Ode to Charlotte
Ode to Charlotte
The city of Charlotte has been a part of my life, for my whole life. I grew up a short hour and a half drive away, west, on I-85 and Hwy 74. My dad always worked in Charlotte when I was young. When he and my mother divorced when I was 10, he moved to Charlotte. My childhood best friend's dad also lived in Charlotte and we would visit often-usually flipping time between her dad and my dad. My dad took us to Hornet's games- in the 90s, when they were first here, in the "new coliseum" out in the middle of what seemed like, nowhere. It's now been demolished. My church always brought us out to Eastland Mall to ice skate. And Carowinds. So many trips to Carowinds- during the Hanna Barbara phase, and pre-water park era. Boating on the lakes, both Norman and Wylie. I went to concerts in Charlotte. The best was probably Incubus, at the "old coliseum," or you may know it by it's current name, "Bojangles Coliseum." Naturally. While I was in college at UNCW, I toyed with moving and transferring back to UNCC several times. But didn't. I had friends there and visited them on occasion. I did end up going to graduate school in Charlotte though, at Queens University. It was a low-residency program, so on the several times a year I had to come to the campus, I had an edge on knowing where restaurants and grocery stores were, and shortcuts to and from the hotel. And in 2013, my husband and I uprooted our easy-beach-living-life in Wilmington, and moved to Charlotte. So, I have had a long and changing relationship with our fair lady, the Queen City. It wasn't the easiest of transitions for me, and I can't say I'm fully in love with our Queen today, four years later. But I can say that I have some thoughts and changed perceptions from living here...
1. Bojangles has become more important to me than it has while living in other cities. It seems to be the "official" fast food joint here, is on just about every corner, and sponsors a lot of things. Also, they really do have great sweet tea, chicken, and biscuits :)
2. Don't talk to me about your traffic problems unless you live in Atlanta, LA, NYC, or some other larger, driving-metropolis. Now, when I go back to visit Wilmington, I can't let myself complain about the traffic.
3. It doesn't matter what time of day it is, there will be a lot of cars traveling on I-77, in both directions. You will be lucky if you don't have to stop and go. You will never be lucky in this way on 77N near Lake Norman.
4. There is a legion of 20something finance and bank-employees that make 100 grand +, and I am forever envious, bitter, surprised by this. It is too bad that industry does not interest me! Also, I'm sure the trade off is those 20somethings work 50+ hours a week. (we will just say.)
5. Apparently, Bank of America has excellent maternity AND paternity benefits for their employees. Even the dudes get four months of paid leave off. (Again, envy, and anger that I don't like banking and finance.) This information was shared to me at a parenting class by a current BofA employee.
6. The hospital systems are pretty reputable and important. Over the years, I've become somewhat familiar with the giant that is Carolinas Medical Center-Main hospital. They have saved my grandfather's life no less than four times over a span of 20-30 years. Also, with me expecting my first child, I chose a practice connected to them, and am pretty pleased with my care. The parenting classes were also entertaining, and that is not what I've heard from people who live elsewhere in the state and have different hospital systems.
7. As other people will tell you, navigating some of the Charlotte roads can be tricky. Many are named Queen, and they run together and change names. For example, Billy Graham Parkway is also Woodlawn, is also Runnymede. Tyvola Road is also Fairview Road and is also Sardis Road....I'm sure others could give many more examples.
8. There are some celebrities here. So, I got used to the constant filming in downtown Wilmington, as I worked on the riverfront. During my tenure, they filmed many a One Tree Hill, and Under the Dome and who knows what else, right outside my window. I remember looking out and seeing things flying over the river and it turned out it was Robert Downey, Jr.'s Ironman being filmed. All of this to say, it is a bit exciting to see, and I was surprised to see that Charlotte has some film credits as well. But mainly, the celebs here are from sports. I.E. Michael Jordan. All of the Nascar drivers...
9. You really must become a Panther's fan. It does seem to be one of the things that unifies people in this city.
10. There really is some diversity here, and Charlotte really is a "big city." I guess since I grew up close by, I never really considered Charlotte to be a "big city." NYC is a big city. Charlotte is full of little pockets of neighborhoods, some with charm, most with boxes of chain stores and restaurants. I took it for granted. After having actually lived here for a while, I can agree with the "city" status... There are many different people making their way here, from all over the world. From the short amount of time I worked at UNCC when we first moved here, one of the things I remember from orientation is that out of all the public universities in NC, more countries are represented by the students in attendance than any other school. People from all over the world are moving here, for one reason or another...
These are just some random things I have been thinking about- trying to decide if I like living here or not. It is hard to compare to the beach, and to let all of Wilmington go. Who says I have to let it all go, anyway? But I have to embrace this city now. It is where my son will be born. It will always be on his birth certificate. Charlotte, NC. My home. (For now anyway.)
