Charlotte, North Carolina
SperlingViews

Nice city - 10/25/2011

Charlotte has the privilege of being one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. Many Europeans and Asians are calling Charlotte home. The city is three hours from the seashore and 1 1/2 hours from the mountains. The airport offers a huge variety of lights throughtout Central and South America, Europe, and domestic. Charlotte is a white collar city generally with beautiful neighborhoods and large oak lined streets. Education opportunities abound with several colleges offering all sorts of degreed programs and many Phd opportunities. There is a vibrant nightlife in Charlotte and restaurants of all ethnicities are easily found. There are also great performing arts opportunities uptown and throughtout the city as well as museums. A newcomer can always find a place to volunteer to become a part of the community. Charlotte may not be the best city in the U.S., but it is trying very hard to climb the latter.[more...]

Not a place for singles - 10/16/2011

Charlotte is a beautiful place to raise a family, mostly everyone is married in the 20's here. If you are single, looking for fun and excitement this place is not for you. If you are in your late 20's and single, you're considered over the hill. The women outnumber the men, the clubs close at 2:00am and you can't buy liquor after 9pm. [more...]

not what it is cracked up to be - 10/16/2011

Charlotte is not what people hype it up to be[more...]

its an okay place to live - 10/12/2011

wow..I'm an original NYer and I have lived in VA, Charlotte and now I'm in Atlanta. Va too boring and Atlanta too spread out so Im coming back to Charlotte. Its definitely a great place for raising kids, not much help if your a single parent, now you wanna talk about rasicm the mexicans not latinos but mexicans get more help from the state than any other race. depending on where you live will depend on the schools...on the east side the only good hs is butler, independence is good too for sports, northside/university area take your pick same thing in ballantyne...south side and west side no thank you i could have stayed with ny crime lol...charlotte really isnt a bad place to live...the traffic is a hell of alot better than atlanta...it takes 30 mins down 85 to get to gastonia just to get to clayton county from n.atlanta its a 45 min drive and pray there is no construction. I like atlanta but when you dont have a really good transit system that run comparable to nyc transit and ridiculous traffic with 5/6 lanes full of cars, charlotte, nc is heaven-sent.[more...]

Charlotte - 8/28/2011

I don't know, I've lived in Charlotte for 5 years and I absolutely love it here. I've had no problems with racism (my husband is African-american, and I am Caucasian)I had problems with racism while I lived up north, but here I am at peace. Charlotte is very diverse in my opinion, and no race is treated better than the other. Charlotte is just one of those places you have to experience for yourself. But, I personally love it.[more...]

not a place to live if you are a newcomer.. - 7/22/2011

i would advise no one to move to charlotte nc if u dont have a lot of money or a job transfer or something. really i would advise that for any new state. me and my husband and four kids have had the hardest time trying to get stable in this new city. we came down here to find job opportunities and to get a fresh start. and it is not a place to get a fresh start. people are in to themselves, programs who say they help families to get on there feet do not, they just pass your story along to other companies and no one still does nothing it is only referrals . me and my family was on the verge to homelessness because we had exhausted all funds due to spending on hotel rooms , gas and just trying to live. some homeless programs told us they was full and it had to be an waiting list, wow u deny a homeless family of six i am not applying for a job. i need a roof over me and family heads. then a person from crisis asst. ministry program was suppose to come in to help people who are facing homelessness and he never came into to work and the staff did not even know if he was coming in who runs these programs and what are they doing with all the money they get funded. charlotte has the highest homeless rate in the nation and i can see why this place has robbed us, and so has ga. no different. forget about southern hospitality that is flush down the toilet along with help. the south is not the same at least from my experience. so all i can is if you u are not in a position to financially support yourself, especially with a family stay where you are because where you are leaving from might be steak compare to coming to a burger. thank you[more...]

Best places to live! Lol! - 7/1/2011

@M. I could not agree more. I have been here for 6 months for work, and cannot wait to leave. I have lived all over the world, and this is definitely the weirdest, most racist place that I have ever lived, and I only live here part-time. Thank God.I split my time between Asia, W. Europe and Charlotte. W. Europe, no contest, and I'll take China any day of the week, air pollution and all!I'm so grateful to be wealthy and educated enough to not be trapped here. Again, thank God!..and I'm not even religious, but after living here, I know why so many Southern black Americans are. Black people, from anywhere, will need to "find Jesus" to live here. Lol! If this is the "New South", the old one must have been a real nightmare![more...]

