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Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary The Triangle Area
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Old 01-27-2016, 10:30 AM
 
2 posts, read 8,921 times
Reputation: 15

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Hello All,

I wanted to reach out to everyone to get more of an opinion about Raleigh.

Currently, I work in IT and I live in Charlotte. I was thinking of moving to Raleigh, because my wife is in the science industry and I understand that Research Triangle Park has a lot of scientific opportunities. One of the major things we consider though is the livability of the city.


As of now I am conflicted though as to if we should move there. The reason for this is because when I ask people which is the better city to live, I usually hear Charlotte, because its a bigger city and has more entertainment value, so there is a lot more to do and makes it more fun than Raleigh (some people say Raleigh is boring).

However, every time I do a search for the best places to live, best places to find work, unique restaurants, best places for young professionals, low cost, etc... Charlotte NEVER is on these list and Raleigh AWALYS shows up on this list within the top 10-15.

The question I have is... is there some kind of disconnect between what people say versus what these articles are saying regarding the "livability" of Raleigh? Are these articles inaccurate on how they describe Raleigh and people are correct in saying that there is more to do in Charlotte and there is more opportunity in Charlotte? Or are people misrepresenting/underestimating Raleigh and it really is becoming the "IT" place to live?

Me and my wife definitely have a preference for urban/city living, but don't mind a slower place. I guess what I am saying is if Raleigh is more fun/livable than I have been hearing about from people, then I would definitely consider moving so I wanted to get people's opinions on this.
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Old 01-27-2016, 10:41 AM
 
Location: Southport
4,639 posts, read 6,326,866 times
Reputation: 3487
Both Raleigh and Charlotte are giant suburbs, with small urban cores. Charlotte's urban core is much more urban and developed than Raleigh...more high rise office and residential buildings, more non state of nc museums, an nba arena, a AAA baseball stadium, an NFL team, light rail, streetcar, etc., etc.

If I were a "young professional" and the job situation was equal, I'd move to Charlotte over Raleigh. You should visit both of them and see what YOU think.
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Old 01-27-2016, 01:54 PM
 
Location: North Carolina
2,679 posts, read 2,869,912 times
Reputation: 2161
Quote:
Originally Posted by carolinadawg2 View Post
Both Raleigh and Charlotte are giant suburbs, with small urban cores. Charlotte's urban core is much more urban and developed than Raleigh...more high rise office and residential buildings, more non state of nc museums, an nba arena, a AAA baseball stadium, an NFL team, light rail, streetcar, etc., etc.

If I were a "young professional" and the job situation was equal, I'd move to Charlotte over Raleigh. You should visit both of them and see what YOU think.

The underlined is so true, and I wish folks on both sides of the argument would acknowledge that...
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Old 01-27-2016, 02:40 PM
 
3 posts, read 10,702 times
Reputation: 13
I have lived in Raleigh for just about 6 years and love it. Most of the people you meet here will say the same (In my circle at least). Lived in Orlando and NYC prior to here. There is plenty do here depending on what fun means to you. The job market is great however extremely competitive in some professions.

Charlotte does have taller buildings and more professional sports teams. But, Raleigh has tons to offer as well. If you have specific questions I am more than happy to fill you in.

Last edited by SVRalNC; 01-27-2016 at 02:49 PM..
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Old 01-27-2016, 05:28 PM
 
Location: Chapelboro
12,798 posts, read 16,206,847 times
Reputation: 11213
What do you like to do in your spare time? That would be helpful in determining if Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill aka The Triangle would be a good fit for you.

My in-laws live in Charlotte, spouse grew up there, and we vastly prefer the Triangle, but ymmv. He really does not like Charlotte and actually prefers to visit his mom elsewhere like the mountains, but we're in Charlotte several times a year nonetheless.

Overall Charlotte is more business oriented and the Triangle is more academically minded. IT jobs are more plentiful in the Triangle and there are gobs and gobs of people floating around with advanced degrees, multiple PhDs, etc. Medical care is better here (Duke + UNC) and is also a big industry (the hospitals, plus pharma and biotech). More museums here, more pro-sports there. This is not a NASCAR region, we do still pull for the Panthers, though. We're all about ACC basketball here and don't really care that much about the Hornets compared to the rabid Carolina, Duke, NC State fan base. There's a great foodie scene here and a great beer scene. The music scene is really good, too. The Durham Bulls are a fantastic AAA ball team (so good they made a
movie about 'em).
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Old 01-27-2016, 06:06 PM
 
Location: South Beach and DT Raleigh
13,966 posts, read 24,000,674 times
Reputation: 14759
Quote:
Originally Posted by carolinadawg2 View Post
Both Raleigh and Charlotte are giant suburbs, with small urban cores. Charlotte's urban core is much more urban and developed than Raleigh...more high rise office and residential buildings, more non state of nc museums, an nba arena, a AAA baseball stadium, an NFL team, light rail, streetcar, etc., etc.

