Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
DC to Raleigh is four hours. People around Raleigh easily go on weekend vacations to DC. To be fair, maybe it's four hours to the edge of Northern VA because you'll definitely hit traffic before entering the actual district. I've never hit a lot of traffic around Richmond, so it's usually around four hours.
Atlanta has surprised me. I expect it to be closer, but it really is far coming from Raleigh. Last time I drove down there, I hit tons of traffic not only in Charlotte but around Greenville. It took forever. Even Baltimore is closer to Raleigh.
I thought this was an interesting question, too. Charlotte is clearly more like Atlanta, and it's closer. On the other hand, Raleigh is closer to DC, but it's also "shiny and new" like many areas of the Atlanta metro as opposed to areas like Arlington that are more urban and historic. Still, go to an area like Cary (very few NC natives left) and it might as well be outer Northern VA suburbs. Not that southern, really. Even the Atlanta metro has done a better job at clinging onto southern traits, but that's just my opinion. Maybe this is only the case in my mind because it's in Georgia, which is more southern (overall) than NC, VA, and MD.
I would say the climate of Raleigh/Durham is definitely more similar to Atlanta than to the DC area. Winter temperatures in metro DC are around 5 degrees colder on average, and there are typically a few inches more snowfall. Atlanta tends to have a slightly more moderate temperature range than Raleigh/Durham by a degree or two and slightly more precipitation, likely due to the more southerly latitude and higher elevation, but the difference is negligible.
The Cary/Morrisville area seems very similar to the northern Atlanta suburbs (east Cobb County, Alpharetta, Roswell, etc.) Mostly suburbia built in the last few decades with middle class to affluent families from all over the nation and beyond, working in corporate and technology jobs. While those characteristics certainly exist in the Washington area, the federal government and associated organizations are far more dominant than anywhere else, and the region tends to be more expensive, densely populated and overall faster paced than Raleigh/Durham or Atlanta.
Well none of those are actually like DC, so i guess the question should just say NOVA (by itself) or Atlanta.
I agree with this. If you include DC it's definitely more similar to the Atlanta metro. If it's just NOVA then it's very close and I'd say NOVA. But I can see saying Atlanta too.
I'd go for metro DC, personally. But more so outer suburbs like Manassas, Woodbridge, Sterling, Stafford, etc. Go closer to downtown Raleigh and it's more like Arlington. Not to mention downtown Durham feeling a bit like College Park, MD. It really is a more southern version of the newest DC suburbs (Northern VA). DC itself is a whole different world.
The Research Triangle is culturally, linguistically, and demographically more similar to Atlanta, a Southern city, than to DC, a Northeastern/Mid-Atlantic city.
The Research Triangle is culturally, linguistically, and demographically more similar to Atlanta, a Southern city, than to DC, a Northeastern/Mid-Atlantic city.
All three metros aren't that southern. Atlanta is arguably the most, then the Triangle, and then NOVA/DC.
Funny, some people would even say Richmond is more southern than Raleigh/Durham but I don't see that at all. At the same time, Raleigh used to be much more southern than it is today.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
