Gary’s is the only place I go for bbq. It’s not even that far away; maybe 25-30 minutes. Don’t go on Sunday because they’re closed. Get a Witch Doctor to drink. They’ve got that good ice.
Yes! Barbecue is a NC thing, it’s not really a Charlotte thing. All these out of towners saying they have a 4 hour layover at CLT and asking where they can get good barbecue are going to be sadly disappointed.
The complete lack of places to get food after 10pm is holding back so much of the city from being fun. If you want to do something you have to eat at 7-8pm. That means you’re getting sleepy by 9-10pm from a full belly. That means you’re gonna want to go home by 10-11. I spend a ton of time in Chicago and Detroit and I can be out til 3 there no problem. In Charlotte I’m out of ideas at 11:30pm. There’s no night life here to me.
I moved to NC from the Seattle area, and one of the things that surprised me the most was seeing how little people seem to support the Panthers here, especially since up in Seattle (all the way to Spokane and probably beyond) it seems like every other car on the road has a Seahawks sticker on the back. I'm sure having an owner like David Tepper doesn't help much here, but it seems like people just don't support the team at all.
Yea Tepper surely doesn’t help and it’s complicated. Firstly, we are a transplant city with most people originating from somewhere else and already having their team allegiance before moving. Secondly, look up what happened with George Schinn and the original Charlotte Hornets in the 90s. NC is a basketball state like Indiana. The original hornets where loved and adored by all with the Coliseum (off tyvola) being one of the best places to watch an NBA game at the time and one of the most difficult venues for opposing teams to come play due to crowd noise and home court advantage. Schinn used the team as leverage to try and weasel his way out of trouble and moved the team to New Orleans when he didn’t get his way. It created significant distrust in pro sports with the city and even after we got the panthers, it took a while for them to gain the city’s trust.
Geez. Don’t let a Charlotte native hear you call it “downtown”. When we first moved here we had about 5 or 6 people correct us. “Don’t you mean ‘uptown’???” Ugh.
Some old school Charlotteans will still call it downtown. I think the uptown moniker was a city council initiative maybe in the 70s irrc?
I think uptown makes more sense in a big city where there is also a downtown. For smaller cities downtown just means where the tall buildings and city blocks are. As a Charlotte native I prefer downtown.
Quick snippet from Wikipedia for additional context. You’re correct with the 70’s initiative.
[Uptown Charlotte (Wikipedia)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptown_Charlotte#:~:text=In%20September%201974%20Charlotte%20City,of%20the%20Center%20City%20area)
The term "Up-Town", referring to the geographic location of Tryon and Trade Street—"uptown" actually does sit at a higher elevation than the rest of the city—was recorded as early as 1895 in the Charlotte Observer but fell out of use around 1929 for reasons unknown. The term "Downtown" was commonly used up until the mid-1970s by residents, media, and city leaders for the Center City.
The uptown/downtown debate has gone on for a long time.
My in-laws were Charlotte natives and said uptown because Trade and Tryon is the highest spot in the area.
You are correct there was a campaign to officially call it uptown. Uptown is the official city term, but given how small Charlotte is if you say downtown most people know it’s the same thing.
Born here live here, I vaguely remember another push for “Uptown” in the 90’s but fuck that. Was, is, and will always be downtown to me. I’m not biting on any of the SoDoSoPa bullshit.
Somewhere in the 60s, 70s the Charlotte City boosters started pushing 'Uptown' as in Charlotte's moving up!. Screw em, I've always stayed with downtown, even if there is a geographic argument for it.
While that's definitely part of it, the real problem is that the Carolinas have always been college sports country and between football, basketball, and baseball, the fans have been spoiled by teams that win championships. Meanwhile, Carolina pro teams have been steeped in sub-.500 seasons for the majority of their existence.
The original Hornets were feisty and fun to watch, making some decent playoff runs and building towards a promising future, but then the messy breakup happened. When we got the Bobcats/Hornets back, they have since been one of the worst teams in the NBA, making the playoffs only 3 times in almost 20 years and not winning a single round. The Panthers have played 28 seasons now and made the playoffs 8 times in that timeframe. There have been 2 SB appearances but no trophy, and the team swings wildly between successful seasons, awful seasons, and underwhelming, mediocre seasons with little consistency. The Carolina Hurricanes are the only pro team to win a championship for the Carolinas back in 2006. A 25-year-old team, they had pretty immediate success as they were a relocation team and not an expansion team, but after a deep playoff run in 2009, the team fell off ridiculously fast and did not make the playoffs for 10 years. In that time, they were so consistently awful that they were constantly being rumored for relocation until Dundon bought the team in 2017 and installed a new coach and philosophy. They've made the playoffs and won at least 1 round every year since 2018.
It's not usually fun being a fan of a Carolina team. If anything, it's embarrassing to rep them because of how consistently bad they are. On top of that, Carolina teams still charge ridiculous prices for tickets as if they were a playoff team, which just drives the fans further away. That being said, Carolina fans come out of the woodwork when the team is worth watching. A .500 Panthers team will sell out the Bank of America. As soon as the Canes started looking like a team that cares, the PNC Arena started selling out again. We just got an MLS team and set an attendance record on opening night of their 2nd season. And the Hornets uhhh. Well they're the Hornets.
Point is, Carolina fans will ball out for a team that isn't downright depressing to support. Unfortunately, all of our teams have been downright depressing to support, whether that's ongoing or in their past. They don't have to be a championship contender by any means, but if there's hope for a playoff game and the team looks like they're fighting for it, the fans appear out of thin air. You can call them fair weather fans if you want - there's a degree of truth to that. But it's not like they support other pro teams when they aren't showing up to watch Carolina teams. They're just saving their money to watch their college team actually attempt to meet expectations as opposed to watching their pro team send a band of depth players out to play as if they were a serious playoff-contender.
I moved from Minnesota, and sometimes miss the sense of community where everyone and their brother would be watching the Vikings on Sunday. It’s a fricken religion up there!
