Perception of Charlotte Nationwide

[Guest]

I know vice versa is true with a big lense in your camera in very, very clear day, but I doubt you could see Grrandfather Mountain from Charlotte any time.

It's very visible.

[ah59396]

We are generally lumped into a group of "upcoming" cities.  The list usually contains one or some of the following (feel free to edit the list as you deem necessary):

 

Austin

Raleigh

Indianapolis

Orlando

Jacksonville

Nashville

Portland

OKC

 

That said.  I have found that, outside of Jacksonville or maybe OKC, we seem to be generally loathed by people as the most "plastic" or "soul-less" of these cities.  What does Charlotte need to do to bump this label?  Yes, simply visiting Charlotte will change people's minds, but that isn't realistic.  Most people won't visit Charlotte in their lifetime, especially if they perceive it as "a glorified office park".  

 

What does Charlotte need to do to get the same kind of "street cred" as Austin or Portland?  (The two cities I would consider the most lauded out of that grouping).

[Urbanity]

^Less Sim City-ish attractions for a starter.  We don't need more Tourist attractions - we need more city livability attractions.

 

I'll reiterate (in summary) what I said in a previous post:  Complete the infill of the 277 core, connect Plaza-Midwood via streetcar, and focus on making as seamless as possible the walkability/bikeability/mass transit from Uptown to points east, north, south and west.

 

IN the 277 loop (and neighborhoods immediately surrounding it)  focus on more retail (consumer goods) and independent mom and pop entertainment options that cater to the over 25 (over 30?) crowd with small wine bars, small jazz/blues clubs, small galleries, and an art house movie theatre.

[nonillogical]

I agree with all of Urbanity's points, but even then, I wouldn't expect the "cred" of Austin or Portland, which both bring to mind a very specific culture when used that way. I think we're headed for the reputation of a more diverse larger city (eventually) that is harder to encapsulate, like today's Dallas or Atlanta, and I'm fine with that. 

[New Name]

Here's a generalization that will make a lot of people defensive:

Charlotte has been (and will continue to be) a place where people embrace the rat-race. In fact, the race is celebrated here.

Portland and Austin's do well with redefining the rat-race. Don't think that there isn't a rat-race in Austin (it is, after all, the capital city), but the subculture that is trying very hard to not be "in the race" is celebrated there...and that's what we see from the outside looking in. 

 

If you want Charlotte to not seem so plastic from the outside looking in - we need to celebrate and focus on the achievements made here that aren't about traditional success. [i say this to a forum who loves to look at/critique shiny new buildings!]

[ah59396]

Yeah, Portland and Austin are all about counter-culture (see "Keep Austin Weird").  As long as we are known as a banking city, our reputation will be perceived as corporate/stale/business/rat-race.  What a bummer.  I agree with Urbanity though, we need to develop as a "city" and not as a tourist destination.  I find it hard to believe there will ever be a time where someone from Chicago or LA or Omaha is ever like "we need to plan a trip to Charlotte".

[15895]

What large city has a "Austin" or Asheville type of street cred. On their culture?

Philadelphia? Chicago? Seattle? Detroit? Minneapolis? Denver? Dallas? Houston? Pittsburg?

I've never really met anyone around here who has wanted to vacation in say Houston. I'm sure people from La. & Ok. Do though. I don't think it's a dilemma.

[Urbanity]

Yeah - truth be told - we are not going to get that "cred" in the forseeable future.  Mainly because it is something that develops over a period organically. 

 

That said - Charlotte can still get a street cred feeling to a small degree as it continues to in-fill and connect via mass transit.

[ah59396]

I wouldn't consider it a dilemma either.  But I also don't want to be America's Frankfurt.

[Dale]

Frankly, I love it here. it's a great fit for where I am in my life. And whereas it may be a ratrace city, I don't feel drawn into that.

I just moved up from Orlando, and frankly, I love it here. it's a great fit for where I am in my life. And whereas it may be a ratrace city, I don't feel drawn into that.

[ah59396]

Frankly, I love it here. it's a great fit for where I am in my life. And whereas it may be a ratrace city, I don't feel drawn into that.

 

 

I love it here too.  Charlotte is a great city to live in and it's fun.  There is plenty to do and far more "culture" then people give it credit.  Let's be honest, culture is such an ambiguous, relative term anyways.  But that's why it frustrates me to see it get such a poor reputation as bland/vanilla/cardboard, ect.  Grinds my gears.

[jednc]

I love it here too.  Charlotte is a great city to live in and it's fun.  There is plenty to do and far more "culture" then people give it credit.  Let's be honest, culture is such an ambiguous, relative term anyways.  But that's why it frustrates me to see it get such a poor reputation as bland/vanilla/cardboard, ect.  Grinds my gears.

