Strange abandoned vehicles in the area...

[qdeezie]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
To add to the problems, a lot of people in Charlotte making over $100K think they are some kind of big shot, so there was/is a culture of living way beyond your means.


This is 1,000% true! I totally agree. When I first moved here years ago, I messed around and opened my mouth about my observation about it being all about "status" and that did not go over too well with many.

 

[qdeezie]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Oh yeah...new cars every couple of years, huge houses with manicured lawns, and nothing in the bank to cover it when the stuff hit the fan. I would say the bulk of the foreclosures are not in "poor" areas.


Once again, you are 1,000% correct! Another personal observation of mine that you've confirmed!

 

[antiqueshell]

I had an aunt and grandparents living in an expensive community near Charlotte, and you guys are correct, a LOT of the people that appeared to have wealth did NOT. It was an illusion funded by credit. Also many major banks were there are well.

Many foreclosures in that exculsive neighborhood today and nothing much has changed since 2009 or so.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
...The truck has been sitting for months in the parking lot at a local strip mall.


That's unreal.

There's not a parking lot in NY State that would tolerate that for more than a few days.

You can't even have an unregistered vehicle on your property unless it's stored out of site in most municipalities.

Joel

 

[Sayjac]

It's amazing the conclusions that can be reached about North Carolina based the observation of two abandoned cars, one of them with Ga. plates. I'm certain that no Joisey cites ever had any abandoned cars left for days on end and not moved. LOL!

As for the comment about not understanding the folks that moved to NC from other places, sounds like they were ignorant before they left from where-ever, and should move back. Considering the source though, not very surprising at all. If one lives in the burbs of Camden I can understand why they wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Charlotte is a major banking center and was hit hard with the housing decline. But, that's not unlike other cities including Atlanta and many other cities. And not all of NC is Charlotte, but I'll take it over Camden and Newark and many other cities, any day.

I can guarantee that the total cost of living including property taxes, state income tax, and things like auto insurance are much less in NC than Joisey. The North Carolina University System is excellent as is health care availability and choice. And, the overall quality of life is pretty darn good. Perfect no, but I don't know anyplace that is.

As for those that currently live NC and don't like it, not sure why one would stay then?

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: sayjac

As for those that currently live NC and don't like it, not sure why one would stay then?

I never said I didn't like NC. There is a lot that I like about it (I have lived in this state my whole life), but it is not the good job/low cost utopia people thought it was. It does have its downsides that are often glossed over.

qdeezie has a pretty good idea of the part of town I live in, and it seems like we have noticed the same things living in this city. For those unfamiliar, watch the "Hidden Valley Kings" episode of Gang Land and you will get an idea. Yes, Charlotte isn't representative of all of NC, and yes, it does resemble other Southern cities in a lot of ways, but that doesn't mean we should ignore it and pretend all of NC is like the Triangle or Triad. Oddly enough I feel like I would be really bored living in those places though; actually, I know I would. I grew up in Chapel Hill and while I do have some fondness for the place, it's also boring, and stuff like setting large fires in my backyard would be a no no. As bad as the economy is here and as ridiculous as some of the credit based lifestyles are, for some reason I still like living here.

 

[Sayjac]

^^^^So you've lived there all your life and things have changed in Charlotte, but you want to stay. Can't be that bad. And as most folks outside of NC aren't familiar with the Triangle area, I didn't see anyone commenting here pretending all NC was like that. And the Traid and Triangle haven't had the concentrated growth Charlotte has either.

Charlotte was a fast growing city, and all the things that go along with it. No fast growing city is immune, and Atlanta has gone through the same things. And as bad as the economy is here, it's better here than elsewhere. It's all relative.

As for what people thought or think about Charlotte, who cares? Sounds like you resent the growth to an extent, including those that came for the jobs?. Fact is, for some time there was more job growth in Charlotte and NC than many other places around the country, the demographic trends prove that.

Having lived elsewhere, but living in the Charlotte area for many years now, I've seen a lot worse places to live and work. Guess I have a different perspective, most importantly for me, Charlotte is not all of NC. As I pointed out, lots of positives go along with living in NC.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
^^^^So you've lived there all your life and things have changed in Charlotte, but you want to stay. Can't be that bad. And as most folks outside of NC aren't familiar with the Triangle area, I didn't see anyone commenting here pretending all NC was like that. And the Traid and Triangle haven't had the concentrated growth Charlotte has either.

