Raleigh compared to Asheville? (Charlotte, Durham: condos, chapel, house)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Asheville sounds very beautiful but other forums indicate that it is considered to be a "little San Francisco" ...very liberal in all senses of the word, etc. Also, it appears that the elevation of Asheville does little to diminish the humidity levels...at least that is what some say on other forums.
So....I know nothing about Raleigh. Is it scenic in any way? I can always Google 'images' of Raleigh but I would like some opinions from those who live or have lived there. Are there any decent lakes nearby...trails and parks? Also, is it generally a CLEAN city? We lived in Bozeman,Montana for a year and for how beautiful it is geographically, the new neighborhood of mixed housing options was filled with college students (in the condos) and they threw their trash out their vehicle windows on a daily basis. I did a lot of walking around the neighborhood on these nice wide sidewalks and every day there were more beer bottles, trash and once...even a condom! Nice for my 10 year old daugter to see while riding her bike. I would fill those huge black garbage bags full of their crap. It was disgusting.
So, you get my drift.......any good websites on Raleigh would be great.
1. Raleigh is not particularly scenic. It's flat and landlocked. But it's generally prettier than other cities due to lots of trees, including pines, and landscaping along highways. Cary, next door, is an especially landscaped town.
There are lots of parks, bike paths, and small lakes in the entire area. If you're craving vistas, drive out to Jordan Lake.
2. It's pretty clean here, except lately the highways have had more litter than ever. I blame it on outsiders from cultures where litter is accepted as well as our lack of a bottle refund law.
3. The Triangle is generally more liberal (and educated) than other areas of North Carolina. It's extraordinarily hot and humid here during the summer months.
4. Use Google "images" search with appropriate keywords, and you can find lots of photos of Raleigh.
I don't find Raleigh particularly "scenic" at all. Asheville is definitely scenic in comparison! Trash is a problem around here too...just take a drive down US 1....yikes. I would say that Charlotte is more liberal and educated than Raleigh (don't know if you're considering Charlotte), but that's just been my experience. Brentwood is correct about the weather here. Hot and sticky humid in the summer! I've been to Asheville in the summer months and my experience was that it wasn't as hot as it was in Raleigh.
I've lived in both Raleigh and Asheville. Ashevile does not get even close to the humidity levels here in Raleigh. The humidity is lower in asheville and people don't have screened porches there because of less mosquitoes...in fact I don't remember encountering mosquitos until I moved here. Downtown Asheville and East Asheville (Black Mountain) are liberal...but west asheville (waynesville), north Asheville (weaverville), and South Asheville (arden) are vastly different than downtown Asheville and more conservative and more country. Very different personalities than Asheville itself. You can easily get to Asheville within 15 minutes of all of the above. Raleigh has more shopping, jobs and closer to the beach. Asheville is more scenic, more cultural, and way more outdoor activities, etc. We live in Raleigh for the jobs...we could never get the same jobs in Asheville. We will retire to a surrounding city near Asheville. It's a completely different culture in the mountains (people do a lot of outdoor activities and shopping and movies are last resorts for entertainment in Asheville). I had one TV station when I lived there and didn't miss it one bit due to all the outdoor stuff to keep me busy.
No, Raleigh or any where in NC is not as scenic as Bozeman. The NC mountains are beautiful but they are not the Rockies.... they are much to "old" to be the Rockies. The hardest part about living here has been the lack of scenery in comparison to where I use to live.
Raleigh and Durham are close to Jordan Lake. There are pine tree lined walking trails (with a mix of deciduous trees mixed in) but since it's flat here and no bridges across major rivers, you don't get the vistas here. I've told hubby the next house has to be at least on a pond or lake.
I really did not think the "lack of scenery" would affect me, but it has and it's sort of hard to "treat" on a daily basis. Something to think about.
BTW, along HWY 1 and the interstate in Raleigh you will find trash, but walking around most neighborhoods I do not see trash.... at least here in Durham where I live. (South Durham). I'm sure there are neighborhoods that are an exception to this, but I don't think it's the general rule in neighborhoods. Busy roads like Hwy 1 (also called Capital Blvd) yes you will see trash.
I would say that Charlotte is more liberal and educated than Raleigh (don't know if you're considering Charlotte), but that's just been my experience.
No and no. The Triangle area tops or is near the top of basically every "smartest city" list produced. That is not the case for Charlotte. Also, Raleigh is probably a bit more left-leaning than Charlotte, but neither are hugely liberal areas. That said, the greater Triangle area (Raleigh--Durham--Chapel Hill) is much more liberal than greater Charlotte due to the very liberal areas of Durham, Chapel Hill & Carrboro. These latter areas have much more in common politically with Asheville than they do with the other parts of NC.
No and no?? I believe this forum is for those expressing their individual experiences. Mine has been that Charlotte is far ahead of Raleigh in terms of liberals and although Raleigh might be considered "better educated" because of all the healthcare industry here, I don't find that to be the case in my experience with those I've met in Charlotte. P.S. - I'd love to see these "smartest city" lists that you refer to!!
Mama Pam.....your best bet is to spend some time in both locations (Asheville and Raleigh) to see for yourself. Its helpful to have the input from a forum like this, at least from those who just want to share their own insights and experiences (not those who simply want to tell you the way it is "as they see it"). You can't really appreciate the differences until you see them with your own eyes and determine which is the better fit for you!
While there's a lot of info available online & you've received quite a bit of info here, I agree the best thing to do is to spend some time in both cities.
I have to say though I found it interesting some people have told you they consider Asheville a "little San Francisco". I wish! I would visit there much more often if that were the case:-)
It's very hard to compare Asheville and Raleigh--quite an "apples and oranges" thing. One is a medium-to-large sized CITY, in a metro of a million people, with state government, 3 famous universities, a world-reknowned research/biotech park, which has one of the fastest-growing populations of any metro area in the country, and is in the Piedmont area of the state, and the other is a mountain city, MUCH smaller and with little "metro area" to speak of, one state university, a very "artistic" reputation. Which you would like better depends on many features, to whcih you have only vaguely hinted in your post. The main thing they have in common is that both are "blue pockets" in a Purple/Reddish state (well, Raleigh itself is more "fiscally conservative" while the rest of the Triangle is generally liberal and the metro overall decidedly "Blue"). Yes, the central part of the state is very hot and humid for several weeks in the summer; one typically doesn't associate the NC Mountains with heat and humidity. And of course the vistas will be more "natural" in the mountains.
You could help by specificying "I am looking for X, vs Y" on several scales, such as "city"-ness, cost of living, politics (if it matters), schools (if it matters), etc.
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