Charlotte

[52vincent]

Are these flying opportunities FLY?

I have been thinking of going that way myself. to see if there is any kind of opportunity. Good Luck, sorry I ca'nt offer any suggestions, have never been there.

 

[Flywrite]

I'm afraid there's not much going on down here hiring- wise. It's not a bad place to live though. There are a lot of Nascar flight depts. to the north of town around Concord (JQF), but they seem to do most of their hiring late in the year.

 

[typhoonpilot]

I lived there for a combined total of four years and I find myself struggling to answer your question. The answer is that Charlotte is not a fun city like Boston or Chicago. People don't travel to Charlotte for vacation or for fun. They go for business or because they work there or have relatives there.

To really get into the community there you will have to go to church. Don't laugh, I'm serious. Southern hospitality is something only for people passing through, it doesn't apply if you move there.

Don't get me wrong though, you can make friends, but more often than not they will be from somewhere other than Charlotte.

Charlotte does have a fair number of golf courses. A couple of minor league baseball teams are nearby, the Charlotte Knights and another one in Kannapolis. Two good lakes, well okay, one good lake and one muddy stretch of river called Lake Wylie. The Uptown area is also getting better and better for nightlife as more establishments open for the people living nearby. There is an amusement park just south of town. A Nascar race track in Concord and various malls scattered around the city.

Charlotte is a decent and affordable place to live. It just isn't as lively as a lot of other cities. I would still be there if it weren't for losing my job since I thought it would be a great place to raise a family.

Good luck finding a job,


Typhoonpilot

 

[Flywrite]

Hey Flychicaga,

I was thinking you were a higher time guy for some reason. With your time you might try one of the banner towing companies in town. I see them out flying pretty frequently (at least when it's not IFR/rain like it has been most of the last few months). The phone book lists BanAir (704 770-0310) and Airsign.com (I assume they have a website, but the phone number is 704 408-1733).

Also take an hour or so to check out the Carolina's Aviation Museum. If you land on 23 you get a good view from the right side of the plane. It's on the field but you have to go out to Billy Graham Freeway. Heading towards I-77 on Billy Graham turn right onto Morris Field Drive, go to the light and turn right. The Museum is about a mile on the left. I think my directions are good, but you may want to give them a call at 704 359-8442.

Good luck and have a good weekend here in CLT.

 

[dav8or]

Also near the airport is the Paper Doll.

 

[Snakum]

Gee Typhoon ... maybe it was that prize-winning personality that never endured you to the locals. Maybe you could only make friends with other condescending yankee-types because you were an arrogant pr!ck.

As I tell all ya'll complaining, whiney-ass, yankees ...

"I-77 goes both ways ... you need gas money?"

Minh

 

[jumppilot]

Being a yank myself, I see where he is coming from....

 

[dav8or]

Gee Typhoon ... maybe it was that prize-winning personality that never endured you to the locals. Maybe you could only make friends with other condescending yankee-types because you were an arrogant pr!ck.

As I tell all ya'll complaining, whiney-ass, yankees ...

"I-77 goes both ways ... you need gas money?"

Minh

Your locked in a room with a yankee, a rattle snake and mountain lion, you have a gun but only two bullets. What do you do?

















Shoot the yankee twice. its a trick question.

 

[heels95]

I would first like to respond to Snakum's post.

Having lived in NC all my life and having visited the Northeast and Midwest many times, I can agree that Charlotte "ain't" no Boston or Chicago.

I find Typhoonpilot's post very relevant; especially to someone considering moving to Charlotte from a large city such as Chicago, DC, New York City, or Boston. I'm sure it is difficult for northerners to find their "niche" when moving south and vice versa for southerners moving north.

Though Charlotte is a very modern city, it is still a 9 to 5 city compared to our larger friends to the north. Charlotteans, especially native Charlotteans, need to realize that Charlotte isn't such a large city once you cross the Carolina borders. Charlotte simply doesn't offer the entertainment that can be found in larger urban areas. That isn't, however, a negative reflection on Charlotte.

