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great doctors/medical care - Raleigh
job opportunities - Depends on your field but overall Austin wins.
living by a major university for lectures and events - Raleigh has a bunch of colleges everywhere it seems.
social activities: live music, art galleries - Austin
parks, hiking, trees - Raleigh
non-smoking populace/cigarette bans/health conscious - Austin
best for singles - Austin. Raleigh is a singles vibe. Charlotte probably has a better singles scene than Raleigh simply because it's a larger city.
good community social vibe - Raleigh depending on your neighborhood.
least bible thumpery - Austin
I've lived in both Austin and Raleigh and have visited Charlotte a few times.
The fact is Austin blows Raleigh to smitherines. It's not even close!
From a family and coporate base, Austin is more like Charlotte. But for nightlife, food, edginess, and coolness (like music), Austin wins easily. Anyone who claims otherwise is not being honest with themselves.
That said, I DO think Austin is overhyped. Plenty of other places almost just as cool, just not as hyped, so not overrun with growth.
Well wait, didn't you read up top. Raleigh is better for non smokers, despite the fact that Austin enacted the smoking ban a full four years before Raleigh. Honestly, if people don't know, just say they don't know or let them know you're speculating.
Raleigh would be a better fit for me, then Charlotte, but I think Austin is the most dynamic of the 3.
great doctors/medical care - Raleigh
job opportunities - Depends on your field but overall Austin wins.
living by a major university for lectures and events - Raleigh has a bunch of colleges everywhere it seems.
social activities: live music, art galleries - Austin
parks, hiking, trees - Raleigh
non-smoking populace/cigarette bans/health conscious - Austin
best for singles - Austin. Raleigh is a singles vibe. Charlotte probably has a better singles scene than Raleigh simply because it's a larger city.
good community social vibe - Raleigh depending on your neighborhood.
least bible thumpery - Austin
I've lived in both Austin and Raleigh and have visited Charlotte a few times.
It's all opinionated and subjective because the order of magnitude difference in the three is small asides from say pro sports offerings, some live music or other events/venues. Other than demographic, location and topography differences, all the other stuff is kind of moot and hogwash.....least bible thumpery? We're talking about 3 metros with each having 2+ million people and growing like weeds. You gotta be fkn kidding me.
All have some level of the other stuff (arts, museums, parks, etc)..plenty to do and see and the invented order of magnitude difference is hyperbole for city data thread fodder. It's not like we're comparing these areas to NYC, LA or Chicago (big city vs mid-size city culture).
And if you're decent looking and in shape, you shouldn't have any problem hooking up with other folks.
I think you're blinded by that anti-NC thang. Well, I'm a Black....don't care for Austin. Give me Raleigh/Durham, Charlotte, Dallas or Houston. Both Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte are underrated in many aspects of diversity, food, nightlife, coolness, etc. I think people will stick with stereotypes to the end but when you live in these places, it's absolutely an incorrect image of what they are and have to offer.
Maybe if I were to live in Austin it might change my perspective but both RDU and Charlotte have equitable/more venues (jazz/soul), events and other things suited for what I like to do. And both Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte are located on the east coast with access to northeast corridor, mountains and beaches.
Maybe? Just don't get the hype on NC? It offers very little different or better than VA (or KY, or TN, or SC or many other states adjacent) other than hype! And a few good universities. But with internet learning, will top universities be enough by 2025 or so?
Maybe? Just don't get the hype on NC? It offers very little different or better than VA (or KY, or TN, or SC or many other states adjacent) other than hype! And a few good universities. But with internet learning, will top universities be enough by 2025 or so?
Yes. From many past posts on different threads, I know that you don't like Raleigh, Charlotte, or NC in general. That's ok with me. All 3 of these places are growing like weeds, and none of them require universal love.
Maybe? Just don't get the hype on NC? It offers very little different or better than VA (or KY, or TN, or SC or many other states adjacent) other than hype! And a few good universities. But with internet learning, will top universities be enough by 2025 or so?
Do you realize the breadth and scope of the research that goes on in many big universities? NCSU, UNC and Duke have gigantic portfolios of many different kinds of research including but not limited to medical, engineering, textiles and Agriculture.
I know for a fact that NC State (The biggest University in NC) brings in a lot more money and jobs from its research and graduate/PHD students than from the undergraduate students by a tremendously huge margin. We're talking a half billion dollars in research spending and an economic impact of nearly 2 Billion dollars annually just for NCSU. The Universities around the Triangle area of NC alone a huge cash cows for North Carolina's economy. It's not about undergrads.
Maybe? Just don't get the hype on NC? It offers very little different or better than VA (or KY, or TN, or SC or many other states adjacent) other than hype! And a few good universities. But with internet learning, will top universities be enough by 2025 or so?
It's fine if you don't like NC, but there are people moving there in droves, so you are certainly in the minority.
VA is very different from NC. Cities in NC tend to be more desirable places to live for most folks. More people choose to live in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Greensboro than they do Richmond (which is similar in size to Raleigh) or Norfolk. I've personally never been impressed with the larger cities in VA. Richmond felt dumpy, Norfolk is boring, but the DC metro is fine, just overcrowded and overpriced.
Additionally, NC offers more than KY or TN. Those states don't have the beach.
Yes. From many past posts on different threads, I know that you don't like Raleigh, Charlotte, or NC in general. That's ok with me. All 3 of these places are growing like weeds, and none of them require universal love.
Austin seems to be growing as well, despite it's pro smoking and anti-music policies.
Maybe? Just don't get the hype on NC? It offers very little different or better than VA (or KY, or TN, or SC or many other states adjacent) other than hype! And a few good universities. But with internet learning, will top universities be enough by 2025 or so?
Other than some city data threads, I don't think there's much hype about it. Recall what was explained earlier...low cost of living, job/career opportunities, moderate climate, easy access to east coast and the fact cities aren't too urban and overly burdened with traffic (least ways for now). Many people really wanted out of either the colder climate or the rat race of a larger more urban place.
I'm not so certain you get it, lots of people really prefer the things I mentioned. The other thing is the I-85 corridor gives you access to 3 of the larger metros in the South (Triangle, Triad and Charlotte). They're almost contiguous so it's easy to bolt between the three whether it's festivals, events, activities, etc. Then, there's the mountains, beaches, etc. It's no knock on TN, VA or Ky...great states, but NC has a bit of an edge from that standpoint.
What is interesting is that NC didn't go on some marketing or branding spree. It was a little here and there, then word of mouth got out (good and bad) and it kind of sold itself. And many people relocated, liked it ok enough to stay long term, many didn't. It's no secret.
NC isn't over hyped and definitely not part of most American's relocation plans, at all. It works for a lot of regional area people, northeast and midwest folks...same for southern states TN, KY, VA, SC and GA. I just think NC's geographical location is better suited for of northeasterners. Richmond is really the start of the Mid-Atlantic and Tidewater is a red-headed step child, it's not culturally southern and mostly military/government/beach towns. One thing for sure, even with all the growth, when you get to NC there's no debate, you're in the south with lots of yardage and space.
As you mentioned, what will stymie growth is lack of investment in education and transportation infrastructure. To me, it's just good the south is on people's radar given the history and stereotypes. And Atlanta and NC kind of led the charge. TX and Florida don't count....they have mixed emotions about being southern.
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