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I'm from the Triangle, and I agree completely. Downtown Raleigh has improved, but it's not there yet. Compared to Charlotte, Nashville, and even Richmond, downtown Raleigh is quite small.
Part of the problem is that the growth in the Triangle has primarily been concentrated in the outer suburbs, areas such as west Cary, Apex, Clayton, etc. These areas have boomed faster than downtown Raleigh, and downtown Durham is even smaller. That seems to be changing, though. I've noticed more apartment complexes popping up near downtown.
I was in DT Raleigh a few weeks ago, and while downtown is charming and nice enough, it's definitely a holdover from when Raleigh was a much smaller city not all that long ago. Those pics of Downtown Columbia compared to Downtown Raleigh Mutiny posted are eerily similar and gives a good idea of what Raleigh was like before it started blowing up in growth in the 90s, plus the emphasis on suburban growth there means that Downtown was not a focus. The Triangle is an area many people move to to get a house at a lower price than the Northeast, not for an urban lifestyle. DT Durham seems a bit more intimate and has more residential projects, but its definitely a downtown fitting for a city of about 250,000 people. I know Greensboro and Winston-Salem were larger and more prominent cities than Raleigh up until the 1980s, and the heart of Raleigh reflects that to me. I will say I find Durham's Downtown a bit more vibrant than Raleigh's.
I don't find Raleigh comparable to Richmond at all. Richmond is far more industrial and based on what I've seen of its downtown area, you can tell it has been a much more urban and robust city for much of its history compared to Raleigh. Even its suburbs felt a bit more established than what I've seen built around the Triangle. Raleigh didn't even hit 100,000 people in its city limits until well into the 1960s while Richmond had about 220,000 around that time, not to mention Metro Richmond was larger than the Triangle for a long period of time up until about 30-40 years ago. Historically, NC was a state with a large population consisting of small to mid-sized towns every 15-20 miles or so while Virginia had urban centers that were well-established long before Charlotte or Raleigh became major players.
You think Richmond is the most similar city in the country to Raleigh?
It was just a guess. Being state capitals is one thing they have in common and being secondary cities in their respective states. I just didn't think any of the other cities in the poll were similar. Maybe Austin with the tech industry, but I see it's more compared to Nashville than Raleigh. Maybe Nashville might be a bit similar to Raleigh, but then again I think it's more comparable to Charlotte, size-wise anyways.
It was just a guess. Being state capitals is one thing they have in common and being secondary cities in their respective states.
But Richmond is much more historic, more urban, and structurally denser with different architectural styles as well as a river with rapids running through the city.
Not sure what you mean by Richmond being a secondary city as it is actually the fourth-most populous city and third-largest metro in Virginia, but also functions as the premier city of the state due its history, urban form, amenities, culture, state capital status, institutions, etc.
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I just didn't think any of the other cities in the poll were similar. Maybe Austin with the tech industry, but I see it's more compared to Nashville than Raleigh. Maybe Nashville might be a bit similar to Raleigh, but then again I think it's more comparable to Charlotte, size-wise anyways.
Columbia is like a smaller Raleigh without RTP next door; both are planned fall-line capital cities of similar ages and similar layouts with heavy tree cover (lots of pines). Their signature public research universities (NCSU, USC) have similar enrollment numbers in the 35-37K range, and they each have two small private HBCUs with similar enrollments also (Shaw, St. Augustine in Raleigh; Benedict, Allen in Columbia). Their all-female institutions, Meredith in Raleigh and Columbia College, likewise have similar enrollments. I wouldn't necessarily pair William Peace in Raleigh and Columbia Int'l University together but they aren't too dissimilar and are the lone ones out at this point of the overall comparsion lol.
I also forgot to mention their warehouse districts, Glenwood South in Raleigh and the Congaree Vista in Columbia. The only real difference is that Glenwood South has more height whereas the Congaree Vista has height limits but contains more historic architecture.
Now Raleigh's growth and development has more of a Charlotte-esque feel (but as a city, it's a little over half Charlotte's size) with lots of new construction and a feeling of having come of age at similar point in time. North Hills is certainly Raleigh's version of South Park.
This is precisely why I said Raleigh is a cross between Charlotte and Columbia. This is the most accurate answer IMO.
I need to visit Columbia because I've only driven through. It's a little far from the Triangle but I might take a long day trip sometime. If it's similar to Raleigh, I'm curious to check it out.
Agreed that Raleigh and Richmond are not very similar. The only major similarities are their sizes, geographic locations, and the fact that both are state capitals. As I said earlier, the two cities feel different, even though they're not far apart. Richmond is older, artsy, urban, and more so mid-Atlantic akin to D.C. but on a smaller scale. Raleigh is newer, techie, suburban, and far more southern (IMO). That's why I decided to leave Richmond out of the poll.
Raleigh reminds me of Charlotte, with less tall buildings. Even its downtown I wouldn't say is much smaller -- it just, again, has less tall buildings. I don't think Downtown Charlotte is all that big at all. I took an Amtrak there during my last visit there a few months ago, and walked from the station to the Buffalo Wild Wings by the NASCAR place, and it was a relatively short walk. It has a more corporate feel than Raleigh. As such, I'm assuming a higher daytime population.
I need to visit Columbia because I've only driven through. It's a little far from the Triangle but I might take a long day trip sometime. If it's similar to Raleigh, I'm curious to check it out.
They really do feel similar with Raleigh obviously being the larger and more prosperous place and Columbia being more defined by its geography and warmer climate. Both are even redeveloping the old state mental health campuses in their cities, albeit in different ways.
Out of those cities Raleigh is closest to Charlotte, in that many of its neighborhood and suburbs are pretty similar. I also agree with what Mutiny said that it's best described a cross between Charlotte and Columbia. Charlotte's urban layout (CBD which is connected to the Southend district), though, looks and feels far larger, and a good bit more vibrant and "big-city"-ish than Raleigh's. Charlotte built environment is mostly linear in development and continues for miles.
Raleigh's strength, at least at this point, seems not to be in its CBD but in its great suburbs. It is a bauetiful city and I would have absolutely no problem living there. Especially love Chapel Hill!
Raleigh's culture is something akin to a Charlotte/Alpharetta hybrid.
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