Raleigh-Durham versus Greensboro (Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Morrisville: relocation, realty, trip)

[canadiangirly79]

Hey all! Im a canadian RN in the process of relocating down to north carolina. Planning a scouting trip in the near future, have down my homework and have narrowed down my areas to either Greensboro or Raleigh durham area.
I want to hear from locals tho....which do you think is the better place to live?
Which is prettier, more hilly, more things to do in the way of biking, walking, outdoors stuff. I dont have kids, dont care about school systems and all that jazz....just want to get a good feel for either city. I want green spaces, something with a bit of culture (more then strip malls)....but im not artsy fartsy either.

What do you guys think? Lay it on me, i wanna hear the truth!

Thanks
Aimee

[leighbhe]

Aimee:

Let me see........I grew up and now live in the triangle and went to college and lived in greensboro.....so, they are different places! Raleigh has a wide variety of people from many different parts of the US and internationally, has 4 large universities within 10 miles (duke, unc, nc state and nc central) plus many more smaller colleges in triangle area, there is culture, great hospitals, "artsy" types, conservatives, etc. There is an excellent park system that offers some hiking, many mountain biking trails, etc. Raleigh tends to have a wide age selection of people, with college students just starting out to people retiring.

Greensboro: smaller, not as much into the technology field, does have two main hospitals, it felt much more conservative to me, and there was a feeling of "old money" in greensboro where the families living there had been there a long time, many generations. Although you do get this in raleigh, I think because raleigh is much bigger you don't notice it as much. Although there are a number of colleges in greensboro, they are much smaller and it doesn't necessarily feel like a college town as much as it feels that way in the triangle. Housing is less expensive, but I always felt like greensboro would be a nice place to live once I was married with kids, as opposed to single and looking. The college students, for the most part, leave greensboro soon after graduation, whereas in the triangle area more of them stay around and find jobs in the area.

Hopefully this has cleared thing up a little? By the way, my dad's family is all still in canada (my dad grew up in winnipeg) from toronto, to vancouver to calgary........

Leigh

[gastric]

I'm currently researching Raleigh and Greensboro so I'm in the same boat as you. I'm 35, have three small children with my oldest going in 1st grade next year. Here's what I've learned talking to people, though I can't confirm any of it personally at this time:

Raleigh is bigger, busier, more congested. Traffic can be madenning on routes 1 and 40 during rush hours. One girl told me it took her 30 mins to drive 13 miles up 40 from Raleigh to RTP, then 60-90 on the way home. Yikes! Housing is more expensive in the Raleigh area, but taxes are slightly cheaper. Housing is generally newer in the Raleigh area. Schools seem better rated, however you have to deal with the whole craziness of the Wake school system, eg redistricting/crowding/econmic-distribution/etc.

Greensboro sounds much less congested and schools are stable, though not as well rated. Housing is much more affordable and you're more likely to nab a larger more appointed house at a much cheaper price based on what I've researched. But the housing will be "older", like 5-20 years instead of brand new. But with that you get non-cookie cutter housing. I have friends that live in Greensboro and they've had various jobs and report they can drive out of town for work in less than 30 minutes so traffic seems to be a non-issue. Work seems more blue collar VS high tech with the Raleigh area. Raleigh has more entertainment and my Greensboro friends drive to Raleigh for art galleries, etc.

Semi-related is the Charlotte area (Kannnapolis specifically) is building a 1.2 BILLION dollar biotech incubator, though I'm unsure when it will truly ramp up. I know nothing of that specific area but you're in the health business so it could possibly apply. http://www.ncresearchcampus.net/theplan.html

[lynnsprufera]

Probably the best thing to do is come on down and visit. The areas are only 45 minutes apart. I am partial to the Raleigh area. I guess it depends on what you are used to and coming from LI NY, it seemed to fit. There is a bit more to do in Raleigh and I can't say I've ever had a traffic issue. I don't try to make it to the RTP in the morning at 9oam but once you know the area there are usually ways around some of the back up areas.
Try this site for another look at Raleigh wwwvisitraleigh.com. Good luck!
If you would like a relocation package email me at lsprufera@fmrealty.com and I can send you more information that may help you make a decision.

