Charlotte Off Topic

[KJHburg]

@videtur quam contuor I think you mentioned Tyrell County recently.  It is NC's smallest population county only 3300 people but it has been growing since 2020.  Great place to live if you want to live out and work remote.  It has a little downtown in the county seat of Columbia and much of the county is national wildlife refuge  (Pocosin Lake National Wildlife Refuge) at 100,000 acres! Buckridge Coastal Reserve is 27,000 acres.  Lots of black bears in this county in fact the largest concentration in eastern North America.   Plenty to eat and lots of swampy woods.  Columbia is on the Scuppernong River.  Here are some photos and check out the small town courthouse.    Friendly folks I met there too.  About 30 minutes or so to Manteo and Roanoke Island in Dare County.  

But if you like nature great place to explore!  

[KJHburg]

County seat of Dare County Manteo.  It has a great downtown and Europeans have been living here since 1587 on Roanoke Island.  Only 543 miles from county seat of Murphy in Cherokee county in SW NC on the TN GA borders.  

Notice the 1904 Dare County courthouse unlike Tyrell County this county really grew and they have a new one outside of downtown in a government complex.  

Fun fact about Dare County:  There are 37,000 people in the county and it has 35,000 plus homes and 16,800 households.  This people to houses ratio is extremely high for anywhere in the country and the highest such ratio in the state.  It of course is reflective on the massive number of 2nd homes and vacation rentals in the county from Duck to Hatteras.    Dare County is #3 in the state of NC for tourism after Mecklenburg and Wake counties only.  

Census data:

U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Currituck County, North Carolina; Dare County, North Carolina; Tyrrell County, North Carolina

Look for my shadow by the giant pile screw that was used on the lighthouses they had in the sounds at one time and one has been relocated to Manteo. 

Edited December 12, 2023 by KJHburg

[videtur quam contuor]

Fact I learned from ranger talk at Wright Brothers Kill Devil National Monument when I visited: When Wright Brothers were there in 1903 there was no dune at the ocean. That has been created in the 20th century for protection for ocean front/ocean view homes. Until motor access was available to the barrier island at high tide and strong winds the ocean regularly washed over the sand and into the sound on the other side. Manteo was thus essentially ocean front. What we see now is such ephemera.

[carolinaboy]

15 hours ago, KJHburg said:

@videtur quam contuor I think you mentioned Tyrell County recently.  It is NC's smallest population county only 3300 people but it has been growing since 2020.  Great place to live if you want to live out and work remote.  It has a little downtown in the county seat of Columbia and much of the county is national wildlife refuge  (Pocosin Lake National Wildlife Refuge) at 100,000 acres! Buckridge Coastal Reserve is 27,000 acres.  Lots of black bears in this county in fact the largest concentration in eastern North America.   Plenty to eat and lots of swampy woods.  Columbia is on the Scuppernong River.  Here are some photos and check out the small town courthouse.    Friendly folks I met there too.  About 30 minutes or so to Manteo and Roanoke Island in Dare County.  

But if you like nature great place to explore!  

I know a UPer who has family roots in Tyrell County........me.

[KJHburg]

7 hours ago, carolinaboy said:

I know a UPer who has family roots in Tyrell County........me.

Count me as a fan of Tyrrell County it may be rural but it nice part of the Inner Banks of NC.  

Edited December 12, 2023 by KJHburg
misspelled Tyrrell

[KJHburg]

Since Dare County is flush with tourism tax revenue they do lots of interesting stuff with their tourism tax dollars.  Just like Charlotte is restricted to using them on tourism projects so is Dare County.  One thing is lots of greenways, bike paths  and boardwalks.  They are more parks here than ever for locals and tourists alike.  The small town of Duck has done this great boardwalk in its small downtown.  It is fantastic.  Lots of free museums in the county as well.  No hotels in town but lots of huge houses with big rental price tags and taxes are collected on those just like hotels.  

[videtur quam contuor]

Sanderling Resort hotel is in Duck. Stayed there a few years ago. Quiet and away from the retail overload that is further south on the Banks. Original Duck Doughnuts for those who follow such phenomena.

