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Are we seriously arguing over whether or not NoVA is more urban than Charlotte? Hell, I'd say Richmond is more urban than Charlotte.
Charlotte barely has a central downtown, Richmond is a very dense and walkable city. I think Charlotte is a nice big spread out city with a strong economy being the 2nd largest banking city outside of NYC, but its not urban paradise.
When you compare the Carolina's and Virginia's on the whole on level of urbanness you have to consider what the factors are, do you consider a good urban area to be liberal, diverse, walkable? - what are we talking about here? To call NoVA an 'urban-suburb' would be an understatement. It's public transportation, diversity, amenities, and jobs are second to NONE in the Carolina/Virginia vicinity.
Are we seriously arguing over whether or not NoVA is more urban than Charlotte? Hell, I'd say Richmond is more urban than Charlotte.
Charlotte barely has a central downtown, Richmond is a very dense and walkable city. I think Charlotte is a nice big spread out city with a strong economy being the 2nd largest banking city outside of NYC, but its not urban paradise.
When you compare the Carolina's and Virginia's on the whole on level of urbanness you have to consider what the factors are, do you consider a good urban area to be liberal, diverse, walkable? - what are we talking about here? To call NoVA an 'urban-suburb' would be an understatement. It's public transportation, diversity, amenities, and jobs are second to NONE in the Carolina/Virginia vicinity.
Yeah, NOVA is NOT spread out. LOL!
There was not an argument about urbanity, so I'm sure where you picked that up. A statement was made that the suburban area of NOVA "crushes" anything else that NC/VA/SC/WV has to offer. I thought that was absurd.
NOVA is nothing but suburban. I'm not prepared to label it as urban because there is a METRO stop...hell, those are in suburbs all over the country and it simply doesn't change their designation. Diversity? Please...there are diverse suburbs everywhere - but they are still suburbs. Jobs? Suburban job centers are well-known and common...but still suburban. Your arguments about NOVA being urban are just not cutting it.
Also not cutting it is your harsh (and unfounded) criticism of Charlotte. It sounds just like a repetition of something you might have read online - I've seen it too many times posted by people who have never been there and are going by something they heard.
has Alexandria & Arlington
has The Arlington National Cemetary & The National Air & Space Museum
has Tysons Corner (one of the largest high end malls in the country & the 12th largest business district in the country)
houses the Pentagon
home to the largest Bolivian American community in the country
home to the 4rth largest Korean American community in the country
has the top 2 median household income (Fairfax & Loudon) counties in the country
houses the CIA
home to 2 major airports (Dulles & Reagan)
is weaved through with a subway system that is the second busiest
home to 10 fortune 500 companies
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)
Northrop Grumman
General Dynamics
Capital One
AES Corporation
Computer Sciences Corporation
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
NII Holdings
Gannett Company
Booz Allen Hamilton
Home to Thomas Jefferson (best high school in the country)
Home to George Mason University
I think it's safe to say, Northern Virginia is more then just a typical suburb.
True, maybe not a "typical" suburb - but STILL a suburb. Honestly, I can't believe anyone is promoting NOVA as something other than suburban.
Maybe someone else can weigh in on this? There seems to be a love affair going on with NOVA at the moment...and the thing is that I really like DC and it's burbs, but I'm not prepared to call them urban or to state that there is nothing better anywhere in the NCs/VAs.
Northern Virginia is not a metro area, it's a part of the Washington D.C. metro area. It only exists as it does because of the principal city of the region being Washington D.C. The same goes for Northern NJ existing because of NYC. For that reason alone, this comparison is not an apples to apples comparison because obviously the Carolina's can't compete with the Washington D.C. metro area. It's not really realistic. The D.C. metro area would win every category by a wide margin obviously so I don't really think it's a fair comparison to the Carolina's.
I debated whether or not to put Northern Virginia as the largest "metro" or VA Beach.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hgnmx
Are we seriously arguing over whether or not NoVA is more urban than Charlotte? Hell, I'd say Richmond is more urban than Charlotte.
Charlotte barely has a central downtown, Richmond is a very dense and walkable city. I think Charlotte is a nice big spread out city with a strong economy being the 2nd largest banking city outside of NYC, but its not urban paradise.
When you compare the Carolina's and Virginia's on the whole on level of urbanness you have to consider what the factors are, do you consider a good urban area to be liberal, diverse, walkable? - what are we talking about here? To call NoVA an 'urban-suburb' would be an understatement. It's public transportation, diversity, amenities, and jobs are second to NONE in the Carolina/Virginia vicinity.
You obviously have not ever been to Charlotte.
One other question, why the hell does urbanity matter so much on here?
The beaches outside Charleston are pretty nice, I just think the Outer Banks are by far the best and most scenic, among the best in the country.
I can't fault you for that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MDAllstar
Northern Virginia is not a metro area, it's a part of the Washington D.C. metro area. It only exists as it does because of the principal city of the region being Washington D.C. The same goes for Northern NJ existing because of NYC. For that reason alone, this comparison is not an apples to apples comparison because obviously the Carolina's can't compete with the Washington D.C. metro area. It's not really realistic. The D.C. metro area would win every category by a wide margin obviously so I don't really think it's a fair comparison to the Carolina's.
For the sake of argument where entire states are in view, we can consider NOVA its own area. Of course we know that it's part of the metro DC area, but it does have something of a distinct identity within the region and many amenities which makes for something of an apples-to-apples comparison.
The Carolinas are probably a little better economically as Charlotte, RDU, and the Triad are all booming.
Charlotte and RDU are certainly booming, but the Triad is more average in terms of population growth and economy. I'd describe Charleston as more of a boomtown than Greensboro or Winston-Salem.
Maybe this thread was started by a bunch of North Carolina Boosters who are surprised that NoVa alone can beat North and South Carolina combined...LOL........
Maybe this thread was started by a bunch of North Carolina Boosters who are surprised that NoVa alone can beat North and South Carolina combined...LOL........
Um no. NoVa, as in Northern Virginia doesn't even beat NC, maybe Tennessee.
Maybe this thread was started by a bunch of North Carolina Boosters who are surprised that NoVa alone can beat North and South Carolina combined...LOL........
I like NOVA and all, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Furthermore, there are plenty of folks in this thread not from the Carolinas who cast their vote for that pair.
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