Perception of Charlotte Nationwide

[Windsurfer]

15 hours ago, Larry Singer said:

Glad you made it. It's a nice walk from Westminster to the museum. Glad to see the weather is dry and cool. I think the ad on the bus is a nice change. As a person not very religious, I find peaceful ads representing something good are a pleasant change. Eat some great Indian food while there. 

I'm glad I made it too.  Very interesting from my North American-centric perspective. We Americans tend to think the Great Wars were all about us, but it's very humbling to see how late we got to the show.  Re food, my wife's the one who loves Indian.  While I realize English food gets made fun of, I do enjoy fish and chips and Cornish pasties.  I corresponded briefly with a Cornish miner historian who was very interested in Charlotte's importing of Cornish miners.  I'm kind of curious why the Cornish pasties never came along with them. I guess we have chicken pot pies.

Speaking of food, I love Lower Marsh Street. (beside Waterloo Station) As we're staying near Kingston Upon Thames, and I can't ride free until 9:00 AM, I usually stop here for lunch on the way to wandering the streets. After having toured most of the museums twice by now, I'm going to try my hand at mudlarking.  Attached pic of Lower Marsh before it really opens for lunch.   

 

Edited October 14, 2023 by Windsurfer
left out word

[kermit]

4 hours ago, Windsurfer said:

  I'm kind of curious why the Cornish pasties never came along with them. I guess we have chicken pot pies.

I have not had any food at the Elizabeth ave version of Big Ben, but before their move they always had a decent Cornish Pastie. Their Fish and Chips were serviceable, but not as good as from a decent chippie.

[Professor]

Waterloo has improved over the years like most of east London. Did you visit the "Dungeon" at Waterloo? I lived in Lancaster Gate (2 different places), Earl's Court, Ruislip, and Finchley. Have you checked out Camden Town, Queensway, Liverpool St. and Mile End?  I am having a vicarious moment. Enjoy your trip as long as you are there. One last item, if you happen to be near Finchley Road, you can crosse the street at Tesco, walk up the hill to Frognel Street towards Fitzjohn's Street (Hampstead) and visit the home of Sigmund Freud. It is in a nice residential area with many of London's finest private schools and close to bus stops and amenities. By the way, I also love a good Cornish pastie, but I wait until I am in Cornwall. 

[Professor]

18 hours ago, kermit said:

I have not had any food at the Elizabeth ave version of Big Ben, but before their move they always had a decent Cornish Pastie. Their Fish and Chips were serviceable, but not as good as from a decent chippie.

I'm not crazy about fish n chips, but the best I have ever had on this side of the sea was on Friday nights at Big Al's in Cornelius. That was  night they featured fish and chips. I suspect it was cod, but who know. It was large, fresh, and the batter was authentic. The problem with batter in the U.K. is that fish, chicken and sausages are often deep fried in the same cooking oil. It is a good thing that England has so many nations represented. That guarantees a selection of actual flavorful food. It beats their roast, peas, and bean slop. LOL.  I tried fish and chips as well as curry at Big Ben and also consider them as "serviceable" at best. The same for the place behind the Park Road Shopping Center.  I haven't been to either one since covid days. 

[Crucial_Infra]

A lobbyist friend of mine recounts a few choice quotes about Charlotte from a recent conference he attended in Frankfurt:

Edited November 3, 2023 by Crucial_Infra

[KJHburg]

How did this Lt Gov from Missouri get to Frankfurt via Charleston?  Did  he or she means Charlotte?    Charleston neither of them have non stop flights to Germany but Charlotte does. 

Edited November 4, 2023 by KJHburg

[turbocraig]

3 hours ago, KJHburg said:

How did this Lt Gov from Missouri get to Frankfurt via Charleston?  Did  he or she means Charlotte?    Charleston neither of them have non stop flights to Germany but Charlotte does. 

I think his confusion was the point. 

[videtur quam contuor]

It explains how he became Lieutenant Governor. 

[KJHburg]

Even though I am a Charlotte native and have lived back in the area in 30 years or so I just got back from visiting lots of cities in the south and was thinking about what I love about Charlotte.

