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This thread is still around I see. It never ends. Raleigh for the currently times has all the right pieces. Big Education, Big Pharma, Big Hi-Tech, Big Medical, Big Government. And the biggest win of all Big Word of Mouth! People who work or go to go to school in RDU have families and friends and they talk and travel, and eventually move from NYC or Connecticut or California or abroad etc. Throw in a kick ass park system and forward thinking cities and suburbs around and top notch schools and the answer is clear.
Richmond would have won this poll in the Industrial era. and Civil war times. But it's still finding it's identity amidst the "New South" It's a good city nonetheless but the masses aren't looking for history in everyday life honestly.
Haha, the thread had been courting death for almost a week, but see, now you've gone and resurrected it! Richmond is not searching for its identity, it is not "new south," nor does it want to be grouped in with Raleigh and Charlotte. Truthfully, in the 90s, when the Triangle was one metro and growing at an even faster rate than now, Richmond did look to the area in the development of its own biotech park and in the design of its airport. But within the last decade, Richmond reached the point where it embraced its own advantages and excels at being what it is. It has harped on its identity as a creative, historic city at the cross-roads of the Mid-Atlantic. In the Virginia tradition, it retains an understated flair with a good dose of urban fabric. As a metro, Richmond may not be growing as fast as Raleigh - which is adding 80 new residents a day, not many metros are - but it has added over a quarter million residents in the last 15 years, which ain't bad. Population growth is not everything, but smart growth is everything. Richmond has steady job growth, and is excelling economically because it combines creative energy with stable and traditional business-oriented industries like finance, insurance, marketing, and legal services. Hence, it has 8 Fortune 500 companies that call it home. Raleigh excels at fast-growing, innovative and trending industries like tech, software development, health R&D, and engineering. So, these places serve two different energies.
Last week, Richmond and Raleigh were both included in CNBC's list of 20 top cities to start a business..yadda, yadda, basically a who's who of "It" cities with all of the usual suspects. Ironically, Richmond came in a few spots ahead of Raleigh in ranking, but at least they're both there. I only cite to the article because I appreciate their descriptions and I think the reality is that we're talking about two very dynamic regions.
From the article:
Quote:
“Richmond offers entrepreneurs the best of both worlds: an educated workforce, low costs, both government agencies and private-sector companies as potential customers, as well as a thriving outdoor lifestyle, great restaurants and cost-of-living advantages.”
-The city is at the heart of the mid-Atlantic region, with 40 percent of the U.S. population within a day’s drive.
-The Port of Virginia and the Port of Richmond offer significant structural advantages in transportation and logistics.
-The city is business friendly, with a 6 percent corporate tax rate, and tax credits and abatements for job creation and development in economically distressed areas.
-The population in the greater Richmond area is 1.3 million and is expected to grow 5 percent by 2020.
-Unemployment is 3.7 percent, below the national average. The overall cost of living is lower as well, and housing costs are 13 percent lower than the average for the United States.
-There’s a big variety of housing types and styles in downtown Richmond, its suburbs and rural areas, and although the average sale price is $253,449 — above the U.S. average — homes are still less expensive than in the nearby Washington area.
-Small-business owners will find fit-minded employees in Richmond. There’s a new 50-mile Capital City bike trail, class IV rapids on the James River and signature running events. Richmond has 100 local parks and 6,500 acres of parkland.
Overall ranking: 820 out of 1,500 points
Environment for success: 312 out of 500 points
Cost of doing business: 224 out of 400 points
Quality of life: 154 out of 300 points
Labor force: 110 out of 200 points
Diversity: 20 out of 100 points
For Raleigh:
Quote:
Raleigh and the surrounding cities of Durham and Chapel Hill are probably best known for their research/technology roots. The tri-city region (known as the Triangle) attracts nearly 80 new residents a day and has strong job growth and a high quality of life.
The Raleigh metro area is luring new and established businesses with its educated workforce. More than 167,000 students are enrolled in its 12 universities and colleges and average more than 42,000 degrees annually. In fact, over 40 percent of the population 25 and older have at least a four-year degree.
Pharmaceuticals, advanced medical care and cleantech are among the industries attracting the most start-up interest and venture funding. The Research Triangle Region employs 1.18 million people in more than 54,000 businesses, and the pay is $49,845, $5,700 higher than the state average.
