Charlotte is such a funny city. It's like sometime around 1990 a bunch of NationsBank and First Union execs realized "hey, Charlotte is kind of a big city, we should have the stuff that big cities have!" So they started building
ornate skyscrapers and
wide sidewalks and
stone fountains and
sleek light rail. And it's all very beautiful and all looks exactly like what a city designed by 1990s bank executives would look like: More dressed up office park than naturally evolved urban place.
Don't get me wrong. It's nice. Given where they started, it's really nice. I'm not knocking it at all. Certainly it's the most big-city like place in the Carolinas (its only serious competition being the
twisty streets of Charleston). But forget about Boston and San Francisco; Charlotte is no Denver. Charlotte is a richer Albuquerque.
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