Which city is prettier and safer: Winston Salem or Greensboro? (Charlotte: recreation, news)

[gimme it]

thanks for your responses.

[SunnyKayak]

They both are pretty with their own since of character and natural beauty.
They both have their own since of a few sketchy areas.
I think Winston has more rolling hills terrain.
You should visit both and see which one will meet your needs in life more before deciding.
Which ever is decided on the other city is a short distance away.

[roanoker 4]

I live 2 hours from both cities and I like Greensboro, although Winston Salem people seem much friendlier to me as a visitor. Greensboro city traffic seems to flow much better than W-S. and there seems to be a lot of green everywhere, hence "Greensboro"? The people in Greensboro seem to like their parks and downtown seems a lot less congested, although it seems rather dead to me, since Greensboro is a large city now. With all of the new road
construction in Carolina I hope you like your car. I think the area from Charlotte/W-S/Greensboro/Raleigh is growing together into a major metropolis. Good Luck!!

[Ragdoll Kitty Lover]

It depends on what you consider pretty. I love the Winston-Salem area, which is why I chose it. There is so much variety. I do not find traffic congestion here at all except down by the Hanes Mall. Many parts of the city are in the process of growing, but the rolling hills, lush green fields, picturesque ponds, WONDERFUL flowering trees, and the lovely residential streets near the center of the city with the wide variety of architectural style are all appealing to me. Even the shopping centers have trees and greenery!

I love watching Greensboro when flying into the airport, enjoyed the few areas I have explored there, and find it more congested than W-S. I liked both cities better than the Raleigh area.

As far as crime, both cities have their areas where I wouldn't go at night (or in the day). But then, I came from a city that had the same problems. It's everywhere.

[LTrogdon]

The Summerfield/Oak Ridge area is the safest and in between both Winston and Greensboro.

[mm34b]

The NC State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) ranks the City of Winston-Salem as having a lower per-capita violent crime rate than the City of Greensboro in 2006. Their annual Crime Report will be issued next month covering NC crime in 2007.

2006 SBI Report - http://sbi2.jus.state.nc.us/crp/publ...%20Summary.pdf

[tippster]

I would lean towards Winston Salem. I have always felt safer there compared to Greensboro.

[Caodhan]

Greensboro and Winston are fairly equal in their beauty and safety, in my eyes. This comes from someone that was born and raised here (since 1987).

Although the statistics do report that Greensboro does have a higher incidence of crime, Winston's crime rate has increased 10% while Greensboro's has remained relatively steady at a 1% increase. This is lower than Raleigh's which is at 2%.

Neither city is dangerous, and I've never felt like I haven't been safe, even in the higher crime areas of both cities. The point I am trying to make is that, do not believe the hype that might come from news reports. Come and see what each city has to offer. I would not mind living in either one and making a living here.

Greensboro seems to have more parks, and more of a diverse feel than Winston, but that city also has a beautiful downtown, which is comparable to Greensboro's.

The only thing I do not like about either city is that they are not very friendly towards mass transit and other forms of transport other than the automobile. There have been slow moves to change this, however. Greensboro has gotten more bike-friendly these days which is great, especially with gasoline hitting almost $3.70 a gallon.

I do regret that the Parks and Recreation bond did not pass last Tuesday though, that really would've made the quality of life even better here.

[gsoboi]

I agree that it depends on the definition of pretty. What I love about Winston-Salem is the topography. There are alot of big hills in the city and that adds to the beauty of the city making it more of a foothill city. Greensboro is more flat but it has alot of green and beautiful parks. The highways in Greensboro are much newer and cleaner. In terms of crime, Greensboro is probabally a little safer. Crime is a little higher in Winston-Salem due to the growing number of gangs that have taken root there.