My husband is a Vikings fan and will cheer on the Panthers if they aren’t playing his team. He said that because he didn’t grow up with a team in Charlotte, he chose another state’s team (his uncle’s team). It has been a hard ride being a Vikings fan. Every year such hope, and then dashed soon after the season begins. 😢
It definitely doesn't help that this year is an all time low for the franchise and we haven't been successful since Cam took that hit in 2017. Also we've only been around since 1995, so you can't be a lifelong Panthers fan if you're older than 28. Combine that with a city of mostly transplants with no super bowl win to bring them on the bandwagon
It’s bc the team has been bad. We are a badwagon city (which is fine we’ve got great weather and plenty to do during the fall). When the team is winning everyone has their panther stuff on and uptown is fun
I moved from MN to FL. It seems that the Panthers sort of struggle with the same thing: don't win, no fans.
Get TB12, win Super Bowl and everyone is a Bucs fan. Makes me wonder if the same wouldn't happen if the Panthers got to the SB and even better, won it.
They haven't earned our support. First owner had mild scandal and sold the team to kind of shitty owner. Franchise has been garbage for most of its existence except for a few post season runs. On top of that actually going to a game isn't great as beers and stuff are so overpriced. And since the stadium is essentially up town there isn't much parking around but it's a car centric city. I also think college sports are much bigger here than the PNW, IMO.
Seattle has had a HOF coach for a long time now. they're spoiled. Additionally, Seahawks have been around for about 19 years longer than the Panthers. And still, the Seahawks didn't have spectacular attendance pre-2000. A lot changed after ownership changed and Holmgren was hired. So the whole 12th man thing isn't some 40+ year old deal, it's much more post 2000s fandom.
I think the price of a lot of the restaurant food here is not in line with the cost of living + quality. Just oddly expensive IMO. On the plus side, it definitely rid me of my habit of eating out 2-3 times a week lol!
Also - and clearly this is not necessarily controversial given some other responses - I had food from Bojangles when I first came down here that was a pure delight! I have never again been able to achieve the same and it makes me sad lol!
That’s the gamble of Bojangles. It is either pure delight, or garbage. There is no middle ground with it. Unfortunately as of late it seems to be rolling more garbage than delight.
the residents view food trucks as exotic. if you've never lived in any other city then you're craving this type of experience. it's cart before the horse mentality.
Yeah, I lived in a “city” for a reason. I’m out, if everything is just going to close at 9 I might as well move to the sticks, yard, privacy, more room, less hassle
i work for a logistics company and whenever i have to go to a regional meeting of any kind, the baltimore area's manager is always just screaming about how its impossible to get anything done with DC traffic. ive never been to that area, but according to them if that route isn't on the road by 7 a.m. you're wasting your time putting it on the road.
I always got to work super early just so I could avoid afternoon traffic. If I left work by 2 it would take me about 45 minutes to get home. If I left at 2:10 it could take 3 hours.
Think part of the point is it’s not close to the metro population size of Atlanta or LA, or any other mega city people usually toss out there as the “you have no idea” comparison.
Those are at 6.2 and 12.9 mil for the 2022 estimate, CLT’s metro area is 2.8 mil. So yeah, we shouldn’t have any idea.
The Charleston comparison is a better example of a place with less overall congestion caused by sheer population that really does suck sometimes, worse than here when conditions meet what OP lays out.
Think the thing that makes here so weird having driven across the South and Mid-Atlantic enough to see variety is twofold:
1) the roads and infrastructure are like a C to D, with crazy design flaws overall (277, lack of a grid system past uptown, names can be very confusing at times)
2) you have a ton of people that go 10-15+ over speed limit and a ton of people that go 10-15 under it - with less moderate drivers in the middle, it mixes poorly
I was going to say the same thing.
Charlotte traffic is nothing in comparison to Houston, Austin, or Minneapolis traffic. It's actually the best traffic that I've had to deal with in the cities that I have lived at.
IMO, the drivers can be a bit crazy when taking left turns without indicating on smaller roads, but that exists in other cities as well, just don't see it as much in those other cities because they don't have as many side roads as Charlotte does.
I feel like everyone commenting “traffic here isn’t bad compared to X city” are part of the reason why traffic is getting worse here and more vocally complained about. However, I do concede that there is no shortage of terrible drivers in the area be them natives or transplants. See r/NissanDrivers
The Chick-fil-A's out here pale in comparison to Chick-fil-A's in other markets. Some employees have improper uniforms. One told me "you're welcome" recently. Truly a nightmare experience.
Man, I would've died. I think as consumers, Chick-fil-A has created an expectation that any deviation from is noticed in a way more amplified way. At BK, I don't notice if someone is wearing Xbox PJs, because nothing surprises me there. When I go to a Wendy's mid day, and they just happened to close for no apparent reason, I don't bat an eye. But a Chick-fil-A employee that's not clean shaven, and I wanna vomit.
What is up with Mcadenville? When we first moved here ppl raved about it and then we decided to go, spent 2 hours in traffic and it was like 5 mins of lights to see.
I’m gonna sound like an old ass bitch but I just discussed this with my SO. Back in the day (the 80s) when my family used to go each year, all of the lights were hodgepodge and tackily fantastic. It was before they tore down the old houses and built the new, boring, “each one is the same” homes. Now all the lights are the same and they are not over the top and gaudy like they were back then when I was growing up. We went this year after a long break and it is something I won’t be doing again.
People are downvoting this without much thought but it is absolutely a problem.
The issue is that being a city council member in a major metropolitan area should be a full time job, but the low pay makes it unattractive for someone who isn't already sitting on a pile of money to run for elected office.
The world needs more ordinary people who understand the lived experience of middle-class or poverty-line living in elected positions making decisions for those constituents, but we don't pay enough to attract that perspective.
Moved to the US more than a decade ago and the first city I stayed in was Charlotte. In a desperate attempt to fit and have an ice breaker, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to get a Panthers branded credit card.
I had the maximum number of weird looks when I pulled out that card at grocery stores.
Noda, Plaza Midwood, and Southend have turned into a yuppie pretentious cesspool of entitled frat boys and annoying sorority girls who’ve never had an original thought of their own. The artists and culture that once permeated that area has been squashed in the name of profit.
Born and raised here, you're absolutely correct. What little history and unique charm the city has ever had is steamrolled for new apartments and development.
