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Clever... One is way more known than the other and while I don't have the numbers in front of me I imagine it is quite a bit higher as a destination for tourists. Not to hard to understand expectations there huh? But thanks for your brilliant insight into the nature of opinions...
facts are facts. You see the results in front of you. Deal with it.
facts are facts. You see the results in front of you. Deal with it.
Deal with what??? Do you think I live in New Orleans or something? That I'm one of the endless homers on here? I don't care about the results, I said I was surprised (by this end-all be-all scientific poll in your mind...) by the results, that's it! I happen to like both, in my OP as well, and you decided to get snotty with me for some reason. Deal with your attitude maybe...
Hmmm...not familiar with what's going on in NOLA right now on that front, but in the last decade Charleston posted the largest gain of residents with a bachelor's degree of any other metro nationally and experienced the largest growth in manufacturing jobs of any U.S. metropolitan area from 2010-2011. The huge Boeing plant that's been up and running going on two years now has definitely helped on that front.
Clever... One is way more known than the other and while I don't have the numbers in front of me I imagine it is quite a bit higher as a destination for tourists. Not to hard to understand expectations there huh? But thanks for your brilliant insight into the nature of opinions...
Guess Charleston is winning with the opinions. Gotta love opinions
Charleston has the Spoleto festival, so I wouldn't give this to New Orleans flat out. There are also some really nice galleries there. For some reason, I feel that Charleston is more "monied" than New Orleans, and thus you have a lot of fine art there.
Music goes to NOLA.
They are about the same to me. As long as you are on the peninsula in Charleston (where most people want to be), it's a lot like being in San Francisco. West Ashley may not be very walkable, but then again, neither is Staten Island.
South Carolina has some terrific beaches. I don't see what the Gulf Coast offers that compares to Folly Beach, Hilton Head, and the other countless barrier islands off the SC coast.
Both have a lot of history, so it's a draw.
Charleston is near Savannah, not too far from Myrtle Beach, and not terribly far from Atlanta. Charleston is also a short flight or boat ride away from Bermuda. New Orleans is not really near anywhere I'd want to go, though some of you may consider Mobile a nice vacation getaway.
I like Charleston better. Even though it's old, it feels more modernized to me. New Orleans is a bit weird. It's like stepping back in time down there.
I hate NOLA's weather. Hot and steamy all year long. At least Charleston cools down in the fall and winter. Definitely Charleston.
New Orleans has Charleston on entertainment simply off the strength of the French Quarter and Mardi Gras. There's nothing comparable in Charleston.
New Orleans is not tropical, it's not hot and steamy all year. Winters are mild, cold at night.
Never been to Charleston, but I loved New Orleans. I really want to visit Charleston. From the beaches to the architecture, it looks lovely. A friend of mine just visited to see a college and she enjoyed her stay.
Art: NOLA definitely has more of an art scene than Charleston.
Music: Oh my God, NOLA. I listened to an enormous amount of live music there and on the airplane leaving town, I found myself thinking, Why didn't I see more live music?
Food: I gotta be honest here, I had some very good food in NOLA, but considering the effusive praise everyone was giving me before I went ("I've been all over America, Europe and Asia, and it has the best food I've ever had!" "Even the food at some bar you walk into is better than a three-star restaurant anywhere else!"), I was a little disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high. Charleston was among the best food cities I've ever been to. The most underrated restaurant town in America, maybe. Nobody talks about it.
Walk-ability: Charleston is plenty walkable, but I walked so damn much in NOLA. Sometimes I do a lot of walking, and then I go to sleep and I feel better in the morning. In NOLA my legs and feet still hurt when I woke up.
Natural Amenities (beaches, swamps, etc.): Charleston has nearby beaches -- my understanding is that you can't go to the beach anywhere near NOLA -- and I found the surrounding environment a lot prettier. Plus in NOLA a local out and out told me the nature sucked.
History: This is probably an upset, but I've got to go with Charleston here. The Civil War ("War of Northern Aggression") started there, for God's sake. NOLA has plenty of history, but nowhere there did I get the feeling I got standing on the site where the Civil War started.
