Miami vs.Charlotte (difference, downtown, beach, skyline)

[nycricanpapi]

When compared to Charlotte, I would say Miami's hands down.

[eek]

i've been to a few of those festivals in that list on the last page and i can tell you that they are the same festival with the same foods. you would never know it was a different festival if it wasn't for a sign...and sometimes you don't see the sign at all, so...
many of them are nothing to write home about.

i've never stepped foot in miami but miami has got to blow charlotte out of the water...at least based off of what i've seen on tv. surely calle ocho alone would blow many festivals out of the water. and i know they probably have a real caribbean festival in miami.

[crider]

To be compared to cities such as Miami proves what has been an amazing transformation of Charlotte over the last twenty years. It was not long ago that Norfolk,Richmond and Birmingham, would be the cities that Charlotte would be trying to measure up too; not a top tier city and region like Miami and South Florida or even Tampa/ St. Pete.

[Carolina Blue]

Originally Posted by eek

i've been to a few of those festivals in that list on the last page and i can tell you that they are the same festival with the same foods. you would never know it was a different festival if it wasn't for a sign...and sometimes you don't see the sign at all, so...
many of them are nothing to write home about.

i've never stepped foot in miami but miami has got to blow charlotte out of the water...at least based off of what i've seen on tv. surely calle ocho alone would blow many festivals out of the water. and i know they probably have a real caribbean festival in miami.

So the Greek festival had Indian food
And the Indian festival had Greek food
And the Itailian festival had Japneese food
And the Japaneese festival had Italian food
And the Caribbean festival had Mexican food
And the Irish festival had Caribbean food
And since the Taste of Charlotte has vendors of all different types, all the vendors from the Taste of Charlotte do all the festivals????

You realize how silly that sounds, I hope. Again, if you're talking about things like funnel cakes and hot dogs, then yes, those folks would be at all the festivals. But "all" the same food vendors do not go to all the Charlotte festivals. The ethnic ones have very specific vendors, and festivals like the Interntional Festival and Taste of Charlotte have so many different vendors that are unique to their events what you're claiming wouldn't be logical.

[BlackOut]

Originally Posted by crider

To be compared to cities such as Miami proves what has been an amazing transformation of Charlotte over the last twenty years. It was not long ago that Norfolk,Richmond and Birmingham, would be the cities that Charlotte would be trying to measure up too; not a top tier city and region like Miami and South Florida or even Tampa/ St. Pete.

There continues to be a MAJOR difference between the two. Charlotte still ranks among the Richmond, Indianapolis, Orlando, Tampa, etc. crowd.

BTW, I'm leaning towards Charlotte.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by eek

true.
at the same time tho, discovery place is for children (to be honest), and the NASCAR hall of fame really doesn't appeal to a lot of ppl (but to be fair, the panthers' stadium (bank of america stadium??) appeals to more ppl). movie theatres and bowling alley's come a dime a dozen in charlotte.

Discovery Place is geared towards children, yes; what's so bad about having a few children-friendly places downtown? Isn't an urban core supposed to attract all types of people, families included? Discovery Place also hosts exhibits that appeal to adults as well, like the Dead Sea Scrolls and BodyWorks. Movie theatres and bowling alleys are indeed a dime a dozen in Charlotte, but the point is that you can do them downtown. They are exactly unique venues if you look them up; they don't offer the same type of atmosphere like typical theatres and alleys do.

well its a negative if its like:

greece
puerto rico
china
australia
indian
get out and read a book
go listen to music
art

festivals all have the same exact everything in them. there's nothing different about any of them (the above are made up examples, by the way for those not familiar with charlotte). its not really that much of an attraction. again, there's potential...but ppl have to make things happen.

Well, that's already been addressed, and I disagree big time that these are simply the same festivals with different names. Not true at all.

but they aren't open. but again, thats potential and hopefully they will bring more variety.

And they will.

which had to be pretty low. i mean the thing is two cars and doesn't really go anywhere. ppl ride out of hope and curiosity more than out of necessity.

