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Just the general pace of life, the way people move, the activities available, the nightlife, the general bustle. Charlotte feels like I can imagine Atlanta did in the 70s and 80s. There's rural-ish areas in both metros, but Charlotte overall feels a lot less city than Atlanta imo.
With that said, culturally, the two feel similar in many ways, at least moreso than Atlanta and Dallas.
The pace and way of life is not that much different. Atlanta is bigger which comes with more traffic and flow but to say it feels like Atlanta did in the 70s and 80s is a stretch. Charlotte is very progressive and alive. Atlanta definitely feels bigger, but pace of life not so different....
Both Atlanta and Dallas have major airports for connecting flights. Both are corporate meccas with no real predominant industry. When you think of Atlanta and Dallas what industry comes to mind? They are jack-of-all trade cities that desperately want to be considered top tier. I would liken them to Avis when they ran with the marketing campaign “We’re number 2 so we try harder.” Thus the “successful brand and flashy image.”
Having been founded as a railroad hub by state officials to connect Georgia and the South with the markets of the Midwest, Atlanta's bread and butter industry has always been logistics/distribution/transportation (planes, trains, and automobiles quite literally) which explains the prevalence of all the roads named "__________ Industrial Blvd" in the region. The huge clusters of warehousing and storage facilities in the southern, western, and northeastern parts of the metro area, as well as the railyards in northwest Atlanta, attest to this.
Chicago especially and Dallas are two other cities with similar foundings as transportation hubs.
The pace and way of life is not that much different. Atlanta is bigger which comes with more traffic and flow but to say it feels like Atlanta did in the 70s and 80s is a stretch. Charlotte is very progressive and alive. Atlanta definitely feels bigger, but pace of life not so different....
More nodes of activity in Atlanta vs Charlotte. It comes with a city being bigger and having a larger cultural identity. No shame to Charlotte and what it is but it hardly compares to the energy of Atlanta and that's fine considering its metro has 4 million fewer people than Atlanta's.
Just the general pace of life, the way people move, the activities available, the nightlife, the general bustle. Charlotte feels like I can imagine Atlanta did in the 70s and 80s. There's rural-ish areas in both metros, but Charlotte overall feels a lot less city than Atlanta imo.
With that said, culturally, the two feel similar in many ways, at least moreso than Atlanta and Dallas.
Atlanta feels "fast-paced" on area roadways, but I'd say that's about it. I think its urban landscape is too segmented to convey any sort of defining pace for the city at large. Now the Beltline has the potential to change that but even then, I'd define that pace as more recreational and leisurely than fast. For the most part, folks don't utilize the Beltline to get from their origin to their destination as quickly as possible since the Beltline itself is the destination.
I think it's more accurate to define Atlanta in terms of the energies it gives, and that varies depending on what part of the city you're in. The primary characterization of Atlanta that I always return to in nearly all aspects is "mixed bag" and that applies here also IMO.
More nodes of activity in Atlanta vs Charlotte. It comes with a city being bigger and having a larger cultural identity. No shame to Charlotte and what it is but it hardly compares to the energy of Atlanta and that's fine considering its metro has 4 million fewer people than Atlanta's.
I agree, but that doesn't translate into "fast-paced" to me. Atlanta can rightfully be described as more energetic than Charlotte though. New Orleans' energy is practically electrifying to me, but it is deliberately a non-fast-paced place.
I'm not too familiar with Dallas, but from I imagine the culture in many ways might be more similar to Nashville than Atlanta. I'm also not familiar with Austin but I image to culture to be similar to certain parts of Atlanta (mainly the Eastside areas and Midtown) even though I'm always hearing it compared to Nashville. I can see the argument for Charlotte as well especially being in the same region with similar climates and geography being in the Piedmont region.
I appreciate the fact that you admitted that you aren't too familiar with Dallas and Austin. You should come out sometime and check them out. I think you'll be quite surprised with what you actually find. Dallas is nothing like Nashville and Austin is totally different from Atlanta. I'd say Dallas has a certain similar feel to Atlanta in regard to newer developments, but they feel very different culturally. I agree with the one poster that Houston is most similar to Atlanta in black culture. Dallas has a large black population, but it's a different vibe.
I'm not too familiar with Dallas, but from I imagine the culture in many ways might be more similar to Nashville than Atlanta. I'm also not familiar with Austin but I image to culture to be similar to certain parts of Atlanta (mainly the Eastside areas and Midtown) even though I'm always hearing it compared to Nashville. I can see the argument for Charlotte as well especially being in the same region with similar climates and geography being in the Piedmont region.
First time ever hearing Dallas being more similar to Nashville. I don't see that at all. And Austin and Atlanta are also far apart from one another. For one Austin's culture is predominately hipster, tech, easy going, gig- centric, WHITE, recreational and a hint of Texan culture. Outside of El Paso it feels less southern than all the other major cities in Texas imo. Austin IMO, is more like a Portland, maybe Denver and even a Nashville in some ways. Atlanta though, nah don't see it.
Just the general pace of life, the way people move, the activities available, the nightlife, the general bustle. Charlotte feels like I can imagine Atlanta did in the 70s and 80s. There's rural-ish areas in both metros, but Charlotte overall feels a lot less city than Atlanta imo.
With that said, culturally, the two feel similar in many ways, at least moreso than Atlanta and Dallas.
People in Atlanta do not have a faster "general pace of life" or more "general bustle" than Charlotte. They are both Southern cities with a more relaxed and slower pace of life, at least in my experience coming from the North/Chicago.
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