20-09 North Carolina: Charlotte, Greensboro & Raleigh (70% Unused Footage from 2014)

[@oshadamunaweera4939]

What I like the most in your vids, are the songs. You hve done a great job editing it with the best song for the video speed. Appreciate sir. Thank you! Stay safe too.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much, I put a lot of effort into that.

[@dadovertime1217]

@@Freewayjim Yes you can really notice :-) Great job!

[@Freewayjim]

@@dadovertime1217 Thank you :)

[@sylvaina0518]

You filmed most of my state! I was born and raised near Gastonia (west of Charlotte) and live in Charlotte now. Can't wait to watch this.

[@Freewayjim]

Thanks! hope you enjoy it.

[@bravesfan31]

North Carolina has a good amount of decent sized cities. Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Durham, Cary, Raleigh, and Wilmington. A lot of these cities are growing very fast. A lot of Northern transplants.

[@bronxboy47]

I was abandoned (long story) in Raleigh and ended up living there for 3 1/2 years. I don't think my Yankee soul ever had a peaceful night's sleep there the entire time.

[@jamesthefisherman1060]

True. I live in Charlotte now and used to live in Raleigh but grew up in southwestern Virginia. When people in Raleigh met me, they acted like they’d never met anyone from the south before. I run into the same thing in Charlotte sometimes too.

[@Red-pt6rs]

@@jamesthefisherman1060 acted what?

[@jamesthefisherman1060]

@@Red-pt6rs Not sure how to explain it but they’d always be asking me things about southern related things like food, dialects, culture, etc. They also acted like they’d never heard a southern drawl or southern words in person before. Also, I’d be questioned about the similarities and differences between the mountains and the Piedmont (since I’m originally from the mountains) and Virginia and North Carolina.

[@sukumar6814]

Absolutely fantastic cities

[@canadiandad951]

Awesome vid man! I'm so glad you did a video in Raleigh!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

Raleigh is such a nice city to visit and the economy is so good in there. I even heard that when I watch the best cities in the US.

[@cjs121675]

Nice ride- I have been in Raleigh years ago back in 1987 and have probably been on some of those roads years ago in 1987 and it is fun to see North Carolina and the infrastructure it has developed over the years- nice ride and it was fun to watch and again I do enjoy your commentary at the end of the videos! Looking forward to seeing what comes next!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@SsgtTimothy]

Great video as always and I love your choices in the music It’s sad to hear there will be no trip this summer maybe next summer

[@Freewayjim]

Thanks, them's the breaks.

[@scottmarquiss7941]

very nicely done--brings back memories when I lived in Cary for 8 years--thanks!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@thomasmurphy3021]

@@Freewayjim it was hot in charlotte in june of 2012 when you filmed your trip.

[@Freewayjim]

@@Dexeria Yes it's an error (an oversight), it happens, don't get so excited about it..

[@paulgman3531]

Another great video Jim!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you Paul!

[@FeartheCyr611]

Hey Jim great shots of my home state! Ii have a fondness of 64 because when I was growing up there with my family preferred route to get to 95 from where I lived!

[@MrAudienceMember2662015]

Great drive with great music. As always. Stay safe and well.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@Freewayjim]

@@Dexeria No thanks.

[@Freewayjim]

@@Dexeria Because I'm not interested in doing that and have no other reason to go that way.

[@furnitureconsortium]

you missed a golden opportunity to use either Ryan Adams or Whiskeytown for the Raleigh leg of the trip. Whiskeytown is probably the most famous band to come out of Raleigh and their lead singer (Ryan Adams) has had a pretty good career on his own and with the Cardinals in the mid 2000's. Awesome video of the area!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you but I'm not familiar with those acts, sorry. People assume I know every band and artist, lol, I don't.

[@furnitureconsortium]

@@Freewayjim Whiskeytown was a fairly popular band in the late 1990’s, just figured that you may have known of them. No worries If you do get a chance to listen to them in the future, they were a cool band! I’d definitely recommend it. They have a country-ish, Bluegrassy rock sound. Have a good day!

[@bluesky2927]

North Carolina is my favorite state east of the Mississippi.

[@jonesbunny]

Not mines🥴🥴 🤣🤣🤣

[@guttmana9767]

evo VIII I went to NC but was never on there interstate system.

[@tylerseverance5789]

I'm from NC and yearn to return there one day. I live in Florida now but NC will always be home to me

[@PGHammer21A]

I've only been in North Carolina (Charlotte and Douglas International in particular) via air - in fact, my first flight of any length was Reagan National->Douglas International->DFWl. The wacky part was that both Reagan National AND Douglas International were being rebuilt.

[@jamesthefisherman1060]

Me too. #2 is Tennessee

[@carriekay5987]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this video! One of my FAVORITE states for beauty. I really love the Greensboro area ... been to all the areas featured on this video. The thing I love about this area too is the warmth of the people!

