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Durham resident here. Regarding this topic, I'll just say that IMO Burlington has done the best job on I-85 in North Carolina outside of Charlotte, Concord and Salisbury of making its exits very appealing to drivers to turn off and stop there for some food and/or gas. At least until Mebane gets that Buc-ee's. But as others have noted, once you get past those areas into its downtown, it's not very inviting or exciting, especially at night and weekends. High Point still has the edge in regard to that subject. And man, High Point University is one of the most beautiful and exciting institutes of higher learning we've got going right now. If I were going back to school and had my choice, I'd pick going there.
And while Burlington does have a location advantage of roughly between the Triad and the Triangle, let's not forget that High Point is an easy drive of 90 minutes more or less to Charlotte and takes a half hour less to drive to the mountains than from Burlington. You also save another half hour or so driving south to Myrtle Beach down to Disney World and beyond in Florida thanks to I-73/74, and one its final leg around Rockingham is complete, it'll be even quicker that way. And of course, it's easier to get to the PTI airport for travel that way.
A final note: While Burlington does have potential to grow, let's not overlook the potential of Mebane either. Should a couple or family have one worker in the Triangle and the other in the Triad, it's a very tempting location to pick midway for both due to affordable housing and amenities like Tanger Outlet and the (probable) Buc-ee's. And with its staggering 9.2% from 2020-2022 according to the U.S. Census, chances are more likely that it's going to catch up with Burlington in our lifetimes than Burlington will with High Point.
Durham resident here. Regarding this topic, I'll just say that IMO Burlington has done the best job on I-85 in North Carolina outside of Charlotte, Concord and Salisbury of making its exits very appealing to drivers to turn off and stop there for some food and/or gas. At least until Mebane gets that Buc-ee's. But as others have noted, once you get past those areas into its downtown, it's not very inviting or exciting, especially at night and weekends. High Point still has the edge in regard to that subject. And man, High Point University is one of the most beautiful and exciting institutes of higher learning we've got going right now. If I were going back to school and had my choice, I'd pick going there.
And while Burlington does have a location advantage of roughly between the Triad and the Triangle, let's not forget that High Point is an easy drive of 90 minutes more or less to Charlotte and takes a half hour less to drive to the mountains than from Burlington. You also save another half hour or so driving south to Myrtle Beach down to Disney World and beyond in Florida thanks to I-73/74, and one its final leg around Rockingham is complete, it'll be even quicker that way. And of course, it's easier to get to the PTI airport for travel that way.
A final note: While Burlington does have potential to grow, let's not overlook the potential of Mebane either. Should a couple or family have one worker in the Triangle and the other in the Triad, it's a very tempting location to pick midway for both due to affordable housing and amenities like Tanger Outlet and the (probable) Buc-ee's. And with its staggering 9.2% from 2020-2022 according to the U.S. Census, chances are more likely that it's going to catch up with Burlington in our lifetimes than Burlington will with High Point.
I think Mebane could quickly become a Cary over the next decades. While in the Triad, the success and growth in the Triangle could bleed over into Mebane. Mebane is almost like a clean slate compared to Burlington and I can see that town becoming a desirable place to live basically being midway between the Triad's largest city and the Triangle’s second largest city.
I think Mebane could quickly become a Cary over the next decades. While in the Triad, the success and growth in the Triangle could bleed over into Mebane. Mebane is almost like a clean slate compared to Burlington and I can see that town becoming a desirable place to live basically being midway between the Triad's largest city and the Triangle’s second largest city.
One problem that Mebane has it is only 11 square miles, so it would have to do a whole lot of annexing to have major major growth.
I think Mebane could quickly become a Cary over the next decades. While in the Triad, the success and growth in the Triangle could bleed over into Mebane. Mebane is almost like a clean slate compared to Burlington and I can see that town becoming a desirable place to live basically being midway between the Triad's largest city and the Triangle’s second largest city.
Give it about 30 years and I think Mebane will surprise a lot of folks.
It won’t take 30 years. Burlington, Mebane and Alamance County are already growing very rapidly. They are in a sweet spot. However, my thinking is that central and western Alamance County is in Greensboro’s orbit.
Lab Corp’s recent spinoff of 19,000 employee unit “Fortrea” is now based in Durham.
It won’t take 30 years. Burlington, Mebane and Alamance County are already growing very rapidly. They are in a sweet spot. However, my thinking is that central and western Alamance County is in Greensboro’s orbit.
Lab Corp’s recent spinoff of 19,000 employee unit “Fortrea” is now based in Durham.
Alamance is a funny county. Its a Triad county and you are right. Western and central Alamance County is like Greensboro's orbit. but as you get to the eastern part of the county you feel like you are in the Triangle's orbit. Mebane will become an attractive place to live for those who like close proximity to the urban centers for work and shopping but don't want to live in the city. But as more and more people move to Mebane its going to get more urban. I don't think it will ever become a large city but it will become a large urban suburb of both the Triad and Triangle. Eventually its going to become an attractive place to live as Cary which has had explosive growth. Cary has really become the Triangle's "third city"
If Burlington had a weekday commute train line to Raleigh be a game changer for the city.
My gosh you struck gold with that one!
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Originally Posted by gsoboi78
True Burlington is just not physically attractive and does lack amenities. The key for Burlington to grow is to address those issues. I'm just surprised the city has not really put together a downtown revitalization plan. They do have a downtown master plan but there doesn't seem to be a big push to do anything and they haven't really gotten the community involved. But the city as a whole needs to be cleaned up.
Haven't heard anything publicly from any of Alamance's leadership address anything regarding the impending population boom, particularly on the eastern half of the county into Burlington. Also haven't heard anything about how it's gonna keep a chunk of its residents housed during the boom considering about 30 percent of its residents are already upside down, spending more on rent than their paychecks can handle.
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Originally Posted by ozmoe571
... And man, High Point University is one of the most beautiful and exciting institutes of higher learning we've got going right now. If I were going back to school and had my choice, I'd pick going there.
... but HP is pretty stagnant to me. The ball is in Burlington and Mebane's court in the future. Not only are those municipalities better situated, but with a couple of nearby, new industry popping up (even if in an adjacent county to the east), it'll drive so much growth. On top of the that, it'll be Triangle evacuees, so the population base is gonna look different... a different base than what HP can attract. That base will get things moving, and it'll surpass HP soon enough.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gsoboi78
Give it about 30 years and I think Mebane will surprise a lot of folks.
Agreed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Big
It won’t take 30 years. Burlington, Mebane and Alamance County are already growing very rapidly. They are in a sweet spot. However, my thinking is that central and western Alamance County is in Greensboro’s orbit.
Lab Corp’s recent spinoff of 19,000 employee unit “Fortrea” is now based in Durham.
I am struggling with the concept that Alamance County belongs to the Triad.
It sits directly next to Orange County, one of the most expensive to live in in NC. Alamance County is much more affordable than Orange County and has Interstate access, as well as back road access to the Triangle...right next door.
We all know the impact that has been seen on the Triangle economics outside of Wake, Durham and Orange Counties...in places like Johnston County, Franklin County, and Chatham County...why would you not think Alamance would see similar growth, especially with Interstate access?
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