Travel enriches the mind and soul

I was recently lucky enough to take a break in the United States, visiting a number of Cities.  One of these was Charlotte, NC.

Charlotte is an ultra-modern city, (quite the opposite to our historical Ipswich), and has seen a population explosion over the last three decades, expanding by nearly a million new residents this century alone, making it the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina.

Photo: Charlotte centre

The centre, (again unlike Ipswich), is ultra compact, with the main cultural attractions such as the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Mint (art) Museum and public artworks (Such as the locally nicknamed ‘Disco Chicken’) all within a half square mile.

Photos: Nascar Hall of Fame, Mint Museum exhibit, Public Art

Travelling anywhere can give inspiration for return to home life.  I saw in Charlotte a spotlessly clean city with huge ambition over the last two decades to become a modern city of culture, investing in attractions, greening and the arts.  The leafy boulevards are a joy to walk in.  Charlotte is the chosen home to the corporate headquarters of Bank of America, Honeywell, Truist Financial, and the East Coast headquarters of Wells Fargo, which, when combined with other Charlotte-based financial institutions, makes the city the second-largest banking centre in the USA.

Nicknamed the “Queen City”, Charlotte was named in honour of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who had become the queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland in 1761 as wife of George III, seven years before the town’s incorporation. A second nickname derives from the American Revolutionary War, when British commander General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis occupied the city but was driven out by hostile residents. He wrote that Charlotte was “a hornet’s nest of rebellion”, leading to the nickname “The Hornet’s Nest”.   Images of both Queen Charlotte and the Hornet are evident in the city centre:

Photo: Public Art statue of Queen Charlotte Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Charlotte has a welcoming atmosphere, accepting new residents from all over the world with open arms.  It is a very comfortable place to wander round with friendly faces working in public and hospitality roles.  Residents appear super-proud of what they have created together, and are positive to continue their vision of the city’s future.

Whilst taking a ride in an electric golf car with a brilliantly knowledgeable tour guide, we met Charles and Angela.  The couple were visiting the city like us, but for business.  The couple live in Wyoming, a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western US.  Charles was originally from Ghana, a country we knew quite well from former work and family experience.  We shared our enjoyable ride and were inspired by this couple for their warmth and openness.  Charles and Angela are both kept occupied working and raising a blended family.  Charles is also a photographer and runs a website dedicated to interesting images and people he meets in life:  Retirement Dedicated to Community Services – Paajoe Photos

Charles notes that he is ‘driven by a passion to capture the essence of humanity and the unique spirit of every place I encounter. I believe each person and location holds a story waiting to be discovered and shared’.

Photo: Charles and Angela

Charles was kind enough to write the piece about our shared encounter.  I am honoured that we and Ipswich are now featured on the site and would invite Ipswich.love viewers to take a look at the website and see some of the wonderful stories that Charles has captured.  Perhaps one day, Charles and Angela may be able to visit England’s oldest continually inhabited town and experience some of our history, culture, public areas and welcoming hospitality.

I do believe that Ipswich can take inspiration from places like Charlotte and would highly recommend it for a visit!

Who wrote this about Ipswich?

Sam Sherman

Sam is a Co-Founder of Ipswich.love. Passionate about Ipswich, Sam looks to see how we might jointly reverse some of the recent negativity and bring some deserved positivity back to our beloved Town.