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In reality, most people (on CD) don't live or really spend much time in either Raleigh or Charlotte metros so they know very little about them other than hearsay, neither are tourist cities/metros. I kinda of live and work in both, neither city or metro is that "conservative" considering the explosive growth. Charlotte city is definitely more progressive in comparisons to Raleigh city; Durham/Chapel-Hill (where I live) isn't comparable due to demographics and (liberal) educational influences in the area....it's always been a different beast even with respect to Asheville which is much less diverse than the Durham metro.
I'm not certain why people think that sunbelt cities like Raleigh, Charlotte and Atlanta are just suburban behemoths without their fair share of very walkable, livable and safe neighborhoods in and around downtown areas. Totally not true and actually much more livable/safe than many cities with "older" and gritty hoods that could use hella polish. I'd rather live in the Dilworth area of Charlotte than most urban areas in DC. It's a bit different than say the Fan district in Richmond, but yet it dots all i's and crosses all the t's with tons of amenities all around.
Been to Birmingham a few times, seems nice enough with many older structures still intact. Currently, not experiencing the explosive growth seen in Raleigh, Charlotte and Atlanta so probably has a much of the its traditional and cultural southern roots intact.
Personally, I don't think people (outside looking in) can really wrap their heads around how much downtown areas and ring neighborhoods are changing in Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham metros. Especially Charlotte, which seems to look like a different place every couple of years or so.
Not sure why Atlanta is in the discussion though, it's a major city with major amenities/everything. Although Richmond has the historic northeastern style districts/architecture, Atlanta dwarfs those cities/metros in all aspects whether you're comparing urbanity, nightlife, etc.
Charlotte I feel is relatively left leaning in the actual city the sounding areas are more conservative though but you can say that about quite a few major southern cities and there metro areas(and yes I'm speaking on a place I have been many times) got a bunch of relatives all up and down the state.
Charlotte I feel is relatively left leaning in the actual city the sounding areas are more conservative though but you can say that about quite a few major southern cities and there metro areas(and yes I'm speaking on a place I have been many times) got a bunch of relatives all up and down the state.
My dad's best friend used to live at Lake Norman. We spent a summer there back in 2003. Even back then Charlotte was experiencing major growth. He drove us through various neighborhoods and Uptown of course. I have been a few more times recently and it has changed a lot. There is really not much to complain about with Charlotte. I secretly hoped Amazon would have chosen them for their headquarters to really kick things off.
When I said Charlotte was still conservative and traditional, I was referring to the Charlotte Metro Area which voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election unlike the Raleigh, Atlanta, and Richmond areas. Charlotte city is very liberal in my opinion. However, a lot of that is due to the fact that the city is majority minority. The White areas of the city are still very conservative. Much more conservative than in Richmond, Raleigh, and Atlanta. This is largely due to the fact that the city borders South Carolina is borderline Deep Southern.
When I said Charlotte was still conservative and traditional, I was referring to the Charlotte Metro Area which voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election unlike the Raleigh, Atlanta, and Richmond areas. Charlotte city is very liberal in my opinion. However, a lot of that is due to the fact that the city is majority minority. The White areas of the city are still very conservative. Much more conservative than in Richmond, Raleigh, and Atlanta. This is largely due to the fact that the city borders South Carolina is borderline Deep Southern.
I’d agree completely although not with the “white part” of Charlotte— the white parts actually are some of the most liberal. That seems true in most cities though, IMO. I never really see blacks or Hispanics or other minorities talking about democratic socialism and such as much as white democrats. Also, black people seem to be more religious and not as strong of supporters of LGBT rights as much as white democrats who want a 3rd option for genders when you have a baby.
The other white section, the wealthiest part of the city dominated by the GOP called “the wedge” is actually socially liberal. They’re very chamber of commerce. That’s why you see the GOP run candidates who are socially liberal but just want lower taxes or anti- streetcar using increased property taxes. Marry who you want, smoke what you want, choose whatever bathroom you want so long as their corporate masters are happy.
It’s really the same reason you see Charlotte hosting the RNC despite only having 2 GOP members on city council and 0 in the county level. Charlotte in general is pretty pragmatic about putting politics aside if it means more money. Money, at the end of the day, brings even the worst enemies together in CLT.
