There's such a disproportionate, high concentration of county Wealth in West and SouthWest Wake... how did that happen? (Raleigh: health insurance, credit)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I think a convenient answer could be the rich retirees coming from the North ... but I dont wanna give you Yanks that much credit...
...another answer could be proximity to higher paying Jobs at RTP with its workers choosing to settle in the west... but I don't think that entirely answers it either... Just wanna know all the variables that contributed to this phenomena that's lead to this concentration of wealth. If you look at the income map (aside from a smaller surface area of North Wake), there's no part of the county that's even remotely close.
Central to the Triangle.
RTP.
Easy Access to major universities.
50 years ago, Cary had leadership with a vision, that if they handled themselves properly, they could promote the area and create massive growth.
And, they succeeded beyond all expectations.
Cary approached buildout, and Apex and Morrisville gained growth. Morrisville should have been quicker to the party, but lacked leadership with the same vision and motivation.
Both Apex and Morrisville used to be less expensive, but that gap has narrowed greatly.
Central to the Triangle.
RTP.
Easy Access to major universities.
50 years ago, Cary had leadership with a vision, that if they handled themselves properly, they could promote the area and create massive growth.
And, they succeeded beyond all expectations.
Cary approached buildout, and Apex and Morrisville gained growth. Morrisville should have been quicker to the party, but lacked leadership with the same vision and motivation.
Both Apex and Morrisville used to be less expensive, but that gap has narrowed greatly.
Good answer. It's just amazing how Cary apparently used to be a podunk little town... I mean to be able to have that foresight and get the promotion and infrastructure going is amazing. I guess Cary is kinda like the anchor to this hub of wealth with Apex, Holly Springs, Morrisville.
Why don't we see something similar in Southeast Durham Co. or East Chatham Co.?
Good answer. It's just amazing how Cary apparently used to be a podunk little town... I mean to be able to have that foresight and get the promotion and infrastructure going is amazing. I guess Cary is kinda like the anchor to this hub of wealth with Apex, Holly Springs, Morrisville.
Why don't we see something similar in Southeast Durham Co. or East Chatham Co.?
Admittedly, painting with a broad brush:
Historically, Durham has not been a particularly well-managed city. 147, Durham Freeway, shredded things somewhat, too, while making commute through E Durham to RTP easier.
Historically, the political power in Chatham County has been in the west, Siler City area.
Less concern about east Chatham.
Historically, Durham has not been a particularly well-managed city. 147, Durham Freeway, shredded things somewhat, too, while making commute through E Durham to RTP easier.
Historically, the political power in Chatham County has been in the west, Siler City area.
Less concern about east Chatham.
Good answer. It's just amazing how Cary apparently used to be a podunk little town... I mean to be able to have that foresight and get the promotion and infrastructure going is amazing. I guess Cary is kinda like the anchor to this hub of wealth with Apex, Holly Springs, Morrisville.
Why don't we see something similar in Southeast Durham Co. or East Chatham Co.?
Speaking as someone who moved to Cary with young kids in the aughts, staying within WCPSS was important.
I think a convenient answer could be the rich retirees coming from the North ... but I dont wanna give you Yanks that much credit...
...another answer could be proximity to higher paying Jobs at RTP with its workers choosing to settle in the west... but I don't think that entirely answers it either... Just wanna know all the variables that contributed to this phenomena that's lead to this concentration of wealth. If you look at the income map (aside from a smaller surface area of North Wake), there's no part of the county that's even remotely close.
I'm sure there's some historical context too.
Where's the income map you cite?
My parents live in Carolina Preserve and a lot of their friends are civil service retirees from NY. No better retirement plan for that age group exists. Some of these people are pulling 5 figure MONTHLY pensions. Not to mention retiree health insurance. My parents live in Cary but in Chatham County.
Don't be surprised to see an eastward shift. I know a lot of people moving to central Cary from the western side.
I think that the prosperity of Western/Southwestern/Southern Wake County can be tied back to IBM and Wake/Raleigh embracing RTP earlier than Durham. The early tie to RTP, especially IBM, started the wave of transferees with deeper pockets than the locals, and Wake got more than its fair share of those newcomers.
The first wave really affected north Raleigh with the ascent of the North Hills mall area in the 60s (today's midtown) and the central area of Cary. As the 60s became the 70s, it brought an even bigger boon to North Raleigh and Cary as the stakes rose with new country clubs like North Ridge and MacGregor Downs. Other higher end neighborhoods started to rise between them: establishing an arc from North Ridge to MacGregor.
Raleigh's higher end development clustered around Strickland Rd., since it was the route to RTP in those days, and Cary's growth started migrating toward its own legacy routes.
The growth along this arc drove infrastructure investment along it, which drove more growth. The outer loop was being planned as early as the early 70s, in the same time frame of the boom of housing sprouting in that Strickland corridor. I540 opened its first segment connecting I40 to US70 in the late 90s. A few years later, the arc was completed to North Ridge.
As Cary expanded, so did its infrastructure. Davis Drive was extended/connected southward through (now) west Cary to Apex, and 55 was slowly being improved/widened. The Western Wake Freeway was the natural next step in the outer loop construction as success builds upon success. In short, money follows money. With the eventual extension of Western Wake to its current terminus, a boom in Holly Springs predictably occurred in what used to be an almost forgotten "hamlet" type poor town. I remember cycling through this area as part of my regular weekend cycling trips with my company cycling team in the early 90s. There was almost NOTHING there.
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