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Durham seems to be the new hotness. It is winning a lot of national accolades for being a walkable, thriving, hip city. And it soon(ish) will have light rail.
You made a good point about the improvement of the art scene in Charlotte since I left in April of 2010. I have, in fact, been back in Charlotte several times since 2010, but my trips were mostly to visit friends or celebrate events. I do try to attend my Charlotte book club, but don't make it often enough. In short,I probably don't appreciate what has gone on in the past four years.
I must confess that, although I find Durham a charming, highly livable, culturally rich and friendly city, I miss Charlotte - mostly because I miss my friends of almost forty years.
You made a good point about the improvement of the art scene in Charlotte since I left in April of 2010. I have, in fact, been back in Charlotte several times since 2010, but my trips were mostly to visit friends or celebrate events. I do try to attend my Charlotte book club, but don't make it often enough. In short,I probably don't appreciate what has gone on in the past four years.
I must confess that, although I find Durham a charming, highly livable, culturally rich and friendly city, I miss Charlotte - mostly because I miss my friends of almost forty years.
Absolutely BarbJ. One thing Charlotte has not done a wonderful job of of is preserving its history. If it had the uptown area would definitely be way more dense, with retail, and have some incredible historic sites. But unfortunately it has not. Some other nice areas of Charlotte are the Metropolitan, Southpark, Ballantyne, and even the University Area is growing. Sputhpark is going through a bit of a building boom and UC is getting the light rail so that will make the area more urban and dense (relatively speaking).
Of course if you're going to leave Charlotte, Durham is probably the area to be. Your post was really what this thread was geared towards. A nice healthy debate between the two areas. These are truly some great areas of NC, and I may be biased when I say in the country as well.
Though if we preserved so much history, I wonder if our impressive growth would have occurred?
I'm convinced it would have. The old buildings were demolished to make room for the impressive growth. They could have been placed somewhere else but they weren't. Just imagine how Charlotte would have looked if they kept the old and new.
I'm convinced it would have. The old buildings were demolished to make room for the impressive growth. They could have been placed somewhere else but they weren't. Just imagine how Charlotte would have looked if they kept the old and new.
The old buildings that were imploded to make way for new ones was bad, but even worse were the ones that were razed for surface parking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UserNamesake
Charlotte lacks a soul.
Why, because it doesn't have as many older buildings in its core? Truth be told, Charlotte didn't have as many as other cities did in the first place. Charlotte very much has a soul, but the things it consists of just aren't considered hip or cool (textiles, stock-car racing, religion, etc.).
This is an interesting thread. BarbJ's comments resonate heavily with me. I lived in Charlotte in 1998-99, out near the intersection of 485 and Arrowood Rd., back when you could drive down to Lake Wylie and pass only cattle, VFDs and the rare subdivision -- how times have changed!
We end up spending a weekend in uptown Charlotte once a year or so, and do like many things about the city still. However, my wife and I infinitely prefer Durham, where we've lived for ten years.
The arts scene, and more importantly, the density of creative people, is much greater in Durham. Across the street from us lives an award-winning writer who's received a Kennedy Center award; down the street, one of the inventors of a 3D printer-style automated CNC system; further down the street, the documentary filmmaker who's producing the PBS series "A Chef's Life" about the foodie restaurant in Kinston. We also have business owners, a school board member, current and retired university faculty, retirees a couple of realtors, some land use/development folks, an an award-winning West Coast chef whose brother produces Hollywood films.
This is on one street and the edges at the next intersection. About thirty houses in total.
When we've driven through admittedly-beautiful neighborhoods like Myers Park and Dilworth, we've gotten the sense that they're heavily populated by corporate/finance execs at B of A and the like, or hospital execs or doctors -- it's more of the country-club style in downtown Charlotte. Beautiful homes, but there's not the eclectic, diverse population we're used to here.