The city council has a black lesbian, I believe an Indian who made national headlines for saying anyone who supports trump deserves no voice in Charlotte city council, the mayor is a black female, another council member made national headlines who was a shirtless protester during the Charlotte riots (that made international headlines) holding his fist up and decided to get into politics and some fairly young members. But money is king there at the end of the day.
Last edited by Charlotte485; 12-02-2018 at 04:49 PM..
I’d agree completely although not with the “white part†of Charlotte— the white parts actually are some of the most liberal. That seems true in most cities though, IMO. I never really see blacks or Hispanics or other minorities talking about democratic socialism and such as much as white democrats. Also, black people seem to be more religious and not as strong of supporters of LGBT rights as much as white democrats who want a 3rd option for genders when you have a baby.
The other white section, the wealthiest part of the city dominated by the GOP called “the wedge†is actually socially liberal. They’re very chamber of commerce. That’s why you see the GOP run candidates who are socially liberal but just want lower taxes or anti- streetcar using increased property taxes. Marry who you want, smoke what you want, choose whatever bathroom you want so long as their corporate masters are happy.
It’s really the same reason you see Charlotte hosting the RNC despite only having 2 GOP members on city council and 0 in the county level. Charlotte in general is pretty pragmatic about putting politics aside if it means more money. Money, at the end of the day, brings even the worst enemies together in CLT.
The city council has a black lesbian, I believe an Indian who made national headlines for saying anyone who supports trump deserves no voice in Charlotte city council, the mayor is a black female, another council member made national headlines who was a shirtless protester during the Charlotte riots (that made international headlines) holding his fist up and decided to get into politics and some fairly young members. But money is king there at the end of the day.
I guess it depends on where you live. A lot of my family lives in South Charlotte and their neighborhoods are almost exclusively republican but this might not be true of all wealthy areas of the city.
When I said Charlotte was still conservative and traditional, I was referring to the Charlotte Metro Area which voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election unlike the Raleigh, Atlanta, and Richmond areas. Charlotte city is very liberal in my opinion. However, a lot of that is due to the fact that the city is majority minority. The White areas of the city are still very conservative. Much more conservative than in Richmond, Raleigh, and Atlanta. This is largely due to the fact that the city borders South Carolina is borderline Deep Southern.
Nice try but you clearly said in your post "The city is still rather conservative and traditional but is becoming less and less so every year." Even if you were talking about the entire metro area, it went for Trump at a whopping 50.1% so yeah. And what does the "White areas of the city" being "very conservative" have to do with bordering SC???? Excepting Cabarrus County, York and Lancaster counties in SC (which directly border Charlotte) went for Trump by the lowest margins of all the suburban counties in metro Charlotte. Trump won supermajorities of the voting populations in Lincoln and Iredell counties so if you're going to push the "conservative White areas in the city" narrative, you might want to look at those in the northern part of the county.
Nice try but you clearly said in your post "The city is still rather conservative and traditional but is becoming less and less so every year." Even if you were talking about the entire metro area, it went for Trump at a whopping 50.1% so yeah. And what does the "White areas of the city" being "very conservative" have to do with bordering SC???? Excepting Cabarrus County, York and Lancaster counties in SC (which directly border Charlotte) went for Trump by the lowest margins of all the suburban counties in metro Charlotte. Trump won supermajorities of the voting populations in Lincoln and Iredell counties so if you're going to push the "conservative White areas in the city" narrative, you might want to look at those in the northern part of the county.
You have to consider who is voting, Iredell and Lincoln counties have less minority voters than York and Lancaster counties. Lancaster county is 30% minority and still voted for trump with over 60% of the vote while York county was at 58.4%. If that is the lowest margin in the entire metro, than that perfectly explains my point. In a county that is almost a third minority, you would expect there to be a larger margin. In Iredell county, 30% of the vote went to democrats, and only 23% of its population is made up of minorities compared to 35.5% of Lancaster county going democratic with and having a population that is 30% minority. That either means that more minorities in Lancaster and York counties voted republican or more White voters voted republican than in Iredell County. Cabarrus County also has more minorities than the other counties mentioned which is likely why it is less republican. On a larger scale, that is like, comparing comparing Fulton County, PA to Jefferson County, MS and saying that Jefferson County is an example of how progressive rural and suburban voters are. Jefferson County is 87% minority and is strongly democratic while Fulton is 4% minority and is strongly republican. Wake County is more republican than Mecklenburg County by five percentage points. However, Mecklenburg county is 53% minority while Wake county is 40% minority. Minority voters generally vote less republican than White voters all over the country. You have to consider the demographics of a place when you look at its voting patterns. Democrat does not always mean progressive and forward thinking. It depends where you are an who you talk to.
