Winston-Salem

[Kootr]

Originally Posted by NewDad

Hi Kooter, I would agree with you about the above up until ten years ago. I'm not sure when you left but DT winston has changed dramatically in the past ten years. There are a lot of nice restaurants that have opened up and a few bars. During the warmer months there are public events thursday, friday and saturday nights downtown. We even have our own brewery DT that opened up four years ago.

Just wanted to clear this up for those looking to move here.

I moved away only 14 months ago. Yes, I'm aware there are a few restaurants that opened downtown, but if I recall correctly one or two went out of business fairly quickly because they couldn't make it. Also, I recall that the city helped fund the opening of at least one restaurant due to the high risk that it wouldn't make it. The brewery did seem to be doing okay the last I recall, and I hope it helps bring other [similar] places downtown. I remember the Thursday events, but not the Friday and Saturday events. The few times I went there wasn't much attendance however. Hope things will improve...

How have the condos/apartments done in downtown on Broad Street (where Modern Chevrolet used to be), the old tobacco buildings (near Main St.) and (I think) also on 4th Street? Did they finish them and sell them all? I just could never imagine living in downtown W-S...

I see you live in Lewisville. I also lived in Lewisville for about ten years before moving back inside W-S in 1996. I lived in Brook Acres Farm. I grew up in Ardmore on Hawthorne Rd. near Ebert St. as a child (went to Ardmore Elementary on Miller St., Dalton Jr. High on Bolton St. and Reynolds High). My son went to Forsyth Country Day School. As an adult I lived in New Sherwood, then in Lewisville, and then back in New Sherwood again.

I have a lot of fond memories growing up and living in Winston-Salem. However, when my son became a teenager I [really] realized there wasn't much for teenagers to do that was productive. Thank goodness he was totally consumed with playing junior tournament golf all over the southeast from age 11 through age 18, otherwise it would have been difficult finding something meaningful and productive for him to do.

[Tarheelhombre]

There is a huge new mixed use development proposed on the north side of town that will expand the Piedmont Triad Research Park. The development is being done by the firm that developed Baltimore's Inner Harbor, and they envision a bustling entertainment, retail, and office district that will make center city Winston-Salem a 24/7 regional destination. The ambitious project has been planned for a while and has some serious backing, so it looks like it will come to fruition.

[wsnc62]

It is always mind boggling when people local or otherwise say there is nothing to do in the Piedmont Triad, or Winston-Salem, regardless of the age of the individual. I grew up in neighboring Yadkin County, so I know first hand what few choices a young person had in activities compared to living in town, a small city, mid-sized city, or metropolis for that matter. I have lived in Winston-Salem twice, and in Charlotte twice, and have to say that for the overall quality of living, cost of living, friendliness and ease of meeting new people, and activities of interest, Winston-Salem wins hands down. Compared to Charlotte, Winston-Salem has retained more of it's sense of style, history, and soul.
As far as there being nothing to do...all I could say to such a whiner is that you haven't looked very far, or you are either very limited in your interests. There couldn't be more to do in Winston-Salem than you could possibly hope for, in relation to the size of the city. If you like nature....you have hiking and/or camping at Hanging Rock, Stone Mtn, or Pilot Mtn, canoeing along the Yadkin, boating and skiing at Belews Lake or HighRock, fishing at Salem Lake. You like history....there is Old Salem, Horne Creek Farm. You like shopping...there is Hanes Mall, Reynolda Village, antique shoppes galore. You like museums.... you have Reynolda,
MESDA, the Toy Museum, Museum of Anthropology, Winston Cup Museum.
You like sports....you have ACC sports at your doorstep, Minor League Baseball, the Davis Cup, Bowman Gray racing. You like concerts and performance....there is Stevens Center, De Mille Theatre, Reynolds Auditorium, LJVM Coliseum. You like wine....a myriad of vineyards and wineries to the north and west of Winston-Salem. Festivals...there are too many to count....RiverRun Film, Black Theatre Festival, Latino Fest, Greek Fest, Festival of Lights. Music and art galleries abound...the hills are alive, in, as well as around W-S. The NC Zoo is less than an hours drive. So is the Blue Ridge Parkway. Get a clue...get a map...read Smitty...go to Sweet Potatoes, attend a gallery crawl, go dancing at Odyssey, listen to some jazz at SpeakEasy. Just no more whining.

[roadpony]

Originally Posted by wsnc62

It is always mind boggling when people local or otherwise say there is nothing to do in the Piedmont Triad, or Winston-Salem, regardless of the age of the individual. ..... Get a clue...get a map...read Smitty...go to Sweet Potatoes, attend a gallery crawl, go dancing at Odyssey, listen to some jazz at SpeakEasy. Just no more whining.