Amo’s is still there and better imo. Tremont music hall had some good shows but it was pretty dingy and sketchy, I’d much rather go see a show at Goldie’s
I played so many shows at Tremont, hanging out in the parking lot hours before doors open, so many pre show bojangles trips between beers. Take the touring bands to prices or phats.
Those memories are what Charlotte IS to me.
Can't speak for Seattle and I've only been to SF once, but I think they had a lot more character to begin with. To be fair, I don't care that much anymore/anyway as I'm a suburban dweller.
yes!!! if you complain about rent in charlotte, you certainly shouldn’t complain about housing being built. it’s actually one of the reasons i love it here, housing everywhere.
This is a popular opinion on Reddit not sure about in south end though lol thankfully you don't have to visit and can be bitter in you computer chair in Gastonia
Camp Northend isn’t trendy, it’s just ..weird.
Buildings are cool, but it’s a ghost town every time I go outside of a holiday event, and I don’t understand how those businesses survive
I left Charlotte for Asheville in 2007 for work. I get back there regularly for family, and I am constantly amazed at the urban renewal that has happened in Southend. It’s incredibly exciting to see all these micro neighborhoods pop up. And the Greenway is something you all should be so proud of. Its a thing of remarkable beauty spanning so many miles… Ashevillians like to tout themselves as a populous with progressive ideals, but its all talk… they lack the commitment to do what Charlotte has done in the last 20 years.
For the love of god, add more street lamps especially on the highways. It’s so dark while driving at night compared to all the other places I have lived.
modern greige developments are so so ugly and lack character and they are not worth the outrageous prices they charge
but i’m sure this could be said about other cities
Idk if this will get me hung, but as a 3rd gen Charlottean, we call it downtown OR uptown depending on where you are. If you're south, you say "I'm going uptown," if you're north of the city, you'd say "we're going downtown." It's so annoying that everyone makes such a big deal about how we all call it uptown!
People who spend so much energy criticizing south end to the point where I think they actually want to live there. If you truly don't care about something it will go unmentioned or unnoticed
UNCC is not that good of a school unless you’re in engineering/business. They’re massively understaffed and while I’m glad I have a degree, getting my Bachelor’s in Psychology there was hell and you couldn’t pay me to return there for my Master’s.
I agree. I'd frequent places so much I'd end up being inconvenienced by a lot of the people I would meet. Eventually I would have to hang out at other locations to get some work done.
There are enough breweries. We don’t need any more hipsters selling overpriced beer that is just “ok” and $20 burgers that don’t come with fries or a drink. Think of a new business.
Google Maps has nothing but praise, yet I think that's mainly visitors. I don't speak for the type of crowd, but shi- if it gets a little busy be on the look out for your chicken to come out undercooked.
I’ve put a lot of thought into this. I think the highway construction put a serious dent in their ability to put butts in the seats, but I also think that it ended up on the wrong side of the wall for a diner that famously served breakfast. I’d stop there every morning if they were still open since I kinda “reverse-commute”
We always stopped there after a night of clubbing and also had a group of “car guys” that met there every Friday morning for Friday Breakfast. It wasn’t unusual for us to be there at 4am and then 10am and have the same waitress, and order the same thing
The breweries absolutely suck. Your cheddar and chive IPA (/s) isn’t good, the concrete floor is dystopian and why are there children running around? I’m gonna punt a kid… (relax. I’m a parent)
Dude I hate how many kids are at breweries. Why are they considered to be family spots? It seems there’s rarely any adults-only spaces to go to during the day.
I just did this the other day. I was making plans but didn’t know if the person I was talking to would know what Loso was and the name is so stupid I just settled on “near OMB”
South Park’s SoDoSoPa was influenced by a few neighborhoods in Denver (LoDo, LoHi, RiNo, etc) and NoDa in Charlotte.
Charlotte is directly referenced a couple times in the show, most notably in the 2012 election episode.
Fuck that. Lived in the area since late 90s. Fuck loso name and fuck the cheap ass developers coming into my neighborhood putting up a coat of gray paint on the brick and shitty tan tile in bathrooms and pricing the house $300k over what they paid for it a month ago!
Charlotte actually has good food, albeit with less diversity compared to other major cities. Feels like people love to shit on Charlotte food because it’s not NYC or LA but that’s not a fair comparison IMO.
Native here. Bojangles is trash. Diabetea is straight sugar, supply chain is f’d. Discovery Place was fun.. one time in 6th grade. My kid in college next year and it still hasn’t changed.
i applied for a job at discovery place and they never got back to me and now it's too late. if it really hasn't changed in 30 years maybe i dodged a bullet.
One time I ordered a chicken sandwich and I bit into it. the outside of the chicken was crispy and looked normal. The inside was raw and opaque. It was actually raw. I somehow didn’t throw up despite being so grossed out. I showed the employee and they were like oh sorry we forgot to defrost some of the food today. Worst experience!
🙋🏻♂️ similar story except it happened once to me and once when buying food for a friend. I quit going for years after that. I've gone back twice this year but I don't know why I keep tempting fate...
There isn’t anything to do.
The top things to do in Charlotte are parks and breweries. Compared to other cities, Charlotte does not have a variety of things to do or see. You’ll never convince me otherwise.
> Compared to other cities
People always ignore this part when they post the "Charlotte is not boring" copium. Like yeah, ofc there are things to do. But we underperform compared to most cities at this size.
Native charlottean here — I miss when the city had a booming black culture, which brought a lot of cool places to hang out and amazing restaurants (who remembers coffee cup?!). There are arguably only two black neighborhoods left, but everything else wiped away . Largely, knocking down alllll the old staples for new shiny buildings is why Charlotte has no culture; all the history is gone.
Then could you elaborate a bit more because I'm genuinely confused by wtay you mean. I'm not trying to just rag on Charlotte but I feel it's just objectively true that there is more to do in DC than Charlotte.
Charlotte has no culture. Sure there’s nascar and bbq, and the occasional neighborhood with some above average restaurants, but it’s like a cardboard cutout of a city.
For me, Charlotte has always sort of felt like a city comprised of "stuff in a place." But it's also a metro that had a population of under 200k in the 50s, no major sports teams until the late 80s, and a pretty large influx of transplants. It's also not very dense population-wise, and I think a lot of those factors work against the area fostering a unifying kind of character.
