Mailbag: Top 40 feedback letters including notes on Ricky Bobby, reverse-angle parking and suburban living

In response to: Thank you Lord Baby Jesus for this Lake Norman mansion: Ricky Bobby’s Talladega Nights home asks $4.2 million

“I think we might have to buy this ‘shake and bake!'” – A

“First thing I’d do is re-vegetate that artificial shoreline.” – J

“Ha! I went to a party in that house once, I didn’t know it was the house in the movie!” – J

In response to: A Charlotte custom builder is betting on luxury attached homes — just don’t call them duplexes

Charlotte a bit late on this “trend”. Got some in my neighborhood and they were build about a decade ago. Marketed to older couples who needed to downsize from their single family home after children left the nest. – D

“First time I saw this was on Princeton and sterling. Was interesting to me, don’t I could do it, especially for that price.” – P

In response to: What’s behind a Charlottean’s push to get everyone in Charlotte CPR certified

“About a year ago you (wrote a story that drove turnout to a CPR event) – since that event a few of my friends have also done certification events. I know of at least two situations now that two people’s lives have been saved because of the lessons learned during the certification events. One just happened a week ago when a woman had to give her daughter the Heimlich. Thanks for helping to make a change.” – A

In response to: Reverse-angle parking is still the worst

“Got it, you suck at backing up and therefore what is considered safer for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as provides more parking spaces is considered – the worst.” – J

“I like it. I think it’s a great compromise to add street parking when economy of space is important. Unfamiliar? Sure. So are Figure 8 intersections. Charlotte area has many and needs more (hello, Sunset Road anyone… What a joke of of an interstate interchange that is). We need to embrace the unfamiliar if we’re going to achieve walkability, modern development AND co-exist with cars that like it or not are absolutely a fact of life.” – A

“Are you seriously complaining about free street parking in one of the city’s most popular neighborhoods because the method is inconvenient? #FirstWorldProblems” – M

“Go down to Matthews on a busy day and park on the street and tell me how easy it is to back into wall-to-wall cars.” – T

“You shouldn’t complain about the reverse-angle parking, its not anybody’s fault that bad drivers just can’t handle it. If people don’t park there anymore, good. Then the people that actually know how to drive can have the spots.” – F

“They hired a rapper living in DC to rap about it! ‘Most Charlotte thing Charlotte has ever done in the history of Charlotte’ hahahahahahaha. Soooo Charlotte!” – A

“My biggest gripe is that by the time you pull forward enough to back in, the next car back has pulled up too close and is blocking your spot. Happens to me every time.” – J

In response to: Want to escape sports bars? Dot Dot Dot, the screen-free speakeasy, debuting $8 Sunday cocktails and break-even bottle October 1

“Manners are coming back in style! Best rules I’ve seen in a long time….much better than ” No Shirt No Service” and #6 is might be my favorite! Cannot wait to join and meet other adults.” – P

In response to: SouthBound launches with blockbuster start, but food isn’t meeting certain expectations

“Does it matter? No, because it’s in southend. 🐑” 

“The least surprising thing I’ve read in a while is that idiots in Charlotte are disappointed because a new restaurant doesn’t fit exactly what they already have. If anyone out there is thinking about opening a restaurant in Charlotte, make sure you abide by these 3 rules and you will be a success: (1) Have large portions – Newsflash, no one needs a full, family-sized sabra hummus as simply the base of a meal at Yafo or a burrito the size of an overinflated football at Sabor. But that won’t stop people from complaining about PORTION SIZE!!!!! while their BMI continues to equal their age. (2) Make it taste like s*** – I’m sorry, make it taste like whatever salt-based concoction I am used to from a chain restaurant. And if you walk into a restaurant expecting one thing and it’s clearly not that thing, don’t get pissed because your expectations were completely off base. (3) Make it unrealistically cheap – good ingredients cost money, good employees cost money. If you are used to eating a taco for $1 maybe you should think about what $1 actually buys – not much. When I didn’t live in Charlotte and returned for holidays I always wondered why the restaurant scene sucked compared to cities of comparable size (and even much smaller cities). What I’ve learned is that most of the people here think tons of salt and large portions = quality. Ask yourself why Charlotte has had a culinary school for over a decade and is still the 4th or 5th best city in North Carolina for restaurants. It’s not the quality of student coming out of culinary school or a lack of capital to open a restaurant, it’s the s***ty palates that live here and complain online until every restaurant tastes the same.” – S

More responses on Facebook and Instagram.

In response to: Living in the city is cool, but are the suburbs cooler? I’m torn.

“With people fleeing to the suburbs, there better be a discussion on infrastructure. The two lane road I live off of in Charlotte can’t handle the traffic on it now, much less the 100 houses currently being built on it.” – E

“I’m in the suburbs right now due to circumstances. I’ve lived in uptown. I’d go back to uptown living in a heartbeat. So would my kids.” – C

“This lifestyle dependent right? If all your doing is touching down for a few minutes in between work and breweries to feed the dog you keep for Instagram purposes paying $1,700 a month for 700 square feet is fine. If you have kids though you have to stay home to drink and you’re going to need plenty of different rooms to do it in. Suburbs it is!” – W

“I live in suburbia because my parents moved us here to get away from CMS, and I will not have my kids attend CMS schools. I would consider living in the city once my kids are out of high school.” – D

“My bank account is a lot cooler after moving to the better value cost of living suburbs.” – E

“Most of Charlotte feels suburban anyway. It is not like there is a huge difference between the two.” – M

“Did the suburbs life and love my urban life now. You have to love being in your car for suburbs.” – T

