Charlotte Now Over 750,000

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by nostyle

There were things being said about Charlotte this past week that were practically unthinkable a decade or so ago, when I first moved here. The comments by Tampa's mayor were particularly complimentary.

Y'all are in the Big Leagues now. Time to start working on that Olympics bid!

[krazeeboi]

Originally Posted by CNB30

not really, but it has some small similarities to Greensboro.

Much less than with Winston-Salem. For one, Greensboro lacks the urban density and history of Richmond and Winston.

[spencer114]

Disagree Krazee. Greensboro feels much more familiar to this Richmonder. .

[IberiaCLT]

Originally Posted by spencer114

Disagree Krazee. Greensboro feels much more familiar to this Richmonder. .

..... Ugh, do you even know Greensboro and Winston-Salem???? Greensboro is a college town.... Winston-Salem is more corporate and historical

[spencer114]

I do know them both. Never cared for Winston. It's real ugly.

[CLTNC]

Winston-salem

Wake Forest U
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Salem College
Winston-Salem State University
Piedmont Baptist College
Forsyth Technical Community Colleg

Greensboro
Greensboro College
Guilford College
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
University of North Carloina Greensboro
Guilford Technical Community College

[nostyle]

Originally Posted by desertpunk

Y'all are in the Big Leagues now. Time to start working on that Olympics bid!

Give it a few decades. The mayor was already talking about bidding for the RNC and future Superbowls based off of the success of the DNC. They're dreaming big now.

[CNB30]

In my opinion, Richmond has the combination of the dense Victorian architecture of NYC (not the mega towers), Boston, DC, and Baltimore.

And the combination of charming southern towns like Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans.

[spencer114]

Don't forget the blight of Augusta and Camden. RVA is awesome and all but it has a lot of shitty areas too

[krazeeboi]

Originally Posted by spencer114

Disagree Krazee. Greensboro feels much more familiar to this Richmonder. .

"Familiar" and "similar" aren't the same thing; Winston has more similarities to Richmond structurally. Greensboro's core is pretty small and isn't as historic as Richmond's and Winston's. It has a less gritty and industrial vibe also.

I think you're confusing with city you like more with which is more similar to your own.

[WeimieLvr]

So...what about Charlotte?

[CNB30]

Originally Posted by spencer114

Don't forget the blight of Augusta and Camden. RVA is awesome and all but it has a lot of shitty areas too

NY and Baltimore do too

[CNB30]

Originally Posted by spencer114

Don't forget the blight of Augusta and Camden. RVA is awesome and all but it has a lot of shitty areas too

[IberiaCLT]

Originally Posted by krazeeboi

"Familiar" and "similar" aren't the same thing; Winston has more similarities to Richmond structurally. Greensboro's core is pretty small and isn't as historic as Richmond's and Winston's. It has a less gritty and industrial vibe also.

I think you're confusing with city you like more with which is more similar to your own.

Yeah. You have to have the 2 mixed up... It's lIke saying Miami is like Kansas City...

[spencer114]

I think I'm a pretty good judge of what I find familiar

I'm not sure why it's so hard for people to believe that some people like Greensboro better than Winston-Salem. While Greensboro may not be Richmond's twin, it does seem more like a Virginia city to me than pretty much any other NC city... thus the familiarity.

NC cities in general don't seem like cities in any other state, (TN may be an exception, that's one of handful of states i haven't visited) IMO. They aren't intuitive (when trying to travel from one side of town to another) and seem to function like towns that grew beyond expectations, lacking the infrastructure and street grid of most US cities (even KC and Miami). Neighborhoods seem disconnected from the core, major arteries don't originate or lead to downtowns, universities like Duke and Wake Forest seem to function as islands...

There's a lot to like down there and certainly a lot to celebrate. There are few cities more photogenic than Charlotte. I've tried to celebrate the city's success but keep getting drawn into this stupid discussion that started somehow about annexation?

I know city on city action is frowned upon here. That said, i do think discussing differences and similarities is really interesting, even if/when I am either too close to the source to be objective or not literate enough to articulate what is about places that set them apart.

[krazeeboi]

Originally Posted by spencer114

I think I'm a pretty good judge of what I find familiar

I'm not sure why it's so hard for people to believe that some people like Greensboro better than Winston-Salem. While Greensboro may not be Richmond's twin, it does seem more like a Virginia city to me than pretty much any other NC city... thus the familiarity.

That's not hard for me to believe, because I happen to like Greensboro better myself. However, I'm also able to look objectively at the issue and see it for what it is.

Virginia's odd in that unlike every other Southern state, it doesn't have any metros in the 500K- 1 million range. You've got the smallish metros like Roanoke, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg then make that jump to the 1 million+ metros of NoVA, Hampton Roads, and Richmond. With the exception of Virginia Beach and Tysons Corner, Virginia cities are known for their more historic and somewhat dense urban fabric and there's where I see the major difference between Richmond and Greensboro. Winston-Salem is a much better comparison with much earlier origins (mid 18th century) and its downtown is more urban with a bigger footprint. And of course, Old Salem looks like something transplanted straight from Virginia; Greensboro lacks anything comparable on that front. Same goes for having an urban warehouse district; Richmond and Winston-Salem have that but Greensboro doesn't.

[spencer114]

Fair enough.

I do love the Monrovian cookies in old Salem. I'll try to keep an open mind about the rest of the city on my next visit.

[CNB30]

Originally Posted by krazeeboi

That's not hard for me to believe, because I happen to like Greensboro better myself. However, I'm also able to look objectively at the issue and see it for what it is.

Virginia's odd in that unlike every other Southern state, it doesn't have any metros in the 500K- 1 million range. You've got the smallish metros like Roanoke, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg then make that jump to the 1 million+ metros of NoVA, Hampton Roads, and Richmond. With the exception of Virginia Beach and Tysons Corner, Virginia cities are known for their more historic and somewhat dense urban fabric and there's where I see the major difference between Richmond and Greensboro. Winston-Salem is a much better comparison with much earlier origins (mid 18th century) and its downtown is more urban with a bigger footprint. And of course, Old Salem looks like something transplanted straight from Virginia; Greensboro lacks anything comparable on that front. Same goes for having an urban warehouse district; Richmond and Winston-Salem have that but Greensboro doesn't.

Metros 500k-1million. Richmond 900 million! in the range!

[Dale]

This Thread about Charlotte is a great Richmond thread!

[CNB30]

Originally Posted by Dale

This Thread about Charlotte is a great Richmond thread!

You can say that again