I do love our location.  And let me explain that.  I love the fact that is 2 hours I can be in the highest mountains in the eastern NC and 3 hours in on the best beaches in the southeast.  I like our location between DC and Miami too a days drive to either city.   PLus with our airport we are one stop or nonstop to just about any place in the world. 

 Bringing down locally I love our weather with the 4 seasons and yes I love our trees.  And trees and trees.  Yes Charlotte is clean and green and my friends from all over the world say that.  I love our people who for the most part are very generous with their time and money and are friendly. 2 of my friends one from a small town in eastern NC one from a small town in VA would tell me people are friendly here (maybe not on the roads) but are friendly and that for some reason surprised them.  Love our moderate cost of living vs many other cities around the country.  I love the fact we have 3 major lakes locally.  Our skyline is beautiful and all my out of town guests say that.  I love the fact that there are plenty of economic opportunities here with new jobs.  Charlotte is alway schanging and I like that too.  In my business I work with a lot of newcomers and there is a stickiness factor about Charlotte.  Once people get here they don't want to leave.  We would not have US Bank or Ally Bank here as their top people said no I want to stay here and lets create the jobs here.  People bring down their parents, their cousins, the siblings all to the area.  I have seen this again and again.  Yes we may not have the national recognition we deserve but once you get people here they love it mostly.  (even on this board there are lots of you who love outside this region but care enough about it to be involved in the discussion about here)  

I could live anywhere but I choose to remain here and will live in this region the rest of my God given days that I can assure you.   I love it when I mention I am from Charlotte somewhere and they go I have been there or know about it.  Even a guy from Australia vacationing in Fiji when I said Charlotte he said NASCAR. (and I said you got that right)   Never forget what my brothers friend said arriving from Kazakhstan he said the traffic is so orderly here LOL.  He said that I-485/77 interchange in south Charlotte probably cost more than the entire roads budget for Kazakhstan.  But that is why I travel to other cities to learn the best things from them and it makes me appreciate living here more.  

[Temeteron]

6 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Even though I am a Charlotte native and have lived back in the area in 30 years or so I just got back from visiting lots of cities in the south and was thinking about what I love about Charlotte.

I do love our location.  And let me explain that.  I love the fact that is 2 hours I can be in the highest mountains in the eastern NC and 3 hours in on the best beaches in the southeast.  I like our location between DC and Miami too a days drive to either city.   PLus with our airport we are one stop or nonstop to just about any place in the world. 

 Bringing down locally I love our weather with the 4 seasons and yes I love our trees.  And trees and trees.  Yes Charlotte is clean and green and my friends from all over the world say that.  I love our people who for the most part are very generous with their time and money and are friendly. 2 of my friends one from a small town in eastern NC one from a small town in VA would tell me people are friendly here (maybe not on the roads) but are friendly and that for some reason surprised them.  Love our moderate cost of living vs many other cities around the country.  I love the fact we have 3 major lakes locally.  Our skyline is beautiful and all my out of town guests say that.  I love the fact that there are plenty of economic opportunities here with new jobs.  Charlotte is alway schanging and I like that too.  In my business I work with a lot of newcomers and there is a stickiness factor about Charlotte.  Once people get here they don't want to leave.  We would not have US Bank or Ally Bank here as their top people said no I want to stay here and lets create the jobs here.  People bring down their parents, their cousins, the siblings all to the area.  I have seen this again and again.  Yes we may not have the national recognition we deserve but once you get people here they love it mostly.  (even on this board there are lots of you who love outside this region but care enough about it to be involved in the discussion about here)  

I could live anywhere but I choose to remain here and will live in this region the rest of my God given days that I can assure you.   I love it when I mention I am from Charlotte somewhere and they go I have been there or know about it.  Even a guy from Australia vacationing in Fiji when I said Charlotte he said NASCAR. (and I said you got that right)   Never forget what my brothers friend said arriving from Kazakhstan he said the traffic is so orderly here LOL.  He said that I-485/77 interchange in south Charlotte probably cost more than the entire roads budget for Kazakhstan.  But that is why I travel to other cities to learn the best things from them and it makes me appreciate living here more.  

