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I don't think that you can look at places like Norfolk, Durham, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem in a vacuum. That's just not realistic. These cities will always be tied to their greater metro areas. In the case of Greensboro and Winston-Salem, they are in the same greater metro area.
Why Richmond and not Baltimore? Richmond is 3 times the distance from DC as Baltimore is.
You'd see more spillover into Baltimore.
There is plenty of migration into both areas from metro Washington. Outgoing residents from heavily populated, expensive northern Virginia may prefer to remain in the same state, but relocate to a more affordable nearby metro area with a vibrant urban core and good quality amenities. Richmond is a logical choice for such movers.
Let’s not overthink this. Durham is the second largest city here (after Greensboro) and growing the second fastest here (after Charleston). It’s part of the largest local economy of those mentioned. It will likely explode even more as western Wake continues to fill up.
The only caveat would be Richmond, which stands alone. But remoteness is the main thing Richmond has going for it, and I don’t think it’s enough personally.
And metro Richmond is growing at a slightly faster pace than I thought, or at least it was pre-COVID at just over 10%. You've made it clear you don't want Richmond to boom but that doesn't mean that it won't, or at the least continue to register healthy growth rates that put it within striking distance of major city status. Another half-million in the metro would at least put it on the cusp, and that can come with actual population growth and the addition of a few surrounding jurisdictions to the MSA. It's becoming common for people to talk about bad I-95 traffic starting at or near Richmond instead of Fredericksburg.
That's a fair assessment.
A boom is not desired but reasonable growth is encouraged. I would not want Richmond metro to turn into the Raleigh area, but really that is of no real concern for the reasons I listed earlier. The same applies to Charleston and maybe Winston-Salem as well, to a lesser extent. Greensboro is just not appealing to anyone at all, I'd like to find someone who likes it there. any takers?
As much as the posters on here rave about certain historic, walkable cities, the general populace prefer "newer" areas, especially if they're transplants themselves.
Richmond, Charleston, etc. have just too much history and not all of it considered good, especially by migratory northerners who look down on the South.
For exponential growth you've got to look at cities that were nothing before and can become something today -- blank slates, if you will. For that reason, I think Greenville, SC has the best shot on this list.
Surprised to see Richmond with the majority of votes. Having lived my last 5 years or so (until this year) in DC with lots of friends/connections in NOVA, it never seemed to be on anyone's radar for relocation. My brother lives there so I visit about twice a year, it's definitely not a bad place but to me feels a step below Norfolk, and a step above Roanoke. It doesn't seem to have changed all that much over the years besides the fancy bus stops mimicking light rail stations. That said, my bro/his wife moved their from Chicago and LOVE it.
I really don’t understand the Greenville votes. It’s a city of 70,000. If it experienced ‘90s Austin type growth from now on, it would break 200,000 around 2051. Y’all are putting too much stock in instagram pictures of a river park.
A boom is not desired but reasonable growth is encouraged. I would not want Richmond metro to turn into the Raleigh area, but really that is of no real concern for the reasons I listed earlier. The same applies to Charleston and maybe Winston-Salem as well, to a lesser extent. Greensboro is just not appealing to anyone at all, I'd like to find someone who likes it there. any takers?
As much as the posters on here rave about certain historic, walkable cities, the general populace prefer "newer" areas, especially if they're transplants themselves.
Richmond, Charleston, etc. have just too much history and not all of it considered good, especially by migratory northerners who look down on the South.
For exponential growth you've got to look at cities that were nothing before and can become something today -- blank slates, if you will. For that reason, I think Greenville, SC has the best shot on this list.
A desire for healthy sustainable growth is reasonable, especially since a boom comes with its set of heartaches. And I actually happen to like to Greensboro myself. It's easy to get around with its extensive road network, affordable, has good weather, hosts events that normally go to larger cities due to the coliseum complex and Koury Convention Center, has a nice and developing downtown, accessible to the rest of the state, has a similarly-sized city right next door with its own flavor and offerings, the colleges and universities are great assets, has decent cultural facilities for its size, has generally nice folks, etc. It's not the most distinctive or historic city but I think it's a relatively easy place to live with enough to do for a large share of residents. And all of the available land in the area served by the road network is an economic advantage as demonstrated by some recent sizable eco devo deals it has landed. But YMMV of course.
And I think you're shortchanging the appeal of walkable cities. Again, Charleston is absolutely booming, both in the suburbs and in the city proper--on the peninsula even--and Greenville's biggest selling point is arguably its easily walkable, well-designed, aesthetically pleasant downtown. Durham's downtown is similar. Even if transplants don't live in the urban core of those cities, they absolutely consider them amenities to take advantage of like beaches or mountains.
Surprised to see Richmond with the majority of votes. Having lived my last 5 years or so (until this year) in DC with lots of friends/connections in NOVA, it never seemed to be on anyone's radar for relocation. My brother lives there so I visit about twice a year, it's definitely not a bad place but to me feels a step below Norfolk, and a step above Roanoke. It doesn't seem to have changed all that much over the years besides the fancy bus stops mimicking light rail stations. That said, my bro/his wife moved their from Chicago and LOVE it.
+1 for Durham
A step below Norfolk or the larger Hampton Roads area? It's been a while since I've been to Norfolk but Richmond has pretty much always felt more developed and important to me. It's the state capital and economically Richmond easily has the upper hand. On higher ed I think they are more or less equal. But as for history, arts, culture, and architecture, I think Richmond has a clear advantage. And its BRT line is more efficient than the Tide in Norfolk. Norfolk has its coastal location going for it but it's in a geographic cul-de-sac and economically it's much less dynamic than Richmond.
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