Charlotte vs Raleigh area

[Cassie]

Oh heavens, no, Tarp. I'm so awed by superior wisdom and vast life experience on the part of someone who is at the ripe old age of mid 20's that I will promptly use my "ignore feature."

Tell it to someone who might be fooled by the *spin.* That person isn't me.


Regards,

Cassie

[Beffrey2]

First off,

Mapquest, is a joke! It is way off

I used it last weekend to go from Fuquay Varina to Winston Salem. It said the trip would be 2 hours and 10 minutes. Funny, I got there in just 1 hour and 45 minutes. That is going on interstate 40 with my cruise on 65. Then, I got lost, the directions were way off. I had to find the place on my own.

Never trust mapquest or any of those kinds of things. They are wrong!

[KingNCountry]

In response to the original poster and her question. You're not going to go wrong with Charlotte or Raleigh. They both have very positive aspects to them. And over the past few years both have received many accolades from leading business magazines (such as Forbes) and various travel magazines.

Raleigh and the larger Triangle area is experiencing tremendous population growth right now and the employment oppertunities for this area continue to increase. If you're looking for a job in the healthcare field then I would say this area would be your best bet. As those before me have stated with all the many University Hospitals (UNC and Duke ranking among the best in the nation) in the area you could easily find a high paying job there. Sure, Charlotte has good hospitals too, but it has nowhere near the educational oppertunities nor research and development that the Triangle has in medicine and other areas. A lot of the emphasis on this R&D comes through the Research Triangle Park, which is roughly in the center of the imaginary triangle from NC State- to UNC- To Duke which is where this area gets it's name. So, in general Raleigh-Durham and the Triangle are excellent for anyone seeking a healthcare, scientific, or technology related job. Raleigh also rates high on studies conducted on behalf on places such as MSN.com: http://realestate.msn.com/Rentals/Ar...umentid=694846
In their survey they rank the Raleigh-Durham area was ranked #6 nationally for best places to live for Singles, Charlotte did not make this list. MSN and others have mentioned in the past that Raleigh has a superior culture factor and nightlife to that of Charlotte, primarly because of the many University's and the associated hip culture that comes along with them. Raleigh along has 6 Major University's around the downtown area alone, and then of course there's Duke and UNC just 20 miles away. The Triangle also has a much lower crime rate, and on general people in the Triangle make slightly higher than those in Charlotte. The city with the highest per capita of income statewide is Cary, NC, apart of the Triangle. So, for these reasons I would go with Raleigh-Durham and the Triangle area for your stated criteria.

Don't get me wrong Charlotte is great and I truly love it there. If you're looking for the big city feel it's probably your best bet, it has a more of a major US City downtown feel to it with a beautiful skyline, and Raleigh's definitely cannot compare with that. It's also strong in the banking industry so if you had said that you had a finanical related job I would've reccomended it instead. But, as I said I would go with the Triangle based on the information you gave. But either way you can't go wrong. Thanks!

[socrates]

traffic in charlotte is very very bad. Almost as bad as Atlanta. There are just as many, if not more nice malls in the triangle.

crabtree
north hills
triangle town center
cary town center
the streets at south point
north gate mall (about to be renovated)

Charlotte is better for financial jobs, night life, pro sports (nfl nba nascar) and cost of real estate is cheaper. the crime thing really isn't an issue with either areas.

[friendnc]

Actually, the Charlotte area has more regional malls (malls with over 1 million sq. ft.) than the Raleigh area.

Raleigh (4): Crabtree Valley Mall, Triangle Town Center, South Point Mall, and Cary Town Center

Charlotte (6): Southpark Mall, Northlake Mall, Eastland Mall, Eastridge Mall, Carolina Place Mall, and Concord Mills Mall. There is a 7th in the works (The Bridges at Mint Hill)

[ryeager9]

Originally Posted by KingNCountry

Don't get me wrong Charlotte is great and I truly love it there. If you're looking for the big city feel it's probably your best bet, it has a more of a major US City downtown feel to it with a beautiful skyline, and Raleigh's definitely cannot compare with that. It's also strong in the banking industry so if you had said that you had a finanical related job I would've reccomended it instead. But, as I said I would go with the Triangle based on the information you gave. But either way you can't go wrong. Thanks!

I totally agree with this. If you want a true downtown feel with large buildings, Charlotte wins. I live in Cary and I think of Raleigh as being "a big country town". It is a big, sprawling area like Charlotte, but here there is more green space between the city and the 'burbs and the developments, so you will not feel like you are in a big city. IMO...Raleigh feels like a suburb of itself.

[Vansway]

Thanks for all of this great info re: RTP. I am also planning to relocate next year for similar reasons stated. Biotech is my thing and I look forward to pursuing it in the Triangle.

[DeLaSalle]

Originally Posted by Nea1

seriously?!! thats scary!!!! fish that can beat up a fisherman!!!! rules have changed!LOL

I ounce caught a fish soooo big it threw us all overboard LOL...

[Re Ankh]

Oh my God - I've been reading in the NC forum for a few hours and I'm finally feeling like I'm getting some honest assessments! I just know I want to move to NC (from God-aweful Ohio!) and just couldn't pinpoint to which part of NC. I've lived in many places (Cincinnati, Cheyenne, WY, LA, and Atlanta) and found NC offers a great range of just about everything!