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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.
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 been explained to you several different times but apparently you see very little value in bread-and-butter issues. In your mind, a place has to be an exciting tourist destination to be a place worth living in.
It's been explained to you several different times but apparently you see very little value in bread-and-butter issues. In your mind, a place has to be an exciting tourist destination to be a place worth living in.
Funny thing is most of the time those touristy places are terrible places to live. The boring places are usually the most livable.
Having lived in the southern area of Raleigh Metro for five years and in Austin area for the past three this thread really caught my eye. Out of these three cities for me Austin takes the cake, with Raleigh in 2nd and Charlotte a very distant third. Raleigh is a nice city, is growing at a good pace and i loved the fact of having the beach a couple hours away as well as the mountains a little more than 3, but ...... to be honest, Raleigh was boring and the suburbs very sleepy which is great for some people, but after five years in that area, it was not a good fit for us and we decided to take a gamble on Austin area and have not looked back since. We did explore the possibility of moving to Charlotte and visited at least 20 plus times, but ...... there was no soul to the city, just very corporate.
great doctors/medical care- I would say Raleigh still has a good margin over Austin but the new Dell Medical School/center on UT Campus as well and Merck Co-Locating their Innovation Hub with UT puts Austin in a solid 2nd.
job opportunities- Austin -> Raleigh -> Charlotte, Austin has a brand new Oracle campus that just opened up and is expanding again, Apples second largest campus, Samsung Campus, Walmart, home depot, gm and 3M Innovation centers as well as the new Futures command and many others
living by a major university for lectures and events- Austin -> Raleigh - > Charlotte, NCSU and Chapel hill are great universities, but does not compare to UT's tremendous size, events and cultural arts.
parks, hiking, trees- This one is a little hard, i still would have to give the edge to Austin as the greenbelts, town lake walk, shoal creek walk, etc .... all downtown, provide more than Raleigh had downtown, most of the hiking/biking trails were outside of the downtown area
non-smoking populace/cigarette bans/health conscious - Austin -> Raleigh -> Charlotte- I would say it is a tie for all three with the non-smoking but Austin leads in health conscious by a large margin.
best for singles - Austin
good community social vibe- Easily Austin, hands down, Texas culture/friendliness permeates throughout the Metro
Having lived in the southern area of Raleigh Metro for five years and in Austin area for the past three this thread really caught my eye
What specific area in the southern part of the Raleigh metro? Arguably, this is the most boring, suburban and sleepy part of the entire area. I wouldn't live there either. A lot is changing in Raleigh these days, especially downtown. If you haven't been back, I think that you'd be pleased with where it's going.
Having lived in the southern area of Raleigh Metro for five years and in Austin area for the past three this thread really caught my eye. Out of these three cities for me Austin takes the cake, with Raleigh in 2nd and Charlotte a very distant third. Raleigh is a nice city, is growing at a good pace and i loved the fact of having the beach a couple hours away as well as the mountains a little more than 3, but ...... to be honest, Raleigh was boring and the suburbs very sleepy which is great for some people, but after five years in that area, it was not a good fit for us and we decided to take a gamble on Austin area and have not looked back since. We did explore the possibility of moving to Charlotte and visited at least 20 plus times, but ...... there was no soul to the city, just very corporate.
great doctors/medical care- I would say Raleigh still has a good margin over Austin but the new Dell Medical School/center on UT Campus as well and Merck Co-Locating their Innovation Hub with UT puts Austin in a solid 2nd.
job opportunities- Austin -> Raleigh -> Charlotte, Austin has a brand new Oracle campus that just opened up and is expanding again, Apples second largest campus, Samsung Campus, Walmart, home depot, gm and 3M Innovation centers as well as the new Futures command and many others
living by a major university for lectures and events- Austin -> Raleigh - > Charlotte, NCSU and Chapel hill are great universities, but does not compare to UT's tremendous size, events and cultural arts.
parks, hiking, trees- This one is a little hard, i still would have to give the edge to Austin as the greenbelts, town lake walk, shoal creek walk, etc .... all downtown, provide more than Raleigh had downtown, most of the hiking/biking trails were outside of the downtown area
non-smoking populace/cigarette bans/health conscious - Austin -> Raleigh -> Charlotte- I would say it is a tie for all three with the non-smoking but Austin leads in health conscious by a large margin.
best for singles - Austin
good community social vibe- Easily Austin, hands down, Texas culture/friendliness permeates throughout the Metro
What specific area in the southern part of the Raleigh metro? Arguably, this is the most boring, suburban and sleepy part of the entire area. I wouldn't live there either. A lot is changing in Raleigh these days, especially downtown. If you haven't been back, I think that you'd be pleased with where it's going.
I'm sure all three cities have changed in the last five years and will change the next 5 years. Some peeople underestimate Austin or hate it so much they'll make up information.
I was wondering if I could get some advice from everyone over which of these 2 cities more meets the criteria my husband and I are looking for in our new city. We decided on either Austin, Charlotte, or the Raleigh area due to our limited budget and preference for an area with both city and natural amenities.
Problem is - we do not have time to fly out to these areas as our lease ends in a month. We have been to both the Charlotte and Austin area but only for a night and that was years ago. Never been near the Raleigh area. We know that neither of these areas will offer all the big city amenities, however, we are looking more for a mix of urban and outdoor activities, at least for now. We plan this being a temporary 2-3 year move until we can get back up to the Boston or NY area.
We are in our mid 30's, work from home in the tech field, are fitness/health buffs, and have a budget up to around $2000 or so but would prefer to keep it near 1700 if possible. We are currently living in Southern Arizona and leaving due to the extreme year-round heat, extreme dry air, and limited activities. Plus, we have already explored all the road trips within a 6-8 hour range so we are seeking a change of scenery and culture.
We are looking for:
*lots of parks, trees, lakes, paved biking/jogging greenbelts, road trips to nice hiking areas, quaint nature preserves within the metro area
*Lots of interesting road trips. We take road trips at least twice a month. Looking for good trips within a 2-6hr range.
*A unique 2-3 bedroom house rental (no HOA). We prefer to live outside the city in both areas
*Lots of year-round events, holiday events (would love an ice rink), 5ks, half marathons, etc.
*Access to quality zoos, museums, nice restaurants
*Great coffee shops (we love eclectic non chain coffee houses)
*Great road trips, preferably to nice beach and/or mountain areas
*health conscious/fitness oriented residents/smoking bans at restaurants (noticed some places in SC still allow smoking)
*Great outdoor dining patios
*Better fall temps than we have in S. Arizona. Last year the temps were still in the high 90's for most of November. Definitely need some type of cool down. We don't mind hot and humid in summer, but the fall is another story.
*Low crime - this is a must as I hate the thought of our place or car getting broken into
*Nice airport - easy to get to, safe parking, lots of non stop affordable flights
*Lively downtown with lots of restaurants, coffee shops, entertainment, etc. Which area has something most similar to something like a 16th Street in Denver?
As of today, we were leaning towards Charlotte until we read many threads about the insane crime levels even inside the safer HOA developments. I also saw some weird articles about cancer clusters in the area which made me nervous being a health addict.
If anyone who has lived in/visited either area recently could give me some helpful info! All of the into online is so confusing -wish I had some time to visit! We are also open to other city suggestions as we work from home.
Charlotte with only the slightest of hesitation (because Raleigh has much better schools and is much safer). That's not enough to compensate for all the things Charlotte does better...
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Austin vs. Charlotte
