Professor

Wow! So I can scratch my comment? How did an old posting like that get mixed up in this discussion? Oh well. I will check dates in the future. Thanks for letting me know that you think that I am likely an idiot.

Sorry, is there a connection with this Southpark thread?

Carolina 1792, Pleases define "popular culture." Charlotte's city population is now over 900K and quickly growing.

It was still good and not outrageous. The only sandwich I have spent $18 for was recently in Bar Harbor, Maine for a lobster roll. It had no taste, and the deli was supposed to be the home of the lobster roll. This place in Midtown is charging $18 for a pastrami sandwich and the place isn't even the "home of the pastrami sandwich." He had a thriving business for a long time. He probably did well because he was reasonably priced even back then.

Maybe someone needs to contact Leo from the former Leo's Deli on Elizabeth and ask him or his former employees how they managed to avoid inflation prices one items like pastrami. Opps! Sorry, there is no inflation. Right?

Just booked my hotel in Berlin (Mitte). I'll take notes. I'll be going back and forth from Frankfort (Hb). I see Frankfort as much like Charlotte. It's a business center and not a big tourists draw. The only thing that I really would like to see in regard to copying Europe is Innercity transportation. There are only a handful of cities in the U.S, that are really close. However, in many European cities, it is very difficult to own a car due to restrictive parking, etc. I love public transport, yet I like the freedom of being able to have a car that is easily accessable as well.

Underground rail all over the world slows down after rush hour especially 9:00 pm. Isn't there a schedule posted?

The only thing that impresses me about Munich other than historic structures is the underground where I usually eat. I like the Hofbrauhaus and visit the English Garden where there are some hot women almost nude in good weather, but after a few days in Munich, it's time to move on. Like most tourist cities, we become infatuated. Don't see how we could model after it without destroying our modern architecture and reinstalling really bad plumbing like much of Germany has, i.e. steam heat, circa 1950s school buildngs. Good place to visit or enven live for a while. But, I'd prefer to keep Charlotte. Some of their tourist spots would be nice.

It reminds me of walking by Dachau. It is a weird feeling.

Looks like the old Barringer Hotel, uptown Charlotte that has changed purposes any times and is now torn down and being reconstructed.

I meant $12K a month for a nursing home with "total" care. Four thousand is really cheap. My brother lost his home, 401K accounts, etc. to pay after medicaid ran out. It was a nightmare for him. He was in a Florida nursing home.

Probably. You lead, we'll follow.

I like reading trivia, history, and seedy happening sources. My wife bought a little paperback for a Christmas stocking stuffer. It was titled "Wicked Charlotte, The Sordid Side of the Queen City" by Stephanie Burt Williams. It left out lots of events but listed a few. It talked about the old days of moonshine, NASCAR, robberies, murders in Charlotte. Not a great book but small and some cool events. All the events were pre 1980.

Some of my mom's family settled in Lincoln Co. in the mid 1700s and Surry Co. in the late 1700s. My dad and his family were from Europe. Like most back then, they were very religious and only drank whiskey. About uptown, there were a couple of large gambling/w-houses in 4th Ward and 3rd Ward. I don't recall the one on East Trade. I was very young and only went as a customer once when I was in high school. I remember the names of gay bars in downtown area being The Brass Rail, Anchor Inn, the Blue Note Lounge, one next to the Memorial Stadium, and others scattered throughout town, A few were on Morehead (no pun intended). I have no idea where or when the association between Charlotte and Edinburgh was made, but being very familiar with both cities, it sounds about right. Afterall, Charlotte is a highly Scots-Irish town. I was a bellhop as a teenager and got to know a lot about the hidden part of town. When my uncle returned from WWII (82nd Airborne) he became a bellhop at the old Barringer Hotel on Tryon Street. He had a group of prostitutes working for him and sold a wee bit of illegal whiskey. He was eventually arrested and actually ran out of town. I don't know why I mentioned this. Sometimes I just go on and on....... I'm sure I've offended someone. Have a nice day. Bearden Park is a nice addition. I love the buildings surrounding it and the gorgeous view.

If you read about the history of Charlotte, you would likely be surprised. Charlotte has never been a small, sleepy, church obsessed city as many believe. In the 40s and 50s, Charlotte had the reputation of being the city with more churches and whorehouses than any other city with the exception of Edinburgh, Scotland. Charlotte always had an underground world of unlawfulness including gambling and prostitution. Before prohibition, uptown Charlotte was overburdened with bars and drunkenness. Uptown Charlotte was like many good cities before malls came into existence. There were many retailers, i.e. department stores, shops, restaurants, movie theaters, pool halls, and many other amenities. Downtown was bustling with activity. Charlotte was known for its gay bars from World War II until the 70s. Charlotte and Jacksonville, Fl. were reputed as the two main centers then for safe gay activity on the east coast. Things took a downhill turn after 1970 when even some government offices were "off limits" due to uptown crime. Places like 4th Ward turned into a undesirable, unsafe area in the late 60s and Belks, Ivey's, and other popular stores made their exit from downtown. Despite the issues of the late 60s and 70s, Charlotte has never not been an energetic city. It has been a city on the move for many decades in banking, trucking, manufacturing of medical commodities, motor sports, and transportation just to name a few. I'm not saying that Charlotte is the best place in the world, but I am shocked that more people aren't familiar with its interesting history that dates back to the Revolutionary War.