Location: Charleston is near a lot of good stuff, most prominently Savannah. NOLA is a five-hour drive from Houston, America's least-beloved big city. The "Get Out of Town" section of my NOLA guidebook was kind of sad.
Lifestyle: This is kind of a tough one, but all other things being equal, I suppose I could more see myself in Charleston. Does the drinking-all-the-time thing really work in the long run? (I know, I know, it's a real city where people go about their daily lives, but I still got the sense that was part of the culture, even if locals aren't doing it on Bourbon Street.) And the crime in NOLA is kind of a drag.
Weather: Uh, they're both friggin' hot in the summer and have tons of mosquitos? (I'm not complaining -- I love really hot summers and don't care much about mosquitos.) Anyway, this is a draw.
Entertainment: See "Music." NOLA.
QOL: Seemed like there were more amenities for residents in Charleston, and again, you have to factor in the crime issue. By the way, I felt totally safe while I was in NOLA, but I was a tourist sticking largely to tourist areas. Definitely fewer panhandlers and general crazy people in Charleston. Nobody in Charleston knew where I got my shoes!
COL: I've only been on vacation, but I would imagine Charleston.
So how does that add up? Charleston 7, New Orleans 4. This was fun because I honestly didn't know how it would turn out when it started -- I love both these cities. But yeah, maybe I love Charleston a little more overall. Nobody will ever beat NOLA for a good time, though.
Both are great and they are both among my ten favorite US cities. There are a lot of similarities, but also important differences. Both have a ton of history, beautiful architecture, delicious local food, and a feeling of the old south.
New Orleans is obviously much bigger and is therefore more of a "city". On the plus side that means it has tall buildings, pro sports, an international airport, and an AAU university (Tulane). On the negative side it has more poverty and crime. To overgeneralize a bit, New Orleans feels much grittier and more "real", whereas Charleston is a bit more refined and sometimes feels like it is putting on airs. New Orleans is dixieland jazz, a pot of gumbo, a cold beer, and a slap on the back. Charleston is a string quartet, shrimp and grits, and a cocktail.
On the whole I prefer New Orleans, but I can certainly understand why some people would like Charleston more.
Both are great and they are both among my ten favorite US cities. There are a lot of similarities, but also important differences. Both have a ton of history, beautiful architecture, delicious local food, and a feeling of the old south.
New Orleans is obviously much bigger and is therefore more of a "city". On the plus side that means it has tall buildings, pro sports, an international airport, and an AAU university (Tulane). On the negative side it has more poverty and crime. To overgeneralize a bit, New Orleans feels much grittier and more "real", whereas Charleston is a bit more refined and sometimes feels like it is putting on airs. New Orleans is dixieland jazz, a pot of gumbo, a cold beer, and a slap on the back. Charleston is a string quartet, shrimp and grits, and a cocktail.
On the whole I prefer New Orleans, but I can certainly understand why some people would like Charleston more.
That was a pretty good characterization of both cities.
Another point to note is that NOLA is a much bigger convention destination. Not that you really need a particular reason to visit, but huge events like Jazzfest, Essence Music Festival, etc. only add to the reasons. Charleston's not really a big convention city, which is probably due in large part to height restrictions in downtown proper which makes it nearly impossible to build tall hotels that can accommodate large amounts of visitors. This is why the area's convention center and arena are in North Charleston (a separate municipality). However, Charleston does host an internationally-acclaimed arts festival every year, Spoleto.
Both cities do well on the tourism front obviously, but I think they are also more well-rounded than people give them credit for. Higher ed, seaports, and healthcare also constitute significantly-sized sectors of the local economies, and you've also got energy in NOLA and defense contracting and aviation/aerospace in Charleston.
And of course, both cities are prone to hurricanes and each experienced one that was the most costliest and devastating in the U.S. at that particular time: Hugo in Charleston in '89 and Katrina in NOLA in '05 (much deadlier and costly than Hugo). As a matter of fact, NOLA somewhat looked to Charleston to see how a historic city can recover after such an event: NOLA.com: Special Edition with the Times-Picayune
I'm very fond of both cities, for both similar and different reasons.
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