It's amazing how Raleigh continues its torrid growth despite how little love it gets on City-Data general and city vs city forums.
BTW, Raleigh's crime rate is lower than both Birmingham and Atlanta. In fact, it has the lowest crime rate of any large city in NC. Its "top to bottom" education is better than Atlanta and Birmingham: inclusive of public school education through college. Its adult citizens are better educated than both other metros. Raleigh's unemployment rate is also lower than both Atlanta and Birmingham.
Many of the other criteria are subjective while some others are objective. Without checking the facts, I'd guess that Raleigh is the most expensive of the three cities.
All three cities have similar landscapes and flora though Birmingham's is probably the most dramatic with that mountain slicing through town. Atlanta and Birmingham are closer to the mountains while Raleigh is closer to the coast.
By sheer numbers of people, Atlanta is going to have (by far) the most to do. But, I completely disagree that Raleigh is boring. I split time between SouthBeach and Raleigh and am not bored in Raleigh and neither are my friends who visit me from Miami. I guess it's a function of the fact that I hang my hat downtown and not in the burbs.
As for the people, well....that's going to depend on what sort of people you are seeking and what sort of people you find agreeable to you.
As for diversity, that's both objective and subjective. All three cities have sizeable African American communities though Raleigh's is the smallest by percentage. Conversely, Raleigh has a very fast growing Asian and South Asian community and, likewise, the largest % of Asians of the three. If you are inclined to measure diversity by the percentage of the population that is not white, then Birmingham wins by a mile. While Raleigh is the only city of the three that has a majority white population in the city limits, it also has the highest % of hispanics of the three and the highest diversity rating.
- Raleigh - 62.4 diversity index
- Atlanta - 58.5 diversity index
- Birmingham - 43 diversity index