Who are these people who perceive Charlotte as plastic and bland? You mentioned outsiders...who are these people exactly? The people I know who visit here are always very impressed with Charlotte. I think they are sometimes surprised because Charlotte had more to offer than they realized, but I've never heard anyone say their perception of Charlotte was plastic. If anything, I hear people say they didn't realize Charlotte was a big as it is (usually within the context of uptown).

[Guest]

Who are these people who perceive Charlotte as plastic and bland? You mentioned outsiders...who are these people exactly? The people I know who visit here are always very impressed with Charlotte. I think they are sometimes surprised because Charlotte had more to offer than they realized, but I've never heard anyone say their perception of Charlotte was plastic. If anything, I hear people say they didn't realize Charlotte was a big as it is (usually within the context of uptown).

People that lurk on lesser development sites... Thats about it ;-).

[SouthEndCLT811]

Ohio has a good forum for its metro areas similar to what we have here.  There's a lot of negative feelings toward Charlotte any time we're brought up.  They think it's one big Birkdale Village with bank skyscrapers in a downtown that's dead at 5pm.  I've been wanting to go around my hood amongst other places and compile a nice photo gallery of the true Charlotte to change some minds over there.

[ah59396]

People that lurk on lesser development sites... Thats about it ;-).

 

 

Even if they are a bunch of troglodytes over on those other sites, we are referring to perception as opposed to reality.  Those idiots "perceive" Charlotte as an office park.  I probably shouldn't give them the time of day, but it stuns me just how many people do think that Charlotte is fake.

 

For what it's worth, my Canadian family members love Charlotte.  They enjoy how green and clean it is compared to Toronto, and they love it's newness.  Plus the drive down Queens knocked their socks off.

[HopHead]

Ohio has a good forum for its metro areas similar to what we have here.  There's a lot of negative feelings toward Charlotte any time we're brought up.  They think it's one big Birkdale Village with bank skyscrapers in a downtown that's dead at 5pm.  I've been wanting to go around my hood amongst other places and compile a nice photo gallery of the true Charlotte to change some minds over there.

 

And yet people from Ohio, as well as other states, still move here in droves... It must not be too bad here. Funny how that works out.

 

Even if they are a bunch of troglodytes over on those other sites, we are referring to perception as opposed to reality.  Those idiots "perceive" Charlotte as an office park.  I probably shouldn't give them the time of day, but it stuns me just how many people do think that Charlotte is fake.

 

For what it's worth, my Canadian family members love Charlotte.  They enjoy how green and clean it is compared to Toronto, and they love it's newness.  Plus the drive down Queens knocked their socks off.

 

I remember around the time it was announced that Charlotte would host the DNC. Someone posted on that "other forum" about how they hope every one enjoys eating at Applebees downtown during the convention. There isn't an Applebees anywhere near uptown or the surrounding neighborhoods. Further proof they are clueless.

[New Name]

I think Charlotte is quite "plastic". But I like living here because Charlotte is always trying to grow and get better. Charlotte has a lot of [sometimes misguided] ambition and that can be exciting. I've lived in some of the other "hipper" cities and I had a problem with the fact that things wouldn't get done, and the blind idealism of living inside a bubble of coolness ruins your perspective about how the rest of the world really works. Sure I complain about Charlotte being "plastic," but that's because I'm pretty blue collar and don't need drum & bass and martinis served at my bowling alley. 

[nonillogical]

My friends back in Raleigh seem to like coming here on occasion, but maintain that their city "keeps it realer", and if we were only talking about our respective downtowns, they'd be right. It is easy for a visitor without a good guide to miss most of our inner ring neighborhoods, so they only really remember the airport, suburbs and uptown. 

 

People I meet from farther away almost universally have a good opinion of Charlotte, but frankly I understand why other urban enthusiasts on development sites and such would have a bad perception...it's all the same things we talk about...suburban sprawl, lack of old buildings or organic retail downtown, lots of development mistakes to correct from past decades.

[15895]

When I had to move to Salt Lake City I was upset I was going to have to move to podunkville.

FYI SLC is farrr from Podunk. Same feelings with Denver. The DNC in 2008 really changed my perception. In contrast to I've been to every significant city east (and a little west) of the Mississippi river. (from Charleston WV, Dayton, Oh, Harrisburg PA, Sarasota, FL, Lafayette, La, etc)

They're just so far away you never really deal with those cities. And it's not like they're foreign which interest me. I was just ignorant.

Edited June 18, 2013 by AirNostrumMAD

[ah59396]

Maybe there is something to be said about having "low expectations".  I've met a lot of people that have been to Austin and came back quite underwhelmed.  Not that it is a bad city by any means, but simply because the HYPE of the city is so great, it is simply impossible for the city to match its expectations.  I suppose I'd rather Charlotte be the opposite and be a pleasant surprise to those visiting.