When I reference "the city", I reference any urban area and its associated localities. I am sorry for the confusion that I have caused. I would never compare a cities without including their surrounding areas.
I did not say that all White people in Charlotte are republican, just more-so than in other metros on this list, leaving out Birmingham. This is just my experience. Coming from Richmond, Charlotte feels much more conservative to me in areas with similar demographics. My relatives have directories for their neighborhoods and many show that they are among the only democrats in their neighborhoods. That is just what I have experienced. I did say that this might not be the case in every majority White neighborhood. It just depends on where you are and who you associate with.
Last edited by Magicstar1; 12-03-2018 at 07:04 AM..
You have to consider who is voting, Iredell and Lincoln counties have less minority voters than York and Lancaster counties. Lancaster county is 30% minority and still voted for trump with over 60% of the vote while York county was at 58.4%. If that is the lowest margin in the entire metro, than that perfectly explains my point. In a county that is almost a third minority, you would expect there to be a larger margin. In Iredell county, 30% of the vote went to democrats, and only 23% of its population is made up of minorities compared to 35.5% of Lancaster county going democratic with and having a population that is 30% minority. That either means that more minorities in Lancaster and York counties voted republican or more White voters voted republican than in Iredell County. Cabarrus County also has more minorities than the other counties mentioned which is likely why it is less republican. On a larger scale, that is like, comparing comparing Fulton County, PA to Jefferson County, MS and saying that Jefferson County is an example of how progressive rural and suburban voters are. Jefferson County is 87% minority and is strongly democratic while Fulton is 4% minority and is strongly republican. Wake County is more republican than Mecklenburg County by five percentage points. However, Mecklenburg county is 53% minority while Wake county is 40% minority. Minority voters generally vote less republican than White voters all over the country. You have to consider the demographics of a place when you look at its voting patterns. Democrat does not always mean progressive and forward thinking. It depends where you are an who you talk to.
When I reference "the city", I reference any urban area and its associated localities. I am sorry for the confusion that I have caused. I would never compare a cities without including their surrounding areas.
I did not say that all White people in Charlotte are republican, just more-so than in other metros on this list, leaving out Birmingham. This is just my experience. Coming from Richmond, Charlotte feels much more conservative to me in areas with similar demographics. My relatives have directories for their neighborhoods and many show that they are among the only democrats in their neighborhoods. That is just what I have experienced. I did say that this might not be the case in every majority White neighborhood. It just depends on where you are and who you associate with.
Without actual statistics, much of what you say is just conjecture. Furthermore, minority populations aren't equal to the minority voting populations within those counties. And also, minority voters are often more progressive and liberal than they are given credit for and I really get tired of the narrative that is often pushed that only White voters truly count as progressive and liberal. It flies in the face of facts, especially considering many of the minority candidate with truly progressive platforms that won their races in the most recent midterm elections.
Without actual statistics, much of what you say is just conjecture. Furthermore, minority populations aren't equal to the minority voting populations within those counties. And also, minority voters are often more progressive and liberal than they are given credit for and I really get tired of the narrative that is often pushed that only White voters truly count as progressive and liberal. It flies in the face of facts, especially considering many of the minority candidate with truly progressive platforms that won their races in the most recent midterm elections.
My first paragraph is based entirely on actual statistics. All of the demographics are taken from the 2016-5 and 2017-1 census reports. I got the voter information from Wikipedia for the 2016 presidential election. I based all of my information on actual statistics. However, I do agree that someones race and ethnic background should not determine their political party or belief system. I believe that most minority voters are progressive and many white voters are as well. It just depends where you are and who you talk to. Everyone is different.
Last edited by Magicstar1; 12-03-2018 at 10:19 AM..
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