North Carolina
Charlotte,
North Carolina is renowned as the most popular vacation
destination in the Carolinas, Charlotte greets its visitors
with exquisite beauty and mild weather year-round. This
multiple award-winning city features several distinct
neighborhoods that include the Arboretum, Ballantyne, Myers
Park,
NoDa, Steele Creek, University City and
Uptown. Popular attractions in Charlotte include the
Carolina Raptor Center,
Children’s Theater of Charlotte,
Discovery Place,
Levine Museum of the New South,
The Mint Museums,
Paramount Carowinds,
Reed Gold Mine,
U.S. National Whitewater Center and the
Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary.
Charlotte, the “Queen City” of the South, takes its name in honor of
Queen Charlotte, the wife of
King George III of the
United Kingdom. Located in the
Carolina Piedmont Region, Charlotte is the largest city
in NC and the largest city between
Atlanta and
Washington DC. The
Census 2000 reported the Charlotte population as
540,828; however, 2005 estimates indicate the population is
closer to 611,000. Charlotte is also part of a larger
metropolitan area called “Metrolina” that spans counties in
both North and
South Carolina and was home to more than 1.5 million
inhabitants in 2005.
As the seat of
Mecklenburg County, Charlotte features a booming economy
with a strategic location that poises the city as a
significant center of distribution. Charlotte lies in close
proximity to the crossroads of Interstates
77 and
85 and at the convergence of the two largest railways in
the
U.S.,
CSX Transportation and
Norfolk Southern. The Charlotte Metropolitan Area is
home to more than 2,000 manufacturing businesses and ranks
as the
nation’s second largest financial center. In addition,
nearly 500 foreign-owned businesses call Charlotte home,
while the headquarters of several
Fortune 500 companies such as
Bank of America,
Lowes and
Wachovia operate from within Charlotte.
Charlotte’s
amateur and professional sporting events are sure to please
any sports enthusiast. The
NFL’s
Carolina Panthers play in the Bank of America Stadium in
Uptown Charlotte, where the
NCAA’s
Meineke Car Care Bowl commences each December. The
Charlotte Bobcats, an
NBA expansion team, play in the
Charlotte Bobcats Arena downtown, while the
Charlotte Checkers,
Eagles,
Outlawz and the
Triple-A Charlotte Knights also call Charlotte home.
Charlotte is home to the headquarters of the
Big South Conference. In addition, Charlotte serves as
a major hub of the American motorsports industry and is home
to
Lowes Motor Speedway and numerous
NASCAR offices. More than 75% of the NASCAR industry’s
employees and drivers base their operations within a two
hours drive of downtown Charlotte. In early 2009 the
NASCAR Hall of Fame will open in Charlotte.
Charlotte,
NC operates numerous outstanding public schools at the
primary and secondary levels and a wide variety of private
and parochial schools. Students seeking higher education
have their choice of numerous colleges and universities that
serve the Charlotte area. These include such fine
facilities as
Kings College,
Queens University of Charlotte,
University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the
Charlotte campus of
Wake Forest University. Newspapers serving the region
include the
Charlotte Observer, the
Charlotte Post and the local edition of the
Rhinoceros Times.
Charlotte,
North Carolina boasts historic roots, Southern charm,
and a bustling, contemporary city. Residents enjoy a
well-balanced lifestyle with myriad opportunities for
career, education and recreation.
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