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I will likely visit soon and check out the city but here's the pros that I like so far compared to Columbia:
+ Professional Hockey team
+ Other Sports teams (AA baseball)
+ SOUNDS like it's very neat and clean (Columbia has come a long way but too sprawled out! It is somewhat neat and clean but could do better)
+ Love the idea of a thriving downtown, Columbia has two sectors that consist of bars. Have to drive everywhere downtown.
+ Closer proximity to the North
+ About the same distance to the beach (2hrs?)
+ I'm in IT (programmer/web/computers...) so hopefully that would make it easy to land a job.
+ My SO works for a bookstore as Assistant Mgr. I believe she can move up over there...
+ SOUNDS better for us 25 year olds.... a more lively place!
+Lots of trails and outdoor activities? It's way too hot in SC, we play softball for a league but everything is a drive and there's not a lot of bicylcing/jogging around except a few spots. Is there a lot of outdoor integration?
- No more gamecocks! But could drive if I wanted to!
- No nearby rivers? We've been tubing recently in summer and it's pretty fun.
1. Anyone move from Columbia to Raleigh?
2. I have a house here, and with it a lot of furniture. I believe I want to rent this time (but won't have storage for all the house stuff) and get a feel for things and possibly not jump the gun and buy a house. I love my house right now and I should be able to sell at a good price and still make out on it. I'm a good 4 months off before even able to do anything, who knows with this housing market too. I don't want to try and sell when the market sucks.
3. Maybe the grass isn't greener?
Columbia and Raleigh are both State Capitals that are also university towns. For me, that's a good combination.
That said, I think you'll find Raleigh to be significantly larger, more dynamic, better educated, faster growing and more culturally diverse. I have never lived in Columbia but I have been there on a few occasions.
I'd say that most of your assertions are correct except that there is a river nearby (Neuse River) but I am not sure if there is any tubing on it. The Eno in Durham might be another option for tubing but, again, I'm not sure.
As a part time resident of Downtown, I think you'll find that there's a nice energy brewing there and it's growing by leaps and bounds each year. New restaurants and other venues seem to be opening monthly and there are several more urban apartment projects under construction.
The two cities are indeed very similar, though Raleigh is bigger, but Raleigh is also very sprawling (which you mention as a disadvantage of Columbia). The downtown on Raleigh, while lively and "happening", is pretty small in terms of city blocks (compared to a "real" city) and the majority of Raleigh's square mileage is suburban, not to mention the surrounding cities such as Cary, Apex, Fuquay-Varina, etc that are even more sprawling. You'll discover that when you get here, and you can live near downtown and avoid the sprawl, but just to answer that one point, I'd wager that Raleigh far exceeds Columbia in sprawl, just because the population has grown so much faster.
Also look into Durham while you are checking the area out. It's closer to RTP (where lots of IT jobs are) and more "urban".
The two cities are indeed very similar, though Raleigh is bigger, but Raleigh is also very sprawling (which you mention as a disadvantage of Columbia). The downtown on Raleigh, while lively and "happening", is pretty small in terms of city blocks (compared to a "real" city) and the majority of Raleigh's square mileage is suburban, not to mention the surrounding cities such as Cary, Apex, Fuquay-Varina, etc that are even more sprawling. You'll discover that when you get here, and you can live near downtown and avoid the sprawl, but just to answer that one point, I'd wager that Raleigh far exceeds Columbia in sprawl, just because the population has grown so much faster.
Also look into Durham while you are checking the area out. It's closer to RTP (where lots of IT jobs are) and more "urban".
While I agree with this and find it to be almost exactly on the money I caution anyone thinking Raleigh is lively and happening if they are comparing it to larger cities. Read this thread for a little first hand experience - Getting bored with Raleigh
There certainly is plenty to do but please do some extensive research and visit often so you know what it is and what it is not.
And it's not any cooler than Columbia. Or if it is, it's just like 2 degrees, so don't expect a big change weather wise. It's also slightly farther to the beach. Maybe 2.5 hrs vs 2.
The two cities are indeed very similar, though Raleigh is bigger, but Raleigh is also very sprawling (which you mention as a disadvantage of Columbia). The downtown on Raleigh, while lively and "happening", is pretty small in terms of city blocks (compared to a "real" city) and the majority of Raleigh's square mileage is suburban, not to mention the surrounding cities such as Cary, Apex, Fuquay-Varina, etc that are even more sprawling. You'll discover that when you get here, and you can live near downtown and avoid the sprawl, but just to answer that one point, I'd wager that Raleigh far exceeds Columbia in sprawl, just because the population has grown so much faster.
Also look into Durham while you are checking the area out. It's closer to RTP (where lots of IT jobs are) and more "urban".
Clearly the the Triangle is going to eat up more suburban land than Columbia because it's much bigger. That said, the city of Columbia is WAY more sprawled than the city of Raleigh. Columbia's land mass is nearing the land size of Raleigh but with 275,000 fewer residents. Even Cary has more residents than Columbia proper on much less land.
The OP particularly mentioned that he didn't like to drive everywhere downtown (Columbia). So, despite your comparison of DT Raleigh to what you call "a real city", it sounds as if this actually plays to the advantage of the OP. The Downtown Districts are walkable (for walkers...at least for this walker) and what isn't completely walkable is accessible by DT's free circulator bus: the Rline. A great thing about the RLine is that its real time status can be tracked online via a smartphone. So, when you are DT and either can't or don't want to walk, you know exactly when your free ride is going to show up.
As for this assertion that DT Durham is more urban, can you please explain? I have seen this statement from you many times but am curious how you define "more urban" because, frankly, I don't see it as you do.
And it's not any cooler than Columbia. Or if it is, it's just like 2 degrees, so don't expect a big change weather wise. It's also slightly farther to the beach. Maybe 2.5 hrs vs 2.
Google maps says 2 hours 8 minutes from generic "Raleigh" to generic Wrightsville Beach.
Google maps says 2 hours 16 minutes from generic "Columbia" to generic Isle of Palms, SC.
Weather averages for Summer do show Columbia is consistently about 2-3 degrees hotter than Raleigh. Likewise, Winter days in Columbia are about 5-6 degrees warmer than Raleigh.....Spring and Fall are more moderate in Raleigh than Columbia. For example, Raleigh's average high in May is just over 79 while Columbia's is almost 84.
My sister married a man from Mississippi and when his family came up to NC for the wedding they thought they were coming to the "north". I think, occasionally, people do have a misconception that because North Carolina has that North in the name it's going to be 70 degrees all summer. Of course the converse of this is people from the north who think that since NC is in the south the temp is going to be like Florida all winter long. I'm sure the OP didn't think there would be that much temp difference, but I really don't think there's enough difference temp wise to really matter, personally.
As far as the time to the beach, it seems like it usually takes me about 2.5 from the time I'm in Raleigh to get to the Wilmington beaches, but ymmv!
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