The cost of living in Raleigh-Durham is slightly lower than the national average, but home prices have been climbing significantly over the past few years. They're estimated to continue to rise over the coming years as more folks continue to move into the area. But because Raleigh has fairly low property taxes, owning a home is more affordable than other tech and research hubs, such as Silicon Valley and Boston.
Overall ranking: 801 out of 1,500 points
Environment for success: 329 out of 500 points
Cost of doing business: 224 out of 400 points
Quality of life: 107 out of 300 points
Labor force: 141 out of 200 points
Diversity: 0 out of 100 points
I hear much more about Louisville and Raleigh than Richmond. Louisville is in the national spot light due to the reasons Peter mentioned. Louisville feels larger and more vibrant especially around the convention center areas and Bardstown rd corridor. Louisville also has much more construction going on than Richmond (in the billions), not even close. Raleigh may not compete very well with either Louisville or Richmond in the downtown area, but its metro is definitely more vibrant and better looking than the other two, no doubt. Louisville is more like Cincinnati in appearance/vibe than is Richmond like Baltimore in appearance/vibe.
Well, you're from Tennessee. Do you think that is possibly why you hear more about Louisville than Richmond? Seeing as both are not large urban centers and are very much more regionally compassed than nationally, where one lives has a huge bearing on knowledge of smaller to mid-sized cities. Cause I can tell you for certain, there is a list of cities I can tell you that are more spoken of than Louisville our this way (in the Mid-Atlantic/East Coast)...
But truly, name recognition is irrelevant to the argument...
I bet your man secretly hates your constantly lying, meddling, know it all ass...
@Peter, I'm not one to jump on your case, but you are severely misimforned. You've officially replaced @JohnDBaumgarner as this board's biggest, most annoying homer. Every single thread, you find a way to sneak Louisville into every conversation. Louisville is a cool town, but you can make people who've never even been there hate it with your off the wall commentary...
You and @Shakeesha should probably be together, as she also loves sticking her uninformed nose in everyone's business. She's a liar too, fits right in with your overzealous exaggerations...
Richmond: More to do, great downtown, much more historic, lower cost of living. Raleigh: Safer, better economy, greener, better schools, basically the same climate. I'd pick Raleigh overall.
Richmond: More to do, great downtown, much more historic, lower cost of living. Raleigh: Safer, better economy, greener, better schools, basically the same climate. I'd pick Raleigh overall.
Does Richmond really have more to do? Recreationally it probably has an edge but overall, I'd say they are more of less tied on that front with Raleigh having an advantage with sports.
Does Richmond really have more to do? Recreationally it probably has an edge but overall, I'd say they are more of less tied on that front with Raleigh having an advantage with sports.
Raleigh definitely has much more to do than Richmond. Especially when you count the whole triangle. That said, I just think Richmond feels cooler and more urban.
Well, you're from Tennessee. Do you think that is possibly why you hear more about Louisville than Richmond? Seeing as both are not large urban centers and are very much more regionally compassed than nationally, where one lives has a huge bearing on knowledge of smaller to mid-sized cities. Cause I can tell you for certain, there is a list of cities I can tell you that are more spoken of than Louisville our this way (in the Mid-Atlantic/East Coast)...
But truly, name recognition is irrelevant to the argument...
I bet your man secretly hates your constantly lying, meddling, know it all ass...
@Peter, I'm not one to jump on your case, but you are severely misimforned. You've officially replaced @JohnDBaumgarner as this board's biggest, most annoying homer. Every single thread, you find a way to sneak Louisville into every conversation. Louisville is a cool town, but you can make people who've never even been there hate it with your off the wall commentary...
You and @Shakeesha should probably be together, as she also loves sticking her uninformed nose in everyone's business. She's a liar too, fits right in with your overzealous exaggerations...
I never brought it up. Someone else did. I only shared fact based statistics on it, and used those to boost my opinion.
Raleigh definitely has much more to do than Richmond. Especially when you count the whole triangle. That said, I just think Richmond feels cooler and more urban.
