Charlotte vs Raleigh area (Wilmington, Concord: real estate, neighborhood, purchase)

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by tarp

Both areas are nice.. but I would argue that the Triangle is a better location and is "classier". Crabtree Valley Mall has plenty of high-end shops and is the largest mall in the state. Overall, Raleigh is extremely clean and has more "nice" areas. Charlotte's Uptown IS better than Raleigh's downtown, but when you combine the accessibility of three downtowns (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill), the Triangle area offers much more. Also the Triangle has three big well-regarded universities and Charlotte has none. Nightlife in the Triangle is much better than in Charlotte. Also you are closer to the northeast... and there are way more jobs in the healthcare field. You will also find more of a mid-atlantic culture whereas in Charlotte the culture is way more southern. Meaning more sweet tea and country music...

You are seriously mistaken Tarp. In the first place, CHARLOTTE is the city with Neiman Marcus and Saks - not Raleigh, you can't get any more high end than that. Also, Charlotte has Queens College, UNCC and even Davidson College - these are VERY well-regarded schools. Of course, so are Duke, Wake Forest, NC State and UNC. In fact I would say NC is BLESSED with more great schools than the average state, especially for its size. Oh, and how about our sports teams? Tell me again where the NFL Panthers and the NBA Bobcats play?

The truth is, both regions have a lot going for them - it's not a competition you know. We are all North Carolinians. Feel free to prefer one area over the other all you want (which you obviously do), but spare us your blatant attempts to continually degrade or malign Charlotte, it is getting old.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

You are seriously mistaken Tarp. In the first place, CHARLOTTE is the city with Neiman Marcus and Saks - not Raleigh, you can't get any more high end than that. Also, Charlotte has Queens College, UNCC and even Davidson College - these are VERY well-regarded schools. Of course, so are Duke, Wake Forest, NC State and UNC. In fact I would say NC is BLESSED with more great schools than the average state, especially for its size. Oh, and how about our sports teams? Tell me again where the NFL Panthers and the NBA Bobcats play?

The truth is, both regions have a lot going for them - it's not a competition you know. We are all North Carolinians. Feel free to prefer one area over the other all you want (which you obviously do), but spare us your blatant attempts to continually degrade or malign Charlotte, it is getting old.

Oh, and I forgot one other piece of misinformation you gave out...
Concord Mills is the largest mall in the state at 1.4 million square feet. Crabtree is a close second however, though Concord Mills is the state's #1 tourist attraction.

[SusanF]

Originally Posted by tarp

Both areas are nice.. but I would argue that the Triangle is a better location and is "classier". Crabtree Valley Mall has plenty of high-end shops and is the largest mall in the state. Overall, Raleigh is extremely clean and has more "nice" areas. Charlotte's Uptown IS better than Raleigh's downtown, but when you combine the accessibility of three downtowns (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill), the Triangle area offers much more. Also the Triangle has three big well-regarded universities and Charlotte has none. Nightlife in the Triangle is much better than in Charlotte. Also you are closer to the northeast... and there are way more jobs in the healthcare field. You will also find more of a mid-atlantic culture whereas in Charlotte the culture is way more southern. Meaning more sweet tea and country music...

Thats a good point about the universities, I have worked at university hospitals in the past and really loved the academic environment. This is something I have thought about, but a bigger priority is to find the right place to call home. My husband is from the south and really misses the southern culture, so thats a plus for Charlotte. Which area would you say is more metropolitan? Which area (a hard question) is more welcoming to people from different places-or has more people coming from other places? I have heard both areas have lots of transplants. How do the suburbs compare? Do the Raleigh suburbs have towns with mainstreets, or are they comprised of strip malls? I do prefer towns, but I have to say I REALLY liked all the "strip malls" in Charlotte-they were certainly different that shopping areas I have seen in other places.

[mm34b]

You might also want to take into consideration the proximity of each city to the mountains vs. beach depending on your recreational preference.

[tarp]

I don't consider an outlet mall like Concord Mills to be the same as a real mall like Crabtree Valley Mall. Crabtree Valley Mall is more along the lines of the gold standard of U.S. indoor shopping malls -- Tysons Corner Center in Virginia.

Johnson and Wales as well as UNC-Charlotte; I'm sure they have some good programs but no one can argue that any university in the Charlotte area can hold a candle to UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, or NC State. Duke is ranked in the top five of all universities in the nation. And Duke's hospital is very highly ranked.. US News ranks it as #7 in the nation. See http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/.../honorroll.htm ... it's up there with Johns Hopkins.