Charlotte is a great place to live and that can be evidenced by its population growth, which includes a lot of Northerners moving there. As a North Carolinian, I really hate the mentality that Northerners aren't welcome (I-77 goes both ways). The more that move here, the better the chance Charlotte has of becoming a city that can be compared to Chicago, DC, Boston, etc. And they also bring a lot of money that is fed into the local economy.

I will, however, respond to the original the original question in the chance others are considering moving to Charlotte. Charlotte can be a fun place to live. There are many outdoor activites available, especially when you condider that you are about equidistant from the mountains and the coast. Charlotte's location provides for numerous one-day road trips and long weekend getaways. Charlotte is home to an NFL franchise and the NBA is returning. Though I stated Charlotte is a 9 to 5 city, it is starting to lose that reputation. Uptown (I guess downtown portrays a negative connotation for an "up and coming" city such as Charlotte) is becoming more lively and it offers theater, arts and museums. Dowtown, excuse me Uptown, will also continue to improve as more and more residential buildings are constructed there. Remember, however, though Charlotte is the second largest banking city in the nation, it isn't Chicago or Boston (just like Typhoonpilot said). Unlike those cities where the fun finds you, you have to find the fun in Charlotte.

 

[TriStar_drvr]

I grew up in Hickory (HKY) about 45 miles north of Charlotte. My mom still lives there and I visit at least a couple times a year. I have to agree with most of what's been stated on the previous posts. It's a pleasant city with a small town feel. It's selling points are a temperate climate, and it's proximity to the beaches (about three hours by car) and the mountains (about two hours). It's a nice place to raise a family, which is why I'm considering moving there if I ever upgrade to captain on one of the aircraft types based at Midway.

If you ever move there, you'll have to know your NASCAR (otherwise you'll have nothing to talk about with the local girls ), and learn to specify unsweetened when ordering iced tea unless you wish to receive a glass of caramel colored liquid sugar.

On your visit, I recommend you get a barbeque sandwich. Don't ask what kind of meat it is. Barbeque in North Carolina means shredded pork. The sandwich will be topped with cole slaw. I never go back without visiting the local B-B-Q joint at least once. My mouth is watering just thinking about it...

Have fun. You are taking ATA aren't you? (shameless plug for my employer)

 

[prodigal]

CLT

As a native of the area I have to agree that Charlotte is not yet quite the cosmopolitan city it aspires to be, say, on a par with New York or Miami. But hey, where else can you get a livermush sandwich and a SunDrop cola? Huh?

 

[heels95]

Ummm! I wish I could have a fried livermush sandwich now. Don't forget the Cheerwine too.

 

[T1bubba]

US Airways inflight magazine last month had basically what amounted to a 20+ page ad for Charlotte...it seems there's quite a bit more going on there lately. Both the north and south end are starting to become more lively, and the north Davidson arts district is kind of a cool area. I saw a concert there a couple years ago in a renovated former porn theater, it made for an interesting venue.

As for uptown, according to the magazine it's called that because it's built on a hill (though not much of one). Of course, I lived there for almost ten years and never knew that...

Charlotte has always had tons of Yankees living there, in high school only two of us out of my seven best friends were born in the Carolinas.

Charlotte is a great place to live overall. It's one of two places I enjoy enough to consider commuting just to live there. I may end up there one of these days.

Enjoy your trip and good luck with the job hunt.

T1
ahhhh, Cheerwine....

 

[typhoonpilot]

Wow Snakum, what did I say to provoke that response ? I always thought you were a fairly rational poster on this board. Guess I was wrong.

Looks like a lot of people agreed with what I said as well.

Typhoonpilot

P.S. I'm not a yankee, but thanks for the offer of gas money

 

[Mongolikecandy]

I used to live in Matthews, NC (about a minute outside the CLT city limits) there isn't a day that goes by that we don't wish we were back there. No it isn't a big city but to parrot what everyone else has said, it feels like a big small town and there is something to be said for that.
And, once you filter out all of the NASCAR crap (sorry race fans), you see that there is actually a little bit of culture there. (as opposed to central Florida) Fell free to PM with any ?s.

 

[RJlifer]

Hey flychicaga, where's your Anna avatar?? It still holds the #1 spot for all time best avatar in my book!!

 

[RJlifer]

Bummer, Darn censors. Where are we?? The Ukraine??

