How Charlotte shaped me
Pt. 1 of cities that shaped, molded, and made me
I’m so grateful to have called many cities “home.”
Or, where I’ve spent a long stretch of time (like a month or more), and where I owned homes, rented apartments, and kept clothes and furniture.
Some of it was luck, some my own pluck.
You see, I believe half your luck in life is decided for you the day you’re born.
Then, the rest is up to you and what you do for yourself: how you exercise your free will, your determination, hard work, and ambition—no one can take that away from you.
It makes sense then that I start this series about “how certain cities made me” with the city where I grew up: Charlotte, North Carolina.
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So, how and why Charlotte?
Note that I was born in Taipei, Taiwan.
In the ‘80s, my father was offered and accepted a teaching position at Johnson C. Smith University, an HBCU (a historically black college/university).
Before that, he taught and studied for his graduate degree in computer science at Rutgers University and NJIT in Newark, New Jersey.
And before that, he was a professor of engineering at universities in Taiwan.
Once he got settled in NJ, the rest of the family—mom, brother, and I—immigrated over to the U.S.
For a second, I really thought I would grow up in NJ, with easy access to New York City on the weekends. Wooo!
But that wasn’t to be.
Where’s the Toys R Us
Charlotte was a sleepy place back in the ‘80s.
“Where’s the Toys R Us,” my brother and I exclaimed, loudly, when we first arrived.
The city wasn’t the banking and financial behemoth that it is today, home of Bank of America and Truist, and prime centers for Wells Fargo, and eventually Chase.
Over the past decade property prices have skyrocketed, with homes in the most desirable areas in the I-485 perimeter upward of $750,000.
As a teenager, I remember being driven around for dance lessons, and then driving myself through gorgeous, leafy neighborhoods like Myers Park on my way to violin lessons, and to Charlotte Youth Symphony rehearsals.
Those old, formidable neighborhoods are still around, with the same massive trees and plush lawns.
Where old homes’ front facades haven’t been refaced, they’ve been torn down entirely and replaced with modern homes, some contemporary, others made to look old.
My family’s first apartment was in a “nice” area.
Then it became the “rough part of town,” and now it’s nice again, part of gentrified condos in the bustling Plaza Midwood area.
The South Charlotte neighborhoods adjacent to the Arboretum shopping center, from where I went to middle and high schools, are also still there. They’re the epitome of middle- to upper-class suburbia, with access to excellent public schools.
What did I do as a bored kid and teenager?
I suppose what most kids do in the ‘burbs: extracurriculars and hanging out with friends brought together over shared musical tastes and athletic pursuits.
I attended ballet lessons and dance competitions, and was a cheerleader in middle school.
I played violin but I also went to live punk, metal, rock and straightedge shows at The Milestone (still there) and Tremont Music Hall (no longer there).
I definitely went through an alterna-girl emo phase where I wore dark clothes and listened to The Cure, Dead Kennedys, The Misfits, and lots of metal.
Growing up, there wasn’t much racial diversity in Charlotte; there was only a small Taiwanese community of families that would gather during the holidays.
Today, there’s a a huge Greek community, and an influx of people from Central and South America, mainland China, and southeast Asia.
Charlotte is now considered—dare I say—a hip and on-the-rise southern city?
It’s nice to see your hometown making progress and not the other way around.
The shopping and restaurants are on par with big cities, likely thanks to the New York transplants who demand fine dining and shopping.
There is an ALO Yoga at the nice mall, folks.
There are and have been professional sports.
I liked it enough to get a second home here to split time with Miami, and to take advantage of being close to my family, and it's been fun.
In fact it's been so fun rediscovering my hometown that I started writing about the growing food scene.
If I spend long enough of a stretch in the city, a southern twang starts coming out.
Finally, I do think Charlotte is one of the best places to be if you’re a single, young, professional in the south, because new neighborhoods like South End were made for this demographic.
Netflix’s “Love is Blind” is like a 24/7 advertisement for Charlotte’s young singles scene.
But back then, because Charlotte was so sleepy, by the time I turned 18 I was ready to get out of town.
That summer, I worked at South Park Mall (the nice one) at a high-end men’s neckwear shop across from Godiva Chocolatier, in addition to my parents’ restaurant, to save up for college.
Next stop? Chapel Hill, NC.
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Until next time,
Shindy
On Instagram + TikTok
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*Today I’m starting a monthly city series about how certain cities shaped, molded, and made me. One week out of each month for the next 4 or 5 months I’ll dedicate a letter to a city where I’ve lived for a longer stretch.
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