[@calebharper1590]

What's weird about I-85 is when it enters North Carolina it's still about 40 or 45 miles from Charlotte while I-77 enters Charlotte right after it leaves South Carolina.

[@rashawnwaiters]

not really you do know part of Charlotte is in South Carolina

[@mondocjenson-dy8zd]

I recall standing on the state line at Carowinds back during my high school days

[@cotyjones3137]

@@rashawnwaiters Not true

[@rashawnwaiters]

@@cotyjones3137 were do you live?

[@cotyjones3137]

Rashawn Waiters Charlotte

[@Mahoot]

Very nice video, I’m surprised you’ve never used the footage of Charlotte or Raleigh before, they both looked nice. I love Charlotte, I feel like it’s an underrated city in every aspect

[@Freewayjim]

Thanks, I'm sure I had reasons back in 2014 but they escape me now.

[@SlicedBread1219]

Ayee my hometown Greensboro.

[@jbm71]

Does anyone find it odd that NCDOT uses the Charlotte suburbs (Pineville, Huntersville, Matthews) as the control cities for the I-485 loop around Charlotte, rather than using the major destinations (Greensboro, Spartanburg, Statesville, Columbia) of its primary interstates (I-85, I-77)? It’s almost as if NCDOT is actively encouraging through traffic to go through Charlotte rather than using the bypass loop. This practice seems contrary to what other states’ DOTs use as control cities on their auxiliary interstate loops. It’s also interesting that NCDOT uses the Inner and Outer labels on I-485 rather than the compass directions (which of course charge as you go around).

[@Freewayjim]

Agreed on all counts.

[@jamesthefisherman1060]

Great footage of the military trucks going into Greensboro!

[@kevcpac]

Love seeing this video routes I have travel many times.

[@joejones8454]

This is beautiful I moved from NC to NJ I really do miss it you passed my city Greensboro

[@KCWanderlust]

I guess the "new norm" for a lot of us is... Checking the Covid 19 scorecard state maps from time to time. Looking for trends and such. Lo & behold, the first half of our possible trip is beginning to look almost doable. Fingers crossed on that! Another cool video that surprised me. I hadn't heard "heard it in a love song" for literal decades. I was singing along with it word for word and wondering "how the heck do I still know this tune so well?". Music hath charms. 😎

[@Freewayjim]

I do hope you can get out on the road this summer. Gotta admit "Heard It In A Love Song" is a seriously catchy tune.

[@upeedinalamb5297]

This lamb sees a lot of lanes to travel on, and plants to graze on.

[@SlowedByCinnamxn]

+Upeedina Lamb, Nice. This State treated you well.

[@8PeTrol8]

A little map, that shows where you currently are would be so cool but I know it's not realistic to make that possible easily Love your videos so much Greetings from Germany

[@Freewayjim]

I think that would be too busy on the screen, these are relatively short clips, that is not needed IMO.

[@Deyan_B_Travels]

How do you decide on the exact speed of the video?

[@Freewayjim]

I go by how it feels with the music I choose, basically what looks/feels right.

[@Deyan_B_Travels]

@@Freewayjim What about the shutter speed and frame rate? What are you camera settings keeping in mind you speed up the video in post? Daytime vs night time.

[@inayathkhan100]

Too good video keep coming...

[@Freewayjim]

Thanks

[@captainjack8831]

440 is a much more aesthetically pleasing drive through Raleigh than 40 is. But that stretch from 13:15 to about 14:20 is in desperate need of an upgrade.

[@southcarolinagrizfan1594]

This commute into Charlotte brings back memories. I used to commute from Spartanburg to Charlotte many years ago.

[@tmghui888]

Great video. Enjoyed it. It is surprising that a lot of lesser known cities like Charlotte is bigger than a lot of more well known cities like Atlanta or Miami in the US. But at the end of the day, I guess it is all about the metro region population. That is what really counts.

[@schwenda3727]

North Carolina currently has to be home of well among the most interstate milage with 8+ lanes outside of Cali, Texas & maybe the Eastern Seaboard in general, don't they... based on several Maps' satellite imagery I keep thumbing through every now & again... But a couple questions (be it you or people much more familiar with the area): any idea if/when the pretty short 10-15 mile stretches of I-40 & 85 past the split towards Durham & Raleigh will both get expanded to match the already 6+ lane stretches on either side? Seems like a HUGE bottleneck between three neighbor Metro/CSAs, but it could be worse... I-77 in Charlotte done yet (•infinity)?

[@takeadrive]

Excellent vid ! 👍🏻

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@takeadrive]

@@Freewayjim You're welcome !

