Virginia vs. North Carolina (live, state, better, compare)
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You're using NoVa's presence as a reason to why Virginia is "better" than North Carolina. True, NoVa is a very nice metro, however it contributes to majority of Virginia's economic boost, ect, ect.
Leave Virginia without Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, King George, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren, and the independent cities Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park (the Washington CSA) and then elaborate on how much Virginia is over North Carolina.
Yeah, but it still counts. NOVA is a part of Virginia, so I don't get the "Leave NOVA out then compare VA with NC" sentiment. And even then, outside of NOVA, VA still has 12 F500 headquarters, its best universities, its most popular tourist destinations, a light rail system, a bunch of historic sites, etc. For a fair matchup, both states in their entirety have to be compared. The fact is that VA comes out ahead in some metrics and NC comes out ahead in others.
Richmond is a Gamma- city, Charlotte is a Gamma+ city. Two tiers higher.
I'm also confused on what you meant in the bolded statement. I don't think Charlotte needs to worry about "wresting) the FRB from Richmond. Citibank?
I'm not saying Richmond and Charlotte aren't alike, but I do think Charlotte and Atlanta have more in common.
You're using NoVa's presence as a reason to why Virginia is "better" than North Carolina. True, NoVa is a very nice metro, however it contributes to majority of Virginia's economic boost, ect, ect.
Leave Virginia without Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, King George, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren, and the independent cities Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park (the Washington CSA) and then elaborate on how much Virginia is over North Carolina.
Having a lower unemployment rate doesn't define a state.
Wrest- to pull, force, or move by violent wringing or twisting movements. 2. : to gain with difficulty by or as if by force, violence, or determined labor ... Webster's. Now Citibank, that was a slip... I meant Capital One, which has more than 7800 employees in Richmond.
For those who aren't aware, Charlotte has been trying to "recruit" new business to the area due to the collapse of the banking sector. They have made efforts to reinvigorate banking (like trying to lure regional offices/headquarters) but they have also really pushed to develop research based businesses and power generation groups. This is all easy to learn about with basic research. They successfully recruited the headquarters of B&W away from my town (Lynchburg), though it only resulted in an exchange of about 40 employees- and some big payoffs by the state of NC. Thankfully, B&W still maintains two other HQ offices here.
My assertion that Atlanta and Charlotte are different has to do with the fact that Richmond and Charlotte are categorized in the same category (though different subcategories) Atlanta is two categories above Charlotte.
Lastly, I'm not missing the picture at all in regards to NoVa. My assertion is that you could not exclude NoVa without changing the entire comparison. I would venture to say that many cities in more rural areas (i.e. Charlottesville, Lynchburg, etc) benefit from their proximity to that area in general (companies in NoVa and Richmond often have support offices or other sites in the Central and Western parts of the state). New Jersey is recognized more for the suburbs of NYC and Philly than anything else, so when making comparisons, do you exclude those parts of New Jersey; likewise for Nashua and Manchester NH. Another point... other parts of the VA are net contributors to the infrastructure of NoVa (until some form of taxing authority is approved) so how do you account for that inequity? I guess I'll really be screwed when the government decides to link the Richmond MSA with the DC CSA- after all they have multiple commuter trains from Richmond to DC daily. Soon the comparison will be with NC and VA west of Richmond.
Again, compare those smaller metros outside of the large population centers; you think that unemployment has nothing to do with it, but these smaller areas and more rural areas do an even better job of supporting my point. Don't get me wrong, I like NC- partial to the the areas north and west of Winston and Gboro and Wake County, but Virginia does have good things going for it.
Yeah, but it still counts. NOVA is a part of Virginia, so I don't get the "Leave NOVA out then compare VA with NC" sentiment. And even then, outside of NOVA, VA still has 12 F500 headquarters, its best universities, its most popular tourist destinations, a light rail system, a bunch of historic sites, etc. For a fair matchup, both states in their entirety have to be compared. The fact is that VA comes out ahead in some metrics and NC comes out ahead in others.
Thank you... I agree wholeheartedly! Better neighbors than not, and I think that is the way state leaders often approach things, particularly in the way of rail transit.
