If my daughter was making the decision I wouldn’t have gone to her high school PTSA meeting recently. But I did, and that experience once again reflected the stunning changes I’ve encountered since returning to Charlotte, North Carolina. 

There were a dozen parents there, a student leader and the principal, who appears to be in his early 40s. He arrived over the summer from Florida to take over leadership of the three-year-old school. One mom moved to my new Southern hometown seven years ago from Minnesota, another came from New Jersey in 2006. Just about everybody else on that PTSA committee had moved to this growing area in the past decade from somewhere else. 

Residents here  just elected an African American mayor. City officials are debating how to pay for an expansion of the light rail system. New skyscrapers are under construction downtown.

One of the first churches I visited was started by a pastor who relocated from Maryland (he had served at my former church) and started a congregation that is now multi-racial and comprised mostly of newcomers. An African American arts center opened a few weeks ago as part of a downtown arts district in which two more museums will debut in coming months. A reception was held recently at the city’s oldest museum launching the exhibition of more than 70 works by Harlem Renaissance artist Lois Mailou Jones. That show eventually will travel around the country. 

A three-mile strip of one street has developed into a multi-ethnic food destination and restaurants featuring Ethiopian, Mexican, Vietnamese, Indian and other cuisine also are scattered around the city. Residents complain about traffic congestion. The city has a plan to continue expanding its network of greenways or open spaces. Tickets go on sale in January for the return of the popular Broadway show “Wicked.” 

I knew when I decided to move back to Charlotte that the old South had turned into the so-called New South. Like the rest of the country, the city is being battered by the economic crisis. Still, my daughter and I are getting to know a city that far more interesting than we imagined.

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