If I were a "young professional" and the job situation was equal, I'd move to Charlotte over Raleigh. You should visit both of them and see what YOU think.
This data point "sculpting" makes me laugh. It's as if the state museums don't count.

That said, if you want to live an urban lifestyle, you'll certainly be able to do it in DT Raleigh or DT Durham. Both are rapidly expanding and there's an enormous energy emerging in both. Other than the NHL in Raleigh and the Durham Bulls, the Triangle is mostly about college sports and rivalries. Others have already mentioned these things so I won't continue and repeat more.
Certainly one can live an urban, suburban or university oriented life in the Triangle with options for each. In the Triangle, it's also important to realize that one really has access to three different scenes in one place with each city's core within easy reach of the other for evenings out, exhibits, festivals, etc.
It's true that Charlotte has taller buildings and more pro-sports as well as one line of a light rail. The Triangle doesn't have these things. What the Triangle does have is variety, a highly educated population, the most progressive politics in the state overall for a metro and easier access to the beach. In DT Raleigh, you can live in various levels of condos from those that are more entry level and affordable to ones that cap the city's tallest building. Urban apartment projects and infill modern houses are popping up like weeds in the Spring all over downtown and its immediate edges. The warehouse district is exploding with new development that will transform that district in the coming few years. The parks and greenways are outstanding and represent an early model of investing in paved trail infrastructure that links the city, its parks and key destinations that can be reached by bike and or long distance running. And, yes, we have some really outstanding "state" museums in addition to city and independent museums throughout the Triangle.
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Old 01-27-2016, 07:07 PM
 
Location: Southport
4,639 posts, read 6,326,866 times
Reputation: 3487
Quote:
Originally Posted by rnc2mbfl View Post
This data point "sculpting" makes me laugh. It's as if the state museums don't count.

That said, if you want to live an urban lifestyle, you'll certainly be able to do it in DT Raleigh or DT Durham. Both are rapidly expanding and there's an enormous energy emerging in both. Other than the NHL in Raleigh and the Durham Bulls, the Triangle is mostly about college sports and rivalries. Others have already mentioned these things so I won't continue and repeat more.
Certainly one can live an urban, suburban or university oriented life in the Triangle with options for each. In the Triangle, it's also important to realize that one really has access to three different scenes in one place with each city's core within easy reach of the other for evenings out, exhibits, festivals, etc.
It's true that Charlotte has taller buildings and more pro-sports as well as one line of a light rail. The Triangle doesn't have these things. What the Triangle does have is variety, a highly educated population, the most progressive politics in the state overall for a metro and easier access to the beach. In DT Raleigh, you can live in various levels of condos from those that are more entry level and affordable to ones that cap the city's tallest building. Urban apartment projects and infill modern houses are popping up like weeds in the Spring all over downtown and its immediate edges. The warehouse district is exploding with new development that will transform that district in the coming few years. The parks and greenways are outstanding and represent an early model of investing in paved trail infrastructure that links the city, its parks and key destinations that can be reached by bike and or long distance running. And, yes, we have some really outstanding "state" museums in addition to city and independent museums throughout the Triangle.
Glad I was able to give you a chuckle! Obviously the state museums count, otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned them, now would I?

OP didn't ask about Durham, so thats no more relevant than New York City.

Raleigh is closer to the beaches, Charlotte is closer to the mountains. Blah blah blah.

Of course its cheaper to live in d'town Raleigh vs. d'town Charlotte. I already enumerated the reasons why. And the OP didn't ask which one had cheaper rent.

You're personalizing this, and there's no reason to. As I said, the OP needs to visit both and decide which one they like better.
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Old 01-27-2016, 08:07 PM
 
3,859 posts, read 4,234,705 times
Reputation: 4504
Quote:
Originally Posted by poppydog View Post
What do you like to do in your spare time? That would be helpful in determining if Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill aka The Triangle would be a good fit for you.

