This is part of an ongoing series titled Mailbag, items readers submit via email or our feedback form. We get a ton of feedback, this is not close to everything (it’s about 2%), but it’s a good sample.
In response to: Cash Confessional – A week of spending in Charlotte on a $180,000 salary
“Impressive. This girl is going places.” – A
“I clearly chose the wrong profession.” – Y
“24 and a healthcare sales rep? How?” – N
“$84 for nails?!? Is it a solid gold manicure?” – L
“Give away 10% of my gross income.’ Let me know where I can send my Venmo account name to” – S
“Is she single …. Asking for a friend” – V
“Why are any of us wondering anymore why health care is so expensive even for minor services.” – E
“I adore this girl, her diligence, and her haters.” – F
“Good job!! Everyone acts like they can’t do it – even my youngest teacher daughter who works three jobs, puts quite a bit in her 401K, saves money, and enjoys life (when she’s not working).” – M
“But seriously, I love to hate this series.” – I
In response to: New luxury apartments offering massive deals as Charlotte apartment market hits turning point
“New properties always offer incentives in the first year or so, it is a way to lease up the property quickly so that developers can start making a profit off their investments. Nothing crazy or concerning about it.” – A
“Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd” – J
In response to: Shake Shack will open Thursday, April 26 at 11 a.m.
“OMG it’s coming to Charlotte” – A
Way overrated. Never seen folks so excited for a chain restaurant. – E
“OMG! We love it! They have one in Atlanta and we just ate at the one in NYC! Yum” – S
“As a Charlotte native I will continue to support locally owned burger places like Mr.K’s, Zack’s, Brooks, Comet Grill, Park Road Soda Shop and South 21. Good luck Shake Shack I will give you a try.” – C
“GO TO THIS! This is in NYC and it’s sooooo good” – H
In response to: Actually, dockless bikes don’t suck
“Ted, have you ever seen the dockless bike carnage on a Saturday or Sunday morning? It’s as though a drunken horde of people dropped their pants and pooped bicycles all over the sidewalks of Uptown and South End, leaving their litter for others to clean.” – G
“There is no way Charlotte will become a bike transportation leader, dockless bikes or not, without the infrastructure and mindset of a bike friendly community. Bike lanes are scarce, randomly start and stop, traffic is horrendous, drivers do not know how to behave around bikes, and there aren’t a lot of places to even lock a bike. We live in a city where drivers don’t even realize that they’re supposed to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks or students getting onto a school bus.” – N
“I don’t believe the 2,000 number. I swear I’ve counted about 40,000 bikes thrown all over the place in the city.” – J
“They launched at a horrible time. Should have held off and started dropping bikes last month. Would have gotten a way better response.” – N
“The benefits of these dockless bikes far outweigh any costs/inconveniences/etc. I hope the dockless bikes are here to stay.” – J
“Yeah, they don’t suck…. unless you’re a person who uses a wheelchair and the bikes are crowding the sidewalk, forcing you off of the sidewalk (at a point with no curb cut) into traffic.” – B
“86,000 rides over 150 days averages 573 rides per day. Which means that on an average day, nearly 3/4 of the 2,000 bikes remain unused. And it’s probably even higher than 3/4 since some bikes are getting repeat uses. Sure people are using the bikes, but there are way too many sitting around unused. If our hotel occupancy or apartment occupancy was 25%, no one would be celebrating a win.” – K
“They do suck when they’re strewn all over the ground or literally stacked in piles at the park (and no, that isn’t an exaggeration). When they’re thrown in creeks and vandalized, or left all over people’s front yards creating daily obstacle courses to maneuver just to walk down the sidewalk. I do like the idea, but these things HAVE to be better administered and better maintained by the city and dockshare companies.” – J
“There are A LOT more sucky situations in this city than good ol’ bikes that are useful to the people who need them. I’d rather see thousands of dockless bikes strewn all over the city than panhandler/beggars on the corners holding stupid signs that ask for money so they can go buy more crack!” – P
“Yeah! These things are great for Charlotte. Especially when they’re being stored in our creeks! This photo was from a creek clean-up initiative in the Belmont community.” – R
In response to: Is it normal not to share your finances with your spouse?