Charlotte was a fast growing city, and all the things that go along with it. No fast growing city is immune, and Atlanta has gone through the same things. And as bad as the economy is here, it's better here than elsewhere. It's all relative.

As for what people thought or think about Charlotte, who cares? Sounds like you resent the growth to an extent, including those that came for the jobs?. Fact is, for some time there was more job growth in Charlotte and NC than many other places around the country, the demographic trends prove that.

Having lived elsewhere, but living in the Charlotte area for many years now, I've seen a lot worse places to live and work. Guess I have a different perspective, most importantly for me, Charlotte is not all of NC. As I pointed out, lots of positives go along with living in NC.


For me, no it hasn't been all bad, though finding a decent career is difficult. I still manage to pay the bills and live within my means, so yeah I guess I can't complain too much. I have worked in the foreclosure industry here though and lets just say it's rampant. I couldn't stand the work, too much human tragedy, so I do more positive jobs.

I don't resent the people who came here for jobs. People will go to places where they think they can make a living and that's totally understandable. The problem for them is that it was largely an illusion here. A real estate based economy was bound to implode on itself.

 

[qdeezie]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
As for those that currently live NC and don't like it, not sure why one would stay then?

I figured I'd chime in. I grew up in Henderson, NC and spent plenty of time across the state as I have friends and relatives all across NC. I think it's fair for one to make observations and speak to it as they see it if they live there. Another observation is that I can't seem to find good BBQ in Charlotte either, and that's definitely not indicative of all of NC!

 

[Sayjac]

^^^^Exactly and that's what I've done, provide perspective. Not only do have friends and relatives across the state, I have children that grew up in NC and graduated from University system. Again, not all of NC is Charlotte, just as not all of Charlotte is as has been negatively portrayed here. And if one thinks that folks living beyond their means is limited to Charlotte and/or NC, either needs to get out more or check out the news.

Point is, if living in Charlotte is so unlivable, there's other places to live outside of the city. Must be something keeping folks there.

Yes, Charlotte is now a major metropolitan city. But, I can remember when the airport was so small that the only way to board a plane was to walk out on the tarmac from a small terminal, and climb up moveable stairs. Check out the airport now, come a very long way since then, surpassing many other cities.

As for BBQ, it tends to be more a NC traditional food. Small NC cities tend to lend themselves to traditional BBQ. Shelby to the west or Lexington to east should satisfy one's desire for BBQ. But, if BBQ is a priority for quality of life, perhaps metrolina Charlotte is not the place to live.

 

[01rangerxl]

The thread started about the reasons people might have for dumping nice cars. Whatever their reasons, I doubt it was because things were so great when they got here that they just didn't need the car anymore. It could have something to do with our unemployment rate being consistently more than a percent higher than the national average though.

You can like where you live and still recognize that it isn't all flowers and sunshine. The two are not mutually exclusive. I like where I live, but I am also realistic about it.

No place is perfect, but the illusion that Charlotte and NC in general is perfect exacerbated many of the area's problems and only made things worse when the economy went south.

 

[qdeezie]

One living beyond their means happens everywhere. No disagreement there. However, from the outside looking in and seeing it so widespread in such an everyday typical manner comes across to some of us as a bit abnormal. I don't see that as a negative portrayal or implying that the place utterly uninhabitable, it's just merely stating the obvious.

You will not hear me state that it's a bad place to live, because honestly, it's not. For the most part, I enjoy living here, but for all of the positives I can give, I feel that I can also speak on what exactly isn't the greatest about the place as well.

 

[Sayjac]

I'm just not willing to make the leap of faith that two abandoned cars are representative of anything other than what it is, two abandoned cars. Reaching conclusions based solely on anecdotal observation tends to be subjective. Unemployment could be one reason, or perhaps it's totally unrelated.

If you read the recent thread on best places to live, seems there's good and bad everywhere. Same with Charlotte and NC, but apparently the positives outweigh the negatives enough to keep you in Charlotte. That's really the measure, not others impressions. At least for me.