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I think North Carolina is still Charlotte. Heck, some people here in DC called the Carolina Panthers the Charlotte Panthers. Some think the Carolina Hurricane play in Charlotte. Raleigh's name is growing but I don't think to most people it has eclipsed Charlotte yet.
I think North Carolina is still Charlotte. Heck, some people here in DC called the Carolina Panthers the Charlotte Panthers. Some think the Carolina Hurricane play in Charlotte. Raleigh's name is growing but I don't think to most people it has eclipsed Charlotte yet.
Just the idea that someone would even mention the possibility that Raleigh might challenge Charlotte is probably enough to rankle some feathers. Give Raleigh some more time though. In the last 60 years, it's moved up from NC's 5th largest city to its 2nd largest by a long shot. Its county will probably pass Charlotte's before the next Census (Yes I realize that its land area is larger) and its CSA including Durham is sitting at 2.1 million. This is a tremendous amount of growth for an area that was really tiny not so long ago. Its municipal population alone indicates that it's a bit more than half that of Charlotte's but the municipal make up is different in Wake County and Raleigh has less than half the land area of Charlotte. Instead, Raleigh is surrounded by more immediate suburbs like NC's largest suburb (Cary with 155,000) and several others that are rapidly expanding. Frankly, one wouldn't even know that they are leaving Raleigh and entering another city if there wasn't a sign telling one so. Raleigh's never been a city that has spent much effort promoting itself though and will likely hang under the radar for a while longer. It's not likely to worry about building taller skyscrapers than Charlotte has and it probably won't pursue more pro sports due to the enormous amount of top level college sports in the Triangle. It will muddle along until one day more people realize that it's much more than they expected. Still, it's not likely to worry about being bigger than Charlotte, only better. Frankly, the people of Raleigh already think that's the case. Of course, the same is true for the people in Charlotte. It's a sibling rivalry of two of Americas fastest growing metros in the same state and together they are beginning to really dominate the state in ways that they hadn't previously.
...and yes, the Carolina Hurricanes are in Raleigh, not Charlotte, and still own the state's only big 4 pro sports championship with the 2006 Stanley Cup.
I just wanted to chime in about Austin. I'm 23 and have only been to Texas once when I was 11 and I barely remember it. I am a snowboarder who has no interest in living in Texas and has done zero research on anything Texas. If someone right now were to force me to move to Texas, Austin would be my first choice without hesitation. This is mostly because of the music scene. Is it overhyped? Probably, but all I know is people won't shut up about it and I love live music. I like that there are multiple world class festivals every year. I like the "keep austin weird" slogan. It's supposed to be bike friendly. I don't know much about any of the Texas cities, all I know is that it seems to be the best at a lot the things I care about. Now obviously if I was actually planning to move to Texas I would do some more research, but from an outsiders perspective I have to say that Austin looks much more appealing than Dallas or Houston.
Interesting question. I think the clearest example is Nashville overtaking Memphis. IMO, for a long time Memphis was the premiere city in Tennessee, but that has changed in the last decade or so. Memphis (city proper) still has a very slightly higher population, but I think that will change in the next decade b/c they are very close and Nashville is growing more quickly. Nashville has a larger economy and a higher cultural profile as "Music City". I would love to see Memphis make a comeback.
Several people talking about NC. To me Charlotte is clearly the premiere city in the state. It has a larger population, bigger economy and higher profile nationally (banking, more pro sports team, host of 2012 Democratic national convention, etc). Raleigh is great and possibly a better place to live, but its profile is not as high IMO. Like others have said, if you compare Charlotte metro to the Triangle it becomes a closer contest.
Another one that has been mentioned is Arkansas. Little Rock has historically been the premiere city in the state and still is. I think it is also still the premiere region in the state, but Northwest Arkansas (Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville) is growing quickly. With Wal-Mart money, the U of Arkansas, the Crystal Bridges art museum, and the natural beauty of the Ozark Mountains, NW Arkansas is very desirable and may eventually overtake Little Rock, but it will take many years for that to happen.
Virginia is another interesting case. Based on regions I think it would be tough to call, but as a city Richmond is head and shoulders above the rest IMO.
Charlotte doesn't dominate NC. It's not, and will never be the premier city. Raleigh has more competition in its area and is still the largest city in the Triangle easily. Charlotte has no competition on that level in its area. Also, Charlotte is almost double Raleigh landmass wise ( annexation helped). Like I said earlier, Charlotte is bigger by convenience. It still has a lot though (all that advertising) lol.
Philadelphia is located smack dab in the middle of the vaunted Northeast Corridor, Boston and New York to the north, Baltimore and Washington to the south.
does anyone seriously believe that Pittsburgh stuck in the Appalachians of western Pennsylvania could ever surpass Philadelphia?
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