I've gotten a number of PMs about analyst housing in uptown Charlotte, so I thought I'd consolidate my responses and post them publicly for everyone's reference. Hopefully this helps all you incoming BofA/WF analysts looking for places to live.
I'm assuming if you want to live uptown, you also want to be walking distance to bars as well as work - the center city is going to be best for you. I would recommend looking for a condo rather than an apartment, since the apartment buildings are a bit of a longer walk to both bars and the banks.
The two nicest buildings in town are the Trademark (333 W Trade St) and the Avenue (230 S College St). Both are your typical "high rise" stylistic condos - metal and glass, wood floors, stainless appliances. The Avenue has slightly nicer amenities. Both buildings will probably run you in the $1400 - $1600 range for a singe, or about $2100-$2400 for a double, depending on how high up and what floor plan. Both are within walking distance to BofA HQ and Wachovia One, as well as the Epicenter and all the uptown bars.
I would also strongly recommend the 5th and Poplar complex as well (300 W 5th St). It's only 8 stories (but a bigger footprint), it has a really nice courtyard in the center of the building, and you can usually get more square footage for the money. They even have a couple 2 story condos on the 7/8th floors which are really awesome if you can snag one. You'll still also get the wood floors and stainless appliances in many units, but not all.
Those are really the "big 3" in terms of nice condos downtown, but there are a few smaller buildings with amazing locations. Literally the best address in town (IMO) is the Iveys, which is right at the corner of Tryon and 5th (127 N Tryon), and the only building with units that overlook the Trade and Tryon center city. Also literally across the street from BofA HQ. The units are HUGE, with really high ceilings. The only downer is no amenities/pool, but I think it's worth it because the places are so great. A bunch of Panthers and Bobcats players live here. Units here are pretty hard to find though and can be expensive, since there just aren't that many in the building.
Another one to consider - there's a relatively new building called the Catalyst (built by the same developer as the Avenue I believe). It was just getting completed when I moved away from Charlotte, but a realtor friend invited me to the grand opening and I took a tour through the demo unit. It looked really nice, similar to the Avenue. I think most of the apartments are equipped with one of those internet-based systems that lets you control the lights and AC online too. The location is a slightly longer walk to bars and BofA than some other buildings (definitely doable though, more like 5-10 minutes, rather than just across the street), but would be convenient for WF analysts. All in all a nice building, but I've never been anything but the demo unit.
You can also checkout 230 Tryon which is the most convenient of all for WF analysts and has all the amenities, but is usually astronomically priced.
The best way to find a condo is to look on Craigslist - since they're all owned by people, there is no leasing office for any of these properties you can walk in to. Just keep checking the Charlotte Craigslist daily, they will pop up and they go fast. The other strategy that works really well is to call a realtor. They have their finger on the pulse of all the rental properties and will definitely help you out (free to you). Just look to see which realtors typically post on Craigslist, then send them an email asking for more general help finding a place.
I would highly recommend that you do get in contact with a realtor, then make a trip to Charlotte to see all these places in person. Even if there is not a unit available when you go, the realtor can show you the model unit and all the amenities so you can get a feel for the building.
All of the above condo buildings are great for analysts - very nice inside, an easy walk to work, and very convenient to bars.
If you really want to look at apartments, a few to look at that are a bit longer walk (but still doable) are Camden Grandview, Camden Cotton Mills, Post Gateway, and Post Uptown.
I think that about covers the uptown living landscape. Let me know if you have specific questions about buildings - I've lived in or had friends that lived in all of them.
