What do you like and dislike about North Carolina's Piedmont region? (Charlotte: cul-de-sac, crime)

[Rwarky]

Just as the title says, what facets of North Carolina's Piedmont, besides the proximity to the mountain and coast, do you like and which do you dislike?

[Rwarky]

Like:

-Rockingham County. Somewhat slower pace of living, rivers, smaller cities and towns.

Dislike:

-Too much sprawl
-Too many automobiles
-lack rivers or waterways in the central cities (CBD)

[DanielleNC]

I guess my dislike would be lack of water when compared to the beach and mountains. But I grew up near the Eno River and can just go there whenever I need a fix. Like I did the other day! And yes traffic sucks.

My like would be culture, shopping, restaurants, etc. Yes, Asheville and Wilmington have some of that, but I feel it is still too small and isolated.

[Rwarky]

Originally Posted by DanielleNC

I guess my dislike would be lack of water when compared to the beach and mountains. But I grew up near the Eno River and can just go there whenever I need a fix. Like I did the other day! And yes traffic sucks.

My like would be culture, shopping, restaurants, etc. Yes, Asheville and Wilmington have some of that, but I feel it is still too small and isolated.

Did you grow up around Durham?

[DanielleNC]

Originally Posted by Rwarky

Did you grow up around Durham?

Yes

[Tarheelhombre]

The lack of subways or light rail, except for Charlotte.

[rubber_factory]

for better or for worse, to me it is like one big crescent-shaped suburb

[mhuzzell]

What I like:
- The forests! Beautiful beautiful mixed forests, on varied ground, rolling hills, lots of interesting trees and other plants, and wildlife!
- Other natural landscapes. I grew up near some swamps that were very interesting.
- The Wake County public library system. I didn't realise until I moved away that not all local libraries/library systems are so well-organized and awesome!
- Mild winters.
- Museums!
- Universities -- some of the best in the country!
- Birds, amphibians, reptiles, other wildlife. I miss these a lot.

What I dislike:
- Lack of public transport. Made almost impossible by the
- SUBURBAN SPRAWL. Oh my word, it is bad. All over the place, seemingly unregulated, gobbling up more and more of the above-mentioned forests, and usually really poorly planned in terms of connecting up to existing developments (cul-de-sacs are a crime against humanity!), making cars necessary for anyone living in them despite having populations large enough to justify public transport if they were to be organized in such a way as to enable it. They are literally destroying the planet.
- Cary! See above point; Cary in some ways is simply representative of these to me. It used to be a sweet little small town. (Yeah, and Godzilla used to be a little bitty lizard, too!) Don't get me wrong, there are some things I really love about the place. The Cary Library. Ashworth's. Buffalo Lanes. Goodberry's. But I object to the town's rapacious, cancer-like growth -- it's quintupled in population in the last 20 years! I have inside information that a consortium of Cary businesses in the mid-'90s had ambitions to extend the town limits all the way up to the State House in Raleigh!
- The highways, which dominate the landscape far too much.

[Francois]

Cary! See above point; Cary in some ways is simply representative of these to me. It used to be a sweet little small town. (Yeah, and Godzilla used to be a little bitty lizard, too!)