Amen!!!

[Elm&McGee]

Originally Posted by Kooter

I was born in Winston-Salem and lived there for 57 years. Winston-Salem is a nice small to mid-size city with four seasons, which is close [enough] to the mountains and coast. The surrounding area has lots of golf courses if you like to play golf. It's a really good place to raise children from a parent's perspective, but probably not necessarily from an older child's perspective...or a young adult's perspective. Also, a couple of the high schools (Mt. Tabor & Reynolds) are ranked somewhat high on the list.

Downtown Winston-Salem is one of the many cities in the country that just can't seem to revitalize itself. Winston-Salem was once a manufacturing town with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and Hanes being the two major industries. Over the years it became a little more service oriented with banking (Wachovia Bank) and insurance companies. However, over the past decade Wachovia was acquired by First Union Bank and the headquarters was moved to Charlotte, which eliminated thousands of jobs. And other companies seemed to migrate elsewhere also.

There's not much activity in downtown during the day, and it's dead at night. In fact it's pretty dead most everywhere in the entire city. Winston-Salem doesn't offer very much in terms of what young adults are looking for, and therefore a large percentage of the children that go off to college do not return. Once they learn that other cities have a night-life, pro sports, a younger population, and much better employment opportunities, they usually make their home elsewhere. Hence, the average age of the population has increased. Also, for decades the city has catered to the older citizens so much so that almost anything popular with the young people is looked down upon. For example, the police enjoy parking next to any bar type restaurant and pulling over people that leave in hopes they have been drinking too much. You would never find that happening in larger cities, and thus it puts a damper on any night-life scene. Hence, the sidewalks throughout the city roll up when it gets dark. Also, the police are very strict and enjoy writing tickets for almost anything and everything, much like a small city or town does. Something you would never see in a city that wants to prosper, grow, and bring in major corporations and educated young adults. (Sadly, the city's leaders have never figured out what the problem is!)

Winston-Salem has two great hospitals (Baptist and Forsyth). It is also home to Wake Forest University, which is a small private school with a reasonably high ranking. Many locals enjoy following Wake Forest sports, especially basketball and football.

You will likely hear many people familiar with Winston-Salem call it bucolic, and I would definitely agree with that description. But many people find Winston-Salem is the perfect place for them, and there's nothing wrong with that. It has a much slower pace than Raleigh or Charlotte, and cannot be compared to those two [other] NC cities...and in particular it cannot be compared to any major city. Winston-Salem is one of the cities that make up the Piedmont Triad, along with Greensboro and High Point. Even though the Piedmont Triad [area] has a fairly good size population, it has no resemblance to major metro areas that are recognized as major cities. You'll often find people from out-of-state have never heard of Winston-Salem before.

Winston-Salem is known as the "tree city" with tall oak trees and beautiful Dogwood trees that bloom in the spring. It has rolling terrain and a striking beauty to it. All-in-all the city is a gem that has lost its way due to (in my opinion) many poor decisons by politicians and city hall. A few suburbs around Winston-Salem (e.g. Clemmons and Lewisville) are nice little communities, but they also are much like Winston-Salem except on an even smaller scale.

I hope that helps coming from someone who was born, grew up, lived and worked (for over five and half decades), and raised a child in Winston-Salem. It's definitely not a bad place, but it's definitely not for everyone...

I think the proplem with Winston-Salem is people like you. I was just talking to a long resident of Winston-Salem the other day and he had nothing good to say about the city. Seems he is mis informed about what is currently happening in the city, especially downtown. All he could talk about was Greensboro, but he had no idea that downtown Winston-Salem has more projects going than downtown Greensboro. I work in downtown Winston and it is packed with people during the day time especially during warm weather. Right now there are tons of restaurants downtown. Foothills Brewery, Skippys, Hutch & Harris, Cats Corner Cafe, Wolfes, Camel City, NOMA, Quiznos, Brew Nerds coffee, Krankies Coffee, Downtown Tia, 6th and Vine, Sweat Potatoes, Fininagans Wake and that is not all. To name a few residential places downtown: Nissen Apartments, West End Villiage, One Park Vista, Traders Row, 836 Oak Lofts, Piedmont Leaf Lofts, Winston Factory Lofts, The Gallery Lofts, Goler Senior Apartments, Salem Place Townhomes, The Summit at Gateway, Tar Branch Lofts. I think change will eventually come to Winston, but it will not come from the older generation, but from transplants who move here and can appreciate all the charm that the city has. All the older generation knows is RJR and its heyday now that it no longer has a strong presence they think downtown is dead. Also check out www . sber . com to see what is projected for the north district of the Piedmont Triad Research Park.