Was there in early May and at restaurant in Duck young waitress said "You must be here doing work on your house?" Gives you an idea of the economic calendar flow of the location.

[KJHburg]

The Graveyard of the Atlantic is still working its magic today.  Here is a sailboat that washed up about 6 weeks ago.  It is in the process of being removed.  South of the Oregon Inlet Bridge. 

Where the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was and where it was moved to for its safety.  

Northern most native habitat of the dwarf palmetto on the east coast.  Buxton Woods forest which has about the same climate in the winter as northern Florida.  

The more you know about NC more you will love it. 

[videtur quam contuor]

Shine man

Anyone know if there is still a shoe shine man working somewhere in town. Not shoe repair place or leather shop but a traditional shine man. Not in the airport which may require ticketing. The last one I used was in Latta Arcade barbers. but some years ago.

[videtur quam contuor]

https://polaris3g.mecklenburgcountync.gov/#mat=686822&pid=16905206&gisid=16905206

 

Drove down Rountree today off Old Pineville toward rail line and 77 North. Pedulla grading company was working on grading. Then drove down to Minuet Lane and to the end of Seventy Seven Drive and the apartment building was well underway. This is a salvage type site which is bound by active rail line, high power pylons and 77. Access today is from both Rountree and Minuet/Seventy Seven Center drive. Unclear if both access points will continue. Stairway/elevator masonry column is in place and some framing occurring on the southern portion of the 15+ acre property. No photos.

[DMann]

I think the guy in the Latta Arcade is still there.

[videtur quam contuor]

Just wondering:

For the participants on this board, if you were considering (or hypothetically) leasing a residence for more than a year, which type would be your choice. Even if you currently own your home please participate. Also, no duplex/quad/ADU options. This is limited to multi-family housing. Assume cost is equal.

2-3 storey walk-up

5 plus matchstick palace. Texas doughnut or other style if you wish to be specific.

Higher rise concrete/steel construction

Reasons? Experience? 

[15895]

1 hour ago, videtur quam contuor said:

Just wondering:

For the participants on this board, if you were considering (or hypothetically) leasing a residence for more than a year, which type would be your choice. Even if you currently own your home please participate. Also, no duplex/quad/ADU options. This is limited to multi-family housing. Assume cost is equal.

2-3 storey walk-up

5 plus matchstick palace. Texas doughnut or other style if you wish to be specific.

Higher rise concrete/steel construction

Reasons? Experience? 

All else equal & specific to Charlotte, 5-Plus Matchstick maybe. 
 

- The Tallest residential I’ve lived in was Catalyst in uptown and the elevators were so freakin slow (and it was detached parking.) it was so hard to get motivated to leave, wait in the elevator, go to the parking garage, drive down the maze of parking. Every time I needed something that was directly nearby which was often. 

- 5-floor matchbox, I feel like they come with more amenities. You still get good views, usually nice rooftops and good amenities that you’d find in the high rise but a bit more amenity space and elevators don’t take as long and the parking situation isn’t as intense. I currently live in an 11 floor building and it’s best if both worlds imo. Restaurants in the bottom is another nice amenity. 

- walk-up is cute. I’ve lived in one, it was very nice to be able to immediately pop outside. But there were less amenities and not as great views, less sunlight. 

Edited December 23, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[KJHburg]

Found this looking at Google maps.  

Some on this board might want to look into this Charlotte's only rage and destruction room.  Did not know we had one of these.  

House of Purge | Anger Room | Rage Room near me Charlotte, NC

[KJHburg]

who knew this?  NC is also #2 in poinsettias production in US along with #2 in Christmas trees.  I would say our state is integral to the American Christmas celebration.

How to Care for Your Poinsettia |  Homegrown | NC State University (ncsu.edu)

and one of the biggest growers of poinsettias would be right here in Mecklenburg County!  Metrolina Greenhouses!  I toured there one fall when they were growing them it was beautiful. 

Our Story - Metrolina Greenhouses

[JRCLT]

Is it just me or has uptown been less in sync than the last couple years with the way the color of the lights match during special events and such…? 
 

