Jacksonville or Raleigh. Which offers a better quality of life. (crime, chapel)

[M311]

Hello,
I'm self employed and am considering either Jacksonville or Raleigh for relocation. I'm looking for an area with ample outdoor recreation opportunities such as biking and nature walks. I also like ethnic restaurants and an area that offers some vibrancy and is fairly progressive as well as has a good business climate. For those who know both areas, what's your opinion.

[projectmaximus]

Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill is definitely more crunchy and progressive than Jax. You have a much stronger higher education base and better year round weather for biking and hiking.

But Jax isn't bad for the things you mentioned. Taxes are lower which is often considered a good thing. And also, as much as us urban-minded folks cry about the crazy sprawl in Jax, the RDU area is perhaps just as bad. Downtown Raleigh is ok, you have cool parts of Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Cary as well...but they're all quite far apart from each other. The Raleigh and Durham CSA population is significantly larger than Jax, but I don't think it necessarily feels any larger.

Just my two cents having spent about three weeks in the Raleigh area over multiple visits.

[StreetSmarts]

uhhh.... Raleigh, easily.

[Fl1150]

Jax is just fine in what your looking for but to be honest Raleigh is the capital of NC so expect it to be more up and coming than Jax. Plenty of areas are trendy here if that is what your looking so don't think it is not an option to look at.

[StreetSmarts]

Raleigh > Jax, and way more trendy.

[JMMH]

Both cities have opportunities for outdoor activities and plenty of restaurants. Anecdotally I would say Raleigh has less crime and better schools overall, but maybe I've just been reading too much into the Times-Union recently! You definitely get four distinct seasons as well but without many extremes.

The colleges in Raleigh have a much larger presence than the ones here, and both locations have similar venues for things like plays, concerts, etc. The beach is a bit of a drive east and the mountains are a few hours to the west.

I am very biased though as I grew up in NC and went to school in Raleigh. I enjoy living in the Jacksonville area and have a great job, but if I ever hit the lottery and did not need to work, I would move back to Raleigh in a heartbeat.

[ssclulow]

Raleigh. I'm in agreement with previous posts.

[fsquid]

If you are going to move to NC, go to Charlotte

[Fredesch]

North Carolina has majorly gone down hill with their governor leading the race to the bottom. Be aware it is not the vibrant high tech place it was 10 years ago.