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Thats super dope. Durham is actually my favorite city out of all the Triangle cities/towns. Glad to see it's also doing so well. You don't hear much about it on this forum, unfortunately.
It is sad how little positive is said about Durham, Chapel Hill or Carrboro on this forum and would guess it's politically motivated as most C-D members seem more conservative than liberal. Given the left lean of all three, especially the latter two it's not surprising once considered, even though the public school system has always been the best in the state it seems. The three also have a soul and artsy vibe not found in the eastern half of the Triangle.
The largest “tech” company I saw on there was Northman Grumman with around 600 people. Cisco has over 5000 alone at the Park.
Yeah that makes sense in terms of tech jobs and research but I would say Richmond still has a more diverse economy given the number of fortune 500 companies and the federal reserve bank. However Richmond could definitely learn from Raleigh in developing STEM fields. It also seems that Virginia does not invest in research and technology centers as much as North Carolina has invested in the Triangle Research Park. Also Richmond competes with Northern Virginia for creation of STEM jobs so its more difficult for the region to properly develop those industries.
It is sad how little positive is said about Durham, Chapel Hill or Carrboro on this forum and would guess it's politically motivated as most C-D members seem more conservative than liberal. Given the left lean of all three, especially the latter two it's not surprising once considered, even though the public school system has always been the best in the state it seems. The three also have a soul and artsy vibe not found in the eastern half of the Triangle.
All the core cities lean left in the Triangle. It's just that Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro lean further left.
Raleigh isn't a conservative leaning city.
It is sad how little positive is said about Durham, Chapel Hill or Carrboro on this forum and would guess it's politically motivated as most C-D members seem more conservative than liberal. Given the left lean of all three, especially the latter two it's not surprising once considered, even though the public school system has always been the best in the state it seems. The three also have a soul and artsy vibe not found in the eastern half of the Triangle.
I don’t think a thread goes by here discussing the Triangle in more than glancing detail that doesn’t mention Raleigh’s suburban sprawl and Durham’s soul. It’s become fairly engrained in this board as if the world stopped in 2005.
Yeah that makes sense in terms of tech jobs and research but I would say Richmond still has a more diverse economy given the number of fortune 500 companies and the federal reserve bank. However Richmond could definitely learn from Raleigh in developing STEM fields. It also seems that Virginia does not invest in research and technology centers as much as North Carolina has invested in the Triangle Research Park. Also Richmond competes with Northern Virginia for creation of STEM jobs so its more difficult for the region to properly develop those industries.
You’re talking maybe 20,000 corporate and support jobs once you factor in the Federal Reserve in a market with over 700,000 jobs. Headquarter jobs are nice, but. And the Reserve in particular is fairly siloed off and not giving strong ripple effects throughout the region.
All the core cities lean left in the Triangle. It's just that Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro lean further left.
Raleigh isn't a conservative leaning city.
Just about all of the Triangle is left leaning, apart from places like Clayton, but Durham and Chapel Hill are very left leaning, and less family oriented than Wake County, and so that’s where I think the bias comes from.
Wake used to be more of a purple county but now it's clearly blue. Durham and Orange Counties have been Democratic strongholds forever. There aren't many hardcore conservative areas around the Triangle, you have to go further west in the Piedmont to find those areas.
The similarities between Durham and Richmond are underrated on CD. Durham is obviously smaller and doesn't have the rich history of Richmond (no pun intended), but the two cities share a common vibe of being artsy, very liberal, gritty yet southern, and strongholds for African American culture. Both cities also have a background in the tobacco industry. I can't think of two cities in the region that share those specific similarities with the possible exception of Winston-Salem.
Last edited by costellopresley82; 08-11-2023 at 03:26 PM..
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I think a lot of people made good points about both cities. Other factors to consider: the geographic location of Richmond versus Raleigh. Richmond is a bit closer to the beach (although just one - VA Beach) and much closer to the mountains as well as to DC. All three locations are 2 hours or less and easy day trips from Richmond, plus there are many train options to DC as well as to the Northeast/NYC. Richmond has the lovely James River running through it, and its downtown feels/is more urban than Raleigh, but there are still good suburbs like Short Pump if you are looking for a more suburban area.
Of course Raleigh is closer to southern cities, and Raleigh has a bigger airport if you will be flying a lot. Richmond is about 2 hours from the larger Dulles airport, and Raleigh is the same to Charlotte's airport. Raleigh's winters are a bit milder with less snow. Raleigh will have more transplants than Richmond, whereas I think you will tend to find more "Virginians" living in Richmond.
The Triangle = Newer, more suburban, spread out, lots of growth, tons of transplants, a booming economy, RTP, tech jobs, better universities, a stronger southern/Sun Belt feel, Carolina Piedmont culture (BBQ, college basketball, etc.)
Richmond = Older, more urban, walkable neighborhoods such as the Fan, lots of history, a stable economy, Fortune 500 companies, finance jobs, a stronger mid-Atlantic feel, Virginia Tidewater culture (Chesapeake Bay cuisine, etc.)
The urbanity angle is something Virginians on CD harp on a lot, though I think that's an area Raleigh has had significant improvements in and will inevitably leapfrog Richmond on at some point in the future. So I don't know how relevant it really is as a comparison.
Historical stock will always be something Richmond has in spades though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by costellopresley82
Wake used to be more of a purple county but now it's clearly blue. Durham and Orange Counties have been Democratic strongholds forever. There aren't many hardcore conservative areas around the Triangle, you have to go further west in the Piedmont to find those areas.
The similarities between Durham and Richmond are underrated on CD. Durham is obviously smaller and doesn't have the rich history of Richmond (no pun intended), but the two cities share a common vibe of being artsy, very liberal, gritty yet southern, and strongholds for African American culture. Both cities also have a background in the tobacco industry. I can't think of two cities in the region that share those specific similarities with the possible exception of Winston-Salem.
Almost all cities have a Dem majority with the way politics have shifted over urban/rural lines over the last 20 years. One factor that sets cities perceived as "progressive" apart from moderate ones is whether dems win the white vote. White voters tend to have higher turnout in off-years and disproportionately higher participation in civic politics, so a city where they have a conservative majority can feel more moderate in its attitude even if a large minority population pushes it over the line during presidential election years.
Also, golf clap for Nevada.
Last edited by Vatnos; 08-12-2023 at 04:00 PM..
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