I feel like they used to match more than they do now. 

Also the way Bank of America Tower Pulses blue is pretty cool…it only does it on certain game days. I’m not sure the reason? 

[videtur quam contuor]

Comparative cost of policing:

https://www.vera.org/publications/what-policing-costs-in-americas-biggest-cities

2020. Comparisons to other administrations do not take account the size of the jurisdiction, does policing involve outside city limits (Charlotte Yes, others no), do cities support schools in their budget. NC carries the greatest weight in school funding which means in other locations where local tax must address schools the cost of policing may appear diluted. Much else beside. I usually compare Charlotte to Indianapolis and Jacksonville as they are similarly sized population areas, Indy and Jax have unified city/county administration, Charlotte is partly unified. 

As I have mentioned before on this site, how many sworn officers is enough? 1 for every 350 citizens? 250 citizens? One for every 50?

[kermit]

Way, way off topic…

Was doing some reading on the approaching lease expiration on the 6ish mile long Moffat Tunnel which connects Denver to SLC by rail (its owned by the state of Colorado, but Union Pacific has had a 99 year lease for $12,000 per year, that lease expires next January). Anyway, I was curious about how the Moffat (and the Cascade Tunnel at 7.8 miles is the longest in the US) compares to other rail tunnels worldwide. (because who wouldn’t be curious about that?)

Wikipedia to the rescue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_railway_tunnels

No surprise that the longest tunnel in the world is the Gotthard Base Tunnel at 35.4 miles -- the tunnel, completed in 2016, shaves more than an hour off of Zurich-Milan trips. The d’Ambin base tunnel through the Alps will be a smidge longer when it opens in about 5 years. More of a surprise was US rail tunnels don’t appear -at all- on the 175 deep list of longest tunnels worldwide. The 175th longest rail tunnel in the world (in Japan) is a third of a mile longer than the Cascades tunnel. These tunnels are also mostly new build, the oldest tunnel in the top 25 was built in 1982 (also Japan).

In one sense this is only trivia. However, from an engineering capacity perspective, it shows how the US (and Canada) have just stopped trying to build infrastructure. It seems clear that we are one of the few countries who are unwilling to pay for truly transformative projects (instead we get distracted by shiny bobbles and dreams of private sector investments). More locally, even here at UP (we are crazy visionaries!) we assume that the two rail tunnels necessary to build HSR across the Blue Ridge via Asheville are completely unfathomable, however such a project would not be particularly complex, nor would it come close to breaking into this longest rail tunnels in the world list (Old Fort to Ridgecrest would be around 6 miles). We are getting left behind in the creation of sustainable mobility infrastructure. IMO this is largely a result of our rail system being a) privately owned and b) freight focused. When these companies only make money from freight, there is little incentive for them to build faster routes.

tldr: we (as a nation) lack infrastructure ambition and ability.

Edited January 3 by kermit

[Guest]

I couldn’t care less if I get banned for saying all of this but this site needs a change in moderation ASAP. The current mods do not do a sufficient job. I rarely see any evidence of moderation AT ALL. Threads will go off topic for days, users are using racist dog whistles with no punishment, and most simple discussions devolve into inane arguments because of usually just a handful of users. Whoever moderates this site clearly doesn’t look at it very often and I think this community deserves better. 

[rancenc]

2 hours ago, MothBeast said:

I couldn’t care less if I get banned for saying all of this but this site needs a change in moderation ASAP. The current mods do not do a sufficient job. I rarely see any evidence of moderation AT ALL. Threads will go off topic for days, users are using racist dog whistles with no punishment, and most simple discussions devolve into inane arguments because of usually just a handful of users. Whoever moderates this site clearly doesn’t look at it very often and I think this community deserves better. 

I personally just hide those individuals in terms of their postings.  But primarily, I do not engage them at all in any comments.