We tried NoDa, going around and looking at houses, shops, galleries, etc. I was struck by how much smaller and embryonic the scene was than what we see in Durham or even Raleigh, or Winston-Salem for that matter. I went to one of the more popular coffeehouses and spent a day working from there on my laptop while my wife had a meeting. Listening to the conversation, I didn't hear the kind of discussion of the arts, higher education, technology (lots of startups in Durham) or the like that I am used to here in the Triangle, and the walls weren't littered with posters for odd creative movies, community events, etc.
The local food scene in Durham and the Triangle is huge, and nationally acclaimed. I love the lights and energy of uptown Charlotte, but walking along near the EpiCentre, everything seemed like a chain (Carolina Ale House downtown was doing a huge business... really?), and there were hardly any locally-owned restaurants that I saw.
Yes, it's great to go see a sports game; the light rail is innovative and well-designed; housing prices remain affordable; and the city dominates the suburbs for importance, which makes a great city. Yet I don't see the kind of intellectual energy, entrepreneurship and creativity that we have in Durham. I'm glad NC has Charlotte as an economic engine, but it's not a place I want to move back to.
This is an interesting thread. BarbJ's comments resonate heavily with me. I lived in Charlotte in 1998-99, out near the intersection of 485 and Arrowood Rd., back when you could drive down to Lake Wylie and pass only cattle, VFDs and the rare subdivision -- how times have changed!
We end up spending a weekend in uptown Charlotte once a year or so, and do like many things about the city still. However, my wife and I infinitely prefer Durham, where we've lived for ten years.
The arts scene, and more importantly, the density of creative people, is much greater in Durham. Across the street from us lives an award-winning writer who's received a Kennedy Center award; down the street, one of the inventors of a 3D printer-style automated CNC system; further down the street, the documentary filmmaker who's producing the PBS series "A Chef's Life" about the foodie restaurant in Kinston. We also have business owners, a school board member, current and retired university faculty, retirees a couple of realtors, some land use/development folks, an an award-winning West Coast chef whose brother produces Hollywood films.
This is on one street and the edges at the next intersection. About thirty houses in total.
When we've driven through admittedly-beautiful neighborhoods like Myers Park and Dilworth, we've gotten the sense that they're heavily populated by corporate/finance execs at B of A and the like, or hospital execs or doctors -- it's more of the country-club style in downtown Charlotte. Beautiful homes, but there's not the eclectic, diverse population we're used to here.
We tried NoDa, going around and looking at houses, shops, galleries, etc. I was struck by how much smaller and embryonic the scene was than what we see in Durham or even Raleigh, or Winston-Salem for that matter. I went to one of the more popular coffeehouses and spent a day working from there on my laptop while my wife had a meeting. Listening to the conversation, I didn't hear the kind of discussion of the arts, higher education, technology (lots of startups in Durham) or the like that I am used to here in the Triangle, and the walls weren't littered with posters for odd creative movies, community events, etc.
The local food scene in Durham and the Triangle is huge, and nationally acclaimed. I love the lights and energy of uptown Charlotte, but walking along near the EpiCentre, everything seemed like a chain (Carolina Ale House downtown was doing a huge business... really?), and there were hardly any locally-owned restaurants that I saw.
Yes, it's great to go see a sports game; the light rail is innovative and well-designed; housing prices remain affordable; and the city dominates the suburbs for importance, which makes a great city. Yet I don't see the kind of intellectual energy, entrepreneurship and creativity that we have in Durham. I'm glad NC has Charlotte as an economic engine, but it's not a place I want to move back to.
What makes the difference here is the higher ed scene. The Triangle is prominent when it comes to that, whereas Charlotte isn't. You have your creative types in NoDa and Plaza Midwood, and Elizabeth and South End to a smaller extent, but that scene is somewhat small for a city Charlotte's size because Charlotte's niche is as a business center first and foremost.
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But unfortunately it has not. Some other nice areas of Charlotte are the Metropolitan, Southpark, Ballantyne, and even the University Area is growing. Sputhpark is going through a bit of a building boom and UC is getting the light rail so that will make the area more urban and dense (relatively speaking).