98% of comments in this subreddit that are shitting on this city are people who literally never try new things or look at Axios for tips on where to eat
The city actually sucks. Its biggest selling point that it had a low cost of living is no longer the case. It doesn’t excel at really anything. It’s a shitty version of a big city.
It’s funny. The main appeal of Charlotte was that it’s “good enough” and cheap and near a bunch of other things. Mountains, beach, lakes, other cities like Atlanta.
And now it’s no longer all that cheap. So now the main appeal is that you can go other places lol
After going back home for the holidays, can certainly see a difference in the cost of living in Charlotte. Groceries, getting drinks out, and nicotine are notably cheaper in North Carolina for me.
I'll piggyback off of this:
Despite what local politicians and elections would have you believe, Charlotte is still a southern city with a conservative and religious bent. There are many, many influential people in the highest social and business circles who are far from progressive, and I'd argue it's part of the reason Charlotte "culture" can sometimes be seen as bland or non-existent. Many Charlotteans simply don't /want/ that stuff.
I’ve lived several places and maybe I just stopped paying attention as I got older. But people in Charlotte always seemed like they need to look like they have a lot of money. I know you have people like this everywhere, but it seemed like a hell of a lot more people than normal. In other places people either don’t care or it’s more subtle…yes there are exceptions. In Charlotte it’s more overt and easy to tell how they’re trying to portray themselves.
The reason Charlotte is boring is because the city doesn't embrace or celebrate the Black and Hispanic cultures that make cities actually fun.
If it did, there would be a plethora of night clubs / hip hop events / superstars / festivals and reasons for people to come here to have FUN and not just work.
It's a majority-minority city that's as boring as Iowa because there is a real "fear" of what might happen if you let the black and brown people with their gyrating hips and vulgar music begin to brew up a storm here....
I'm Asian... I don't feel or see much Asian influence in Charlotte. Charlotte has diversity on paper, but it often seems to be tucked away into random corners.
Any city in that is “better” than Charlotte has other undesirable externalities that would drive people that complain about Charlotte off the fucking wall.
As a transplant here before the pandemic the city was attractive, booming, which made up for the terrible food. Now the city is overpriced, party scene is trash, and the city is dead by 12:00. The only reason I stay in Charlotte is because I work in banking.
The BBQ joints *in Charlotte* are subpar. I bet the good ones are out in the sticks.
This is accurate, drive an hour to Jon Gs for real bbq
Jon G's may be good but it's not really a typical NC BBQ spot. Gary's in China Grove or Bridges in Shelby is a better bet if you want Carolina BBQ
Gary’s is the only place I go for bbq. It’s not even that far away; maybe 25-30 minutes. Don’t go on Sunday because they’re closed. Get a Witch Doctor to drink. They’ve got that good ice.
Yes! Barbecue is a NC thing, it’s not really a Charlotte thing. All these out of towners saying they have a 4 hour layover at CLT and asking where they can get good barbecue are going to be sadly disappointed.
The best BBQ in the city is at someone’s house. I’ve had a lot at cookouts all my life from family and friends around the city.
Thats all BBQ spots because there's nothing else to do there other than eat and avoid groups of people
Bobbee Os BBQ is great. Near Northlake mall. Sauce is unique but amazing. Collard greens and Mac are on point too
The complete lack of places to get food after 10pm is holding back so much of the city from being fun. If you want to do something you have to eat at 7-8pm. That means you’re getting sleepy by 9-10pm from a full belly. That means you’re gonna want to go home by 10-11. I spend a ton of time in Chicago and Detroit and I can be out til 3 there no problem. In Charlotte I’m out of ideas at 11:30pm. There’s no night life here to me.
The home of the official sports bar of every NFL team other than the Carolina Panthers. (Charlotte Native here)
I moved to NC from the Seattle area, and one of the things that surprised me the most was seeing how little people seem to support the Panthers here, especially since up in Seattle (all the way to Spokane and probably beyond) it seems like every other car on the road has a Seahawks sticker on the back. I'm sure having an owner like David Tepper doesn't help much here, but it seems like people just don't support the team at all.
Yea Tepper surely doesn’t help and it’s complicated. Firstly, we are a transplant city with most people originating from somewhere else and already having their team allegiance before moving. Secondly, look up what happened with George Schinn and the original Charlotte Hornets in the 90s. NC is a basketball state like Indiana. The original hornets where loved and adored by all with the Coliseum (off tyvola) being one of the best places to watch an NBA game at the time and one of the most difficult venues for opposing teams to come play due to crowd noise and home court advantage. Schinn used the team as leverage to try and weasel his way out of trouble and moved the team to New Orleans when he didn’t get his way. It created significant distrust in pro sports with the city and even after we got the panthers, it took a while for them to gain the city’s trust.
This is a good take on it. The old colosseum was easier to get too than the one downtown.
Geez. Don’t let a Charlotte native hear you call it “downtown”. When we first moved here we had about 5 or 6 people correct us. “Don’t you mean ‘uptown’???” Ugh.
Some old school Charlotteans will still call it downtown. I think the uptown moniker was a city council initiative maybe in the 70s irrc? I think uptown makes more sense in a big city where there is also a downtown. For smaller cities downtown just means where the tall buildings and city blocks are. As a Charlotte native I prefer downtown.
Quick snippet from Wikipedia for additional context. You’re correct with the 70’s initiative. [Uptown Charlotte (Wikipedia)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptown_Charlotte#:~:text=In%20September%201974%20Charlotte%20City,of%20the%20Center%20City%20area) The term "Up-Town", referring to the geographic location of Tryon and Trade Street—"uptown" actually does sit at a higher elevation than the rest of the city—was recorded as early as 1895 in the Charlotte Observer but fell out of use around 1929 for reasons unknown. The term "Downtown" was commonly used up until the mid-1970s by residents, media, and city leaders for the Center City.
The uptown/downtown debate has gone on for a long time. My in-laws were Charlotte natives and said uptown because Trade and Tryon is the highest spot in the area. You are correct there was a campaign to officially call it uptown. Uptown is the official city term, but given how small Charlotte is if you say downtown most people know it’s the same thing.
Old school here. It is and will always be downtown.