BTW, I like that North Carolina is less than a 2-hour drive from Maryland's eastern shore, and you get to take a 17-mile long bridge tunnel across the Chesapeake Bay to get there. It's kind of nice having yet another populated state so close.
North Carolina has nicer mountain areas, better beaches and better weather. North Carolina is also still completly in the south, a good part of Virginia has become part of DC. Its an easy one for me, North Carolina is the winner.
Despite this poll, more and more people choose NC over Virginia year after year after year. The gap in population between the two states just continues to widen over time.
Thank God, hopefully Virginia will stay as rural as possible.
I live in Raleigh, NC now but I can't wait to get back to Virginia after I graduate school! I'm from a small mountain town outside of Charlottesville. Virginia is FAR and away better than North Carolina IMO. VA is more beautiful, has better cities, better towns, is more historic, better weather by far, way to damn hot in NC, at least VA gets snow in the winter which is awesome, VA is just flat out better!
Virginia > North Carolina, and it isn't even close.
You give nicer skylines to VA? Interesting. I'd give that one to NC.
I think you could have included higher ed and pro sports in your comparison also.
I'd say DC is pretty close to being world class, although it's not close to the typical cities we think of when we think "world class."
Well if were talking sports, most Virginian's root for the Washington based teams of which three of the major-league teams representing Washington, D.C.—the NFL'sWashington Redskins, Major-League Baseball's Washington Nationals, and NHL'sWashington Capitals—have their practice facilities and operational headquarters in Northern Virginia.
Virginia also has two NASCAR race tracks in Richmond and Martinsville. So you see, VA has plenty to offer in terms of sports.
I'm a big Redskins football fan, and also cheer for the Capitals hockey team. But I pull for the Knicks and Yankees in basketball and baseball.
North Carolina has the Carolina Panthers NFL team, Charlotte Bobcats NBA team, Carolina Hurricanes NHL team, but no baseball team, (most Carolinian's root for the Atlanta Braves) two NASCAR race tracks in Concord and Rockingham.
People are talking about how much more urban feel VA has but one point I would make is that NC cities have MUCH better skylines than VA... still, NC skylines are not great when compared to other major U.S. cities but Charlotte's skyline still beats Richmond, Norfolk, and Roanoke (which are pretty much the only skylines in VA) combined. VA is pretty pathetic in that area.
Also people are talking about the different "feels" between VA's metro areas that NC does not have... well I'd say Durham-Chapel Hill, Wilmington, Asheville all have very unique feels. Asheville is unlike any other cities in the Appalachians and you can't beat the college basketball culture in Durham-Chapel Hill! It's true Charlotte and Raleigh are largely suburban but they are rising and in the not-too-distant-future Raleigh will be a mini-NoVa. Population growth in Raleigh is outpacing NoVa, by the way.
I'd also say NC's coast blows VA's out of the water (pun)... so many more miles of untouched coastline in NC. Also I'd take the Pamlico Sound which is teeming with life over the Chesapeake Bay, which is a dead zone, any day.
One thing Virginia does have in it's favor, though, is the large countryside. Really once you get west of I-95 and south of NoVa there is no major city... and it is nice that you can drive over 300 miles down I-81 from Winchester to Bristol and still be in beautiful, rolling mountains.
Um no, the skylines are about the same, NC has one very good skyline in Charlotte, then a few decent skylines in Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Durham, Greensboro, and Ashville.
Virginia has one above average skyline in Richmond and a few decent skylines including Norfolk, Rosslyn, Tyson's Corner, Reston, Crystal City, downtown Virginia Beach, and Roanoke.
And no, the North Carolina coast does not blow the Virginia coast out of the water, they are pretty even with NC having the Outer Banks, the Pamlico Sound and some nice beaches along its coast, but VA has Virginia Beach which is much more lively than any beach in NC, VA also has the eastern shore and the Chesapeake Bay.
And yes Virginia does have nicer, more scenic country side and more mountainous terrain than North Carolina.
Richmond, VA
Norfolk, VA
Rosslyn, VA
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