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He didn't say Charlotte was a place of 5 million, I'm sure he is implying that CLT's skyline would make a first time visitor think that Charlotte's area has a population in the 5 million neighborhood. (Detroit, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Boston, San Fran) Or that CLT's skyline is on par with metros larger metro than its current 2.5 million
LOL
You guys clearly underestimate the geographical sophistication of the average person. I'm sure not many people traveling into CLT for the first time look out the window as their planes are descending and see the Charlotte skyline and immediately think that they are arriving in a city on par with Detroit, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Boston, San Fran. LOL
What's the obsession with having a skyline that's on par with certain larger cities when the urban and cultural experience is clearly not? Orlando, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and even Charleston are all smaller than Charlotte, but are more well known "destinations" and offer greater cultural experiences than Charlotte.
As i've said before in this forum, Charlotte is what it is. There's no point in trying to make it seem like more than it is. It gives the impression of a small town mindset.
Last edited by uncchgrad; 12-23-2023 at 10:48 PM..
What a lot of Charlotte folks won't want to hear is that the flow in migration in their metro from the NC side to the SC side is responsible for quite a large portion of the latter state's higher percentile growth and in-migration rate. While the Triangle's in-migration from other states makes up for it to give NC a still impressive rate and numerical growth.
(Yes..I know the counties on the NC side of the Charlotte metro are all still growing in population at a healthy rate....both things can be true. Don't @ me)
That's really nothing new since the SC side of the border has been booming for a long time, if anything that trend will grow even more as the SC side of the I 77 corridor is starting to land large job investments outside of those who border hop & is pushing the Charlotte region's influence further south
You guys clearly underestimate the geographical sophistication of the average person. I'm sure not many people traveling into CLT for the first time look out the window as their planes are descending and see the Charlotte skyline and immediately think that they are arriving in a city on par with Detroit, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Boston, San Fran. LOL
What's the obsession with having a skyline that's on par with certain larger cities when the urban and cultural experience is clearly not? Orlando, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and even Charleston are all smaller than Charlotte, but are more well known "destinations" and offer greater cultural experiences than Charlotte.
As i've said before in this forum, Charlotte is what it is. There's no point in trying to make it seem like more than it is. It gives the impression of a small town mindset.
Man you really belittle Charlotte. First of all Charlotte is 3 million not 2.5 million. Secondly Charlotte skyline is definitely on par with skylines larger than its population. Aa a DC native myself Charlotte offers quite a lot for it's size. It actually punchesabove its weight in many metrics. Not sure of the constant negative rhetoric you have against it.
Man you really belittle Charlotte. First of all Charlotte is 3 million not 2.5 million. Secondly Charlotte skyline is definitely on par with skylines larger than its population. Aa a DC native myself Charlotte offers quite a lot for it's size. It actually punchesabove its weight in many metrics. Not sure of the constant negative rhetoric you have against it.
Latest census figures have placed Charlotte's CSA at nearly 3.35 million people as of 2022. If current growth trends continue, we're looking at 3.8 million by 2030. For a comparison, present day Minneapolis CSA is 4.1 million with 2,500 sq/miles more land than CSA Charlotte. 2030-2035 could be time in which Charlotte and Minneapolis are considered population/economic peers (if current growth trends continue).
MSA Denver and CSA Charlotte are almost identical in land area (CSA Charlotte is only 200 sq/miles larger than MSA Denver). However, CSA Charlotte has 400,000 more people than MSA Denver. Growth trends show that Charlotte will surpass Denver (MSA to MSA) within the next 5 years.
These stats are all fairly trivial outside of business expansion because people (average everyday people) only care about the "experience" of being in a place. So what's the "Charlotte experience"? Is it an experience that 20 or so other US cities aren't already doing? Probably not. Whitewater, Carowinds, light rail, a busy airport, a luxury mall, and bad traffic aren't really unique features.
On the other hand, how "unique" is NYC when there's Toronto, Miami, San Fran, Chicago, LA, and Philly? How unique is Seattle when Vancouver is in the same vicinity and absolutely STUNNING!!! So on that note, yeah some people in NC just aren't willing to give Charlotte her due.
