Why Greensboro is becoming a “fun” downtown

There isn’t much to this, but it’s interesting how downtowns develop. Winston-Salem has its business alliances. Money speaks, although it doesn’t seem to help the “fun” part of that town. They have… well… 4th Street. Great food, and they have Ziggy’s, but downtown isn’t really where it’s at for our demographic.
Asheville is wonderful to walk around in, and has plenty of live music places. We would almost have to give credit to the hippy culture that as one person close to me put it: “doesn’t care if you wear torn jeans and just walk around.” And if you’ve ever been to downtown Asheville, those cafes and shops for window shopping in the Grove Arcade or walking around Battery Park makes for a wonderful night.
So what does Greensboro have? While there are businesses, it’s a lot more of SMBs than Winston-Salem’s deep pocket corporations. It’s not the hippies (at least not to my knowledge).
My thoughts? It’s the artists. With Lyndon Street Artworks, and the powerhouse art and music community behind the up and coming Flying Anvil, it’s no wonder Greensboro is blossoming into a place where young people like to hang out. Don’t get me wrong, the SMBs help and big businesses are there also to do their part but here, the people that “don’t care about your torn jeans” will be those that work downtown in torn jeans. The foundations and nonprofits that help make it possible in the background also provide a lot of the drive for these individuals that live, work, play, and breathe downtown.
So from me to you, here’s to the artists.
But then again, what do I know.