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I don't know hardly anything about Greensboro but I've heard great things.
Speaking of population though, Richmond's Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) which is pretty much what you would consider the city.. not looking at boundaries... etc. Richmond is considerably larger than Greensboro.
Greensboro's MSA is around 740k while Richmond's MSA is closer to 1.3 million. Therefore, it supports more shopping. Not diving into deeper data, I would expect there to be other significant differences in the two cities as well.
I don't know hardly anything about Greensboro but I've heard great things.
Speaking of population though, Richmond's Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) which is pretty much what you would consider the city.. not looking at boundaries... etc. Richmond is considerably larger than Greensboro.
Greensboro's MSA is around 740k while Richmond's MSA is closer to 1.3 million. Therefore, it supports more shopping. Not diving into deeper data, I would expect there to be other significant differences in the two cities as well.
Because of the way the MSA was broken up you are right Richmond MSA is bigger than Greensboro/High Point MSA. However the CMSA of the Triad is about 1.6 million. Not sure if Richmond has a CMA or not. Richmond has a more urban feel than Greensboro and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Greensboro was not always bigger than Richmond. Its like Birmingham, AL. Today Greensboro is bigger than Birmingham city proper but Birmingham feels more urban because it was much bigger than Greensboro in the past.
I like Greensboro a lot. Needs more shopping areas though, imo
They are already way ahead of you,
The new site for Greensboros next big "upscale" Commercial area. plans are good, right next to the belt way aswell.
And the Skyline may be smaller then richmond, but it's still a lovely view of the gateway city. Plus there are alot more new buildings being built downtown. a first...in almost a decade.
Because of the way the MSA was broken up you are right Richmond MSA is bigger than Greensboro/High Point MSA. However the CMSA of the Triad is about 1.6 million. Not sure if Richmond has a CMA or not.
Petersburg is to Richmond what High Point is to Greensboro, more or less. However, Richmond has long been a bigger and denser urban area than Greensboro but it has no neighboring city of significant size like Winston-Salem to create a larger CSA.
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Richmond has a more urban feel than Greensboro and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Greensboro was not always bigger than Richmond. Its like Birmingham, AL. Today Greensboro is bigger than Birmingham city proper but Birmingham feels more urban because it was much bigger than Greensboro in the past.
As was mentioned previously, that's pretty much due to annexation. Greensboro is 131 sq mi while Richmond has less than half of that square mileage (63 sq mil); this is due to both NC's historically liberal annexation laws and VA's independent city setup where cities don't have the luxury of annexation and usually only expand by city-county consolidation.
One thing to keep in mind when comparing Richmond's MSA and Greensboro's CSA... population doesn't matter as much as location.. Other factors apply as well (obviously) but Richmond is an island surrounded by suburbia... Development in the Triad is somewhat different.
The 1+ million people in Richmond's MSA shop and work in the area. Especially when talking about unique shopping (not a Food Lion). People are more likely to go from their MSA locations (even near the outskirts) to go into Richmond to shop and work because Richmond is where they have to go...
A CSA of 1+ million that encompass multiple cities such as Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Highpoint is seen much different from a developers point of view. They each have major employers and attractions of their own and are not central located like Richmond.... People in High Point do not have as much of a need to go to Greensboro unless its a very specific and unique attraction that is not available closer. The Richmond area is much different- Richmond is where people work and where they do a great deal of their shopping, where they go to the movies.. etc. Hopewell, Petersburg and Colonial Heights do not offer near the amount of jobs, shopping or attractions that I am sure Highpoint or Winston Salem offer.
It is interesting to compare the two. The Greensboro area may grow to see many of the attractions of Richmond, but it's more likely that the attractions are shared between Greensboro, Winston and High Point.. whereas in Richmond, it makes more sense for a developer to look only at Richmond. Take the Triangle area, each of these cities have a fair chance to attract a major business, retail outlet or bit time development... Just my 2 cents.
One thing to keep in mind when comparing Richmond's MSA and Greensboro's CSA... population doesn't matter as much as location.. Other factors apply as well (obviously) but Richmond is an island surrounded by suburbia... Development in the Triad is somewhat different.
The 1+ million people in Richmond's MSA shop and work in the area. Especially when talking about unique shopping (not a Food Lion). People are more likely to go from their MSA locations (even near the outskirts) to go into Richmond to shop and work because Richmond is where they have to go...
A CSA of 1+ million that encompass multiple cities such as Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Highpoint is seen much different from a developers point of view. They each have major employers and attractions of their own and are not central located like Richmond.... People in High Point do not have as much of a need to go to Greensboro unless its a very specific and unique attraction that is not available closer. The Richmond area is much different- Richmond is where people work and where they do a great deal of their shopping, where they go to the movies.. etc. Hopewell, Petersburg and Colonial Heights do not offer near the amount of jobs, shopping or attractions that I am sure Highpoint or Winston Salem offer.
It is interesting to compare the two. The Greensboro area may grow to see many of the attractions of Richmond, but it's more likely that the attractions are shared between Greensboro, Winston and High Point.. whereas in Richmond, it makes more sense for a developer to look only at Richmond. Take the Triangle area, each of these cities have a fair chance to attract a major business, retail outlet or bit time development... Just my 2 cents.
Remember Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point were once in a single MSA. That changed several years ago. Despite the technicalities of the metro being divided its still a unified urban region called the Triad and developers and companies do look beyond the city limits of Greensboro when it comes to demographics. A CSA is just as important as a MSA. In regards to people from High Point coming to Greensboro, thousands come a day because their jobs are in Greensboro. There are Greensboro residents that work in High Point as well. Greensboro and High Point might as well be one city. The two have grown together and you can leave Greensboro, enter High Point and not even realize you left Greensboro unless you paid attention to the signs.
Remember Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point were once in a single MSA. That changed several years ago. Despite the technicalities of the metro being divided its still a unified urban region called the Triad and developers and companies do look beyond the city limits of Greensboro when it comes to demographics. A CSA is just as important as a MSA. In regards to people from High Point coming to Greensboro, thousands come a day because their jobs are in Greensboro. There are Greensboro residents that work in High Point as well. Greensboro and High Point might as well be one city. The two have grown together and you can leave Greensboro, enter High Point and not even realize you left Greensboro unless you paid attention to the signs.
True, iv'e done this many times...they are that close together.
I've always liked Greensboro. Dare I say it? It is my favorite NC city (followed by Raleigh. WS is my least for what's it worth). It has a certain homegrown coolness that the bigger NC cities seem to lack.
If it was closer to Richmond, I'd visit more frequently.
So Despite Richmond having a more urban city feel, Which is bigger between Greensboro & Richmond (Population Wise, & Geographical wise). Me, Personally, I say Greensboro. But what do yall think???
A lot is said on this forum about the subjectivity of "lists", their underlying methodologies, and the organizations who produce them, but I was very surprised to see Greensboro on a list such as this one. It's been a long, long time...
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