How does Raleigh have "much more" to do than Richmond? I'm not really seeing it, except when it comes to sports. I'm sure Raleigh beats Richmond when it comes to quantity in some things as it is the largest city in a larger region, but it doesn't really offer fundamentally different things to do than Richmond.
Does Richmond really have more to do? Recreationally it probably has an edge but overall, I'd say they are more of less tied on that front with Raleigh having an advantage with sports.
Not debating but just asking(only been to Richmond a few times, with my last visit being the only time I did some real exploring) I know it has the better water access(at least downtown), but what are the things that give it the edge recreationally? I think Raleigh's recreational activities is actually underrated when you think about the access to lakes and rivers, which at it's shortest is walking distance(a lot of the lakes are connected to city greenways) and at the longest is only 30 minutes. Not the same level of rapids, but the Haw, Eno, and Neuse river have decent ones.
How does Raleigh have "much more" to do than Richmond? I'm not really seeing it, except when it comes to sports. I'm sure Raleigh beats Richmond when it comes to quantity in some things as it is the largest city in a larger region, but it doesn't really offer fundamentally different things to do than Richmond.
You can say this about any city. What does Atlanta really offer that Raleigh doesn't? To a degree, any metro over one million can be compared with "things to do" There are lots of concerts, sports, malls, entertainment, parks, restaurants, bars, etc in every mid major to major city. The difference becomes more quantity, diversity, and opportunity.
I personally much prefer Richmond to Raleigh. But Raleigh/Durham has more to do.
So Richmond and Raleigh when viewed alone, yes, the "things to do" may be somewhat similar, but you cannot really isolate Raleigh from its region. And just throwing in Durham and there is just way more to do.
As I always do with my opinions, I provide objective data to back them up, like lists of attractions here.
In the previous comparisons where I was lambasted as a "homer" I provided citations which proved a city had hundreds more accolades related to culture and vibrancy than Richmond. Yet my facts were downplayed as "overzealous." My facts were substantiated by another poster well traveled to both. I have never lived in Raleigh or Richmond, but I have been to each on 3 or 4 separate occasions. Richmond was one of the last cities on my top 50 US metro tour, but it really has become one of my favorites. I honestly don't care for Raleigh.
Listen, my goal is not to downplay Richmond. Had I known more about Richmond a few years ago, it could have been a great possibility I moved there. Everyone knows the city I love and Richmond has got to be the most similar.
I personally see a great future for both Richmond and Raleigh. I would like to see increased mass transit in both for them to get to the next "level" (ala Portland Oregon or something)
You can say this about any city. What does Atlanta really offer that Raleigh doesn't? To a degree, any metro over one million can be compared with "things to do" There are lots of concerts, sports, malls, entertainment, parks, restaurants, bars, etc in every mid major to major city. The difference becomes more quantity, diversity, and opportunity.
I personally much prefer Richmond to Raleigh. But Raleigh/Durham has more to do.
So Richmond and Raleigh when viewed alone, yes, the "things to do" may be somewhat similar, but you cannot really isolate Raleigh from its region. And just throwing in Durham and there is just way more to do.
As I always do with my opinions, I provide objective data to back them up, like lists of attractions here.
In the previous comparisons where I was lambasted as a "homer" I provided citations which proved a city had hundreds more accolades related to culture and vibrancy than Richmond. Yet my facts were downplayed as "overzealous." My facts were substantiated by another poster well traveled to both. I have never lived in Raleigh or Richmond, but I have been to each on 3 or 4 separate occasions. Richmond was one of the last cities on my top 50 US metro tour, but it really has become one of my favorites. I honestly don't care for Raleigh.
Listen, my goal is not to downplay Richmond. Had I known more about Richmond a few years ago, it could have been a great possibility I moved there. Everyone knows the city I love and Richmond has got to be the most similar.
I personally see a great future for both Richmond and Raleigh. I would like to see increased mass transit in both for them to get to the next "level" (ala Portland Oregon or something)
Did you really just use TRIP ADVISOR as a source? Lolol...that's not even CLOSE to being accurate or exhaustive a majority of the time.
But either way, you answered my question. Raleigh, being part of the Triangle, has more options for things but doesn't really offer anything fundamentally different than Richmond. Now if there is a drastic difference in quality when it comes to some things, like the arts, then I'd count that but I don't think that's the case here.
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