[@sallylouise9826]

Enjoyed seeing what NC looks like being from the UK i can only see it on video at the moment. I hope to make a trip to the USA next year .

[@jamesthefisherman1060]

I think it’s interesting how there’s one section of this interstate in Thomasville where each side of the interstate splits off and criss crosses to the other side and then criss crosses back. I’m not sure what NCDOT’s reasoning behind that was unless it had something to do with the rest area there.

[@JDAWGSABBATH]

Me and my family drove I-40 from the Tennessee line to Raleigh twice to see my sister and the scenery is just amazing

[@BradRains]

Loved the NC footage. A question hopefully you (or anyone in the comments section) can answer. Towards the end of the video you were on I-87 that was going to be future I-495. Any known reason for the change in numbering? Thanks.

[@Freewayjim]

Google is your friend. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_87_(North_Carolina)

[@BradRains]

@@Freewayjim ok ty

[@dave11686]

Beautiful!

[@Freewayjim]

Thanks

[@mushypasta7425]

Amazing how six year old footage can still look so crisp today, huh? It’s very cool to be able to look into the past and it looks just like today. Well, 2014 really isn’t the past but the footage IS over half a decade old, so that’s why I say it. Doesn’t feel it though! 2014 is kind of a different world from 2020. What kind of camera were you using for this drive?

[@Freewayjim]

Thanks, my gear is listed in the closing credits, I use a Sony HDR-PJ710 Handycam

[@stevesaul7975]

Lots of old style interchanges in Raleigh including closed loops of former cloverleaf interchanges I notice. I'm guessing that reconstruction of some of these junctions is planned or do the traffic levels not justify it yet? Great work. Thanks again.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you, yeah I'm sure those will get upgraded at some point.

[@deannawoody9621]

I love the ride and music ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you

[@tgarrett29]

Any thoughts of something like a FreewayJim "Best Of" theme for future videos ... maybe something like the best night drives in your opinion (SF, Vegas Strip, etc.) or things like that?

[@Freewayjim]

Maybe, it's not high on my list of things to do.

[@elijahelijah940]

Ever thought about doing a full trip video? Like longer distance between multiple cities not just certain sections in cities. Example would be from Atlanta to Tampa Florida the entire way. Not just sections in tampa.

[@Freewayjim]

There are several reasons why I'm not interested in doing videos like that.

[@elijahelijah940]

Freewayjim probably because it’s nothing to see between Tampa and Atlanta 😂. But it would be nice just a possibility if you do it in the future.

[@Freewayjim]

@@elijahelijah940 You are right about that but I have no interest at all in capturing 100s of miles of road consecutively, the longest videos I've done (100-150 miles or so) were of notable and spectacular roads like I-70 through the Rockies in Colorado, I-15 in California or US-1 in the Florida keys, what you are suggesting is filming for the sake of filming, that's not what I do.

[@tylerseverance5789]

Got any unused Rockiy mountain footage? Love to hear tales from the road on them

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

Come to think of it, this remix shows 3 metro areas, Metrolina, the Piedmont Triad and the Research Triangle.

[@williamladd8665]

8:50 I traveled through the mess that was the junction of 40,85,us29,us421 alot in early-mid 90s. Amazing how USELESS a mid-late 90s map of Greensboro is. Nice job!

[@chukwuemekaezejiofor2765]

what if north carolina in 2020 hadded no concrete roads on I-85 north instead of I-85 South

[@johnnystir9796]

Good stuff as always, Jim. Enjoyed the soundtrack. Have you ever shot any footage here in Indianapolis?

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you, I have not, I tried in 2016 but got rained out.

[@johnnystir9796]

@@Freewayjim I haven't seen it on the channel yet, so I thought I'd ask. Cheers!

[@Skulldozer25]

11:17 2 bridges from the 70s or 80s were destroyed and replaced with the new bridges due to age.

[@RobertJohnson1975]

What states haven't you been too

[@Freewayjim]

Alaska & Hawaii.

[@detroitmetro101]

i really like the green medians in raleigh, we should have more of them.

[@pointlesssentience3987]

Wait that U-turn at 17:02. That’s illegal right??!! Unless NC has some weird law that permits a U-turn on a major interstate.

[@captainjack8831]

Only the NCHP can legally make that turn, but that doesn't stop people from doing so anyways.

[@thehighwaymanthm8788]

I love Greensboro. I drove around its Urban Loop in a video I made around three weeks ago.

[@angelmalarkey7946]

Awesome job Freewayjim

[@guttmana9767]

Can u primiere?

[@Freewayjim]

I have no idea what you are asking.

[@rockersk08]

Premiere is a YT video feature where a published video is treated as a live stream, akin to how TV shows air a new episode, where viewers can interact live via chat.