Curious - 6/4/2011

I'm a mother of four children, I live in Indianapolis, Indiana and is looking to relocate to Charlotte Northcarolina in the next two or three years. Once i'm done with school. I want to know how is the economy and is there a lot of room for growth? What area would you suggest to live in for a single mother of four children. I want something affordable and with good schools and low crime. How is the night life and men there. [more...]

Question - 6/1/2011

I have a question for anyone living in Charlotte, NC or who has lived there in the past. I am a multiracial female (black/puertorican) in an inter-racial marriage with a European man. He is interested in moving to NC and I have always lived in the north and in upstate NY. I am wondering how it is with ethnic diversity, specifically inter-racial couples and how my quality of life will be if I were to move there? Any I am friendly, non-judgemental and open and well educated with a Master's Degree. I am fearful of not being accepted or treated differently,especially since I'm in an inter-racial marriage. Any feedback would be appreciated...[more...]

Housing - 5/8/2011

I have been living in the Pawtucket neighborhood for 3 years. This is an affordable neighborhood with nice houses. The neighbors are friendly and helpful. I have enjoyed living in this neighborhood The police come out as soon as you call. The are very cooperative. This is a hidden gem. There is not a lot of crime in this neighborhood. We do have a neighborhood watch program. It is also family friendly and close to uptown.[more...]

Not diverse? Are you kidding me? - 4/19/2011

I grew up in Charlotte and I will admit that I wanted out. The city went through a bad spell during the 80s and early 90s and I did get out. I moved to Raleigh and then Tampa FL. Im now back in Charlotte and I love my city. No city this size has the diversity that Charlotte does and yet still manages to hold on to its roots of being a southern city with good hospitality. Dont give me the crap about it not being diverse, have you seen the beautiful African American museum in uptown thats right next to the Nascar museum? How many cities this size have that? Im white and my wife is black so if we dont understand diversity then I dont know who does. Charlotte has its problems and its bad neighborhoods but the uptown is great, clean and theres lots to do, great restaurants, cafes, museums etc. For those who want a city where their idea of diversity means theres more black people than whites then Atlanta is just a short dive down I-85.[more...]

best place to live????? - 4/4/2011

Take it from a life-long resident....Charlotte NC is NOT one of the best places to be...or live in...if you are a minority. Try any place else....but here! The only reason we have a black mayor and a black chief of police is the city needs to "portray" that it is a place of diversity. How else can the city attract business here. Once large corporations move here....the Whites in the business realize they can get away with being racist and morally corrupt without penalty in Charlotte....so Whites LOVE IT HERE! Besides, how would they snag the DNC Convention money...or the CIAA if they don't appear to be welcoming? Believe me...after the CIAA left...Charlotte was washing the "BLACK" off of everything downtown. For those of you that spent you hard-earned dollars during the CIAA.....I feel sorry for you. Anyway....as far as great cities for minorities.....try another city....or state![more...]

Transporation-Light Rail Service - 2/9/2011

Easy access to Light Rail Service from south side of Charlotte which continues to downtown. Efficient and dependable[more...]

Charlotte is Not Diverse Enough - 1/23/2011

I have lived in Charlotte for 16 years. I am an African American male, and I know for a fact that Charlotte tends to cater to the white community. In fact, whites move about the city/town as though they expect such privileged treatment. I have noticed the only way you can be given the benefit of the doubt among whites in Charlotte is if you act submissive to them. I love the ambiance of the city. I love the fact that it is four hours from the ocean and two hours from the mountains, however unless you have very deep pockets you are shunned in Charlotte. Forget about enjoying the freedom of choice when it comes to interracial dating. People do date interracially, however the sentiment is that it is frowned on. I had a white woman tell me once, "You're a very attractive man, but you're a black man, and I couldn't see myself dating someone that I would never marry." There is a lot of racial profiling done by the police department. Not just the officers, but the branches of the police department over extend themselves to find trouble among African Americans (and I assume other races as well). A city official once referred to a predominately African American area of town as a Moral Cess Pool. Sensitive improvements have been made. Charlotte has an African American Mayor (Anthony Foxx), and Police Chief (Rodney Monroe), still white collar ambitions by high brow Caucasians who don't have minorities best interests at heart, run the city. I have enjoyed living here for the most part, and anyone else may as well, just as long as you don't expect wide sweeping diversity (because you won't find it here). The closer you get to most mainstream whites the more you find the old south attitudes among them. Bottom line is, if you are white and or rich in Charlotte, life here is cake. If not, it will be comfortable as long as you don't expect the pleasure of diversity.[more...]

review - 1/3/2011

looks good[more...]