[Windsurfer]

On 1/2/2024 at 3:14 PM, kermit said:

Way, way off topic…

Was doing some reading on the approaching lease expiration on the 6ish mile long Moffat Tunnel which connects Denver to SLC by rail (its owned by the state of Colorado, but Union Pacific has had a 99 year lease for $12,000 per year, that lease expires next January). Anyway, I was curious about how the Moffat (and the Cascade Tunnel at 7.8 miles is the longest in the US) compares to other rail tunnels worldwide. (because who wouldn’t be curious about that?)

Wikipedia to the rescue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_railway_tunnels

No surprise that the longest tunnel in the world is the Gotthard Base Tunnel at 35.4 miles -- the tunnel, completed in 2016, shaves more than an hour off of Zurich-Milan trips. The d’Ambin base tunnel through the Alps will be a smidge longer when it opens in about 5 years. More of a surprise was US rail tunnels don’t appear -at all- on the 175 deep list of longest tunnels worldwide. The 175th longest rail tunnel in the world (in Japan) is a third of a mile longer than the Cascades tunnel. These tunnels are also mostly new build, the oldest tunnel in the top 25 was built in 1982 (also Japan).

In one sense this is only trivia. However, from an engineering capacity perspective, it shows how the US (and Canada) have just stopped trying to build infrastructure. It seems clear that we are one of the few countries who are unwilling to pay for truly transformative projects (instead we get distracted by shiny bobbles and dreams of private sector investments). More locally, even here at UP (we are crazy visionaries!) we assume that the two rail tunnels necessary to build HSR across the Blue Ridge via Asheville are completely unfathomable, however such a project would not be particularly complex, nor would it come close to breaking into this longest rail tunnels in the world list (Old Fort to Ridgecrest would be around 6 miles). We are getting left behind in the creation of sustainable mobility infrastructure. IMO this is largely a result of our rail system being a) privately owned and b) freight focused. When these companies only make money from freight, there is little incentive for them to build faster routes.

tldr: we (as a nation) lack infrastructure ambition and ability.

I don't understand. A tunnel to Ridgecrest from Old Fort?  There's already a route above ground, and Ridgecrest is a climb of over 1,000 feet. It's not like you're going through a mountain or ridge.  I must've missed a discussion.

[kermit]

1 hour ago, Windsurfer said:

I don't understand. A tunnel to Ridgecrest from Old Fort?  There's already a route above ground, and Ridgecrest is a climb of over 1,000 feet. It's not like you're going through a mountain or ridge.  I must've missed a discussion.

I may have been on too much cold medicine when I typed that. Was imagining a steady, gentle grade heading up the mountain would be feasible. But now I realize that my understanding of physics temporarily left my body. Mea Culpa.

EDIT: Passenger rail can handle 3% grades at high speeds without too much trouble (freight cannot). Its about 1,000 feet elevation change from Old Fort to Ridgecrest. My calculations show that can be accomplished in 6.3 miles (33,333 ft). Add in some elevation on the Old Fort end and some trenching (or tunnel extension) at the top of the mountain and I think its doable for a straight line passenger track tunneled through the Blue Ridge. This would cut more than 6 rail miles from the existing trip up the mountain and SUBSTANTIALLY increase passenger rail speeds be removing the curves, this would make the Asheville-Salisbury rail trip time competitive with driving.

Edited January 6 by kermit

[Guest]

2 hours ago, rancenc said:

I personally just hide those individuals in terms of their postings.  But primarily, I do not engage them at all in any comments.

Thank you! I didn’t know you could do this, this will keep me from getting too frustrated in the mean time. 

[KJHburg]

Well it passed so Mebane will have NC's first Buc-ee's  off I-85/40.

Mebane City Council approves Buc-ee's proposal at hours-long meeting (msn.com)

Yes don't worry @CLT Development I will personally drive you up there to experience it  once it is opens.  

KJ the UP travel agent 

Edited January 9 by KJHburg

[CLT Development]

11 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

Well it passed so Mebane will have NC's first Buc-ee's  off I-85/40.

Mebane City Council approves Buc-ee's proposal at hours-long meeting (msn.com)

Yes don't worry @CLT Development I will personally drive you up there to experience it  once it is opens.  

KJ the UP travel agent 

I cannot be held responsible for any arson that might take place.