Despite not being a state capital and definitely NOT being the state's center for higher education; Charlotte has outperformed pretty much every US metro that didn't get much help at the state level. Here recently, the state has indeed helped with infrastructure (roads and mass transit) and tax incentives for job creation; but that help came AFTER Charlotte already had 2 million-plus within the metro. Charlotte got to the size of 2 million by itself (a city that was never part of North Carolina's plan the way how RTP was). Nobody likes to play nicely with the unplanned sibling that won the lottery LOL
Favorable is definitely subjective, of course, but I think that the majority of people would agree on what that means in this context. Higher incomes, better than average net worth, working class, white collar, advanced degrees, crime averse, law abiding, etc. are all characteristics of what i'd consider a "favorable demographic." Has nothing to do with race, sexual orientation, nor age.
Charlotte's skyline is so big that it will eventually become as big of a city as it looks like (~5 million people).
Charlotte's skyline is impressive but not as big as Atlanta's was 1 million people ago. The skyline is about right for its size, all things considered.
Quote:
Originally Posted by architect77
SC is growing and I've never been to Charleston believe it or not, but the upstate is very different from NC in my opinion.
The Upstate is simply the Triad with a sprinkling of suburban Charlotte in a parallel universe.
I know NC folks don't like to hear this, but South Carolina growth is going hand in hand with NC growth.
South Carolina actually had a 1.7% growth rate compared to NC at 1.3%.
The days of NC acting like they are better than SC in terms of desirability...are over. In many cases things run smoother in Columbia than they do in Raleigh.
I didn't know that NC acted as if they were better than SC? I would have no issue moving to SC. To me it is about money for the buck, safe neighborhoods, amenities, and taxes. South Carolina does well in all especially in the northern part of the state, i.e. Greenville area and near Charlotte. Yes, North Carolina politics are probably lots more screwed up than South Carolinas.
Charlotte's skyline is impressive but not as big as Atlanta's was 1 million people ago. The skyline is about right for its size, all things considered.
The Upstate is simply the Triad with a sprinkling of suburban Charlotte in a parallel universe.
Despite a smaller skyline than Atlanta, I prefer to visit, barhop, dine, or attend a theatrical performance in Charlotte than Atlanta any day. Atlanta's downtown has never been a comfortable place in my opinion. I believe uptown Charlotte is much better IMHO.
Secondly, it would make more sense for Raleigh and area to be compared with Richmond or some other place more comparable in size than Charlotte. It's like comparing Charlotte with Atanta. Atlanta is twice as large and in another category. Charlotte should be compared with Austin Portland, Sacramento, Baltimore, St. Louis, Jacksonville or other places comparable in size. In that category, Charlotte has the best skyline except for maybe Austin. I remember the others all being much more impressive.
Charlotte's skyline is impressive but not as big as Atlanta's was 1 million people ago. The skyline is about right for its size, all things considered.
The Upstate is simply the Triad with a sprinkling of suburban Charlotte in a parallel universe.
Despite a smaller skyline than Atlanta, I prefer to visit, barhop, dine, or attend a theatrical performance in Charlotte than Atlanta any day. Atlanta's downtown has never been a comfortable place in my opinion. I believe uptown Charlotte is much better IMHO.
Secondly, it would make more sense for Raleigh and area to be compared with Richmond or some other place more comparable in size than Charlotte. It's like comparing Charlotte with Atanta. Atlanta is twice as large and in another category. Charlotte should be compared with Austin Portland, Sacramento, Baltimore, St. Louis, Jacksonville or other places comparable in size. In that category, Charlotte has the best skyline except for maybe Austin. I remember the others all being much more impressive.
Despite a smaller skyline than Atlanta, I prefer to visit, barhop, dine, or attend a theatrical performance in Charlotte than Atlanta any day. Atlanta's downtown has never been a comfortable place in my opinion. I believe uptown Charlotte is much better IMHO.
Secondly, it would make more sense for Raleigh and area to be compared with Richmond or some other place more comparable in size than Charlotte. It's like comparing Charlotte with Atanta. Atlanta is twice as large and in another category. Charlotte should be compared with Austin Portland, Sacramento, Baltimore, St. Louis, Jacksonville or other places comparable in size. In that category, Charlotte has the best skyline except for maybe Austin. I remember the others all being much more impressive.
lol...
Charlotte is significantly closer in regional population/influence to Raleigh/The Triangle than it is to Atlanta.
As the kids say... BFFR.
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