Re-Posting in Charlotte forum: Which has better future growth potential-Raleigh or Charlotte?

[mullman]

Raleigh.

Move there...

[Belinda5]

With the exception of the last few posts about sentence structure.....I can't believe how my original question/thread has turned into political/racial/religious/sexual orientation issues between the cities.
I should have known... ...because since moving to NC I have learned, (unfortunately), that everything here IS judged/measured by race, political views, your accent, religion, etc. These things were never a worthy "topic of discussion" when I lived in Toronto. That city is a highly diverse place that takes its diversity for granted. I also lived in Europe....But anyway, I'm in NC now and I have to roll with it....so here goes:

I agree that Raleigh has more "liberal" thinkers because of the 'statistically' educated population from the universities, hi tech and medical fields. But I also feel a large urban center like Charlotte has a higher "concentration" and a broader array of diverse people that intermingle. Does that make one more progressive than the other? I guess "progressive" can refer to a lot of things, not just economic development. Coming from a large diverse city, I probably do have to take into consideration the "mindset" of people in those cities. Sometimes that just comes down to the particular neighborhood or people you hang out with.

But my original question is: which city is going to see the most growth in the next 5-10-20 years? And please state reasons. Thank you for your input!

[vindaloo]

Originally Posted by Belinda5

With the exception of the last few posts about sentence structure, I will now refer to the posts before these:

Wow, my original question/thread has turned into a political/racial/religious/sexual orientation issue between the cities. I should have known ...because since moving to NC I have learned quickly that everything here is judged/measured by race, political views and religion (unfortunately). These three things were never a "topic of discussion" when I lived in Toronto. Canada in general, is a highly diverse place and it takes diversity for granted. It is not an "issue" to worry about or discuss. I also lived in Europe. But anyway, I'm in NC now and I have to roll with it....so here goes:

I agree that Raleigh has more "liberal" thinkers because of the 'statistically' educated population from the Universities, hi tech and medical fields. But I also feel a large urban center like Charlotte has a higher "concentration" and a broader array of diverse people that intermingle. That is what makes a true progressive city. I guess "progressive" can refer to a lot of things, not just economic development. Coming from a large diverse city, I have to take into consideration the "mindset" of people in those cities. But, that sometimes comes down to the particular neighborhood or people you hang out with.

But my original question is: which city is going to see the most growth in the next 5-10-20 years? And please state reasons. Thank you for your input!

I recently ran into a Canadian from Ontario that was discusted that Canada refuses to show FOX news. Despite your obvious feeling that you are from a far more progressive place, I can't help but think that sensoring makes it a somewhat uninformed country/province. Maybe we enjoy more freedom here than Toronto? I have heard that Toronto is becoming a crime ridden city like in the U.S. I don't know the people with whom you associate, but if they base everything on race, politics, and religion, I might consider changing neighborhoods. Remember, around Charlotte, only about 30 percent of the residents are locals. Guess we get some real winners in town? Back to your question, Charlotte will continue to outgrow most American cities including Raleigh.

[Belinda5]

Vindaloo, I've never heard of "Canada" censoring any news or anything else that the U.S. wouldn't censor. I found a quick statement from the internet about the topic (May 2009): "Shaw Communications, a cable provider in Canada, is now giving its customers the option to eliminate Fox News Channel from their homes, for good. So, now 700,000 subscribers can remove all fear that they accidentally leave their TV on FNC. This is due to recent disparaging comments aired on the Fox News show "Red Eye" about Canada’s military. Best part? No extra cost, which I think would be a first for a cable company, if you know what I mean…" That hardly sounds like censorship by Canada. It's more about a cable company. This may be worthy of its own thread.

I'm concerned about economics and future city growth prospects for Raleigh and Charlotte. I want to assume it has nothing to do with political left/right, racial issues, etc. but it looks like it always ends up there on this thread.

Crime is a factor to consider in a city's future. But there's also no sense to bring up Canada and crime. Canadians whine about crime increasing, but murders in Toronto are still only 2.5 per 100,000, compared to Raleigh (5 per 100,000), Charlotte (10 per 100,000) or Greensboro (18 per 100,000).

I'm staying in N.C., and trying to compare Charlotte vs. Raleigh, for the future. Toronto happens to be one of the most diverse cities in the world, so I made the statement to make a point that topics like left/right politics, racial/sexual orientation issues etc. are not debated like they are here, and on this thread. I want to keep the thread on topic because posters here are bashing each others' cities based on these things. I'm trying to get economic facts, but it seems like "attitudes" towards these things are still a factor to consider? I dunno.

