A goodbye - and an introduction

In recent weeks, I’ve been clearing out my files to pass along to Amy Baldwin, who has begun work this week as The Observer’s new guru of all things newcomer-related.

And it occurred to me that many of the people I met when I started the newcomer job in the summer of 2006 likely would not call themselves newcomers anymore. Maybe they arrived a year or two before that and were still flummoxed by our streets, our accents and our food.

But by now, I’m sure they can proudly educate their more recently transplanted neighbors on such matters as the differences between Blakeney and Birkdale, when to avoid the traffic jams on I-485 and where to find the best sushi – or barbecue.

A fact of life in Charlotte is that every year brings an influx of new people who must be welcomed and educated about our city’s peculiarities. I like to think I played a part in doing that over the past year and a half.

I particularly enjoyed how this blog took on a life of its own and you readers often peppered my message board with feisty comments, dozens at a time. It was great to have that dialogue with you.

I decided to keep that conversation going until Amy’s blog was up and running. (Click here to see it.) Now, it’s her turn to get you talking about the things that make this city unique and, at times, hard for the new folks to figure out.

I’m now an editor in the paper’s southern Mecklenburg bureau. I’ll miss meeting newcomers regularly, but I’ve wanted to be an editor for a long time. I’ll eagerly accept your tips on things our paper should be writing about in the areas of Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville, Ballantyne, Steele Creek and the Arboretum/Providence Road area – my new realm of responsibility.

This blog will continue to float in cyberspace and, from time to time, people might stumble across it and post a stray comment or two. But with the demands of my new job, I won’t have time to update it after this week.

So, I’ll pose one final question to those readers who are transplants, but no longer feel like newcomers. What’s the most important thing you’ve done to help you get adjusted to life in Charlotte? Was it meeting other newcomers, or befriending natives? Was it joining groups, or driving around to explore? Any advice you have for other newcomers is welcome – and might provide future story fodder for my successor.

Keep in touch!