My in-laws live in Charlotte, spouse grew up there, and we vastly prefer the Triangle, but ymmv. He really does not like Charlotte and actually prefers to visit his mom elsewhere like the mountains, but we're in Charlotte several times a year nonetheless.

Overall Charlotte is more business oriented and the Triangle is more academically minded. IT jobs are more plentiful in the Triangle and there are gobs and gobs of people floating around with advanced degrees, multiple PhDs, etc. Medical care is better here (Duke + UNC) and is also a big industry (the hospitals, plus pharma and biotech). More museums here, more pro-sports there. This is not a NASCAR region, we do still pull for the Panthers, though. We're all about ACC basketball here and don't really care that much about the Hornets compared to the rabid Carolina, Duke, NC State fan base. There's a great foodie scene here and a great beer scene. The music scene is really good, too. The Durham Bulls are a fantastic AAA ball team (so good they made a
movie about 'em).
What? Come on, that sounds rather brattish and close to dammit crazy. As if though it's a struggle to spend time in Charlotte...what is wrong with you people?.....grow up before it's too late.

OP, just move to RDU, check out places in and around I-440 for urban experiences in Raleigh. Most people are afraid of Durham due to its demographics, especially near the downtown area but if you don't mind living in a really "diverse" environment, it is an option. Chapel Hill is the quintessential college town and could be a good fit.

RDU is more down home eastern NC and Charlotte's job is to chase big bad Atlanta so it does thing on a "bigger" scale.

Charlotte is definitely more business/corporate oriented with one centralized downtown area whereas RDU is a 3 city mesh, tech heavy/collegiate with historic southern charm. RDU might not have a race track but it's without a doubt Nascar country that sometimes gets overshadowed by collegiate sports, especially basketball.
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Old 01-27-2016, 08:16 PM
 
Location: Chapelboro
12,798 posts, read 16,206,847 times
Reputation: 11213
Quote:
Originally Posted by poppydog
My in-laws live in Charlotte, spouse grew up there, and we vastly prefer the Triangle, but ymmv. He really does not like Charlotte and actually prefers to visit his mom elsewhere like the mountains, but we're in Charlotte several times a year nonetheless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Aristotle View Post
What? Come on, that sounds rather brattish and close to dammit crazy. As if though it's a struggle to spend time in Charlotte...what is wrong with you people?.....grow up before it's too late.
It's a personal opinion. I didn't say anyone else should feel the same way. It's not brattish.

He grew up in Charlotte and does not like the city. None of us in our immediate family have a particular affinity for it. Our teens don't particularly like it, either, but they do like to visit grandma. We all prefer meeting her in Boone at her mountain house there, though, which we do many times a year.
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Old 01-27-2016, 08:19 PM
PDF
 
11,395 posts, read 13,327,704 times
Reputation: 6707
Quote:
Originally Posted by rnc2mbfl View Post
This data point "sculpting" makes me laugh. It's as if the state museums don't count.

That said, if you want to live an urban lifestyle, you'll certainly be able to do it in DT Raleigh or DT Durham. Both are rapidly expanding and there's an enormous energy emerging in both. Other than the NHL in Raleigh and the Durham Bulls, the Triangle is mostly about college sports and rivalries. Others have already mentioned these things so I won't continue and repeat more.
Certainly one can live an urban, suburban or university oriented life in the Triangle with options for each. In the Triangle, it's also important to realize that one really has access to three different scenes in one place with each city's core within easy reach of the other for evenings out, exhibits, festivals, etc.
It's true that Charlotte has taller buildings and more pro-sports as well as one line of a light rail. The Triangle doesn't have these things. What the Triangle does have is variety, a highly educated population, the most progressive politics in the state overall for a metro and easier access to the beach. In DT Raleigh, you can live in various levels of condos from those that are more entry level and affordable to ones that cap the city's tallest building. Urban apartment projects and infill modern houses are popping up like weeds in the Spring all over downtown and its immediate edges. The warehouse district is exploding with new development that will transform that district in the coming few years. The parks and greenways are outstanding and represent an early model of investing in paved trail infrastructure that links the city, its parks and key destinations that can be reached by bike and or long distance running. And, yes, we have some really outstanding "state" museums in addition to city and independent museums throughout the Triangle.
Excellent post. I'm a single young professional and I chose to live in Raleigh over Charlotte...with job offers in both cities. Charlotte looks better on paper, but of course there's more to it than that.
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