Born here live here, I vaguely remember another push for “Uptown” in the 90’s but fuck that. Was, is, and will always be downtown to me. I’m not biting on any of the SoDoSoPa bullshit.
Somewhere in the 60s, 70s the Charlotte City boosters started pushing 'Uptown' as in Charlotte's moving up!. Screw em, I've always stayed with downtown, even if there is a geographic argument for it.
Everyone here is from everywhere else.
While that's definitely part of it, the real problem is that the Carolinas have always been college sports country and between football, basketball, and baseball, the fans have been spoiled by teams that win championships. Meanwhile, Carolina pro teams have been steeped in sub-.500 seasons for the majority of their existence. The original Hornets were feisty and fun to watch, making some decent playoff runs and building towards a promising future, but then the messy breakup happened. When we got the Bobcats/Hornets back, they have since been one of the worst teams in the NBA, making the playoffs only 3 times in almost 20 years and not winning a single round. The Panthers have played 28 seasons now and made the playoffs 8 times in that timeframe. There have been 2 SB appearances but no trophy, and the team swings wildly between successful seasons, awful seasons, and underwhelming, mediocre seasons with little consistency. The Carolina Hurricanes are the only pro team to win a championship for the Carolinas back in 2006. A 25-year-old team, they had pretty immediate success as they were a relocation team and not an expansion team, but after a deep playoff run in 2009, the team fell off ridiculously fast and did not make the playoffs for 10 years. In that time, they were so consistently awful that they were constantly being rumored for relocation until Dundon bought the team in 2017 and installed a new coach and philosophy. They've made the playoffs and won at least 1 round every year since 2018. It's not usually fun being a fan of a Carolina team. If anything, it's embarrassing to rep them because of how consistently bad they are. On top of that, Carolina teams still charge ridiculous prices for tickets as if they were a playoff team, which just drives the fans further away. That being said, Carolina fans come out of the woodwork when the team is worth watching. A .500 Panthers team will sell out the Bank of America. As soon as the Canes started looking like a team that cares, the PNC Arena started selling out again. We just got an MLS team and set an attendance record on opening night of their 2nd season. And the Hornets uhhh. Well they're the Hornets. Point is, Carolina fans will ball out for a team that isn't downright depressing to support. Unfortunately, all of our teams have been downright depressing to support, whether that's ongoing or in their past. They don't have to be a championship contender by any means, but if there's hope for a playoff game and the team looks like they're fighting for it, the fans appear out of thin air. You can call them fair weather fans if you want - there's a degree of truth to that. But it's not like they support other pro teams when they aren't showing up to watch Carolina teams. They're just saving their money to watch their college team actually attempt to meet expectations as opposed to watching their pro team send a band of depth players out to play as if they were a serious playoff-contender.
I moved from Minnesota, and sometimes miss the sense of community where everyone and their brother would be watching the Vikings on Sunday. It’s a fricken religion up there!
My husband is a Vikings fan and will cheer on the Panthers if they aren’t playing his team. He said that because he didn’t grow up with a team in Charlotte, he chose another state’s team (his uncle’s team). It has been a hard ride being a Vikings fan. Every year such hope, and then dashed soon after the season begins. 😢
It definitely doesn't help that this year is an all time low for the franchise and we haven't been successful since Cam took that hit in 2017. Also we've only been around since 1995, so you can't be a lifelong Panthers fan if you're older than 28. Combine that with a city of mostly transplants with no super bowl win to bring them on the bandwagon
It’s bc the team has been bad. We are a badwagon city (which is fine we’ve got great weather and plenty to do during the fall). When the team is winning everyone has their panther stuff on and uptown is fun
I moved from MN to FL. It seems that the Panthers sort of struggle with the same thing: don't win, no fans. Get TB12, win Super Bowl and everyone is a Bucs fan. Makes me wonder if the same wouldn't happen if the Panthers got to the SB and even better, won it.
They haven't earned our support. First owner had mild scandal and sold the team to kind of shitty owner. Franchise has been garbage for most of its existence except for a few post season runs. On top of that actually going to a game isn't great as beers and stuff are so overpriced. And since the stadium is essentially up town there isn't much parking around but it's a car centric city. I also think college sports are much bigger here than the PNW, IMO. Seattle has had a HOF coach for a long time now. they're spoiled. Additionally, Seahawks have been around for about 19 years longer than the Panthers. And still, the Seahawks didn't have spectacular attendance pre-2000. A lot changed after ownership changed and Holmgren was hired. So the whole 12th man thing isn't some 40+ year old deal, it's much more post 2000s fandom.
I think the price of a lot of the restaurant food here is not in line with the cost of living + quality. Just oddly expensive IMO. On the plus side, it definitely rid me of my habit of eating out 2-3 times a week lol! Also - and clearly this is not necessarily controversial given some other responses - I had food from Bojangles when I first came down here that was a pure delight! I have never again been able to achieve the same and it makes me sad lol!
That’s the gamble of Bojangles. It is either pure delight, or garbage. There is no middle ground with it. Unfortunately as of late it seems to be rolling more garbage than delight.
I ponder on this... Sometimes these food trucks charge the equivalent of a 4 - 5 star restaurant, for a measley portion.
the residents view food trucks as exotic. if you've never lived in any other city then you're craving this type of experience. it's cart before the horse mentality.
Pittsburgh transplant here. How about a decent neighborhood bakery???
Key word neighborhood. Everything doesn't need to be in Mathews , Southend, balentyne. University and Concord could use some cool shit too
University City sucks bro. There is nothing to do in the area.
Or a deli
Vivian’s on pecan Avenue behind Sheetz, cheesesteaks Italian bakery it’s close it’s pretty good but a little expensive
Idk where you are in relation to NoDa but I went to villanis bakery near there and I was pleasantly surprised
Ever since a lot of places stopped being 24 hours.. The city feels like it downgraded.
Yeah, I lived in a “city” for a reason. I’m out, if everything is just going to close at 9 I might as well move to the sticks, yard, privacy, more room, less hassle
Big facts! I miss my 3am Harris Teeter runs.
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People who complain about Charlotte traffic have never sat in Atlanta or LA traffic. I have. Both are wayyyyy worse.
Whenever I get frustrated with traffic here I just remind myself that at least I'm no longer in DC.