[iamweasel]

Originally Posted by canadiangirly79

Hey all! Im a canadian RN in the process of relocating down to north carolina. Planning a scouting trip in the near future, have down my homework and have narrowed down my areas to either Greensboro or Raleigh durham area.
I want to hear from locals tho....which do you think is the better place to live?
Which is prettier, more hilly, more things to do in the way of biking, walking, outdoors stuff. I dont have kids, dont care about school systems and all that jazz....just want to get a good feel for either city. I want green spaces, something with a bit of culture (more then strip malls)....but im not artsy fartsy either.

What do you guys think? Lay it on me, i wanna hear the truth!

Thanks
Aimee

I have lived in both cities and find Raleigh to be a better place by a wide margin. I would never live in Greensboro again. Aside from meeting my wife there I don't miss that area at all.

Compared to Raleigh there is very little to do and the place is more "blue-collar" overall. Aside from potential traffic congestion and a higher cost of living there are no other advantages to Greensboro in my opinion.

[carolinatrendsetter]

I think that Greensboro traffic is worse personally. I-40/85(As they run together) as you enter town can be the worst. Much worse than i-40 in Raleigh.

Greensboro too seems less racially diverse than Raleigh and the triangle in general. Here neighborhoods are more income based vs. other factors.

And I like the way the Triangle has been able to lure more upscale shopping and such to the area, Such as Nordstrom and Saks. And the Airport offers many more flights to more destinations.

I like both cities though. I suggest you give them both a thorough search and do a pros and cons list.

[cathyd]

Originally Posted by iamweasel

I have lived in both cities and find Raleigh to be a better place by a wide margin. I would never live in Greensboro again. Aside from meeting my wife there I don't miss that area at all.

Compared to Raleigh there is very little to do and the place is more "blue-collar" overall. Aside from potential traffic congestion and a higher cost of living there are no other advantages to Greensboro in my opinion.

I totally agree. I find that the people who love Greensboro are those who were born here and never lived anywhere else, outside of maybe a few years in college. The only plus I can find to Greensboro is that it is close to both Raleigh AND Charlotte!

[ljd1010]

I'm soon to be a newly relocacted Yankee - moving to Morrisville from New England. I can tell you that nursing jobs are plentiful in the Raleigh Durham area (husband is an RN, I'm a nurse practitioner). GREAT medical centers - Duke in Durham and UNC in Chapel Hill. There is also Wake Med and Rex in Raleigh, among others. Not sure how salaries compare to Canada but they are less than up here. Although I admit to knowing nothing about Greensboro personally, my next door neighbor lived there for 3 years and didn't like it at all. He found it to be much less liberal/more intolerant of diversity than the triangle.

[Bones69]

besides, the NHL lives in Raleigh eh. In Greensboro they dont know what a puck is. No Tim Hortons though. All kidding aside. Coming from a fairly liberal country like canada I think you'd probably find Raleigh more appealing. Not that there is anything wrong with Greensboro, its just that the universities and the RTP make the Triangle a very diverse place. The traffic may be bad by some peoples standards but it is easy to position yourself in a place where it wont be a big deal.

[Waterboy526]

Originally Posted by Bones69

besides, the NHL lives in Raleigh eh. In Greensboro they dont know what a puck is. No Tim Hortons though. All kidding aside. Coming from a fairly liberal country like canada I think you'd probably find Raleigh more appealing. Not that there is anything wrong with Greensboro, its just that the universities and the RTP make the Triangle a very diverse place. The traffic may be bad by some peoples standards but it is easy to position yourself in a place where it wont be a big deal.

The Hurricanes played their first few years in Greensboro. So they might know a little about Hockey.