Everyone, and Vindaloo (yes, New Zealand does sound good now), thank you for all the info on both cities.

So far I'm leaning towards Charlotte but will continue to consider Raleigh. We have time to decide (next two years).
Each city has its own advantages and we are still trying to see which of the two are a best "fit" for us.

[stefansanity]

Originally Posted by SmoothGuy

Definetely Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh are boring cities.

Give me 5 reasons why it is boring because that has to be a very dumb and blunt statment!

Charlotte is a great place warm weather between the beach and the moutains!
Big city vibe
It is a powerful economic city but at the time now with all the "bank drama" its at a standstill-but still nothing to stress over
You got carowinds right outside the city with brand new rides not to mention the Intimidator the longest, fastest, tallest roller coaster in the south east
the Char-Meck School system is great there are so many schools to choose from 92 elem. schools 34 middle schools and 30 high schools to choose from!

SO MANY MALLS!!

lots of community fun

Great safe and fun suberbs and areas like NoDa(north davidson) South End . . .

Its wounderful!!

[urbancharlotte]

Well, I certainly won't make any bold predictions about which area will outgrow which in the future. However, here are some interesting facts on the growth of both areas between 2000 and 2008.

The following are the stats on all counties in the Charlotte Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

Mecklenburg County
526 sq/mi of land
695,370 (2000 population)
890,515 (2008 population)
28.1% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Mecklenburg County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Gaston County
356 sq/mi of land
190,422 (2000 population)
206,679 (2008 population)
8.5% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Gaston County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

York County
682 sq/mi of land
164,623 (2000 population)
217,448 (2008 population)
32.1% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
York County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Union County
637 sq/mi of land
123,772 (2000 population)
193,255 (2008 population)
56.1% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Union County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Cabarrus County
364 sq/mi of land
131,063 (2000 population)
168,740 (2008 population)
28.7% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Cabarrus County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Anson County
532 sq/mi of land
25,275 (2000 population)
25,162 (2008 population)
-0.4% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Anson County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

The following are the stats on all counties in the Raleigh/Durham Combined Statistical Area (CSA)

Wake County
832 sq/mi of land
627,850 (2000 population)
866,410 (2008 population)
38.0% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Wake County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Johnston County
792 sq/mi of land
121,955 (2000 population)
163,428 (2008 population)
34.0% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Johnston County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Franklin County
492 sq/mi of land
47,260 (2000 population)
58,927 (2008 population)
24.7% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Franklin County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Durham county
290 sq/mi of land
223,314 (2000 population)
262,715 (2008 population)
17.6% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Durham County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Orange County
400 sq/mi of land
115,533 (2000 population)
126,532 (2008 population)
9.5% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Orange County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Chatham County
683 sq/mi of land
49,326 (2000 population)
63,077 (2008 population)
27.9% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Chatham County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Person County
392 sq/mi of land
35,623 (2000 population)
37,438 (2008 population)
5.1% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Person County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Harnett County
595 sq/mi of land
91,006 (2000 population)
112,030 (2008 population)
23.1% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
Harnett County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau


Here is how both metros compare.

Charlotte (MSA)
3,097 sq/mi of land
1,330,525 (2000 population)
1,701,799 (2008 population)
27.9% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
371,274 (numerical growth from 2000 to 2008)

Raleigh/Durham (CSA)
4,476 sq/mi of land
1,311,867 (2000 population)
1,690,557 (2008 population)
28.9% (growth rate from 2000 to 2008)
378,690 (numerical growth from 2000 to 2008)

The most interesting thing I've noticed about these VERY close numbers is the fact that Charlotte has done nearly the same amount of growth with almost 1,400 less sq/mi of land to work with.

Just the 576 sq/mi CSA county of Iredell alone (not included above in Charlotte's MSA stats) added over 30,000 people from 2000 to 2008.
Iredell County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Just imagine what Charlotte's "true numerical growth" would be if all CSA counties were included in the above comparison. I just basically compared the ENTIRE Triangle against only a fraction of Charlotte (and Charlotte still managed to keep up for the most part).

Again, I am NOT making ANY bold predictions here, but the recent past does show a pattern. Just saying...

[SunnyKayak]