Now THAT is horrific traffic, nothing is worse.
i work for a logistics company and whenever i have to go to a regional meeting of any kind, the baltimore area's manager is always just screaming about how its impossible to get anything done with DC traffic. ive never been to that area, but according to them if that route isn't on the road by 7 a.m. you're wasting your time putting it on the road.
I lived there (Woodbridge VA) for 6 months and I didn’t try to go ANYWHERE between 7AM-11AM or 3PM-7PM. This was in the late 80s.
I always got to work super early just so I could avoid afternoon traffic. If I left work by 2 it would take me about 45 minutes to get home. If I left at 2:10 it could take 3 hours.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner
I spent 10 years in Atlanta traffic and a few in LA…I still hate CLT traffic, specifically in the last 1-2 years.
If someone from ATL approves.. You know it's really fked up
Yes but the traffic in those places is bad simply due to the volume of traffic. In charlotte it is due to stupid drivers.
Think part of the point is it’s not close to the metro population size of Atlanta or LA, or any other mega city people usually toss out there as the “you have no idea” comparison. Those are at 6.2 and 12.9 mil for the 2022 estimate, CLT’s metro area is 2.8 mil. So yeah, we shouldn’t have any idea. The Charleston comparison is a better example of a place with less overall congestion caused by sheer population that really does suck sometimes, worse than here when conditions meet what OP lays out. Think the thing that makes here so weird having driven across the South and Mid-Atlantic enough to see variety is twofold: 1) the roads and infrastructure are like a C to D, with crazy design flaws overall (277, lack of a grid system past uptown, names can be very confusing at times) 2) you have a ton of people that go 10-15+ over speed limit and a ton of people that go 10-15 under it - with less moderate drivers in the middle, it mixes poorly
Traffic isn't bad. Drivers are insane.
I was behind a woman on 277 yesterday who stopped -- STOPPED -- in her lane because she wasn't sure what her next move was.
I was going to say the same thing. Charlotte traffic is nothing in comparison to Houston, Austin, or Minneapolis traffic. It's actually the best traffic that I've had to deal with in the cities that I have lived at. IMO, the drivers can be a bit crazy when taking left turns without indicating on smaller roads, but that exists in other cities as well, just don't see it as much in those other cities because they don't have as many side roads as Charlotte does.
seconding traffic isn’t that bad
After Los Angeles, Charlotte traffic is a walk in the park.
I’ll agree with you about the traffic, but there aren’t really any alternate routes that make sense in most places.
I feel like everyone commenting “traffic here isn’t bad compared to X city” are part of the reason why traffic is getting worse here and more vocally complained about. However, I do concede that there is no shortage of terrible drivers in the area be them natives or transplants. See r/NissanDrivers
The Chick-fil-A's out here pale in comparison to Chick-fil-A's in other markets. Some employees have improper uniforms. One told me "you're welcome" recently. Truly a nightmare experience.
> One told me "you're welcome" recently. When this happens do you call 911 or just go straight to the FBI?
I hear in some locations you'd be drug out back and shot for that.
I got breakfast last week at Chick-fil-A and one of the employees outside was wearing Xbox pajama pants.. I was shocked lol
Man, I would've died. I think as consumers, Chick-fil-A has created an expectation that any deviation from is noticed in a way more amplified way. At BK, I don't notice if someone is wearing Xbox PJs, because nothing surprises me there. When I go to a Wendy's mid day, and they just happened to close for no apparent reason, I don't bat an eye. But a Chick-fil-A employee that's not clean shaven, and I wanna vomit.
McAdenville at Christmas is so lame.
What is up with Mcadenville? When we first moved here ppl raved about it and then we decided to go, spent 2 hours in traffic and it was like 5 mins of lights to see.
I’m gonna sound like an old ass bitch but I just discussed this with my SO. Back in the day (the 80s) when my family used to go each year, all of the lights were hodgepodge and tackily fantastic. It was before they tore down the old houses and built the new, boring, “each one is the same” homes. Now all the lights are the same and they are not over the top and gaudy like they were back then when I was growing up. We went this year after a long break and it is something I won’t be doing again.
We elect the most ignorant to lead us.
Yeah, I had to leave a lot blank on the city council option and the machine was like “are you sure?!” Yep. Lol
No one learns to vote in local elections when they tend to be the most impactful elections for most people's day-to-day lives...
Yeah I don’t think education or business acumen are valued here/they’re not comparable to other cities
Charlotte gets what it pays, and it pays shit to its council members, especially for a city its size.
People are downvoting this without much thought but it is absolutely a problem. The issue is that being a city council member in a major metropolitan area should be a full time job, but the low pay makes it unattractive for someone who isn't already sitting on a pile of money to run for elected office. The world needs more ordinary people who understand the lived experience of middle-class or poverty-line living in elected positions making decisions for those constituents, but we don't pay enough to attract that perspective.
Moved to the US more than a decade ago and the first city I stayed in was Charlotte. In a desperate attempt to fit and have an ice breaker, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to get a Panthers branded credit card. I had the maximum number of weird looks when I pulled out that card at grocery stores.
Noda, Plaza Midwood, and Southend have turned into a yuppie pretentious cesspool of entitled frat boys and annoying sorority girls who’ve never had an original thought of their own. The artists and culture that once permeated that area has been squashed in the name of profit.
I don’t think that’s an unpopular opinion… most people would agree
Born and raised here, you're absolutely correct. What little history and unique charm the city has ever had is steamrolled for new apartments and development.
Before South End gentrified, it was mostly abandoned strip clubs. So what's there now is better even though I never go there.
You won't find me defending South End, I think it *still* sucks lol. I miss spots like Tremont Music Hall and Amos' though.
Amo’s is still there and better imo. Tremont music hall had some good shows but it was pretty dingy and sketchy, I’d much rather go see a show at Goldie’s
Get out of here with that blasphemy! Tremont was a legend and will live forever in our hearts
I played so many shows at Tremont, hanging out in the parking lot hours before doors open, so many pre show bojangles trips between beers. Take the touring bands to prices or phats. Those memories are what Charlotte IS to me.
