- Not Charlotte. (Photo credit: Vi Khoa Duong)
Jon Talton, of The Seattle Times, offered his view on how the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce’s recent inter-city visit went in his column last week.
Talton used to live here and work for The Charlotte Observer, so he knows a thing or two about what the Queen City is really like, which makes his commentary all the more interesting, I think.
Here are a few of his comments:
I was business editor and columnist at the Charlotte Observer for nearly five years, ending in 2000. When I got there, it seemed like Hooterville with a couple of giant skyscrapers. By the time I left, it was the nation’s second-largest banking center with a gleaming, Oz-like skyline.
…
Two cities could not be more different. Although Charlotte is more populous (731,524 vs. 608,660), Seattle seems like the bigger city, partly because Seattle is denser and Charlotte is sprawled out and car-dependent. So lessons for Charlotte? Continuous reinvention and economic diversity (don’t be dependent on the banks), stewardship and nonprofit strength, seek global business and love your downtown. The Queen City, as Charlotte styles itself (ironic, given our former monicker), is not going to get Bill Gates or Bill Boeing or world-class software, bio-tech and world health clusters. It won’t get a port. The suburban University of North Carolina at Charlotteis no UW.
Sting.
It’s also worthy of noting that The Seattle Times is independent and locally owned, whereas The Charlotte Observer is owned by the McClatchy corporation.
This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 4, 2011.
And why should we care what Seattle thinks of Charlotte? The author got it right, Charlotte is NOT Seattle – and it never will be. But isn’t that the best part? We are our own city and we will grow and mature in our own time, in our own way, with our own unique culture – as other cities have. UNCC is no WU, but it is coming along. WU was founded in 1861, UNCC in 1946. I think we should at least give UNCC credit for coming as far as it has in 65 years. WU has had a century and a half to become what it is.
at least it doesnt rain almost everyday. ill take Charlotte weather over Seattle weather any day. See the Seattle skyline? Thats all they have. Charlotte has a lot more to offer then just its skyline/center city.
That’s all they have? Not by a long shot. What a baseless comment.
But these are such vastly different cities that they’re not worth comparing.
This isn’t so much about what Seattle thinks of Charlotte as it is what a former Charlottean thinks of Charlotte now that he’s spent a little time in a very different city that does a number of things better than we do (of course, they’ve got their problems too).
I think you’d be hard pressed to find many Seattlites who think ANYTHING of Charlotte.
Don’t understand this article at all – why bother comparing and contrasting cities such as Seattle and Charlotte. Both cities have been successful in their own ways and have had challenges in their own ways.
This article only fuels the “charlotte vs. the world” mentality of many of our leaders. Instead, let’s take pride in what we DO have, improve on what we don’t, and move on.