[Temeteron]

Just recently over my birthday weekend a guy that I was well...I won't use the verb (lol), had mentioned to me that he felt that Charlotte was a little small town and "racist".....he was visiting from NYC and he was not the typical New Yorker at all.  Very well traveled and extremely friendly and knowledgeable.  I think he just encountered the wrong people and that's what I told him.  ALso, if you are visiting Uptown CLT during the week I can see why people find it small.  Uptown is totally different Thurs-Saturday, especially when Alive After 5 is going on and there are thousands of young professionals uptown.  We need more residents uptown and more retail/street activity!

[Guest]

Just recently over my birthday weekend a guy that I was well...I won't use the verb (lol), had mentioned to me that he felt that Charlotte was a little small town and "racist".....he was visiting from NYC and he was not the typical New Yorker at all.  Very well traveled and extremely friendly and knowledgeable.  I think he just encountered the wrong people and that's what I told him.  ALso, if you are visiting Uptown CLT during the week I can see why people find it small.  Uptown is totally different Thurs-Saturday, especially when Alive After 5 is going on and there are thousands of young professionals uptown.  We need more residents uptown and more retail/street activity!

Racist?! I live in NYC and I've experienced 100x more racism in 5 years of living here than in 18 years calling myself a Charlottean and 5 years calling myself a Savannahan (or whatever it was called).

 

With that said, I would say our rapidly expanding craft brew scene is an indication of our growing "coolness." Atlanta is 2.5 times our size and doesn't have 1/3 as many Craft Breweries.

[Urbanity]

Who are these people who perceive Charlotte as plastic and bland? You mentioned outsiders...who are these people exactly? The people I know who visit here are always very impressed with Charlotte. I think they are sometimes surprised because Charlotte had more to offer than they realized, but I've never heard anyone say their perception of Charlotte was plastic. If anything, I hear people say they didn't realize Charlotte was a big as it is (usually within the context of uptown).

I can vouch for about 20 people.   My wedding about two years ago brought visitors from NY, Boston, SF and Chicago.   

 

They all liked Charlotte, but a good number of them mentioned about how antiseptic and sterile Charlotte's main uptown/downtown/center city was which is where there hotels were located..

 

Due to the wedding they never got the chance to explore much of the city outside of the 277 inner circle.   

 

Not a single one meant it maliciously, or even in a negative tone - it just was a perception.   BTW they all loved NCMF and a few went to Bechtler and Gantt museums so I know they did appreciate the city's offerings - it just that the great offerings are in a city center that is a bit, well, bland.

[ScottCLT]

My company hosts an annual user meeting here uptown. We have 50+ customers from all over the US come into town. I have yet to hear a negative comment about Charlotte (except from one particular university I will explain further down). Everyone thinks it's a beautiful, clean, vibrant city with tons of options for nightlife and dining. People raved about the restaurants here and quite a few showed up with a hangover on the second morning and described to me their fun night out. We send out a survey after every meeting, and always get 100% yes responses to the question "Were you happy with the location in Charlotte? Would you like the meeting to stay in Charlotte next year?" The people I work with that visit here seem to love this place. One of our attendees actually decided to move here after the first few years visiting.

 

About that one customer that complained - they were from California and had a "California Complex." They asked why there were so many police in this town. "Geez...this must be a rough place to require all these police. I wouldn't want to walk around after dark." Another one from the same crew commented on the homeless population. "They are everywhere asking for money. You sure do have a lot of homeless people here. I gave the first one $10 and the second two $5 each and then I was out of cash for the next one that I saw." Wow. When we brought in catering from Price's Chicken Coop, we told them that it was some of the best fried chicken in the world. And they responded by "Well it can't be better than the fried chicken we have in California. Everything's better in California." No kidding, they really said that.

 

Now, what I had to consider in order for these comments not to offend me was that these folks live in the most polluted city in the country, where the crime level is actually higher than here, and one time when I visited (after descending in a plane through a brown cloud of smog), I had a homeless man jump in front of my car and start banging on my window because he wanted money, and later I was propositioned by a prostitute in parking lot of my hotel (and not even an attractive one - the crack addict kind). Yeah, they come from a really nice place (San Bernardino).

 

So I don't trust the opinions of Californians about our city any more.

[Guest]

This should do a great job taking the perception of charlotte down a notch.

https://www.livingsocial.com/escapes/737986-charlotte-hotel
People are going to go in expecting this.

 

 

If Charlotte were a treasure map indicating the path to all the city's hot spots, the Sonesta ES Suites Charlotte would be its 'X'. Ideally situated in the business district near everything from the Carowinds Theme Park to major professional sports stadiums, the hotel places you in the center of Charlotte's vibrant city scene and the epitome of comfort. 

and are going to get...

http://goo.gl/maps/Cjy5A

 

Thats just horrendous. What a crock.