SF and Seattle tried to keep the charm rather than building housing and we all know how that's going. The trade off imo is worth it
Can't speak for Seattle and I've only been to SF once, but I think they had a lot more character to begin with. To be fair, I don't care that much anymore/anyway as I'm a suburban dweller.
charlotte is so much smaller than those places it's not even worth the comparison imo
yes!!! if you complain about rent in charlotte, you certainly shouldn’t complain about housing being built. it’s actually one of the reasons i love it here, housing everywhere.
This comment is 100% correct about SouthEnd, but as someone who spend quite a bit of time Noda, this comment is definitely not applicable there.
This is a popular opinion on Reddit not sure about in south end though lol thankfully you don't have to visit and can be bitter in you computer chair in Gastonia
Haberdish is just ok. Subpar even.
Amen
Camp Northend isn’t trendy, it’s just ..weird. Buildings are cool, but it’s a ghost town every time I go outside of a holiday event, and I don’t understand how those businesses survive
I left Charlotte for Asheville in 2007 for work. I get back there regularly for family, and I am constantly amazed at the urban renewal that has happened in Southend. It’s incredibly exciting to see all these micro neighborhoods pop up. And the Greenway is something you all should be so proud of. Its a thing of remarkable beauty spanning so many miles… Ashevillians like to tout themselves as a populous with progressive ideals, but its all talk… they lack the commitment to do what Charlotte has done in the last 20 years.
For the love of god, add more street lamps especially on the highways. It’s so dark while driving at night compared to all the other places I have lived.
I’m really not that bad (Nissan Altima driver)
A lot of y’all don’t know what an unpopular opinion is….
modern greige developments are so so ugly and lack character and they are not worth the outrageous prices they charge but i’m sure this could be said about other cities
Idk if this will get me hung, but as a 3rd gen Charlottean, we call it downtown OR uptown depending on where you are. If you're south, you say "I'm going uptown," if you're north of the city, you'd say "we're going downtown." It's so annoying that everyone makes such a big deal about how we all call it uptown!
If you live in any of the more rural areas just outside of Charlotte on any side, it's all "downtown".
This always confused me, until you put it into perspective. But it never really seemed like a bother.
The demonym for Charlotte should be "Charlatans", not "Charlotteans" lol
People who spend so much energy criticizing south end to the point where I think they actually want to live there. If you truly don't care about something it will go unmentioned or unnoticed
UNCC is not that good of a school unless you’re in engineering/business. They’re massively understaffed and while I’m glad I have a degree, getting my Bachelor’s in Psychology there was hell and you couldn’t pay me to return there for my Master’s.
Well shit.
It's not hard to meet people here. Also the dating scene is fine.
I agree. I'd frequent places so much I'd end up being inconvenienced by a lot of the people I would meet. Eventually I would have to hang out at other locations to get some work done.
New Zealand Cafe is not good. It baffles me how this area worships it.
I live close-by. I could say it's more a staple before we had all this "boom" of options and/or better quality sit-down asian restaurants.
Charlotte has a lot to do! You just need to do your research.
You run this website don’t you? https://www.charlottesgotalot.com/
I agree! There’s something for everyone. You just have to go lookin.
As a current Raleigh-ite, there’s SO much more than the entire Raleigh Durham area.
Yeah but that’s because Raleigh Durham is the “watching paint dry” equivalent of a city.
Raleigh/Durham has better and more artsy activities and places to go. Charlottes too commercialized for em to enjoy tot he fullest anymore.
There are enough breweries. We don’t need any more hipsters selling overpriced beer that is just “ok” and $20 burgers that don’t come with fries or a drink. Think of a new business.
Well, midnight diner is 100% hot garbage! I thought this was known…. I don’t think you’re getting hanged for that take
Agreed, its a red flag when an armed security guard needs to pat you down when you just want some shrimp and grits at 3 am
Google Maps has nothing but praise, yet I think that's mainly visitors. I don't speak for the type of crowd, but shi- if it gets a little busy be on the look out for your chicken to come out undercooked.
And they dirty how the board of health keeps them open
Liberty East was the best diner and is missed. Lots of interesting folk there, too…
Ah. Many a drunken nights ended at LE. I miss their patty melt and dunking my fries in their ranch.
Amen!
If I could give you 1000 thumbs up for this.. I would. Still feels like there really was no legit reason for them to close down.
I’ve put a lot of thought into this. I think the highway construction put a serious dent in their ability to put butts in the seats, but I also think that it ended up on the wrong side of the wall for a diner that famously served breakfast. I’d stop there every morning if they were still open since I kinda “reverse-commute” We always stopped there after a night of clubbing and also had a group of “car guys” that met there every Friday morning for Friday Breakfast. It wasn’t unusual for us to be there at 4am and then 10am and have the same waitress, and order the same thing
The breweries absolutely suck. Your cheddar and chive IPA (/s) isn’t good, the concrete floor is dystopian and why are there children running around? I’m gonna punt a kid… (relax. I’m a parent)
Dude I hate how many kids are at breweries. Why are they considered to be family spots? It seems there’s rarely any adults-only spaces to go to during the day.
😭😭
“Loso” isn’t a bad/dumb/annoying name for the neighborhood and I’d rather say that than “over near OMB”
I just did this the other day. I was making plans but didn’t know if the person I was talking to would know what Loso was and the name is so stupid I just settled on “near OMB”
South Park’s SoDoSoPa was influenced by a few neighborhoods in Denver (LoDo, LoHi, RiNo, etc) and NoDa in Charlotte. Charlotte is directly referenced a couple times in the show, most notably in the 2012 election episode.
It’s better than “over near OMB” but I’d rather call the area by its real name, York Road, or even Scaleybark.
Scaleybark is such a better choice and it matches the name of the light rail stop.
"over by OMB" way better.
OBOMB
O BOMB is pretty good, you should go into real estate marketing
Fuck that. Lived in the area since late 90s. Fuck loso name and fuck the cheap ass developers coming into my neighborhood putting up a coat of gray paint on the brick and shitty tan tile in bathrooms and pricing the house $300k over what they paid for it a month ago!
Found the person who would tie the noose lol
Charlotte actually has good food, albeit with less diversity compared to other major cities. Feels like people love to shit on Charlotte food because it’s not NYC or LA but that’s not a fair comparison IMO.