And your statement shows a full range of intelligence. LOL. What are your "trying" to say?

Thank you aTlvr for getting it. Oslo and Helsinki would be considered as non-diverse cities. They have socialistic type governments, but due to their not being diverse, their taxes can be focused on luxuries such as cultural venues, theatrics, the arts, etc.). Violent crime is practically non-existent in Oslo and Helsinki making it possible for tax money to be spent on beneficial assets, not constantly adding more cops, firemen, jails, etc. For example, in most cases, when or if a taxpaying American goes into a nursing home, they often lose their homes, 401K accounts, IRAs, and/or anything of value from a lifetime of work, to pay for their maintenance and keep. After the first 100 days of care, the cost is approximately $1200 per month. Whether fair or not, but the non-taxpaying patients that have spent their lives mooching off of our government get free care equal to those that lost everything. The higher tax payments in Norway and Finland cover these otherwise dreadful medical and nursing home payments for which we are mostly burdened in the U.S. I just went through this with a family member. Additionally, with the Norwegian and Finnish systems, workers production output is at a level allowing workers to enjoy a shorter workweek and amongst the best medical treatment centers in the world. My point with Baltimore and Philadelphia is that we have two crime ridden cities. They suffer homelessness, unemployment, incredible drug problems, and violent crime. Most residents could never enjoy the benefits enjoyed by citizens of Oslo or Helsinki. People that are united and cohesive help each other and with that comes strength. I used Oslo and Helsinki. I could have used Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, or many other mostly not-diverse cities, but I didn't. I also could have used St. Louis, Detroit, or New Orleans, but I didn't. Diversity isn't all about racism. It is about mixing. As I tried to say, it can be good or it can be bad, depending on the mix. If you get lots of people with opposing ethics and ideologies, diversity can be an issue. If you mix criminals with peace loving individuals, it isn't going to work it probably. Unfortunately guys like MB has gotten on the bandwagon with other similar MFs (his term) that cry like little Bs if someone says something they consider sensitive and call them "racists." It is sick and pathetic. That is why I changed my "pen name" to Professor so I could break away from sensitive morons. But he can continue calling me a racist if he wants. The title has lost its meaning thanks to him and other woke individuals.

Keep running.

Perhaps you aren't as insightful or astute as you thought? I'm just stating common sense observations that would be unlikely for you to deny with any actual facts or figures. Life is what we are dealt, not what we want. Your last sentence shows that you are likely in denial or simply haven't interacted with the outside world in a while. Finally, you stated that I made bogus assertions about mass shootings. Please point out what I said in that reference. I believe you are confused. I never mentioned such a thing. Please don't attempt to restructure my comments unless you are factual.

Diversity can be a great thing if the mix is right. Otherwise, you have Bearden Park situations that screw up life for everyone. Read into this what you want. Compare Oslo and Helsinki with Philidelphia and Baltimore. Different diversity mixes, different safety statistics.

Thanks, if I move, it will be to 28207.

And your constant crying about "urban sprawl" gets old. People chose urban sprawl when they became over 25 years old and decided that they wanted yards and parks safe for their children and neighborhood schools, etc. Obviously, it is the best choice as the cities with urban sprawl are the cities for which the majority aspire to relocate. If you don't like urban sprawl, live downtown. I'm not bothered with it. America is a free country and people should live in the manner for which they worked and aspired. Seriously, why do people give a crap about density? What is wrong with places that aren't that dense? Obviously, people that hate cities with sprawl and choose to live here must be a bit feeble minded anyway. I'm glad that you found the question concerning a "model" entertaining. I was hoping for a response mentioning a "unique" city or what you see as utopia, not one of a group of other with similarities. I certainly don't think that Charlotte is perfect, but it is for me and the majority of the other one million city residents. I enjoy good restaurants, friendly bars, occasional performing arts, mostly bearable traffic, a choice of what I consider ideal neighborhoods to reside, You may worry too much. It is difficult to determine your feelings since you send mixed messages. For example, is your absolute last sentence a joke? On one hand you complain about uptown and then you encourage folks to move uptown. As usual, you speak as if everyone is single and prefers to live in the city. Many don't that is why there is "sprawl." You asked if anyone lived in SouthEnd? What does that matter? Do you feel that those the live in Southend have a more intellectual prospective of life in the area? As long as you aren't the one investing millions in the infrastructure of the city and taking a risk during a precarious time, maybe you should sit back, relax and watch us develop.

I volunteered at the USO for a couple of years but had to quit when the construction made the 10-minute shuttle ride from the parking area 30-45 minutes. That was getting old considering it took 20-45 minutes to get to the parking area from home. I always stop in the USO before heading overseas. They don't have the abundance of giveaway food and snacks as they did a few years ago. Great USO.

Sugar Creek was a nice middle-class area before 1971. It was the place you are hoping to see now. Who knows, history repeats itself.