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I think everyone should calm down about inferiority complex. Half the cities are transplants that could care less about old petty squabbles, doubly so since they chose the city they are living in. We are a far cry from the days when people lived in their hometown forever. Also all 3 are clearly behind Atlanta in the South, so even if you were arguing, you’re arguing for second-place which is kind stupid.
Nobody is arguing for second place, what are you talking about? It's comparing the cities as they are, nothing more, nothing less...
Transplants to Charlotte and Raleigh acclimate to both, generally speaking, and do have a sense of civic pride about both. ..
Charlotte's urban footprint is clearly larger, more distinguishable than Raleigh's. Uptown and it's peripheral neighborhoods clearly demonstrate a higher level of urbanity than the like in Raleigh...
That said, I'll be relocating to Raleigh in May.
While I prefer Charlotte still, I've grown to enjoy and appreciate Raleigh. It gets talked about for its transplants, economy, and educated culture while being derided for its sprawl, transplants, and dearth of urbanity, but there is a real culture there. It isn't for everyone, and I'm not fond of certain aspects, but I appreciate it for what it is...
My larger point was the suburban footprint of the two cities is remarkably similar in both area and population, the difference being you call yours neighborhoods like Ballantyne and Steele Creek and we call ours towns like Garner and Cary. But your point about downtown Charlotte being bigger than downtown Raleigh is a point I already conceded. The major job engines in the two cities has played a role in that as well.
As for you in particular, welcome to Raleigh. Your experience will vary drastically depending on where you live though, probably moreso than most any other similarly sized metros. Hopefully you’ve taken that into account, and if you have questions, feel free to ask.
I do think some perspective is needed for Charlotte vs Raleigh though. Because Charlotte is undoubtedly bigger. But much of that is by design. I mentioned earlier, but Charlotte gobbled up most all available land it could. Raleigh expanded but it was hemmed in by communities. The fact is Garner wouldn’t exist in Mecklenburg as such. 4 miles from Downtown Charlotte would be a Charlotte neighborhood. If you added the 6 Wake communities that run in to one another and are indistinguishable as such (sorry Wendell and Fuquay), you get an area slightly smaller than Charlotte (305 sq miles vs 270 sq miles) and a similar population (859k vs 830k).
What separates the two isn’t really the urban/suburban footprint of the two, it is that Charlotte is richer with more corporate money spending downtown, and that they have more York and Gastonia counties on their periphery (though that circles back to having more money to draw more people in). But the gap isn’t as large as it used to be, either in perception or reality.
Your right, but the thing is Charlotte annexed undeveloped land and sat on it. University City North's density is 4,600 and it used to be mostly forest. Charlotte's core of 125 sq miles is probably around 4,000 people per square mile. Now Charlotte is starting to develop those outside edge areas more and build up and increase density too, while and the core is getting really dense.
https://statisticalatlas.com/place/N...tte/Population Look at 1,700 people per square mile. Most of the that is on the edges of the city. Some of the low density areas in the core but most of them are on the edges.
Some neighborhoods close to uptown
Hidden Valley - built in the 1950s - 5,100 people per square mile. 5.4 miles away from uptown 12,250 people
Uptown density- 14,000 people per square mile - -2.14 square miles- 30,000 people
Cherry density- 4,000 people per square mile. 1.9 miles away from uptown 1,000 people
South End density- around 7,500 people per square mile. 1.4 miles away from uptown 15,000 people
Dilworth density- 4,000 people per square mile. 2.3 miles away from uptown 7,500 people
Shannon Park density- 5,000 people per square mile. 6.1 miles away from uptown. - 7,500 people
Briar Creek density - 5,400 people per square mile. 3.7 miles away from uptown.
Charlotte's edges of the city are similar to the Charlotte suburbs in terms of density and it drags down the density of Charlotte.
I am from California; recently moved to Arizona. I haven't heard anyone talk about Charlotte but i heard very good things about Raleigh. I heard Raleigh has a strong job market and the people are VERY friendly. I wouldn't mind visiting there one day.
