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I've heard the same thing from Texans. I lived in Texas years ago and it just wasn't my thing. Of the places I've been to in Texas, Austin would be my choice though.
I think that thing that's different about Raleigh than either Austin or Nashville is that it doesn't come with a branded identity and it's really a city that is "becoming a city" that matches its size. Raleigh 5 years ago is not Raleigh today and in a few more years, it will be a different place than it is today. As one of the fastest growing cities/metros nationally, there's a tremendous amount of activity in the entire metro but its core is probably going through the most significant transformation. All in all, Raleigh is attracting more than its fair share of newcomers and they tend to be well educated, talented, young and with disposable income.
And that is what many people fail to understand about Raleigh. The city is not obssessed with trying to brand itself as the place to be or stand on platitudes. While Austin and Nashville are busy maxing out their credit cards, Raleigh is dispersing all of her money into investment accounts.
And that is what many people fail to understand about Raleigh. The city is not obssessed with trying to brand itself as the place to be or stand on platitudes. While Austin and Nashville are busy maxing out their credit cards, Raleigh is dispersing all of her money into investment accounts.
Esse quam videri
To be, rather than to seem (NC's state motto)
That said, you are right. Raleigh tends to slog along and do its thing without creating fanfare about itself. It's the sort of place that people will soon ask, "where in the Hell did that come from?"
I think that there's also a mentality in the city that's akin to being a child from a large family. It has a focus not only on itself but, as the "oldest sibling" (or in this case, the largest sibling), it tends to keep a good portion of its attention on the health and welfare of the entire region. It's a city that likes regional cooperation, planning and success. For many Raleigh residents, including myself, it sometimes feels like the city is too demure in its position within the Triangle and the state, despite continuing to grow even larger than its neighbors. In the end, I am very happy with the city and it has a lot to offer and has an objectively measured balanced scorecard that is really hard to beat.
I've heard the same thing from Texans. I lived in Texas years ago and it just wasn't my thing. Of the places I've been to in Texas, Austin would be my choice though.
I think that thing that's different about Raleigh than either Austin or Nashville is that it doesn't come with a branded identity and it's really a city that is "becoming a city" that matches its size. Raleigh 5 years ago is not Raleigh today and in a few more years, it will be a different place than it is today. As one of the fastest growing cities/metros nationally, there's a tremendous amount of activity in the entire metro but its core is probably going through the most significant transformation. All in all, Raleigh is attracting more than its fair share of newcomers and they tend to be well educated, talented, young and with disposable income. The market downtown is responding accordingly with new offerings and options that are really quite special. The transformation is so rapid that it seems like new offerings and options appear weekly and new ventures and projects are announced at a rapid pace. It's the sort of place that either excites you as being part of that transformation, disappoints you that it's not all there yet but one can never consider it static. There's just too much transformation going on all over the place.
I agree that when a city is transforming it's both frustrating and exciting. Cheers to the future of Raleigh
Last edited by JMT; 04-25-2017 at 06:09 PM..
Reason: Dallas is not part of this thread.
And that is what many people fail to understand about Raleigh. The city is not obssessed with trying to brand itself as the place to be or stand on platitudes. While Austin and Nashville are busy maxing out their credit cards, Raleigh is dispersing all of her money into investment accounts.
How are Austin and Nashville maxing their credit cards?
How are Austin and Nashville maxing their credit cards?
Explosive growth with no major infrastructure upgrades, massive gentrification with little to no plans for low income residents, majority white cultural options and attractions, favor suburban style development, depend on the city brand to attract new residents versus having a more substantive plan, using Atlanta as a model for development versus more urban/smart growth cities. Raleigh is no utopia from my experiences, but there are major differences in the mindset of the city versus the others.
Explosive growth with no major infrastructure upgrades, massive gentrification with little to no plans for low income residents, majority white cultural options and attractions, favor suburban style development, depend on the city brand to attract new residents versus having a more substantive plan, using Atlanta as a model for development versus more urban/smart growth cities. Raleigh is no utopia from my experiences, but there are major differences in the mindset of the city versus the others.
Atlanta is actually a great model when it comes to the urbanization of Sunbelt cities with the Beltline, streetcar line, several new mixed-use developments, new TOD near MARTA stations, an increasing number of companies (re)locating near MARTA stations, substantial urban infill, new parks, etc. It's not 1987 anymore.
Explosive growth with no major infrastructure upgrades, massive gentrification with little to no plans for low income residents, majority white cultural options and attractions, favor suburban style development, depend on the city brand to attract new residents versus having a more substantive plan, using Atlanta as a model for development versus more urban/smart growth cities. Raleigh is no utopia from my experiences, but there are major differences in the mindset of the city versus the others.
Nashville maybe majority white options, but Austin is very multi-cultural. Austin citizens and its city council were very anti-growth, hell, they still may be. They do not give a rat's arse about catching Cincinnati or whoever is next up on the list.
Atlanta traffic is worse than Austin's and much worse than Nashville's. Atlanta is desperate for new residents. They even had a booth at Austin's SXSW highlighting why Atlanta is great for millennials. It would be great for Austin to have a transit system, but its downtown just isn't developed.
Explosive growth isn't on Austin, it's on the people that keep moving there. Best to stay away.
Nashville maybe majority white options, but Austin is very multi-cultural. Austin citizens and its city council were very anti-growth, hell, they still may be. They do not give a rat's arse about catching Cincinnati or whoever is next up on the list.
Atlanta traffic is worse than Austin's and much worse than Nashville's. Atlanta is desperate for new residents. They even had a booth at Austin's SXSW highlighting why Atlanta is great for millennials. It would be great for Austin to have a transit system, but its downtown just isn't developed.
Explosive growth isn't on Austin, it's on the people that keep moving there. Best to stay away.
Atlanta isn't "desperate for new residents"; it is still one of the fastest-growing metros in the country and continues to grow at a rapid pace. However, the fact that it was hit particularly hard during the recession and was slower to recover really cut into its appeal with millenials in particular, and that's a target group that the city is trying to curry more favor with.
Explosive growth with no major infrastructure upgrades, massive gentrification with little to no plans for low income residents, majority white cultural options and attractions, favor suburban style development, depend on the city brand to attract new residents versus having a more substantive plan, using Atlanta as a model for development versus more urban/smart growth cities. Raleigh is no utopia from my experiences, but there are major differences in the mindset of the city versus the others.
I agree with most of this, but I don't think the cities of Nashville & Austin are intentionally building suburban style developments within city limits. I can't speak for the Nashville development, but I know the Domain and Mueller urban town center developments in Austin are not TOD's like you find in Atlanta. Maybe that's what you meant?
I agree with most of this, but I don't think the cities of Nashville & Austin are intentionally building suburban style developments within city limits. I can't speak for the Nashville development, but I know the Domain and Mueller urban town center developments in Austin are not TOD's like you find in Atlanta. Maybe that's what you meant?
Austin and especially Nashville are enormous in municipal land area and, as a result, are going to have a lot more suburban development within their city limits by default. This allows the cities to have had, and continue to have, some level of control over how a good chunk of their suburban areas develop(ed). Certainly over their entirety, TOD isn't possible but it is possible to have multimodal "transit" inclusive of walkability and bike infrastructure as key elements of decision making.
For comparison, here are the land areas that I found on Wiki. They may be different now for some/all of the cities but it gives a good comparison.
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