There is a Saks Fifth Avenue at Triangle Town Center, and an Off 5th at the Outlet mall in Morrisville. There is no Saks Fifth Avenue in the Charlotte area. I just checked on the store locator on their website. Neiman Marcus does not have a location in the Triangle, but Nordstrom does at the Southpoint mall. And anyway, I personally don't like shopping at high-end department stores. Macy's is good enough for me...

[tarp]

The Raleigh suburbs have towns with main streets as well as strip malls. In fact all the suburbs have main streets... Cary, Wake Forest, Apex, etc. Some new shopping centers that have been built are offering beautiful pedestrian-friendly shopping environments. Much like Huntersville north of Charlotte has the Birkdale plaza, North Raleigh has the North Hills Mall (which is really nice actually). These nouveau-urban developments are taking hold throughout the country. Raleigh suburbs are overall very similar to the suburbs in Charlotte, except that there are more suburbs in Raleigh with their own town governments. In Charlotte, the city has annexed almost the entire county. Raleigh has some of the southern culture but you will find less of a bible-belt mentality in Raleigh than you would in Charlotte. You certainly do hear more southern accents in Charlotte than in Raleigh. Charlotte seems very much to be a church-going town, although that is changing as well. Raleigh is in Wake County, which has a MUCH lower crime rate than Mecklenburg County. The tax rate is also lower in Wake and the schools are better -- about 24 cents less per $100 of taxable value.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by tarp

I don't consider an outlet mall like Concord Mills to be the same as a real mall like Crabtree Valley Mall. Crabtree Valley Mall is more along the lines of the gold standard of U.S. indoor shopping malls -- Tysons Corner Center in Virginia.

Johnson and Wales as well as UNC-Charlotte; I'm sure they have some good programs but no one can argue that any university in the Charlotte area can hold a candle to UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, or NC State. Duke is ranked in the top five of all universities in the nation. And Duke's hospital is very highly ranked.. US News ranks it as #7 in the nation. See http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/.../honorroll.htm ... it's up there with Johns Hopkins.

There is a Saks Fifth Avenue at Triangle Town Center, and an Off 5th at the Outlet mall in Morrisville. There is no Saks Fifth Avenue in the Charlotte area. I just checked on the store locator on their website. Neiman Marcus does not have a location in the Triangle, but Nordstrom does at the Southpoint mall. And anyway, I personally don't like shopping at high-end department stores. Macy's is good enough for me...

I mistyped, I meant Nordstroms, not Saks. It was originally supposed to be Saks but Nordstroms came in instead. There is however, a Saks off 5th Ave at Concord Mills But all that is not the point I was trying to make. The point is that I have noticed you take every opportunity to malign Charlotte or pit it against Raleigh and that gets very tiresome.

[a1m1700]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

You are seriously mistaken Tarp. In the first place, CHARLOTTE is the city with Neiman Marcus and Saks - not Raleigh, you can't get any more high end than that. Also, Charlotte has Queens College, UNCC and even Davidson College - these are VERY well-regarded schools. Of course, so are Duke, Wake Forest, NC State and UNC. In fact I would say NC is BLESSED with more great schools than the average state, especially for its size. Oh, and how about our sports teams? Tell me again where the NFL Panthers and the NBA Bobcats play?

The truth is, both regions have a lot going for them - it's not a competition you know. We are all North Carolinians. Feel free to prefer one area over the other all you want (which you obviously do), but spare us your blatant attempts to continually degrade or malign Charlotte, it is getting old.

He or she must have missed something in Charlotte and I missed something in Raleigh I guess. To each his own. Charlotte is my cup of tea and not just sweet tea either You know how much I love Lake Norman oh and Birkdale, I can't wait to get back there, top that one I love that area!!!

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by a1m1700

He or she must have missed something in Charlotte and I missed something in Raleigh I guess. To each his own. Charlotte is my cup of tea and not just sweet tea either You know how much I love Lake Norman oh and Birkdale, I can't wait to get back there, top that one I love that area!!!

Well, Raleigh sure doesn't have anything like Lake Norman LOL!

But like I said, it's not a contest for pete's sake. It's one thing to tell people what you do like about an area, but don't think you have to bad mouth other areas to make "your" area seem superior (which is what Tarp does frequently)

Good to see you this evening a1m -

[a1m1700]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

Well, Raleigh sure doesn't have anything like Lake Norman LOL!

But like I said, it's not a contest for pete's sake. It's one thing to tell people what you do like about an area, but don't think you have to bad mouth other areas to make "your" area seem superior (which is what Tarp does frequently)

Good to see you this evening a1m -

Sounds more like progressive talk again. Charlotte is too southern or Bible Belt, I think that's it in the nutshell. Raleigh reminds me of upstate NY.

Oh thank you it's good to be back.