Charlotte vs Baltimore (live, best, state, better)

[Turnerbro]

So I use to live in Baltimore, and I've visited Charlotte a lot recently. I think both cities have a lot to like. I'm wondering which is the best overall. Some criteria to consider.

1. Downtown
2. Walkability
3. Economy
4. Transportation (car, and public)
5. Bars/Resturaunts
6. Safety
7. Suburbs
8. Scenery
9. Outdoor recreation
10. Friendliness
11. Climate
12. Architecture
13. Where would you rather live?

[Metal To The Core]

1. Downtown: Probably Baltimore
2. Walkability: Definitely Baltimore
3. Economy: Charlotte, unless you're in the medical field
4. Transportation (car, and public): Not sure which one is more reliable and extensive, but Charlotte would be safer. Probably less traffic over there, too.
5. Bars/Resturaunts: Baltimore. There's no Little Italy in Charlotte.
6. Safety: Charlotte
7. Suburbs: Baltimore because of Annapolis
8. Scenery: Uh, hello?! Baltimore is on the water
9. Outdoor recreation: See above comment
10. Friendliness: Not sure, I could see both having friendly and unfriendly people.
11. Climate: They are probably both pretty good in this department. Yeah, there's more of a winter in Baltimore, but probably nothing too brutal.
12. Architecture: Baltimore, much more Old World architecture
13. Where would you rather live? Charm City!!

[Waterboy526]

I'm not sure I would consider Annapolis a suburb of Baltimore. Charlotte's suburbs are booming a lot more so than Baltimore.

[KodeBlue]

Originally Posted by Waterboy526

I'm not sure I would consider Annapolis a suburb of Baltimore. Charlotte's suburbs are booming a lot more so than Baltimore.

Annapolis is a suburb of Baltimore.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Metal To The Core

1. Downtown: Probably Baltimore
2. Walkability: Definitely Baltimore
3. Economy: Charlotte, unless you're in the medical field
4. Transportation (car, and public): Not sure which one is more reliable and extensive, but Charlotte would be safer. Probably less traffic over there, too.
5. Bars/Resturaunts: Baltimore. There's no Little Italy in Charlotte.
6. Safety: Charlotte
7. Suburbs: Baltimore because of Annapolis
8. Scenery: Uh, hello?! Baltimore is on the water
9. Outdoor recreation: See above comment
10. Friendliness: Not sure, I could see both having friendly and unfriendly people.
11. Climate: They are probably both pretty good in this department. Yeah, there's more of a winter in Baltimore, but probably nothing too brutal.
12. Architecture: Baltimore, much more Old World architecture
13. Where would you rather live? Charm City!!

Baltimore easily takes the transportation category but Charlotte isn't exactly sitting still.

Charlotte is friendlier.

I agree with you that Baltimore wins the scenery category but it's not just because of the harbor; it's also due to the dense, historic cityscape that can be viewed at certain points along interstates/freeways and inside of tall buildings.

[C24L]

Charlotte

[Turnerbro]

Originally Posted by KodeBlue

Annapolis is a suburb of Baltimore.

Very technically speaking it is, but functionally it works as it's own entity.

[KodeBlue]

Originally Posted by Turnerbro

Very technically speaking it is, but functionally it works as it's own entity.

Yea, it's functions as its own entity in the real world.

[Trafalgar Law]

Originally Posted by Turnerbro

So I use to live in Baltimore, and I've visited Charlotte a lot recently. I think both cities have a lot to like. I'm wondering which is the best overall. Some criteria to consider.

1. Downtown
2. Walkability
3. Economy
4. Transportation (car, and public)
5. Bars/Resturaunts
6. Safety
7. Suburbs
8. Scenery
9. Outdoor recreation
10. Friendliness
11. Climate
12. Architecture
13. Where would you rather live?

01. Baltimore (no contest)

02. Baltimore (no contest)

03. Baltimore/Charlotte tie (both are active economies and the quality of each of their economies are heavily dependent on the individual person in question and which field and/or industry they work in. For instance, Charlotte is a better match for someone in financial services and aviation whereas Baltimore is a better match for someone in the education industry and medical industry. For their sizes, both have large GDPs and are productive on a per-person basis.)

04. Baltimore (both likely match one another on transportation infrastructure for cars and while Charlotte has built up a nice light rail system and is looking to continue its expansion, the system in Baltimore is more integrated into the city's fabric and is more highly utilized.)

05. Baltimore (I think what gives Baltimore the leg up here is that it has its very own distinct seafood scene, which is it well renown for, whereas Charlotte's offerings aren't as well known by the mainstream population and is more of a "look, find, and see for yourself" sort of experience, which in itself is a fun challenge because you get the satisfaction of weeding out something nice for yourself all on your own rather than letting commercialism point you to your destination. Overall for food, slight edge to Baltimore for having a well established and distinct scene. For bars, I'd say Baltimore, the compact nature of the inner city makes bar hopping easier and gives you a pathway to more varieties available. I have no doubts that Charlotte likely has its own set of top notch bars as well but the concentration and ability to more easily bar-hop give Baltimore the win in my opinion).

06. Charlotte

07. I don't know (but I will say that every major metropolitan area in the United States has its set of historical streetcar era suburbs, generally very nice and all also have plenty of the mainstream American suburbs, the Anywhere, United States kinds. So I take it that both cities will have an abundance of options ranging from the exclusive to the mainstream and for every socioeconomic bracket.)

08. Baltimore for sure (Baltimore's location on the Chesapeake Bay is incredible and Baltimore isn't one of those cities where you have to pick either elevated hills and mountains OR a shoreline/coastline on a large body of water attached to the ocean. It has both. The city has a very nice series of elevations within it, it actually enhances the appeal of some neighborhoods, both aesthetically and in terms of adding more features to the cityscape and of course the Chesapeake Bay is right there, starting from the harbor in the city's core).

09. Baltimore (see above; listen having a large body of water like a bar and having the proximity to the ocean is a very big thing, it opens your world up to water sports and water related activities such as canoeing, kayaking, boating, fishing, diving, swimming, parasailing, wake boarding, maybe some surfing and the like. It also opens your world up to marine life and animals, in addition to ecosystems, which are cool to see and experience. You also have underrated things like ferries and of course recreational outdoor areas like beaches, which in itself come with their own outdoor sports (like volleyball, frisbee, kite flying over the ocean). Both Baltimore and Charlotte have hills for hiking, camping, exploring, and the like so that cancels each other out but Baltimore takes this due to the bay and its proximity to the ocean).

10. I don't know (never had any problems in either).

11. Baltimore/Charlotte tie (they are probably more similar than different, likely both four season climates, I'd imagine one has slightly colder winters and the other has slightly hotter summers and the other seasons are likely interchangeable).

12. Baltimore/Charlotte tie (architecture is like toothpaste, everyone has a preference on brand and type. I imagine if you are a fan of historically classical architecture that Baltimore is up your alleyway, whereas if you don't like older looking things and are more into post-modern then Charlotte is more to your liking.)

13. I don't know.

[JakeDog]

Charlotte is much better for families.