I’m about to graduate college. Is Charlotte the right town for me?
As graduation draws near, college seniors around the nation are faced with a looming question: What’s next? Like many of my peers, I will be taking my first foray into full-time professional life in a few short months. The transition out of college life presents a formidable list of decisions, beyond just finding a job. Deciding where I live is at the top of mine.
I grew up in Charlotte; I’m nearly a lifelong resident. I love my city and the life I was able to have because I lived there. Now, for the first time in my life, I am able to choose something different. Never before have I had to truly reflect on my values and understand how my location impacts my happiness and lifestyle. I must answer a very simple question: Should I stay or should I go?
I’ve decided that connectivity is the key factor in any place I would potentially move. There are other factors, including availability of housing, state taxes and climate, but the ability to traverse the city easily is critical. My priorities: flexibility in choosing my location within the city, not having to own a car, and getting a richer experience living in my new town.
I thought of New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Seattle as cities that met my criteria in some way. All four left a lot to be desired when it came to affordability, housing availability, and growing homeless populations.
Before tackling such an important decision, I needed better perspective on whether Charlotte can offer what I want. My experience there would be different as a young adult than as a kid, and I found it difficult to separate those experiences. I decided to get clarity and broaden my perspective by asking two friends.
Kean Farhani is a Charlotte native and senior at N.C. State University. Ben Dameron of Atlanta is a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill.
In Farhani’s eyes, one of the greatest things about Charlotte is the sports culture. Professional football, soccer and basketball teams are a uniting factor for everybody in the city. Unfortunately, being a part of that is a challenge when you can’t easily get to games.
The stadiums are located uptown, forcing fans to sit through waves of traffic and enter a battle royale to find a parking spot. Farhani lauded the light-rail system uptown, but just as quickly noted how limited its reach is.
“The light rail is mainly focused towards the uptown Charlotte area, but expanding that further out, establishing it in more suburban parts of Charlotte, will be life changing for a lot of people,” he said. Not only would it make it easier for fans to cheer on the Hornets, it would allow people to shirk the expense of owning a car. To Dameron that could be a selling point for a move to the Queen City.
He loved growing up in Atlanta with endless opportunities, all sorts of different people, new things to see on each block. Like Charlotte, though, Atlanta faces its own battle in reconciling a growing city with the needs of its citizens.
“There are a lot of people and while that can be like a benefit, it can also be a downside, “ Dameron said. “Traffic was super, super bad all the time, and there’s no other way to get around.” But he added that improved public transportation, more opportunities for cyclists, a bigger budget for public transportation were alluring to him.
As Charlotte morphs into a true metropolis, there are numerous challenges that accompany such rapid growth. In a nation notorious for car-centric cities, Charlotte has a real opportunity to set itself apart.
By becoming the only city in the southeast with a substantial public transport system, Charlotte could alleviate traffic by taking cars off the road, allowing residents to skip owning a car, and offer a clean, cheap and reliable method to move around the city. Plans to extend the light rail deeper into the suburbs are commendable, but they aren’t moving quickly enough.
In the eyes of college seniors looking to relocate, Charlotte could become a clean, affordable New York City, or a less sprawling Chicago with friendlier winters. For me, all it takes is a more extensive train system.