Greensboro, Winston Salem or High Point (Raleigh, Winston-Salem: crime, houses, neighborhood)

[sprtsluvr8]

So Greensboro is a void wasteland when it comes to nightlife according to FORBES??? Forbes is quite the expert on partying I hear...Those surveys overlook the Triad so severely, and I would venture to say that no one from Forbes has ever visited Greensboro. If you want to put faith in tired rankings of cities then Raleigh might be a good option. I wouldn't trust any surveys or statistics in making such a big decision, but I wouldn't trust strangers online either.

I wonder if the culture and nightlife included Winston-Salem or only Greensboro? You might want to check out this website that has W-S ranked as one of America's Most Liveable Cities:

http://www.mostlivable.org/cities/winston-salem/home.html (broken link)

That is one ranking I would pay attention to in choosing a new home.

[NCborn]

I grew up around Greensboro, but I've lived in various parts of the country and have spent time in many cities throughout the U.S. I have to say I agree with Forbes on this point. I mean, really, where are the cool parts of town? Where are there any areas with a unique flavor that defines Greensboro? Richmond has Shokoe Slip and the Fan. Washington, DC has Georgetown and Adams Morgan Capitol Hill and Old Town Alexandria. New York has Greenwich Village. San Francisco has Fisherman's Wharf and North Beach. L.A. has Hollywood and Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip. San Diego has the Gaslamp District and La Jolla and Coronado. Seattle has Pike Place Market. Boston has Beacon Hill and Boston Common. What does Greensboro have other than malls and strip malls? It seems the city has no soul. Downtown is dead. After 5:00, no one is there. There is simply no urban core. No heart. You walk two blocks from the center of downtown and you're suddenly in the suburbs. I know of no pedestrian friendly area of town where you can go spend an entire evening out for drinks, dinner and entertainment without having to get in your car and drive from one place to another. A place where people are in cars all the time with no human interaction other than inside business establishments is not what I would consider vibrant or even a city.

Originally Posted by sprtsluvr8

So Greensboro is a void wasteland when it comes to nightlife according to FORBES??? Forbes is quite the expert on partying I hear...Those surveys overlook the Triad so severely, and I would venture to say that no one from Forbes has ever visited Greensboro. If you want to put faith in tired rankings of cities then Raleigh might be a good option. I wouldn't trust any surveys or statistics in making such a big decision, but I wouldn't trust strangers online either.

I wonder if the culture and nightlife included Winston-Salem or only Greensboro? You might want to check out this website that has W-S ranked as one of America's Most Liveable Cities:

http://www.mostlivable.org/cities/winston-salem/home.html (broken link)

That is one ranking I would pay attention to in choosing a new home.

[sprtsluvr8]

Well obviously GSO is not going to compete on the level of D.C., SanFran, L.A. etc...if someone insinuated that GSO is on that level then I would disagree. As for Richmond...I do say that they are on the same level. I lived in the College Hill Historic District in GSO, with Tate St. bars and restaurants within walking distance. It was a really great place to live...and I had plenty to do there. Downtown isn't 2 blocks, but it's not a downtown I would associate with a city the size of GSO. There used to be clubs there, I went to one a couple of years ago, and there is a new baseball stadium downtown. There are also a couple of theaters there, the Carolina Theater and Broach Theater are both in Old Greensboro.

Winston-Salem is a different story downtown...it looks like the downtown of a larger city, and there is a lot of residential construction there as well. There is an downtown arts district, the Steven Center, Old Salem, the Bio-tech research park, lofts from converted RJR cigarette factories, a high-rise apartment community in a converted 20 story 1920's bank tower, and lots of arts/music events downtown...I won't go on, but between the two Winston-Salem has a better downtown.

[NCborn]

You've given me some information I wasn't aware of. It's good to know W-S has these projects going on downtown. I do really like Old Salem, always have. It's one unique place in the area certainly worth taking visitors from out of town.

Originally Posted by sprtsluvr8

Well obviously GSO is not going to compete on the level of D.C., SanFran, L.A. etc...if someone insinuated that GSO is on that level then I would disagree. As for Richmond...I do say that they are on the same level. I lived in the College Hill Historic District in GSO, with Tate St. bars and restaurants within walking distance. It was a really great place to live...and I had plenty to do there. Downtown isn't 2 blocks, but it's not a downtown I would associate with a city the size of GSO. There used to be clubs there, I went to one a couple of years ago, and there is a new baseball stadium downtown. There are also a couple of theaters there, the Carolina Theater and Broach Theater are both in Old Greensboro.