The city of Charlotte has been a part of my life, for my whole life. I grew up a short hour and a half drive away, west, on I-85 and Hwy 74. My dad always worked in Charlotte when I was young. When he and my mother divorced when I was 10, he moved to Charlotte. My childhood best friend's dad also lived in Charlotte and we would visit often-usually flipping time between her dad and my dad. My dad took us to Hornet's games- in the 90s, when they were first here, in the "new coliseum" out in the middle of what seemed like, nowhere. It's now been demolished. My church always brought us out to Eastland Mall to ice skate. And Carowinds. So many trips to Carowinds- during the Hanna Barbara phase, and pre-water park era. Boating on the lakes, both Norman and Wylie. I went to concerts in Charlotte. The best was probably Incubus, at the "old coliseum," or you may know it by it's current name, "Bojangles Coliseum." Naturally. While I was in college at UNCW, I toyed with moving and transferring back to UNCC several times. But didn't. I had friends there and visited them on occasion. I did end up going to graduate school in Charlotte though, at Queens University. It was a low-residency program, so on the several times a year I had to come to the campus, I had an edge on knowing where restaurants and grocery stores were, and shortcuts to and from the hotel. And in 2013, my husband and I uprooted our easy-beach-living-life in Wilmington, and moved to Charlotte. So, I have had a long and changing relationship with our fair lady, the Queen City. It wasn't the easiest of transitions for me, and I can't say I'm fully in love with our Queen today, four years later. But I can say that I have some thoughts and changed perceptions from living here...
1. Bojangles has become more important to me than it has while living in other cities. It seems to be the "official" fast food joint here, is on just about every corner, and sponsors a lot of things. Also, they really do have great sweet tea, chicken, and biscuits :)
2. Don't talk to me about your traffic problems unless you live in Atlanta, LA, NYC, or some other larger, driving-metropolis. Now, when I go back to visit Wilmington, I can't let myself complain about the traffic.
3. It doesn't matter what time of day it is, there will be a lot of cars traveling on I-77, in both directions. You will be lucky if you don't have to stop and go. You will never be lucky in this way on 77N near Lake Norman.
4. There is a legion of 20something finance and bank-employees that make 100 grand +, and I am forever envious, bitter, surprised by this. It is too bad that industry does not interest me! Also, I'm sure the trade off is those 20somethings work 50+ hours a week. (we will just say.)
5. Apparently, Bank of America has excellent maternity AND paternity benefits for their employees. Even the dudes get four months of paid leave off. (Again, envy, and anger that I don't like banking and finance.) This information was shared to me at a parenting class by a current BofA employee.
6. The hospital systems are pretty reputable and important. Over the years, I've become somewhat familiar with the giant that is Carolinas Medical Center-Main hospital. They have saved my grandfather's life no less than four times over a span of 20-30 years. Also, with me expecting my first child, I chose a practice connected to them, and am pretty pleased with my care. The parenting classes were also entertaining, and that is not what I've heard from people who live elsewhere in the state and have different hospital systems.
7. As other people will tell you, navigating some of the Charlotte roads can be tricky. Many are named Queen, and they run together and change names. For example, Billy Graham Parkway is also Woodlawn, is also Runnymede. Tyvola Road is also Fairview Road and is also Sardis Road....I'm sure others could give many more examples.
8. There are some celebrities here. So, I got used to the constant filming in downtown Wilmington, as I worked on the riverfront. During my tenure, they filmed many a One Tree Hill, and Under the Dome and who knows what else, right outside my window. I remember looking out and seeing things flying over the river and it turned out it was Robert Downey, Jr.'s Ironman being filmed. All of this to say, it is a bit exciting to see, and I was surprised to see that Charlotte has some film credits as well. But mainly, the celebs here are from sports. I.E. Michael Jordan. All of the Nascar drivers...
9. You really must become a Panther's fan. It does seem to be one of the things that unifies people in this city.
10. There really is some diversity here, and Charlotte really is a "big city." I guess since I grew up close by, I never really considered Charlotte to be a "big city." NYC is a big city. Charlotte is full of little pockets of neighborhoods, some with charm, most with boxes of chain stores and restaurants. I took it for granted. After having actually lived here for a while, I can agree with the "city" status... There are many different people making their way here, from all over the world. From the short amount of time I worked at UNCC when we first moved here, one of the things I remember from orientation is that out of all the public universities in NC, more countries are represented by the students in attendance than any other school. People from all over the world are moving here, for one reason or another...
These are just some random things I have been thinking about- trying to decide if I like living here or not. It is hard to compare to the beach, and to let all of Wilmington go. Who says I have to let it all go, anyway? But I have to embrace this city now. It is where my son will be born. It will always be on his birth certificate. Charlotte, NC. My home. (For now anyway.)
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