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Can anyone tell me the differences between Charlotte and Raleigh? These are the 2 major cities we are looking at. I need to know the differences in congestion, tourism, job market, cost of living, colleges, demographics, recreation, etc. Thanks!
I tend to think of Charlotte as a traditional city, with everything spreading out from downtown, and Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill-Cary as a region. For example, I used to work in Cary and had co-workers who lived all over the area. Downtown Raleigh has restaurants and bars, but it isn't the kind of place where a lot of people live and shop. In the Raleigh area you have a wide variety of places to live because of this. You mentioned colleges, and this is one big difference. The Raleigh area has NCSU, UNC, and Duke, and it seems like most people have some tie to one of those schools (or at least a preference in ACC basketball). There are universities and colleges in the Charlotte area (UNCC, Queens, Davidson, Winthrop), but Charlotte has less of a college-town feel. Charlotte is closer to the mountains and Raleigh is closer to NC beaches, so it depends on what kind of recreation you like. Both have lakes close by. Raleigh has nice parks, but I'm not sure about Charlotte. Similar climate, so that's not a major issue.
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