Charlotte will always be my first love.  I am originally from Columbia (SC) and remember driving up to Charlotte all the time.  I joined the Queen City in 2005 and left in January of 2022 for my job in Chicago as a flight attendant.  Being able to fly for free it’s great because I can still come back to Charlotte maybe once a month.  But there’s no way I’d be able to live the lifestyle of public transit i have in Chicago and be able to afford it in Charlotte. Charlotte is more expensive and I’d need a car.  So until I get to a point where I can afford those things, it’ll be a Chicago  back and forth to Charlotte situation for me which I’m fine with for now  

Edited November 6, 2023 by Temeteron

[Windsurfer]

11 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Even though I am a Charlotte native and have lived back in the area in 30 years or so I just got back from visiting lots of cities in the south and was thinking about what I love about Charlotte.

I do love our location.  And let me explain that.  I love the fact that is 2 hours I can be in the highest mountains in the eastern NC and 3 hours in on the best beaches in the southeast.  I like our location between DC and Miami too a days drive to either city.   PLus with our airport we are one stop or nonstop to just about any place in the world. 

 Bringing down locally I love our weather with the 4 seasons and yes I love our trees.  And trees and trees.  Yes Charlotte is clean and green and my friends from all over the world say that.  I love our people who for the most part are very generous with their time and money and are friendly. 2 of my friends one from a small town in eastern NC one from a small town in VA would tell me people are friendly here (maybe not on the roads) but are friendly and that for some reason surprised them.  Love our moderate cost of living vs many other cities around the country.  I love the fact we have 3 major lakes locally.  Our skyline is beautiful and all my out of town guests say that.  I love the fact that there are plenty of economic opportunities here with new jobs.  Charlotte is alway schanging and I like that too.  In my business I work with a lot of newcomers and there is a stickiness factor about Charlotte.  Once people get here they don't want to leave.  We would not have US Bank or Ally Bank here as their top people said no I want to stay here and lets create the jobs here.  People bring down their parents, their cousins, the siblings all to the area.  I have seen this again and again.  Yes we may not have the national recognition we deserve but once you get people here they love it mostly.  (even on this board there are lots of you who love outside this region but care enough about it to be involved in the discussion about here)  

I could live anywhere but I choose to remain here and will live in this region the rest of my God given days that I can assure you.   I love it when I mention I am from Charlotte somewhere and they go I have been there or know about it.  Even a guy from Australia vacationing in Fiji when I said Charlotte he said NASCAR. (and I said you got that right)   Never forget what my brothers friend said arriving from Kazakhstan he said the traffic is so orderly here LOL.  He said that I-485/77 interchange in south Charlotte probably cost more than the entire roads budget for Kazakhstan.  But that is why I travel to other cities to learn the best things from them and it makes me appreciate living here more.  

Shhhhhhhh.....  Let's keep it a secret.

[Richhamleigh, DC]

The Carolina Circle

 

[KJHburg]

Maybe this article will stop the flow of the thousands of New Yorkers to NC but probably not.

Charlotte is a nice town — but it's no New York (nypost.com)

Maybe the 33K New Yorkers who moved to NC will slow?  what do you think? 

Where are North Carolina’s newest residents moving from? | Carolina Demography (unc.edu)

Oh yeah been to Famous Toastery many times always had real silverware.  

Edited November 13, 2023 by KJHburg

[Crucial_Infra]

4 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Maybe this article will stop the flow of the thousands of New Yorkers to NC but probably not.

Charlotte is a nice town — but it's no New York (nypost.com)

Maybe the 33K New Yorkers who moved to NC will slow?  what do you think? 

Where are North Carolina’s newest residents moving from? | Carolina Demography (unc.edu)

Oh yeah been to Famous Toastery many times always had real silverware.  

Sadly, many New Yorkers are as provincial as some of the most backwoods places in the country. A column like this would bother me 25 years ago. 

Edited November 13, 2023 by Crucial_Infra

[Windsurfer]

6 hours ago, Crucial_Infra said:

Sadly, many New Yorkers are as provincial as some of the most backwoods places in the country. A column like this would bother me 25 years ago. 

Same. Not sure why they bothered writing it. Pretty skimpy and just reflects on the writer's lack of imagination as far as things to do.  Starbucks, really?