Your right, but the thing is Charlotte annexed undeveloped land and sat on it. University City North's density is 4,600 and it used to be mostly forest. Charlotte's core of 125 sq miles is probably around 4,000 people per square mile. Now Charlotte is starting to develop those outside edge areas more and build up and increase density too, while and the core is getting really dense.
https://statisticalatlas.com/place/N...tte/Population Look at 1,700 people per square mile. Most of the that is on the edges of the city. Some of the low density areas in the core but most of them are on the edges.
Some neighborhoods close to uptown
Hidden Valley - built in the 1950s - 5,100 people per square mile. 5.4 miles away from uptown 12,250 people
Uptown density- 14,000 people per square mile - -2.14 square miles- 30,000 people
Cherry density- 4,000 people per square mile. 1.9 miles away from uptown 1,000 people
South End density- around 7,500 people per square mile. 1.4 miles away from uptown 15,000 people
Dilworth density- 4,000 people per square mile. 2.3 miles away from uptown 7,500 people
Shannon Park density- 5,000 people per square mile. 6.1 miles away from uptown. - 7,500 people
Briar Creek density - 5,400 people per square mile. 3.7 miles away from uptown.
Charlotte's edges of the city are similar to the Charlotte suburbs in terms of density and it drags down the density of Charlotte.
That isn’t that dissimilar from Raleigh. Inside-the-Beltline has like 130,000 people, so the density there is offset by the cow pastures in North Raleigh where the latest subdivision is.
Wherever I've traveled, or lived, neither comes up in conversation. My daughter and her husband have traveled to Raleigh for business, and thought it was lovely, but most the tech people I know are in Chicago, Milwaukee, or MSP. As far as finance, I've never known anyone to transfer form Chicago to NC.
I am from California; recently moved to Arizona. I haven't heard anyone talk about Charlotte but i heard very good things about Raleigh. I heard Raleigh has a strong job market and the people are VERY friendly. I wouldn't mind visiting there one day.
This is interesting because it highlights how varied people's experiences can be in small areas. We're from Sacramento and you've heard people talk about Raleigh, but my experience has been the opposite. Nobody I know in Sacramento has ever spoken of Raleigh. Charlotte has come up a few times with people I know, and CLT and SMF have direct flights between each other daily, I've had conversations with people in SMF who were going to Charlotte for some reason or other...
They are both about the same, but downtown Raleigh feels like Downtown Omaha or even Wichita, while Downtown Charlotte is more like Downtown Denver or Minneapolis.
They are both about the same, but downtown Raleigh feels like Downtown Omaha or even Wichita, while Downtown Charlotte is more like Downtown Denver or Minneapolis.
I live in the Raleigh suburbs and this is a fair assessment. What makes Raleigh stand out more than those cities is the more robust job market and a bigger MSA/CSA than either of those cities. Although driving through downtown Raleigh could conjure up images of Omaha. I will say that DT Raleigh has really been buzzing over the last several years though.
Raleigh just has so much more to offer than those other cities, although I've heard good things about Omaha. The downtowns might not stand out from each other but the cities & metro areas are completely different. Raleigh will also start to look much more cosmopolitan in the coming years compared to those cities.
I live in the Raleigh suburbs and this is a fair assessment. What makes Raleigh stand out more than those cities is the more robust job market and a bigger MSA/CSA than either of those cities. Although driving through downtown Raleigh could conjure up images of Omaha. I will say that DT Raleigh has really been buzzing over the last several years though.
Raleigh just has so much more to offer than those other cities, although I've heard good things about Omaha. The downtowns might not stand out from each other but the cities & metro areas are completely different. Raleigh will also start to look much more cosmopolitan in the coming years compared to those cities.
It is a growing city that has been growing at a steady pace and just doesn’t get mentioned too much on C-D. So, it isn’t too far behind Raleigh in some aspects.
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