I dont know about Tenessee but you can get most if not all that shyt in Charlotte
Theres no downtown per se but theres plenty of shyt to do.
I dont know what a CTA is but if you meant MTA, yea, you are going to need a car. But if you work and live in the city you might be able to get away with taking the train. And the MTA fukking sucks. I hated taking the train. I either rode my motorcycle or my bicycle to work as I lived and worked in Manhattan.
Concerts
I have been to more concerts in the last year and a half here than I had in like 10 years in NYC. Theres plenty of concerts in NYC but tickets for anyone worth seeing are like $400 a pop. No fukking thanks.
Food here is pretty damn good too. Some shyt is lacking (Thai, cheap French, pizza) but theres a lot of good shyt here and it's much cheaper than NYC.
Beach from the city is a fukking pipe dream. By train from Manhattan to Rockaway or Jones Beach is an honest 3 hours each way. Tenessee is landlocked so I cant speak on it, but u know what beach is 3 hours away from Charlotte? Charleston, a city voted the
best place in America to visit 4 years in a row. Ive been there twice and I love it. It's a great town with food just as good as NYC.
Only place NYC has Charlotte beat is museums.... but for all the money Im saving living down here, if I really want to go to the Met I can book a flight
NYC is a great city to visit but if you aren't a multi millionaire u arent coming close to getting out all the city has to offer. A lot of folks scared to leave there build these defense mechanisms to rationalize such horrible living conditions. Humans need outdoor space, sunlight, quiet, privacy etc. Ur not getting much of that in the "heart" of the city. And if u live out in the suburbs u get the worst of both worlds- pretty much no access to the best the city has to offer, and expensive shytty housing. No thanks. Leaving NYC after 28 years there has been the best decision Ive ever made in my life.............................................................................
Dont be scared to look around. U sound like someone whose never left.
If u scared, say u scared