# Charlotte Metro

The Charlotte Metro (also "Metrolina") is a region of North and South Carolina within and surrounding the city of Charlotte in the Piedmont of the Southeastern United States.
The Charlotte metropolitan area is well known for its auto racing history (especially NASCAR). The region is headquarters to 8 Fortune 500 and 7 Fortune 1000 companies including Bank of America, Duke Energy, Sealed Air Corporation, Nucor Steel, and Lowe's Home Improvement Stores. Additional headquarters include Harris Teeter, Food Lion, and Cheerwine

## Cities
### Principal city

* 35.227-80.8431 Charlotte

### Greater than 50,000 residents

* 35.411-80.5812 Concord
* 35.264-81.1843 Gastonia
* 35.411-80.8434 Huntersville
* 35.584-80.8115 Mooresville
* 34.925-81.0256 Rock Hill

### Fewer than 50,000 residents

* 35.244-81.0387 Belmont
* 35.284167-81.2827788 Bessemer City
* 35.478889-80.8844449 Cornelius - 12,000 (+/-)
* 35.491111-80.83277810 Davidson - 7,000 (+/-)
* 35.008-80.94311 Fort Mill
* 35.322-80.65612 Harrisburg - Historic town founded in 1765, home to Harrisburg Town Center, a lovely shopping district surrounding the new Town Hall and public commons.
* 35.737778-81.32833313 Hickory
* 35.410556-80.84277814 Huntersville - 24,000 (+/-)
* 35.002-80.85615 Indian Land
* 35.078-80.66816 Indian Trail
* 35.498-80.62417 Kannapolis
* 35.116-80.72218 Matthews - 22,000 (+/-)
* 35.227222-80.50083319 Midland - A historic railroad town founded in 1913, home to Reed Gold Mine, site of the first documented gold find in the United States.
* 35.180189-80.66443220 Mint Hill - 15,000 (+/-)
* 34.983-80.54921 Monroe
* 35.298-81.01622 Mount Holly
* 35.403611-80.43555623 Mount Pleasant - Home to Gold Hill, a mid-1850s gold rush town, the Eastern Cabarrus Historic Museum and the Mount Pleasant Collegiate Historic District.
* 35.086-80.8924 Pineville - 3,500 (+/-)
* 35.668333-80.47861125 Salisbury
* 35.29222-81.5355626 Shelby
* 35.786667-80.87861127 Statesville
* 35.03-81.0328 Tega Cay
* 36.024444-80.86638929 Union Grove - Home of the Ole Time Fiddlers and Bluegrass Festival.
* 34.9667-80.066730 Wadesboro
* 34.925-80.74431 Waxhaw
* 34.994-81.24232 York

## Get in
### By plane

* 35.220737-80.9440181 Charlotte Douglas International Airport—Main airport serving the Charlotte Metro with numerous domestic and international flights.
* 35.386582-80.7130772 Concord Regional Airport—Smaller, less-used airport with cheaper flights to major destinations like Atlanta, New York and south Florida.

### By train

There is an Amtrak station on North Tryon in Charlotte, on bus route 11 (North Tryon). Charlotte is the southern end of the Carolinian and Piedmont lines, which head north to Raleigh, with the Carolinian continuing to New York City. It's also a stop along the Crescent between New York City and New Orleans. There are also stations along the line in Gastonia at Hancock Street and Kannapolis at Main Street.

### By car

The Charlotte Metro is best accessible by car. There are two main interstate highways that run through the area as well as numerous smaller highways connecting Charlotte to the suburbs and neighboring counties.
* Interstate 77—(north-south) From Rock Hill north, through Charlotte and to Mooresville.
* Interstate 85—(northeast-southwest) From Kings Mountain north, through Charlotte and to Kannapolis.

### By bus

* Greyhound. The station is just northwest of Uptown Charlotte and is served by buses 1 (Mount Holly), 8 (Tuckaseegee), 34 (Freedom Dr), and 7 (Beatties Ford).
* Megabus. Service from Atlanta, Athens, Durham, Richmond, and Washington, D.C.. Buses arrive and depart along Whitton St between Dewitt Ln and South Blvd, near the Scaleybark LYNX station. Fares from $1 and up.

## Get around

While parts of the Charlotte Metro, especially areas like uptown and suburban communities like Matthews and Rock Hill are easily accessible by foot and bicycle, the region is best accessed by car. Whether it's a taxi or your own personal car, it is the necessary form of transportation to experience the entire area. If you are just stating in Charlotte's central area, there are bus routes as well as a light rail train in and around Charlotte's central area. See Charlotte page for details on bus routes and train stations.

## Do

* Outdoor adventure at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Belmont
* 35.389-80.08311 Morrow Mountain State Park—A park set aside for enjoying an age-old set of mountains known as the Uwharrie Mountains, particularly poignant in fall coloration, but an outdoor haven at any time.

## Buy

* Sunshine Daydreams, 11300 Lawyers Rd Suite J, Mint Hill, ☏ +1 704 332-4367. F-Sa 11AM-6PM, Tu 1PM-6PM. Metaphysical store.

## Go next

* North Carolina Mountains
* Metro Atlanta
* Piedmont Triad
* Research Triangle