
Your post described me 4years ago. Was in the very same situation. Felt like I was merely existing, "going through the motion of everyday life" except I'm a native of Charlotte. Sold the house, transferred with company to a new city. Best move I could have made, personally and professionally. Change of venue/scenery is good for the soul.
It's not a tourist destination, if that's what you mean. If you're into sports, Charlotte and NC in general hasn't had professional sports teams as long as other cities. I grew up around the "Tobacco Road" sports rivalries and history and Charlotte was never really an integral part of that. There's no "old town" or French Quarter type of place that I can think of in Charlotte really. I guess being known as a financial center is sort of an identity but frankly that doesn't do much for me ha ha. There's definitely plenty to do around Charlotte but to me it's like a mini-Atlanta suburban sprawl type of place. I'm a native North Carolinian and love the state in general but Charlotte is sort of meh to be honest. Maybe whatever identity or flavor it ever had was watered down and melted away by all the people who moved here from other parts of the country.
Just to be clear, Charlotte doesn’t knock down old buildings, developers do.
Point taken, but the City of Charlotte has to approve new buildings and has final say as to what gets built where. It's not like too many objections have been raised over knocking down some of the more historical buildings in the area and replacing them with new structures.
I have lived in Charlotte now for 25 years and have seen a lot of change. It wasn’t a city I visited and said “I want to live here” but rather a good opportunity / promotion with my job that brought me here. Over the 25 years I have been here, there has always been an underlying “nag” of feeling the city lacks an identity and soul and over the past few years that nag has gotten more intense. I tend to feel it is the explosive growth that has occurred over the last several years that is amplifying the root of why I have the nag. As best as I can describe it, it seems Charlotte is sterile, generic and continues to struggle to identify itself. It seems to feel the way to develop an identity is to erase its past. The concept to tear down anything old and build new seems to be the approach it takes to become “something” but what that something is still eludes me. I have seen pictures of the old downtown Charlotte and it is such a shame that those gorgeous old buildings and store fronts are all gone and replaced with glass and marble. Integration of the new with the old is what helps a city maintain its connection with who it was as it evolves. It is a novelty now to find anything from the past. And increasingly I am finding friends who visit or business associates who are in town describe the city as a lot of new that lacks an identity and soul. As I am starting to look at retirement in the next several years, I am evaluating if Charlotte is included in the picture. I find myself more and more entertaining the idea of relocating to a city that seems to know who it is and that I can feel connected with. At this point I feel I am going through the work / life motions in a place where I am feeling more and more disconnected. Just curious if others may be experiencing a similar situation. Thanks!
Charlotte is trying to attract young creative thinkers. I don't think this city can be attractive to the young and near-retirement crowd simultaneously.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlotteborn
I wonder what does 'lack of identity and soul' really mean?
It is a subjective term with no real meaning to be honest. However, on forums like this it means that a city lacks a bunch of run-down dirty "gritty" areas where restaurants serve drinks in chipped cups and you sit on chairs with cracked seat cushions. In other words, cities like St Louis, Baltimore, and Detroit are loaded with "character". The day Charlotte gets more "character" is the day that I'm packing my bags....
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 02-17-2018 at 08:03 PM..
Charlotte is trying to attract young creative thinkers. I don't think this city can be attractive to the young and near-retirement crowd simultaneously.
It is a subjective term with no real meaning to be honest. However, on forums like this it means that a city lacks a bunch of run-down dirty "gritty" areas where restaurants serve drinks in chipped cups and you sit on chairs with cracked seat cushions. In other words, cities like St Louis, Baltimore, and Detroit are loaded with "character". The day Charlotte gets more "character" is the day that I'm packing my bags....
Let's face it, Detroit doesn't have a good reputation in recent times and no city would want their current "identity".
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