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Well historically NC had a pretty good statewide image based on moderate politics, strong economic/population growth, and the quality of its educational institutions, and Charlotte helped lead the way in crafting that image; it wasn't anything to distance itself from. Charlotte is more progressive than not but it's hardly "weird" or countercultural, which are characteristics that are more apt for that type of branding. That works for Asheville which has built an entire identity around that sort of thing, but not Charlotte which has invested much time and energy into cultivating an extremely business-friendly reputation more than anything.
I was just using Austin as an example of how some good campaigning can really get into the national psyche/perception of a specific location.. it doesn't have to be anything in regards being "weird" or counter cultural but honestly when one thinks of Charlotte, there isn't much behind it which to me means the city could use some marketing/pr efforts.
I live in Phoenix. Charlotte is definitely a much more visible city than Raleigh for me. Charlotte has a more impressive skyline, several professional sports teams, has a major airport that is a common stop for people from Phoenix traveling back east, and Charlotte is home to several large banks. Charlotte comes across as a large, soon to be major, city.
Raleigh, on the other hand, just seems like a small Southern city, with more of a regional presence than a national one. Sure, it's surrounded by a number of very highly ranked universities. However, beyond that, I just don't think about it that much.
I was just using Austin as an example of how some good campaigning can really get into the national psyche/perception of a specific location.. it doesn't have to be anything in regards being "weird" or counter cultural but honestly when one thinks of Charlotte, there isn't much behind it which to me means the city could use some marketing/pr efforts.
Austin is an outlier; most cities don't have a catchy slogan that sticks. Raleigh/the Triangle doesn't have one either and as it was mentioned earlier, both it and Charlotte are mostly known for maybe two things each on a national level. It just so happens that you find the things that Raleigh/the Triangle are mostly known for more appealing due to your career field and social circle. That's not going to change if Charlotte does more PR/marketing. It is what it is.
My NY family likes it because it is small, cheap and laid back.
My family in the Appalachians look at it as if it were world-class, global city. Yes, there are people who look at Charlotte in this light lol.
Atlantans never really think about Charlotte until CIAA since we are dominant city in the region. We don’t tend to relocate there. Several years ago I was at the hooters uptown Charlotte, the hostess acted like it was a big deal that we were from Atlanta, commenting something along “ I don’t know how y’all live down there with all those people, too much going on for me” so that was pretty eye-opening to me.
I hear good things about Raleigh (The Triangle), namely for its university presence. But don’t hear that much about it.
This is pretty interesting perspective from some transplants in the triangle who lived in NYC, Atlanta and DC prior.
Atlantans never really think about Charlotte until CIAA since we are dominant city in the region.
You mean Black Atlantans LOL. And they'll be thinking about Charlotte for NBA All-Star Weekend in February as well.
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We don’t tend to relocate there.
No, but as Charlotte has grown and added more amenities, it has been able to retain a larger number of its residents that might have otherwise moved to Atlanta. Also a lot of people, mostly families, have begun considering Charlotte, as well as the Triangle, as an alternative to Atlanta.
Is Mecklenburg County comparable to Fairfax County? Are we breaking down Charlotte City Proper to say Virginia Beach City Proper? Charlotte is more urban, statistically.
No, I can't really think of a comp for Meck in Virginia, but it isn't Fairfax...
Virginia Beach and Raleigh have some commonalities. Particularly demographically and with regards to education and poverty and crime levels. There also parts of VB that look like Raleigh, some of the Sunbelt-inspired areas, and some of the more wooded and rural areas further out look like the wooded areas in around Raleigh and Wake...
Both also have a similar atmosphere from a resident standpoint. I'm not sure how to describe it, they aren't exact, but there's a similarity you can notice if you see it. Virginia Beach and Charlotte aren't much comparable...
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Originally Posted by meep
My NY family likes it because it is small, cheap and laid back.
My family in the Appalachians look at it as if it were world-class, global city. Yes, there are people who look at Charlotte in this light lol.
Atlantans never really think about Charlotte until CIAA since we are dominant city in the region. We don’t tend to relocate there. Several years ago I was at the hooters uptown Charlotte, the hostess acted like it was a big deal that we were from Atlanta, commenting something along “ I don’t know how y’all live down there with all those people, too much going on for me” so that was pretty eye-opening to me.
