city of differences.
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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.
David | Charlotte, NC