[15895]

It’s the New York Post. I don’t take anything they say serious. It’s just a far right wing media outlet out of touch with actual NYC

[KJHburg]

8 hours ago, Crucial_Infra said:

Sadly, many New Yorkers are as provincial as some of the most backwoods places in the country. A column like this would bother me 25 years ago. 

exactly right I met some people like this.  Never been anywhere outside NYC maybe to Florida that's it.  

[carolinaboy]

Was in Charlotte this weekend visiting my daughter. Highlights included finally getting to explore in the Plaza Midwood, Elizabeth and Commonwealth Park areas. Very neat urban neighborhoods. Beautiful fall foliage. We love the rows of bungalows and homes. Very reminiscent of where I live (architecturally). My wife and I love the houses setback on their little hills. Keep in mind I live on the coast where we have no hills so a house a few feet higher than street level may as well be on a mountain to me. Went to Repo Records. Very extensive selection of vinyl and CD's. Found a few good 80's finds. Basically walked around some areas and drove through others. Very pleasant afternoon. Hit some small shops and a cool vintage place. One thing I notice in Charlotte that I'm not used to is people are so "busy". Slow down ya'll

Had a great time and will explore some more areas next time. Also, holy smokes, there are apartment buildings going up everywhere. Reminded of me of Wings stores at the beach........a new one on every corner.

[rancenc]

Online article from the Greater Greater Washington website

https://ggwash.org/view/91646/national-links-charlotte-city-council-steps-back-from-unified-development-ordinance

[DH17]

On 10/13/2023 at 10:23 AM, Windsurfer said:

 I corresponded briefly with a Cornish miner historian who was very interested in Charlotte's importing of Cornish miners.  I'm kind of curious why the Cornish pasties never came along with them. I guess we have chicken pot pies.

In most historically English-speaking regions with a large mining industry you'll often find traces of Cornish immigration and influence. Cornwall mined tin for over 4000 years and locals developed quite the reputation for their expertise of extracting tin, copper, and other semi-precious metals out of the ground.

The closest place that has (good) fresh pasties in the US is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A large Cornish community moved to the UP (Michigan's UP, not this website) for the Iron/Copper mining up that way in the late 1800's / early 1900's. The Finns who also immigrated to the region adopted pasties into their cuisine as well. As a half-Finn / half-Cornishman myself, the cultural fusion is fascinating. Just make sure to ask for "Swede" instead of "Rutabaga" if ordering one in Cornwall.

[davidclt]

On 6/27/2022 at 4:56 PM, davidclt said:

The Economist has published their index of the world’s most liveable cities. Charlotte makes its debut showing in the neighborhood surrounded by Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Portland, Minneapolis and Houston. Washington, D.C., Honolulu and Atlanta were the only US North American cities at 90+. Winter in Calgary anyone? :

 

Once again, Charlotte maintains (and maybe even gets a little higher in the rankings) a place on The world’s most liveable cities in 2023 (economist.com). This year our neighbours to the north in Canada (Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver 'eh) stand out from the crowd. Charlotte and Indianapolis are the highest of the 80s with Portland, San Francisco, Boston and Minneapolis being our neighbors in the low 90s . . . not a terrible neighborhood to be in.

[davidclt]

While I'm steeped in data, here's where we rank for cost-of-living (NY and LA on the far right, Toronto on the far left), we're right next to Atlanta: Which city is the cheapest in the world? (economist.com)

For reference, here's 2022:

[kermit]

1 hour ago, davidclt said:

While I'm steeped in data, here's where we rank for cost-of-living (NY and LA on the far right, Toronto on the far left), we're right next to Atlanta: Which city is the cheapest in the world? (economist.com)

at the risk of digression, how in the world is Toronto the cheapest city in North America? (of the surveyed places)

[davidclt]

4 hours ago, kermit said:

at the risk of digression, how in the world is Toronto the cheapest city in North America? (of the surveyed places)

I was wondering the same thing . . . 

[KJHburg]

10 hours ago, davidclt said:

I was wondering the same thing . . . 

weak Canadian dollar and usually these surveys use the US dollar in comparisons.  But that is just a guess.  Yes one Canadian dollar cost 75 US cents right now.