I often find myself having a somewhat difficult time explaining to others exactly what Knowing Charlotte is. That might be because I am still figuring it out for myself. But I think if you want to get anything out of the site it would be worth while to take a peek behind the curtain and learn a little bit about it's inspiration, it's future direction and the lowly wizard (yep, that's me) half-assing it all along the way.


the site

To be honest, there is no telling what the condition of this site will be at any given moment. It's not like I'm being particularly meticulous in how I'm running it. But you'll at least get an idea about what my intentions are and what I hope to achieve... READ ON >>>


the city

Unless you're from Charlotte, I don't think you have much of an image of the city in mind. If you are from Charlotte, it's probably as accurate as a broken watch... READ ON >>>



a brief introduction....

There can be something magical about a good vacation in a distant city: travel is effortless, accommodations are exemplary if not unforgettable and the sights are nothing short of wondrous. The people are friendly, the food divine. If you weren't stuck with a mortgage, two daycare payments and a one-eared basset with bladder control issues you'd figure out a way to sell everything you left at home and set up permanent residence in your newly discovered territory.

And at some point of the trip, well before you're tucking away your carry on and rollaway luggage in the overhead ben for the return flight, or before that final sweep of the hotel room that still doesn't prevent you from leaving your cell phone charger behind, or maybe even before the last call from the last bar on the last night- at some point you think to yourself, "If only we had this at home."




(If you are reading this and currently live in Charlotte, you probably know what I'm talking about. But if you live in oh, say, New York or L.A., you're probably thinking your city already has everything there is to offer. I'd argue that there are a few islands in both the Atlantic and the Pacific that would beg to differ. There's always something better.)

Now, I have certainly experienced this from time to time. I think we all have. In some regard it is just a manifestation of "the grass is always greener" axiom, a romanticized interpretation perceived through a veil of travel euphoria. An oasis that is, at the same, time someone else's back yard- definitely not neglected but perhaps overlooked. In my case that disregarded expanse is Charlotte. While familiar and bearing the comforts of home, I won't hesitate to confess that there are portions of the locale as foreign to me as the valleys of the Mojave.

While I suppose I could just as easily continue in the somewhat myopic manner in which I take to the streets of Charlotte, frequenting familiar restaurants and traveling the same routes day after day, there is a part of me hoping to kindle that exhilarating feeling of discovery often reserved for far-flung destinations. This site is not only the product of that desire, but a tool to guarantee its fulfillment.

And I am hoping that you will join me.