“When I was married, I had combined accounts. I’ll never do that again (combining accounts). It’s so much easier to know what I spend to keep track of what someone else is spending on my behalf.” – J
“You’re on the same team people, treat your finances like it. – E
“If you want to know my finances look in my wallet while I’m asleep.” – T
“As soon as we decided we were moving to NYC 11 years ago, we combined accounts so we could track eachother’s spending while we saved up for a year. Great decision, made me way better at managing money, knowing my wife is watching lol – C
“So much depends on your assets going into a marriage. At 23 and 25, I had no assets, so it wasn’t a concern to merge them 😂. Also, I have some friends w/ pay gaps with their spouses who do separate, and I think that’s stressful for them.” – E
In response to: Here’s how 3 hot VC-backed companies are quickly disrupting home selling in Charlotte
“Don’t forget to mention the value that Realtors® bring to the transaction and deliver to the community. The knowledge, experience, and “humanness” that we share with clients cannot be replaced by an algorithm that computes a price or by a company that purports to take care of you but actually costs you more in fees once you read the fine print. A Realtor® works FOR YOU.” – E
In response to: Cash Confessional: A week of spending in Charlotte on a $42,000 salary
“Maybe when talking to the girl on Hinge you described Asheville as ‘Litville’ and all interest stopped there…” – S
“Get a roommate and stay in South End. It’s the life of Charlotte.” – V
“Living solo in South End or any neighborhood with $1,000 rent on that salary is a terrible idea and is probably what led using a term like ‘Litville’ — Take the inheritance and buy a condo/house in cash and have plenty of flow each month for investments, savings, or nacho fries.” – G
“I can’t even bite my tongue. This 30-year-old makes $42k a year and doesn’t save? And he’s a Financial Aid Counselor? Isn’t it ironic? If I could go back in time and tell my 30-year old self anything, it would be save your damn money! Start a Roth- 401k- something and set budgets. I promise you can still enjoy your life (now) and plan for a cozy retirement. If this kid spends $1,467.94 a week — That’s $76,333 bucks a year — Nice job. “- D
“Ahhh if you are getting a monthly inheritance, put that straight in savings!” – E
“Yogurt. Just call it yogurt.” – V
“Get a roommate and stay in South End. It’s the life of Charlotte.” – V
In response to: A Soho House would kill it in Charlotte
“You might be interested in our business here in Charlottesville, Common House. We opened less than a year ago but we have ~800 members and have plans to expand to secondary and tertiary cities primarily in the South. We are finalizing plans for expansion to Richmond but hope to be in markets like Charlotte, Charleston, Nashville, New Orleans, etc. soon as well. Common House has been featured in Vogue and Robb Report.” – B
“Ted you’re delusional.” – C
“Yes, Yes, Yes yes to a SoHo House in Charlotte!” – P
In response to: I took a test drive at Charlotte’s new Vespa dealership and now I want a scooter
“A couple of years ago I bought a brand new 150cc scooter from Carolina Fun Machines and absolutely loved it. The thing only cost $1,600 brand new and I was able to park it anywhere for free (even Uptown!). Then I got hit by a truck and spent a year rehabbing a busted leg. These really are great fun and economical, but don’t believe that your driving skills are good enough to prevent an accident. Other people just don’t look for scooters. – T
“I’ve had a vespa for a couple years now. It’s perfect for Charlotte. Sad that I have to sell it now that I know Ted thinks they’re cool.” – G
“I am from Portsmouth, New Hampshire where a large percentage of the relative population would ride around on scooters, myself included, because it (1) makes economic, time, and parking sense and (2) is super fun…. Unfortunately, when I moved here in 2015 I brought my Honda Ruckus with me, and it’s use came to a screeching halt because of the awful car centric culture here in Charlotte.” – T
“Not in 10 million years” – R
“I love my Vespa!” – J
In response to: The Green has become Uptown’s smoking den
“Make a designated smoking area in The Green. It should be directly in the middle and about 10 feet by 10 feet square. Make all of the smokers huddle together like animals at a cheap zoo so that we can all avoid the second-hand smoke that comes from them sitting on all of the benches by the sidewalks. No one should be sympathetic to smokers, they don’t have a disease they have a disgusting habit.” – L
“Who cares if people have a place to smoke or not. They make their smell and their litter everyone else’s problem and it ruins the whole experience of being wherever you are. Plus its going to end up killing them and putting a huge strain on the health care industry in the process. Don’t make your inability to live a healthy lifestyle my problem.” – M
In response to: Arkansas-based fast-casual taco restaurant opens first of five planned Charlotte area restaurants
“Sounded good until I saw that ‘God’ uses tacos to save the world…” – E
“Can we tackle the issue of our lack of cheap street breakfast tacos?! This Texan is in need!” – M
In response to: 1 in 7 Charlotteans still smoke cigarettes — but the number is declining
“This article is very strange, the headline and most of the article seems to be positive but the data cited seems to be quite the opposite. Smoking is down roughly 2%, down 2.7% from a decade ago. But e-cigarette use is up to 22.8%, where it was likely at 0% a decade ago. The data seems to reflect an increase not a decrease in smoking and the data on HS use is even worse. Maybe instead of trying to put a happy spin on smoking the Agenda should draw attention to the problem, the popularity, and the misconceptions about e-cigarette use.” – L