CATS had originally projected the LRT system (Lynx) would average about 9,100 weekday trips in its first year, reaching 18,100 trips by 2025; it averaged 16,479 weekday trips in June of this year. Regardless as to whether or not the initial projections were low, these are pretty good numbers for auto-centric Charlotte. And again, saying that it doesn't "go anywhere" is patently false. The South Blvd corridor was quite ideal for a starter line, seeing that it runs along very diverse neighborhoods and represents as much of a cross-section of the city's population as one can get along one corridor. And of course, the newness of the system will ensure that people will ride out of curiosity. But for the most part, that has worn off and high ridership numbers are still being posted.

they didn't build them right...or rather charlotte chose to go with the wrong cars. the system is compact and not ideal for a lot of ppl. charlotte will only grow.

And so will the light rail system. Plans are already underway for the next leg, which runs to University City.

atlanta is notorious for not having decent mass transit, so what are you saying?
trolley's in 09 for growing cities is a short term fix, period. ppl need to embrace change. a street car is not the answer to charlotte's problem.

Streetcars figure into the overall transit system for the city and are quite beneficial in that regard. They are complementary in nature. They are not meant to be a silver bullet, as you are implying.

i'm not going to compare charlotte to another city. thats charlotte's problem in the first place. ppl want it to be the next ______. charlotte is charlotte and they need to form an identity that makes it THAT next city. banking wasn't the answer. what will it be next?

I see nothing wrong with comparison; it lets you know where you stand among your peers. The fact of the matter is that you're criticizing Charlotte for doing things RIGHT. Ideally, it would have been better to have light rail implemented years ago, but it has now been embraced, along with other positive changes in the region. It seems as though you're flaming Charlotte for not being Portland or something, and that's quite unrealistic. Charlotte just wants to be known as a city that offers a great quality of life to its residents, and on that front, it is succeeding greatly. The growth of the banking industry was about creating jobs and long-term prosperity, not the vain pursuit of a superficial identity.

again, two professional teams, a growing population, the chips are there. charlotte just has to do what it needs to do to make the rest fall into place.

And we are doing so.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by BlackOut

There continues to be a MAJOR difference between the two. Charlotte still ranks among the Richmond, Indianapolis, Orlando, Tampa, etc. crowd.

This is true, but I'd say that Charlotte is very much towards the top in its tier.

[bgNCATL]

there just really needs to be more of a variety of options in uptown charlotte. the buildings, when cropped (sorry, but that pic is very cropped), look nice but in person its really small.

LOL! I have always said this. These cropped pics make you want to believe that there are a lot more buildings beyond the pic. The pic of Charlotte earlier showed the entire skyline in that small photo with the exception of the new Duke Energy building. If you are Looking north or south on tryon, it gets even smaller. I like Charlotte's skyline, but it's way to small.

[urbancharlotte]

Miami wins hands down IMO! However, Charlotte is building all of the things folks say Charlotte lacks. To me, it is just silly (pointing out the things a city is building as a negative). It is like "clowning" a medical student (at the top of his/her class) because he/she is not a doctor yet. Charlotte is getting "there". In 15 to 25 years, Charlotte will be "that city" folks point to and say "wow, what a cool place".

Charlotte's best attribute is being "that city" on the verge. A young family (in their 20s or 30s) can settle down in Charlotte "for less". After about 15 to 25 years (when the kids are grown), that same family now has tons of equity in a major US city.

If Charlotte were a major city today (like Miami), that young family would struggle to buy from the start. They would be forced to live in the burbs where things are cheaper. They'll have long commutes and most likely won't have the extra $$$ or time to enjoy their "major city".

My point is there are good reasons why places like Charlotte, Raleigh, and Nashville are growing. In time, these smaller cities will "catch on". As stated earlier in this thread, Charlotte is one of only a few cities in its size class that is doing so many "big city things". This FACT sometimes make me wonder why Charlotte is dissed so much on some of these threads? Is it because "Charlotte is slow" or is it because "Charlotte is coming up too fast" for some people's appetite.

[eek]

change in charlotte is slower than ppl are making it out to be.
its not a diss...just an observation.