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Raleigh has had some of the fastest job growth in the nation for years. The area may have a slow month here and there, but the trend lines are very positive and the income levels are considerably higher than the national average. Indianapolis is performing respectably and may be a better fit for some people than Raleigh, but to claim that Raleigh isn't growing economically is inaccurate.
Raleigh is one of the fastest growing areas, especially economically and in population, that we have seen in recent history. IMO I do not get the big draw but certainly all the research universities and research triangle are 90%. It's a nice town, I just don't get why everyone is flocking there when there are many other mid sized southern cities which IMO are more urban and in some ways, nicer.
Raleigh has had some of the fastest job growth in the nation for years. The area may have a slow month here and there, but the trend lines are very positive and the income levels are considerably higher than the national average. Indianapolis is performing respectably and may be a better fit for some people than Raleigh, but to claim that Raleigh isn't growing economically is inaccurate.
Once again I'm not debating which is the better city but saying Indy is just performing respectably when compared to Raleigh is embellishing the facts just a little bit. From 2010 - 2015 (the current GDP release figures) Raleigh's GDP grew $17,134 billion. During that same period Indy's GDP grew $22,997 billion. Indy out grew Raleigh's GDP nearly $6 billion.
Raleigh is one of the fastest growing areas, especially economically and in population, that we have seen in recent history. IMO I do not get the big draw but certainly all the research universities and research triangle are 90%. It's a nice town, I just don't get why everyone is flocking there when there are many other mid sized southern cities which IMO are more urban and in some ways, nicer.
Once again I'm not debating which is the better city but saying Indy is just performing respectably when compared to Raleigh is embellishing the facts just a little bit. From 2010 - 2015 (the current GDP release figures) Raleigh's GDP grew $17,134 billion. During that same period Indy's GDP grew $22,997 billion. Indy out grew Raleigh's GDP nearly $6 billion.
Raleigh is one of the fastest growing areas, especially economically and in population, that we have seen in recent history. IMO I do not get the big draw but certainly all the research universities and research triangle are 90%. It's a nice town, I just don't get why everyone is flocking there when there are many other mid sized southern cities which IMO are more urban and in some ways, nicer.
When it comes to Urbanity, Walkabilty, Things To Do, Vibrancy, Culture and etc. Raleigh lacks in those areas. But it's one of the fastest growing Metro Areas in the country, Jobs, Livability, Schools, etc.
Raleigh is one of the fastest growing areas, especially economically and in population, that we have seen in recent history. IMO I do not get the big draw but certainly all the research universities and research triangle are 90%. It's a nice town, I just don't get why everyone is flocking there when there are many other mid sized southern cities which IMO are more urban and in some ways, nicer.
Having a large traditional urban fabric can be a great asset, but it isn't necessarily aligned with economic and population growth in an area. Raleigh also benefits from having a lower presence of declining legacy industries that are more prevalent in some comparably sized more "urban" areas. The area's appeal as a desirable place to live and work for educated professionals of many different backgrounds stands out more than its assets as an intriguing place to visit on the surface.
I'm not going to get into which city is the best but you are homering a bit. Much ado is being made by the fact that Raleigh rests on the east coast thereby is more accessible to nearby metros and populations. You also made it a point to state that Indy is more isolated compared to RDU. Indy is perhaps one of the LEAST isolated city in the country. However for argument sake why don't we take a look at which city is closer to major population centers (1 million or more people) within a 300 mile range.
Major cities close to RDU (300 miles or less):
Charlotte - 167 mi
Richmond - 170 mi
Norfolk - 184 mi
Washington, DC - 278.5 mi Total population - 11,614,906
Major cities close to Indy (300 miles or less)
Cincinnati - 108 mi
Louisville - 114 mi
Columbus - 175.3 mi
Chicago - 181 mi
St. Louis - 242.3 mi
Grand Rapids - 263 mi
Milwaukee - 278 mi
Detroit - 279 mi
Nashville - 288 Total population - 30,752,707
I lived there and it felt isolated compared to Raleigh/Durham where Indy is surrounded by corn fields. Greensboro, Greenville, Columbia, SC all have metros close to or over 1 million people. Plus when you get to DC you're basically in the NE corridor (Baltimore, Philly, etc).
Driving 100 miles out there seems like 300 miles. Dress it up all you want to, it's extremely different travel along the east coast hitting town/city after town/city than it was out there. Even traveling from the east coast was tough having to cross the mountains at some point.
Last edited by Big Aristotle; 06-26-2017 at 01:37 PM..
Excellent analysis. You can say a lot of things about Indy, but it's not isolated. And the cities that it is connected to IMO trump the cities connected to Raleigh in every size class. I have spent more time in NC recently for travel and there is definitely a bit of a "we are east coast south so we're better" vibe.
Lol, we are...you're taking this wayyyyy tooooo seriously.
When it comes to Urbanity, Walkabilty, Things To Do, Vibrancy, Culture and etc. Raleigh lacks in those areas. But it's one of the fastest growing Metro Areas in the country, Jobs, Livability, Schools, etc.
Ok, if you say so but I beg to differ having lived and traveled all over this fair country. It does fairly well in those categories depending upon where you wanna live in the metro. I mean where do you people live with all that superior urbanity, walkability, yada yada...Noo York?...as they say...Git-da-f-outta hear wid dat.
So a city's walkability or vibrancy score is 10pts higher in some useless index and that makes it better? Really, come on, 2-3 more blocks of urbanity in "insert city name" and the superiority attitude? I always get a kick out that one. "We have more culture, urbanity, walkable, etc"...but but RDU keeps growing, why? Because that shat is overrated and RDU does ok for what most folks need or desire...ya'll ain't NYC or Philly.
Ok, if you say so but I beg to differ having lived and traveled all over this fair country. It does fairly well in those categories depending upon where you wanna live in the metro. I mean where do you people live with all that superior urbanity, walkability, yada yada...Noo York?...as they say...Git-da-f-outta hear wid dat.
So a city's walkability or vibrancy score is 10pts higher in some useless index and that makes it better? Really, come on, 2-3 more blocks of urbanity in "insert city name" and the superiority attitude? I always get a kick out that one. "We have more culture, urbanity, walkable, etc"...but but RDU keeps growing, why? Because that shat is overrated and RDU does ok for what most folks need or desire...ya'll ain't NYC or Philly.
No....like pretty much all of Raleigh's peer city beat it in architecture, urbanity, and culture. Some similar size cities even crush it there.
The fact is, Raleigh was a small town for 95% of its history, and just recently came into its own as a medium-large metro.
A city like Indy has been a medium large city for 120 years. I actually prefer Raleigh to Indy for various reasons, but Indy blows it out as far as downtown, urbanity, architecture, etc.
Raleigh's advantages are weather, the universities, and research triangle. What happens is a lot of smart students graduate and say hey, this is easy living, cheap. Let me make a life here. You get that plus a lot of in migration from the urban northeast and you get an economic and population boom. Raleigh also was smart to build the freeways outside of the urban core (which is TINY compared to even Indy).
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