Sucks Here!!! - 12/12/2010

Yes...it is True. Charlotte north carolina Sucks!!! The police are carring on a 200 year old grudge against president lincoln. They actually think that he is responsible for freeing slaves. They change information in traffic incident reports, they pull my girlfriend for speeding and then hit on her (offering their phone number and future services for dinner and more... They treat minority women different than minority men. They sneak around while on duty and have affairs with ladies like my girlfriends neighbor, an old asian lady...ewwwwhh! Disgusting. Charlotte Police, mayberry transients with georgia, alabama and south carolina values. Some have gotten away with murder![more...]

city of differences. - 8/16/2010

Charlotte is a big-small city. I have friends that beg me to move to Dallas or Atlanta, but for me Charlotte is manageable. Those cities are too big. Charlotte has issues like all cities. Crime has been tackled and crime rates are dropping city-wide. The biggest things to watch out for are car break-ins and theft. Murders are generally of a domestic nature and not random like in some cities. Weather is nice over-all. People are generally friendly. Closer in areas such as Elizabeth, Plaza-Midwood, and NoDa have seen nice gentrification over the past 20 years and have young couples with kids, a GLBT presence and a very artsy vibe. Uptown(the central business district) is mostly business but the population has grown to around 14,000. During the day it swells to about 60,000. There is NBA NFL minor league hockey and baseball and lots of neighborhood leagues of all types. Churches abound in Charlotte with everything from Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian, the latter of which is probably the largest. The Catholic community has grown tremendously with the influx of new residents from cities such as Philadelphia, Boston and states such as NY and NJ. The Jewish community has also seen much growth. There are also christian congregations that are not affiliated with any denomination that claim memberships well over 1000. If your belief system doesn't fit into any of the catagorys Ive mentioned I am sure you will find a group to meet your needs. If you are a non-believer there is also a place for you in Charlotte. Charlotte is very proud of its reputation of being a clean city. Charlotte has also been called the "city of trees". Culture abounds with various venues for live performances all around the city. Just recently the Wachovia bank arts complex opened consisting of 3 new museums and a theatre for live shows. Festivals abound throughout the year such as Taste of Charlotte held over a 3 day weekend in the summer. The Latin festival is huge here as well. The NC Music Factory is a new complex born from an old warehouse district that Live Nation has jumped on board with to bring acts of all varieties to the Queen City. The complex consist of an outdoor ampitheatere, in-door music halls and numerous clubs. The GLBT Community Center is also located here. Shopping is everywhere. From large shopping malls to corner stores its all in Charlotte. The SouthPark area is home to SouthPark Mall which as recently as the 1960s was mostly farm land. This area features all of the upscale shopping you will need. From the only Neiman Marcus store between Atlanta and DC to one of 22 Hermes stores in the continental US. You will find them both at SouthPark. Other notable shopping centers in the SouthPark area include Phillips Place featuring Restoration Hardware and Via Veneto and restaurants including Dean & Deluca and Palm Restaurant. Specialty Shops on the Park includes Williams-Sonomo and Talbots. If up-scale isn't for you try Concord Mills for Factory type shopping. Inclosed and over 1.4 million sq.ft its list of stores is endless. Highlights include Charlotte Rousse, Banana Republic, Brooks brothers, and Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse. Best Buy and Outdoor World also claim space here. AMC Theatre has 22 screens including IMAX. Other area malls include Northlake and Carolina Place. If you prefer street shopping check out NoDa and Plaza-Midwood. This is just a quick over-view of the city I choose to call home. Ive visited many places and Charlotte works for me right now. Being single I cant offer much info regarding the school system. There are some schools that come to mind such as Myers Park HS and Butler HS. I do know that many families have chosen to move out of Mecklenburg County which includes Charlotte. Union County and Cabarrus Counties in NC and York County in SC seem to have better schools. If your thinking of moving consider Charlotte. [more...]

Climate - 7/30/2010

What is the climate like in Charlotte, or Mooresville?[more...]

Looking for a good suburb/school for my family/chi - 7/29/2010

My husband just recently got a job offer in Charlotte, NC and we are thinking of moving there from Chicago. Can anyone from Charlotte please give me some advice as to which suburbs are good and safe to raise a family and also have good schools? I have two small kids, the older one is almost five and has some special needs, so he will have to be enrolled in a "Bright Beginnings" or "Inclusion Program". All helpful advice will be very much appreciated. BTW, my husband's office is in uptown, so any suburb that is not more than a 30-45 min drive will be best)[more...]

Overall - 7/28/2010

I'm going to be relocating to Charlotte, NC or it's surrounding areas. What part of Charlotte, or surrounding town/city is best/safest for family with kids?[more...]