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I think the issue is that people forget that these city vs city posts are literally opinion based. There is no right answer. What I like in a city is going to differ from what the next person likes. There is some school of thought on city data where people equate size/growth to actually being a better city than other cities. It completely ignores the fact that other cities at one point or another experienced a boom. It also ignores the fact that there are plenty of smaller cities that out perform larger ones or that people simply prefer living in. I also think that it is a hypocritical stance because at some point Raleigh was a smaller city. Was the city any less great then? Did it only become great because people moved there? No. I was born about 45 min from Raleigh in Wilson, NC. What Raleigh and Charlotte have become is nothing short of amazing. That does not change the fact that I prefer living in Richmond. If I had equal paying job opportunities in both Raleigh and Richmond, I would choose Richmond. That doesn't mean Raleigh isn't a great city. It bothers me that these threads get reduced to this definitive "This city is obviously better because..." as if you can even statistically measure what constitutes a good city. It's literally subjective.
If everyone here was as reasonable as you, I don't think these forums would even exist. They, like our two-party political system, thrive on tribalism. It's just as you said... everyone has preferences. Personally, I love the age, density, and urbanity of Richmond. Raleigh was a smaller town not that long ago and you can tell when you're in the CBD. It's easy to feel like you're in a larger City when you're on foot in downtown Richmond.
I can't agree that Raleigh's urbanization will be more impressive when Richmond's urban rebirth will still continue and will resonate more because it functions as a city more than a suburb, with the framework already in place of a city. Most Triangle residents I've seen on CD consider Downtown Durham/Chapel Hill/Carrboro as the urban nodes of the region. Richmond doesn't have that dynamic, yet there still are urban areas outside the city within the metro (like Petersburg)...
At any rate, I get that many people prefer Raleigh. As mentioned before, I enjoy things about Raleigh. The suburbia--Raleigh's "urbanization"--is not one of them, though...
It'll definitely outpace Richmond if the current growth rate trends continues. It's basically a new frontier and will be a developer's darling over the next decade. I hope it resembles something similar to Pacific NW cities which sort of jives with the techie creative atmosphere of the Triangle. I think Raleigh, Durham and Chapel are definitely more interactive than Richmond-Petersburg by virtue of the RTP. Chapel Hill definitely delivers a good punch for it's weight class.
I think Raleigh's downtown will continue to blossom and just now entering the next phase of urban scale and height growth. Lol, I think Raleigh can walk and chew gum at the same time....urbanize and sprawl. Suburbia is fine, most people like living there.
It'll definitely outpace Richmond if the current growth rate trends continues. It's basically a new frontier and will be a developer's darling over the next decade. I hope it resembles something similar to Pacific NW cities which sort of jives with the techie creative atmosphere of the Triangle. I think Raleigh, Durham and Chapel are definitely more interactive than Richmond-Petersburg by virtue of the RTP. Chapel Hill definitely delivers a good punch for it's weight class.
I think Raleigh's downtown will continue to blossom and just now entering the next phase of urban scale and height growth. Lol, I think Raleigh can walk and chew gum at the same time....urbanize and sprawl. Suburbia is fine, most people like living there.
What do you mean by interactive? Do you mean tech-centric/start-up friendly?
I'm pretty sure Petersburg never crosses the minds of Richmond residents. It's a very historic town and all, but you better believe the crime/poverty is high. It's almost like Durham if Duke/RTP never came into the picture, an old tobacco town with grit. Richmond people don't have a reason to go down there and I don't think they would want to.
Regardless of popular belief, I don't think there's a ton of interaction between Raleigh and Durham. People who live up near Brier Creek or Leesville visit Durham quite frequently, not far at all. However, I have friends who live near downtown Raleigh/Capital Blvd and they never go to Durham because it's a bit of a drive. For people out in Knightdale or Clayton, Durham is even further away. There's certainly more interaction between Durham and Chapel Hill.
Atlanta has some of the best Spring and Fall weather in the entire country. 70's-80's with sun is the norm there. Last year in D.C it was like 50 and rainy on one day in mid may. That would never happen in Atlanta.
Regardless of popular belief, I don't think there's a ton of interaction between Raleigh and Durham. People who live up near Brier Creek or Leesville visit Durham quite frequently, not far at all. However, I have friends who live near downtown Raleigh/Capital Blvd and they never go to Durham because it's a bit of a drive. For people out in Knightdale or Clayton, Durham is even further away. There's certainly more interaction between Durham and Chapel Hill.
I frequently drive to Raleigh and Durham from Chapel Hill on weekends. Then again, lately I've been going to Greensboro every other weekend so maybe I'm an outlier. Everyone I know treats all three cities like they're right nextdoor, which they are. Chapel Hill to DTR is half an hour. I don't even feel the drive. Chapel Hill to Greensboro is a full hour and that's a bit different.
A half hour drive is nothing. New Yorkers wouldn't bat an eye at that.
A half hour drive is nothing. New Yorkers wouldn't bat an eye at that.
Not sure if I'd go that far, since a 30 min drive in NYC could consist of a bunch of tolls and stuff. Plus the outer boroughs are like another world to Manhattanites...and don't even talk about going to Jersey.
Not sure if I'd go that far, since a 30 min drive in NYC could consist of a bunch of tolls and stuff. Plus the outer boroughs are like another world to Manhattanites...and don't even talk about going to Jersey.
A 30 minute sub ride is a pretty typical commute in NYC. I'm not sure what you're on about.
I frequently drive to Raleigh and Durham from Chapel Hill on weekends. Then again, lately I've been going to Greensboro every other weekend so maybe I'm an outlier. Everyone I know treats all three cities like they're right nextdoor, which they are. Chapel Hill to DTR is half an hour. I don't even feel the drive. Chapel Hill to Greensboro is a full hour and that's a bit different.
A half hour drive is nothing. New Yorkers wouldn't bat an eye at that.
The reality is that the communities in the Triangle are daisy-chained around the entire metro area and off-shoot into some strange connections like south Durham to northwest Cary as the metro grows. Hardly anyone, anywhere "lives" in their entire metro rather they "live" in key parts of it that are relevant to their lives. For example, my brother commutes from north Raleigh to Duke each day for work. People in west Cary go to south Durham to go to the mall. People from Durham and Chapel Hill go to Umstead Park in Raleigh for mountain biking. People from all over the Triangle head to RTP at the Durham/Wake county line to go to work. These are all normal behaviors of how we live our lives.
Clearly many people on the far eastern side of the metro (east of Raleigh) are less likely to go to the far western side (west of Durham) on a regular basis but they will go to these places for specific engagements and activities without batting an eye.
A 30 minute sub ride is a pretty typical commute in NYC. I'm not sure what you're on about.
You said, "A half hour drive is nothing. New Yorkers wouldn't bat an eye at that."
A 30 minute subway ride in NYC is very different than a 30 minute drive in NYC.
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