Winston-Salem is a different story downtown...it looks like the downtown of a larger city, and there is a lot of residential construction there as well. There is an downtown arts district, the Steven Center, Old Salem, the Bio-tech research park, lofts from converted RJR cigarette factories, a high-rise apartment community in a converted 20 story 1920's bank tower, and lots of arts/music events downtown...I won't go on, but between the two Winston-Salem has a better downtown.

[shaname10]

This is just my opinion. I have lived in Davidson County all of my life in the Wallburg community, which is located 15 minutes to High Point, 15 to Winston Salem and 20 to Greensboro. This school district (being Wallburg/Ledford Schools) has excellent test results and low incident reports, better than that of any others in the county. This area is great because of it being a small community with good schools and being centrally located to all of the cities mentioned above. It's more rural here but a close drive to the cities. Another bonus is that Davidson County property taxes are much cheaper than that of Forsyth County which is the county Winston Salem is in and Guilford County which is where High Point and Greensboro are located.

If you don't want to be in a rural are and want city limits, check out Kernersville, same positive things about them with centrally located within minutes to Winston, High Point and Greensboro. Kernersville is a smaller city than that of Winston, High Point and Greensboro. But, if you just have to live in one of the larger cities, it varies on what you like. High Point is the smallest city of the three (winston, high point and greensboro). Greensboro has the largest population of the three and Winston Salem is known as "The City of the Arts". High Point is known as the Furniture Capital of the World. So, between those three, it would depend upon your likes, if you are more artsy or if you want more stores, restaurants, etc. For me, if I just had to choose between the three, it would be Winston or High Point only because Greensboro has become so conjested, thus I don't like driving there. Yes, High Point has the furniture market twice a year, but other than that, it's okay. For me, I'd choose to live in the part of High Point that was just annexed in as City of High Point but is actually in Davidson County to get Wallburg/Ledford schools if you have children. You get city convenience but county schools there. There's a new community just built there named Laurel Oak Ranch. A friend of mine just bought a house there. She gets city garbage pickup, city police and fire service, but her kid gets to go to a county school that being Ledford High.
Winston is nice and I go there for shopping, etc. more than any other city. Winston is my choice and this is from someone that I can drive to High Point, Greensboro or Winston in the same amount of time and when I go out to eat or shopping, etc. I choose to go to Winston Salem. It has more to offer than you will find on certain web site opinions and polls.
Sorry for rambling, just thoughts running through my mind. In the end, you have to decide what suites your family and what you like. You may like more people/larger cities, or you may want smaller city near the larger cities, etc. But, there's some information to maybe help.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy it here when you move.

[TheMcNasty]

It all depends on who you are. If you're young and like nightlife, Greensboro hands down. Either near the UNCG campus or right downtown (try The Lofts, real nice places in the heart of downtown for not arm/leg expensive but they aint cheap either).

[wecanstayhere]

I enjoy living in greensboro. I would stay away from High Point. Every time I go I feel like it's a pain to get anywhere. It just seems there are 2 or 3 main roads and that's it.

I live in NW Greensboro and I enjoy it. Not exactly the most convenient if you're trying to get to I-40.

I am familiar with WS. I think it gets a little of a bad rap but just don't make a wrong turn

[ibeg4sushi]

I am bumping this post up because, well, it rocks.

[roygerdodger]

I'm surprised no one here likes High Point (and yeah, it's kinda boring).

[wsnc62]

I like High Point. It is certainly smaller than either Winston-Salem or Greensboro, but in some ways it is even more international with the people from all over the world who visit the Home Furnishings Market in Apr and Oct.
There are good things about all three of the Triad cities. Greensboro may be a little more urban with newer roads (sometimes one might think that is all Greensboro is), but I like the way the Expressways cut right thru the heart of Winston-Salem, bringing you closer to downtown. In Greensboro,
you, you have to drive thru the projects to get to downtown from an exit off I40. People debate that Greensboro has more nightlife all the time, but indeed the vast majority of it is confined to a 5-6 block area of South Elm
Street. In Winston-Salem, the nightlife is more spread out: two sections of West Fourth St, Trade St in the Arts District, and Burke Street in the West End.
Greensboro may have a slight edge in population, and a few more stores when it comes to shopping. Winston-Salem has a slight edge in higher
median income, and a more diverse assemblage of historic sites, architecture, and the arts. Greensboro is closer to the Zoo, Winston-Salem is closer to the mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
I live in Charlotte, and I personally like Winston-Salem better. It offers more in the areas of my interests from history, the arts and museums,
proximity to the Yadkin Valley Wine Region, and the strides made to revitalize downtown and diversify the economy. It was just ranked by the
Milken Institute (research) group 99th in the country....Greensboro was down to 141st.