“I’m a single millennial. I moved to the burbs….and I love it. As fun and exciting as uptown or south end can be, every visit I have there now always leaves me stressed out and exhausted. You’re always within earshot of some drunk bros yelling about something, parking sucks, you can’t go for a walk without almost getting run over by a car, bike, or jogger with a dog leash trip-line, everything costs more, you’re a couple wrong turns away from ending up in an area you really wish you weren’t in after dark, and everything seems to need a “game plan” before you do it… from exercises to hanging out with friends to running errands. In the burbs I have everything I need on a daily basis nearby, space, peace and quiet, and if there is something going on uptown, well… I’ll be there in half an hour. Or maybe I’m just turning into an old fart.” – L

“Living in the suburbs IS cool! Matthews is so cool…it’s safe, clean, affordable and there is so much going on. I prefer the slower pace (much like Brakeman’s does!!) and enjoy the family friendly environment that comes along with the suburbs. I never have to pay for parking, I can walk everywhere, and the people at the dry cleaners, the library and the coffee shop know my name and I know theirs.” – S

In response to: Suburbs may be getting cooler, but they will never, ever be as cool as the city

“Charlotte reminds me of what Dallas must have been like 40 years ago.” – A

“You are correct in saying Davidson and Matthews are not suburbs. They are ‘exurbs.’ An exurb is defined by Merriam-Webster as being ‘a region or settlement that lies outside a city and usually beyond its suburbs, typically inhabited chiefly by well-to-do families.’ So, depending on how strictly you adhere to that definition, we know right away that the following are DEFINITELY exurbs: – Davidson – Cornelius Concord, Kannapolis, Belmont, Huntersville, Matthews, Fort Mill, Waxhaw, Weddington, Mooresville, all of these are basically “exurbs,” which as described in the article are basically towns and even in a couple of cases cities that are basically on track to be ‘eaten’ by Charlotte by virtue of existing within driveable proximity to its core and thereby forming part of its metro area.”

“I grew up in downtown Savannah and adjacent Ardsley Park (think Plaza Midwood or Dilworth) and walked to both my elementary and high schools. Both are public charter schools and very highly ranked. My elementary school was a public Montessori Academy and my high school (The Savannah Arts Academy) is the third highest ranked public high school in Georgia and 111 nationally. My HS required a B average to even get in and if you fell below a B you were moved to another school. Also my HS required a rigorous interview and portfolio process to enter. It’s still a center city school so it was fairly diverse with about 40% of students being minorities (to this day it is the most diverse school in the County public school system). These two schools have made the downtown Savannah and Ardsley Park areas extremely desirable places to live for young families not wanting to leave the city and have great schools nearby. Is this an option for Charlotte?” – D

In response to: Halal Food Cart’s $6 Chicken and Lamb Combo makes me want to wait in that Uptown line each day

“It’s legit! Closest thing to Halal Guys in our backyard… #cracksauce #ThatRedSauceTho.” – T

“Watch out for the guy in the picture. He yells at you if you step out of the defined line after you order. Kind of like a power hungry middle school hall monitor. The spicy chicken and lamb combo is gooooooooooood though.” – R

In response to: 3 incredibly cute homes priced $169k-262k further justify why those cool friends moved to Belmont

“Please stop telling the ‘cool kids’ to move here as we need this little piece of heaven to ourselves lol.” – M

“Shhhh, we love our little town, let’s keep it a little known secret, shall we?” – N

“Until you hit that 5pm traffic on 85, it was enough for me to move to Charlotte.” – J

In response to: Rent will start at $3,400 per month at these boutique apartments under construction in Eastover

“Who are all of these people who can afford these rents? Do they have 5 roommates? I’m just saying I’d by a big a$& house on the lake before I pay that much for rent.” – K

“Right. Because people who spend money like that cook enough to use six-burner stoves. GTFOH.” – M

“Everyone needs to just say no to this kind of rent, if no one rents them at that price then they will drop it. If people pay it here then other apartment complexes will be raising their rent!” – J

In response to: Is the LoSo name too powerful to be stopped?

“Maybe they would prefer South of SOuthEnd – SoSo!” – F

“Yes, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is dumb and contrived.” – J

“Does everything have to get a quirky name? How about The Lower End?” – A

“The reason why “LoSo” sounds stupid is that it is a blanket attempt at trying to ride on the coattails of how successful the “NoDa” name is. It screams “we don’t have any creativity so we’ll just try to copy NoDa” and it doesn’t live up to the hype. LoSo will forever be “Oh, like NoDa, but not?” – F

In response to: How much money do Charlotte’s top nonprofits put back into their programs?

“I realize you are merely synthesizing the Charity Navigator numbers, but ANY look at a non-profit’s numbers, without regard to their IMPACT, is dangerous and irresponsible. Yes, an agency has income of $xyz and their CEO’s salary is $abc. But how many lives have they changed? How many outcomes have they improved? I am willing to pay an executive director 5% of the expenses if they are creating change in people’s lives. Looking at the dollars is only a small part of the equation. How about the people being helped? How many come in the door and need help and get it? How many are still okay a year later? How high are their standards? Are they accredited? How do they perform based on their peers? THAT’S how I make MY charitable decisions.” – M

In response to: How to spend the perfect 12 hours in adorable Davidson, just 30 minutes from Charlotte

“If you’re going to suggest mountain biking at any trail, including Fisher Farms, you should link to the Tarheel Trailblazer website. The group is an almost 30 year old local mountain biking club that has lobbied for, built, and maintained more than 110 miles of trails within Mecklenburg County since its inception. They maintain a trail condition list so riders can know if the trails are open or not.” – G