[@guttmana9767]

Freewayjim basically do that. Instead of publishing it, set it as instant primiere

[@yankees107]

Great video! Tough to hear about the trip news, but are you planning to take a day trip to a place such as Birmingham?

[@Freewayjim]

Thanks, and possibly later in the year.

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

North Carolina is one of my favorite Atlantic states of the US and even one of my favorite US states touching the Atlantic Ocean. When I heard of NC's state capital, Raleigh, the economy is so good in there. I even watched the best US cities and states.

[@Jack.333]

Thanks Jim.....I am still hiding from a virus but jamming at home on a road trip Thanks....Its all good.

[@Freewayjim]

Cool, thanks.

[@dontgetlost4078]

Filmed in 2012? 🤔 In the end credits lol.

[@Freewayjim]

Meant to put 2014, arrrgh, but at least you saw the credits and won't ask whjat camera I use to it's all good :)

[@compdude100]

It's interesting that I-85 was routed several miles north of downtown Charlotte, rather than going straight thru downtown. Then again, it's no the only city along I-85 where this is the case, the other one being Greenville.

[@cotyjones3137]

compdude100 Greensboro as well

[@mikef6307]

Moved to CLT in 96 from NY, spent 20 years working for the city (airport), retired and living in FL.. I've seen a lot of good things and a lot of bad...

[@semineil]

Did you see the sign on 85 in Charlotte that says "DRIVING IS NOT A SPORT"?? 🤣

[@SlowedByCinnamxn]

+Big Chungus, I didn’t see and Never knew there was a sign that said that. What Timestamp is it in this Video?

[@semineil]

@@SlowedByCinnamxn Didn't see it in this video. I was asking Jim because I personally saw it driving through Charlotte once.

[@henrybustell7019]

AA hub at around 1:16.

[@EphemeralProductions]

I always thought he was saying "pretty little love song". LOL Now I finally know what the REAL lyrics are! haha

[@NickCC23]

North Carolina and Texas is neck and neck in designating freeways Interstates. Here in California we are waiting for CA 99 between I-5 and Stockton to be designated an Interstate,

[@chloegful]

Very nice love.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@bapa1]

Common for me. I drove for a trucking company with terminals in Charlotte and Raleigh.

[@thevultrantransituniverse1487]

North Carolina freeways are very well built!

[@westkana]

Lol I go up to Charlotte all the time, it's kinda funny seeing it in video form XD

[@michaelkurz9067]

Heard it in a love song also sung by a super country star MARK CHESNUTT: )

[@Lo2smoove]

This feels so weird to watch because I’m laying in bed and I feel like I’m going somewhere because I live in this area and I-85 is a pain in my ass.

[@khunopie9159]

3.64 is the sweet spot for video speed! The Goldilocks Zone! 3.63 is a touch slow and 3.65 a hair too fast 9.4/10!

[@johnharris2205]

How in the world could the two sections of I-87 EVER connect????🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️

[@Freewayjim]

That's not the point, think of it like the two I-76's, I-84's and I-88's.

[@johnharris2205]

Freewayjim At one point, those two sections of road had two different route numbers-The western route was 80N....

[@Freewayjim]

@@johnharris2205 Yes, I'm aware of that.

[@mrmodernwarfare2446]

14:54

[@Andyface79]

I'm always so surprised how so much of the south doesn't light their freeways.

[@Chris_Hetherington]

Just went through there in April

[@CartoonAwesome316]

I live in Raleigh

[@Vit-m6h]

Nice

[@itsyourboyquetinbrown2939]

I love greensboro it is more lay back than citys like Charlotte and Raligh

[@joebradio]

If I had a dollar every time I traversed this stretch of road

[@talal1010]

مرحبا فيديو اكثر من رائع👍

[@noaharita2293]

485, too familiar

[@Віталійкотик-ф9б]

👍🚦🏁✌️

[@jerryuptmor2826]

These towns just look like rural interstate.

[@Freewayjim]

Yeah, there's not a lot to see really.

[@Lo2smoove]

Yeah you won’t see much unless you take exits to go into it. If you’re passing through no. Unless you pass through downtown areas you can see from the highway going through Charlotte. It’s pretty at night.

[@gloriawomack3316]

Highway. 25

[@mcarlkv53]

Roth Carolina highways are confusing

[@user-hf3eb8lj5g]

*North* get it right or don’t bother sayin it

[@gloriawomack3316]

Highway 60

[@atharvamalandkar9267]

i dont understand how do some US states which practically have very little industry, jobs and GDP have such good roads and infrastructure better than the average world? where does the money even come from? and where do these people work? i dont see much office buildings or industrial areas in some states

[@Freewayjim]

There are plenty of buildings and industrial, tech areas in North Carolina, you just don't see them from the roads, don't make assumptions. www.nccommerce.com/business/key-industries-north-carolina

[@brownpajo]

I’m