 

[BoxFlyr]

cheerwine and vanilla ice cream, YUM!

 

[Snakum]

Apologies Typhoon ... I guess I went off on a rant. But a couple of your statements really hit a nerve and maybe I should explain why ...

For almost thirteen years I have worked in Engineering, consultation, and management in various manufacturing industries and as a developer or manager in the IT industry. Most of this time was/is spent in the RTP or Triad area of NC. As early as 1991 (back home, right out of the military, going to school and working nights as a QA tech) I noticed that every third person I met in Raleigh was from Ohio, New York, or West Virginia. As the years wore on and I noticed more and more folks in the endless 'stuffy' offices of RTP were all from north of the Mason-Dixon, or worse still ... from South Florida . That, in itself, is a VERY GOOD THING for North Carolina and has gone a long way toward helping eradicate the racist, weed-chewing, dumba$$ hillbilly image most had of this area twenty years ago, an image that all too often IN SOME AREAS, was well-deserved.

However ... if I had a dollar for every time I had to listen to an arrogant, narrow-minded immigree spout off about 'backward red-necked locals' or lack of sophistication, nightlife etc. I could PFT at Gulfstream Academy with the proceeds. I have absolutely no regional accent and no one knows that I was (proudly) born and raised here. So they think they're talking to a fellow carpet-bagger and begin to spew the most narrow-minded, arrogant drivel you've ever heard. I heard it in office breakrooms, at parties, in clubs, in the gym. Everywhere. It wasn't everyone, but it was such a significant number of people doing it that my perception began to form that MOST Yankees probably did it from time-to-time. I put up with it for years until my patience and generally laid-back demeanor were both wearing thin. I began calling them on the BS (even managers and owners) and letting them know, in often quite colorful terms, that indeed "I-77/95 goes both ways ... you need gas money?".

I was proudly born and raised here and have paid state taxes since I was fourteen, even when I was in the military. Though I have lived in Europe, Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania and (god help me) West Virginia ... NC is home and I am proud of my state and my fellow North Carolinians, and I am also proud that we have shed the narrow-minded, bigotted, myopic view of the world that brought out the worst in us many years ago. We have beautiful beaches, gorgeous mountains, four distinct seasons, friendly and courteous people, museums, art galleries, excellent schools (NCSU rated as a top ten Engineering school for over a decade, Duke and WFU in law and medicine), bass fishing, billfishing, ACC ball, aviation, NASCAR (you know you're envious ), and just about everything else under the sun. The best part is our people. We're just plain old friendly. My girlfriend (from Miami)was talking just a couple weeks ago about her initial shock that strangers would strike up conversations with her while in line at the grocery store. That's how we are ... we're friendly, warm, and open. We open doors for, and quickly excuse the slip of mild profanity in front of, ladies. We have (most of us) retained the things that made us special and discarded the things that made us rubes.

Sooooooooooo to finish up, we think we're pretty OK and that we have one of the best little states in this great nation of ours. It ain't everyone's cup of tea ... and I can appreciate that. But we vote with our feet don't we? Considering how many people have been piling in here for the last fifteen or twenty years, we must be doing something right, we must have something going for us. So if you want to come here and live and work and raise a family and be part of the community ... come on down! We'd love to have you. But if you have to complain about every perceived slight or lack maybe you need to stay where you are. When I lived in a tiny village near Wurzburg Germany, where no one spoke English, there were no stores, and everything was completely foreign to me ... I didn't go around bad-mouthing every little thing. I learned the lingo, met my neighbors, participated in the community and when I left three years later it was the hardest thing I had ever had to do. Schnepfenbach had become my home and my neighbors had become my family.

But I just missed the smell of pine trees and tobacco fields on a Sunday afternoon ride on the Wide Glide too much.

Apologies to all ...

Minh

 

[Snakum]

Oh ... and FlyChicaga ... next time you're down gimme a buzz and I'll show you what real BBQ is. There are loads of charter companies, there's freight companies, there's a little of everything aviation related and you never know what you might stir up 'round here. Hell ... you can stay at my place while you're lookin'.

We'd love to have ya'll down fer supper, FlyChicaga!

Minh