10 Reasons Why Charlotte Is Not Boring

The ‘Charlotte Is Boring’ slogan has been around for a while now, but maybe people are just jealous of the place they call The Queen City! And although some may agree there was a bit of truth in the saying a few decades ago, considering the city’s reputation as a place to work rather than party, now it has even more to offer residents and visitors alike.

Charlotte is the largest and most visited town in North Carolina and is situated in the Piedmont region, which encompasses pleasant green hills and areas with great employment opportunities. The city is indeed famous for banking—which may not seem thrilling at first glance, though the industry can certainly be exciting enough for those who understand it—but it also offers plenty of places to visit and opportunities for spending those hard-earned dollars.

First up, Charlotte is the most important center for motorsports in the country, with the majority of the NASCAR industry’s personnel based here, the only Formula 1 team in the US, plus a speedway stadium and many drag racing crews as well. If that doesn’t convince you that this town knows how to have fun, head into the city center after a Panthers game and you might find quite a lot of reveling!

1. Jazz, Rock, Classical—There’s Music for All Tastes in Charlotte!

The Epicenter in Uptown—Charlotte doesn’t actually have a ‘downtown’—is a renowned place for bars and for partying, and you can catch a concert at the Tin Roof venue while you’re there. Also in Uptown is The Jazz Room, showcasing the coolest vibes, while the Milestone Club once saw bands like R.E.M. and Nirvana back in their early days. The Bojangles Coliseum hosts big name acts and the AvidXChange houses two music venues, The Fillmore and the smaller Underground. For classical fans there is the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Opera Carolina and Charlotte Ballet.

2. Shop Until You Drop, Or Until You Find Something Nobody Else Has!

Charlotteans like to go shopping with what they’ve earned back at the office. The SouthPark Mall to the south of town is the city’s oldest and still one of the region’s biggest, while Northlake Mall is to the north and Carolina Place Mall is to the southwest. In addition, there are smaller shopping complexes. Many neighborhoods have their own range of boutiques and specialty shops—for example there’s Bartique in the NoDa Neighborhood where you can shop for some very special ladies apparel, and then for the men there’s The Rat’s Nest with the most outrageous cowboy boots you will ever see!

3. Major League Sport…. and Not So Major League!

As befits the second-largest city in the southeastern US, Charlotte packs a big punch in terms of sport—and not just the petrol-head variety. The Carolina Panthers play in the NFL football league while the Charlotte Hornets are in the NBA basketball league. The Charlotte Checkers play in the American Hockey League, the Charlotte Knights play minor league baseball, and starting in 2021 the city will field a team in the country’s premier soccer league. At the other end of the spectrum, the craze known as bubble soccer can be played here—no experience required!

4. The Streets Are Buzzing as Electric Scooters Take Charlotte by Storm

Although Charlotte tends to be thought of as a car drivers’ city, electric scooters were introduced in March, 2018 and have been a great success, having made more than 82,000 trips and having covered a similar number of miles by the end of that year. Scooter users and car drivers alike may be pleased to hear that riding on sidewalks is allowed, except in parts of Uptown. This fashionable form of transport may not be entirely ‘carbon neutral,’ but they can go some way to help lessen pollution and traffic congestion, which is good news all round.

5. Charlotte for Beach Life? Yes, Why Not!

Charlotte may be more than 170 miles from the Carolinas’ coasts, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a day swimming and sunbathing on soft sand! There is beautiful Myrtle Beach and several others in the Wilmington area, while Wrightsville Beach is renowned for surfing and Kure Beach has a boardwalk and a famous old pier. If you don’t fancy the drive, try Lake Norman, only 40 miles north of Charlotte, with its newly renovated swim areas. Even nearer, 13 miles from Uptown, is the Carowinds amusement park, with rides for kids and relaxing opportunities for their parents.

6. The Renaissance Festival—the Queen City Knows It’s History

Charlotte got its grand nickname from the wife of Britain’s King George III. The Renaissance fair phenomenon is largely an American invention, however, and is a delight to anybody even remotely interested in how life was in Olde England. The Carolina Renaissance Festival at Huntersville, just north of Charlotte, is up there with the best. It spreads over eight weekends in the fall and in 2017 it hosted 210,000 people. There are 14 stages showcasing musicians, jugglers and circus acts, plus a variety of medieval-themed food and drink—imagine giant turkey legs and spiced pumpkin ale!

7. A Rich and Varied Restaurant Scene from Noodles to Nachos

This brings us onto food, and Central Avenue and South Blvd. in particular have mouthwatering arrays of ethnic restaurants. Abugiba offers Ethiopian food—and a rather special coffee ceremony—while Crispy Banh Mi is the place for Vietnamese cuisine, and then there’s the Bosnian refugee who fled a war—try his cevapi, which are small sausages served in flatbread. Sabor has no fewer than twelve restaurants in the Queen City, serving authentic Latin American street food to all-comers.

8. Charlotte Is a Home for Heroes…. Of All Descriptions

One of the most important periods of population grown in Charlotte’s history was during the First World War. The 40,000 soldiers housed here at Camp Greene were roughly equal in number to the city’s population at the time, and many stayed after the war to help urbanize the nearby land. Heroes of a slightly different kind can be found at the famous ‘Heroes Convention’ held every June for comic book enthusiasts; and to prove that the organizers also fit the hero category, the convention has a reputation of contributing to various charities. Heroes all!

9. Because There’s No Prohibition in Charlotte

Except there is, in the form of a bar that goes by that name, styled after the period of US history between the world wars when it was forbidden to sell alcohol. This Uptown bar has decor made from reclaimed wood and tin from local barns. And this appears to be a theme in Charlotte, as Dot Dot Dot in Montford is another popular choice designed in a similar style—and it’s definitely not bathtub moonshine they’re serving! Of the numerous other places also serving such drinks, Crunkleton in Chapel Hill specializes in serving pre-Prohibition era cocktails.

10. Charlotte Lets Your Imagination Fly

Wilbur and Orville Wright came all the way from Ohio to test the world’s first successful airplane at Kitty Hawk on the North Carolina coast. Their original hanger is still there and the visitor center details the brothers’ exploits—it’s a great day out from Charlotte. Not far in the other direction is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited in the US. But Charlotte itself also has plenty to offer that will spark the imagination: the NASCAR Hall of Fame, an aquarium, a Smithsonian-affiliated aviation museum, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and much more besides.

In short, it appears that there is plenty to do and see in Charlotte. In fact, it may offer the best of all worlds, with its stable employment market, its relatively reasonable property prices, and yet also plenty to keep both adults and children entertained. The city is also known as “The Hornet’s Nest,” and it seems that it’s buzzing these days! If you’re transferring to the city and are just waiting to move into your splendid new property, you should consider renting some self-storage to keep your belongings in until they have a new home—search on RentCafe to find the perfect unit for your needs.