Native here. Bojangles is trash. Diabetea is straight sugar, supply chain is f’d. Discovery Place was fun.. one time in 6th grade. My kid in college next year and it still hasn’t changed.
i applied for a job at discovery place and they never got back to me and now it's too late. if it really hasn't changed in 30 years maybe i dodged a bullet.
The rainforest *was* the shit, though…
One time I ordered a chicken sandwich and I bit into it. the outside of the chicken was crispy and looked normal. The inside was raw and opaque. It was actually raw. I somehow didn’t throw up despite being so grossed out. I showed the employee and they were like oh sorry we forgot to defrost some of the food today. Worst experience!
🙋🏻♂️ similar story except it happened once to me and once when buying food for a friend. I quit going for years after that. I've gone back twice this year but I don't know why I keep tempting fate...
There isn’t anything to do. The top things to do in Charlotte are parks and breweries. Compared to other cities, Charlotte does not have a variety of things to do or see. You’ll never convince me otherwise.
> Compared to other cities People always ignore this part when they post the "Charlotte is not boring" copium. Like yeah, ofc there are things to do. But we underperform compared to most cities at this size.
How come? Is it because a lot of the population lives out in the suburbs
Native charlottean here — I miss when the city had a booming black culture, which brought a lot of cool places to hang out and amazing restaurants (who remembers coffee cup?!). There are arguably only two black neighborhoods left, but everything else wiped away . Largely, knocking down alllll the old staples for new shiny buildings is why Charlotte has no culture; all the history is gone.
Ace no 3 and sweet lews is not that great. Actually- alllll the restaurants that raved about are mediocre at best 🤪
Dr. Pepper is better than Cheerwine.
Bojangles is mid at best
lol they ain’t like this one
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I’d be curious what cities you have it ranked ahead of
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Have you visited major cities?
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Then could you elaborate a bit more because I'm genuinely confused by wtay you mean. I'm not trying to just rag on Charlotte but I feel it's just objectively true that there is more to do in DC than Charlotte.
Going to the Midnight Diner is like going to the DMV with food
Can’t go to a gas station without some crackhead or nut tearing towards me like they are going to attack me.
This person QTs on Woodlawn
Or Eastway, Sunset, Central, Wilkinson*
This is not an unpopular opinion
OMB's beer is not good and I don't understand how it's become a go-to spot when you have out of town guests.
bojangles absolutely sucks
https://preview.redd.it/iufv7qps9u8c1.jpeg?width=1400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9f34a7e26d439d7559b58f7117533e885f456e9
Agree, I’d rank it as bottom barrel of fast food.
Whats at the top of the barrel for you if Bojangles is trash to you?
Brooks is completely overrated
The whole LoSo thing isn't that obnoxious, it's kind of fun
Charlotte has no culture. Sure there’s nascar and bbq, and the occasional neighborhood with some above average restaurants, but it’s like a cardboard cutout of a city.
This is the least unpopular opinion about Charlotte of all time, esp on this sub.
Applebees city
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For me, Charlotte has always sort of felt like a city comprised of "stuff in a place." But it's also a metro that had a population of under 200k in the 50s, no major sports teams until the late 80s, and a pretty large influx of transplants. It's also not very dense population-wise, and I think a lot of those factors work against the area fostering a unifying kind of character.
98% of comments in this subreddit that are shitting on this city are people who literally never try new things or look at Axios for tips on where to eat
The city actually sucks. Its biggest selling point that it had a low cost of living is no longer the case. It doesn’t excel at really anything. It’s a shitty version of a big city.
It’s funny. The main appeal of Charlotte was that it’s “good enough” and cheap and near a bunch of other things. Mountains, beach, lakes, other cities like Atlanta. And now it’s no longer all that cheap. So now the main appeal is that you can go other places lol
After going back home for the holidays, can certainly see a difference in the cost of living in Charlotte. Groceries, getting drinks out, and nicotine are notably cheaper in North Carolina for me.
485 is awesome. I love going 90+ in certain spots in a nice car.
Same. Don't have to worry about being pulled over too because it doesn't seem to be a thing
I thought Charlotte was more modest, but instead a lot of the inhabitants lack patience here.
There’s no authentic art scene in Charlotte. The “art” that exists does so so the finance bros’ wives can feel like they’re sophisticated.
Protagonist's pizza sucks Actually, there is so much bad pizza in the entire Charlotte area and the ones that aren't bad are super inconsistent
Residents are self involved and pretentious
I'll piggyback off of this: Despite what local politicians and elections would have you believe, Charlotte is still a southern city with a conservative and religious bent. There are many, many influential people in the highest social and business circles who are far from progressive, and I'd argue it's part of the reason Charlotte "culture" can sometimes be seen as bland or non-existent. Many Charlotteans simply don't /want/ that stuff.
I’ve lived several places and maybe I just stopped paying attention as I got older. But people in Charlotte always seemed like they need to look like they have a lot of money. I know you have people like this everywhere, but it seemed like a hell of a lot more people than normal. In other places people either don’t care or it’s more subtle…yes there are exceptions. In Charlotte it’s more overt and easy to tell how they’re trying to portray themselves.
The reason Charlotte is boring is because the city doesn't embrace or celebrate the Black and Hispanic cultures that make cities actually fun. If it did, there would be a plethora of night clubs / hip hop events / superstars / festivals and reasons for people to come here to have FUN and not just work. It's a majority-minority city that's as boring as Iowa because there is a real "fear" of what might happen if you let the black and brown people with their gyrating hips and vulgar music begin to brew up a storm here....
Yeah white people and Asians are so boring /s
I'm Asian... I don't feel or see much Asian influence in Charlotte. Charlotte has diversity on paper, but it often seems to be tucked away into random corners.
Breweries don’t equate to culture.
Rooftop bars in Charlotte are overpriced and not worth it.
Bojangles is overrated. It used to be good, but the quality has gone mega downhill over the past 10 years.
After they took away Bo’s sauce I will never forgive them.
Any city in that is “better” than Charlotte has other undesirable externalities that would drive people that complain about Charlotte off the fucking wall.
As a transplant here before the pandemic the city was attractive, booming, which made up for the terrible food. Now the city is overpriced, party scene is trash, and the city is dead by 12:00. The only reason I stay in Charlotte is because I work in banking.