I hear good things about Raleigh (The Triangle), namely for its university presence. But don’t hear that much about it.
This is pretty interesting perspective from some transplants in the triangle who lived in NYC, Atlanta and DC prior.
While I stand by the point that Raleigh and Charlotte are more similar than not, that video link should be qualified that alot of what they speak on is specific to their Triangle area, and not Charlotte...
For one thing, Charlotte's dining scene is much, much grander. Charlotte has all the chains too, but has a higher propensity of local establishments and has a luxury dining scene that doesn't really exist in The Triangle. And there is just a greater amount of things to do in Charlotte; certainly coming from a larger city, Charlotte can bore easily, but coming from Raleigh or The Triangle there is a noticeable increase in "things to do". Not by an extreme amount, but I definitely think its noticeable and one would be less prone to boredom in Charlotte than Raleigh...
The entirety of NC is basketball-crazed but there is an elevated fandom in RDU because the schools are there. One similarity between the two is that soccer and hockey are both big from the grass roots level on. Prep and college football is bigger in Charlotte, probably pro football, too...
When I lived in Metro Atlanta I heard people mention Charlotte several times, and never about CIAA. I think Atlantans, those interested anyway, recognize Charlotte as its "little brother" of sorts. I'd also add that at the minimum threshold, Charlotte definitely qualifies as a "major city", particularly when cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland and Baltimore and others are given that designation, when you visit all of them without bias, Charlotte is clearly and easily within that class...
Raleigh not so much, it and the RDU region are a bedroom community, maybe in search of a major city that Raleigh may grow into at some point, but there are a number of things Raleigh and RDU are missing before that will, if ever, is realized. Still, for its weight class, Raleigh is an exceptional area...
Also, for a point I saw mentioned earlier by another poster, I have found that there are people from the Northeast who look at Raleigh and Durham as the same place, there are those who don't. While they are absolutely of the same region, metropolis, there are distinct cultural identifiers between the two sides of The Triangle. There is the Raleigh-Cary side, and the Durham-Chapel Hill side. The universities and sports culture unite the two, but natives and long time residents note the separation. My significant other is from Raleigh, I've worked in and hung out with friends/girlfriends in Durham. Same region, sure. Definitely not the same "city", and I've seen that mistaken on this board as well. It really isn't unlike the distinctions that separate Oakland from San Francisco, or Fort Worth from Dallas, or Baltimore from Washington, just at smaller scale....
My NY family likes it because it is small, cheap and laid back.
My family in the Appalachians look at it as if it were world-class, global city. Yes, there are people who look at Charlotte in this light lol.
Atlantans never really think about Charlotte until CIAA since we are dominant city in the region. We don’t tend to relocate there. Several years ago I was at the hooters uptown Charlotte, the hostess acted like it was a big deal that we were from Atlanta, commenting something along “ I don’t know how y’all live down there with all those people, too much going on for me” so that was pretty eye-opening to me.
I hear good things about Raleigh (The Triangle), namely for its university presence. But don’t hear that much about it.
This is pretty interesting perspective from some transplants in the triangle who lived in NYC, Atlanta and DC prior.
He kept cutting her off when she wanted to get to the cons. How she said it was "BORING" and "I got lots a cons" @ 12:56 lol....They traffic is 40 mph...It ain't that bad. How about sittin in the same spot for 10 minutes Atlanta?... Bootleg Kindred looking-tails.
I don’t think it’s quite right to say the Raleigh-Cary side is drastically distinct from Durham-Chapel Hill. Tons of people in ‘New’ Cary view Southpoint as their main mall for instance. And many of those that live in North Raleigh along the 540 circuit are probably closer to downtown Durham. The Triangle is more decentralized than Charlotte, and Wendell to Chapel Hill is pushing it in terms of connectivity, but there is a good half-a-million people who live about equidistant between the two main downtowns and they utilize them fairly frequently.
How about that Piedmont Triad? Isn't that what everyone thinks of when they think of North Carolina?
IMO, the Triad is the most North Carolinian of the state's major regions but it has lagged Charlotte and the Triangle for a while now. People are much more prone to think of a state's larger cities when they think about that state so the Triad's profile is a bit more subdued.
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