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I wasn't challenging the population numbers, rather pointing out that the difference in population doesn't warrant having the Triad signified as Podunk-ville. Again, pointing out that the Triad is the 30th largest metro area in the US. I just kind of find it weird that the conversation jumps back and forth between Charlotte and Raleigh without mention of Greensboro and Winston Salem when discussing NC's economy.
The reason why Charlotte and Raleigh are always brought up in regards to NCs economy is because they are the racehorse economy for NC. The correlation between Charlottes and Raleighs economic growth and their population growth is astounding. I should probably say the Triangle so I don't leave out Durham.
That is not to say the Triad is not important, but even though the Triangle and Triad are about even in population, the GDP is towards the Triangles favor by about 25%.
I wasn't challenging the population numbers, rather pointing out that the difference in population doesn't warrant having the Triad signified as Podunk-ville. Again, pointing out that the Triad is the 30th largest metro area in the US. I just kind of find it weird that the conversation jumps back and forth between Charlotte and Raleigh without mention of Greensboro and Winston Salem when discussing NC's economy.
The Triad's not the 30th largest metro area in the country. I saw a CSA ranking that put the Triad 31st but that's not even the most important consideration. Many metros with more people than both the Triangle and Triad aren't part of a CSA and aren't listed in the table of CSA populations. For instance, Miami-Ft Lauderdale is just a MSA and isn't part of a CSA. It has ~5.5 million people but can't be found on the CSA list you probably refererence. For each of these areas that exceed the population of either the Triad, Triangle or both, the rankings of the Triad and Triangle move down the list. If I can find that list, I'll link it.
The Triad's not the 30th largest metro area in the country. I saw a CSA ranking that put the Triad 31st but that's not even the most important consideration. Many metros with more people than both the Triangle and Triad aren't part of a CSA and aren't listed in the table of CSA populations. For instance, Miami-Ft Lauderdale is just a MSA and isn't part of a CSA. It has ~5.5 million people but can't be found on the CSA list you probably refererence. For each of these areas that exceed the population of either the Triad, Triangle or both, the rankings of the Triad and Triangle move down the list. If I can find that list, I'll link it.
OK, so apparently I'm plain wrong everywhere. The attempted point was that the Triad is big, not small and should be mentioned in the same breath as other NC metros within certain conversations. It's not a pitstop between Raleigh and Charlotte. Sigh..
Just an FYI people.....Nascar is NOT in Charlotte. It is in Concord....which is not even in the same county as Charlotte. That is like saying Duke Univ is in Raleigh.....or Lexington BBQ is in Greensboro. Lets talk Charlotte-Mecklenburg. And another FYI....PTL was in South Carolina (Fort Mill)....another state...not in Charlotte. Charlotte is the 18th largest city in the whole US. Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro & Winston-Salem do not even come close...and if you notice...the other metro areas have to pull from 3 or 4 cities each...TRIAD - W-S, GSO & High Point....TRIANGLE - Raleigh, Durham, Cary & Chapel Hill.....Charlotte is -1- city...not 3 or 4. All 3 metros are nice...but not comparable...quite different. I have lived in all 3 metros....they are nothing alike at all.
Wake county will probably surpass Mecklenburg one day in population....but it is 40% larger in land area....duh!
I recently took a quick trip up to Winston-Salem just to get out of Charlotte for the day. The family and I ate at some restaurant downtown that serves fish tacos. The food wasn't bad. However, it was some of the downtown real estate that impressed me the most. I saw condos and row houses in downtown Winston-Salem of all places!!! Heck, even Winston-Salem's transit center resembled the one in Charlotte!
IMO, downtown Winston could compete with downtown Raleigh anyday of the week (and in some cases compete with uptown Charlotte). So with that said, I think the Triad should focus on "bringing back" Winston-Salem. Winston should be the leading city in the Triad again. This may never happen due to the fact that the airport is in G'boro.
OK, so apparently I'm plain wrong everywhere. The attempted point was that the Triad is big, not small and should be mentioned in the same breath as other NC metros within certain conversations. It's not a pitstop between Raleigh and Charlotte. Sigh..
FWIW, I thought that Ikea should have been located in the Triad along 1-40/85 for easy convenience to most of the state. I went to Ikea a few months back and a woman working in the kitchens department asked my why everyone that comes to her is from Raleigh.
Just an FYI people.....Nascar is NOT in Charlotte. It is in Concord....which is not even in the same county as Charlotte. That is like saying Duke Univ is in Raleigh.....or Lexington BBQ is in Greensboro. Lets talk Charlotte-Mecklenburg. And another FYI....PTL was in South Carolina (Fort Mill)....another state...not in Charlotte. Charlotte is the 18th largest city in the whole US. Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro & Winston-Salem do not even come close...and if you notice...the other metro areas have to pull from 3 or 4 cities each...TRIAD - W-S, GSO & High Point....TRIANGLE - Raleigh, Durham, Cary & Chapel Hill.....Charlotte is -1- city...not 3 or 4. All 3 metros are nice...but not comparable...quite different. I have lived in all 3 metros....they are nothing alike at all.
Wake county will probably surpass Mecklenburg one day in population....but it is 40% larger in land area....duh!
Charlotte is a city with a huge land mass that expanded to its location because it didn't have formidable municpalities on its borders challenging it. Charlotte will probably always be the largest city in NC because no other city can annex the amount of land that Charlotte has. But, then again, Jacksonville will always be larger than Miami but nobody Florida gives it much weight. So, don't be surprised if either the Triangle or the Triad steals its thunder somewhere in the future. It's not happening now but it could happen in the future.
I recently took a quick trip up to Winston-Salem just to get out of Charlotte for the day. The family and I ate at some restaurant downtown that serves fish tacos. The food wasn't bad. However, it was some of the downtown real estate that impressed me the most. I saw condos and row houses in downtown Winston-Salem of all places!!! Heck, even Winston-Salem's transit center resembled the one in Charlotte!
Well, all that came out of the failed Krispy Kreme development from about 5 years ago
The Krispy Kreme Corp. was founded in Winston-Salem, N.C., in 1937, and its first doughnut store was on South Main Street in what is now the historic Old Salem part of the city. Today, Krispy Kreme produces 5 million doughnuts a day at hundreds of stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Great Britain.
The doughnut king is now teaming up with the North Carolina School of the Arts—also located in Winston-Salem—to create an $87 million business, entertainment, arts and residential development called Unity Place. Krispy Kreme’s 100,000-square-foot headquarters will anchor the 13-acre development, to be owned by a corporation created to benefit the arts school. Unity Place will include a theater, shops, residences, offices, a 700-seat performing arts center and a 250-seat music and film venue. Construction is slated for completion in 2005.
That great idea cacked, but since the economy was in better shape, the developers went ahead with the condos and downtown living quarters.
What hasn't been discussed, which had a MAJOR impact on W-S, was the First Union-Wachovia merger which later became the Wachovia-Wells Fargo buyout. That was a hefty dagger to W-S because of the subsequent downsizing and now the nearly total loss of that banking presence. There's still BB&T, but Wachovia was really the heart of banking in W-S and now it's nearly gone. Business poobahs are trying to look to the bio-research sector to revive the downtown as well as merely making it an attractive place to live. The new ballpark (boy, was that b*tched about ) and plans to bring more entertainment to the city center is a hope-for attraction to get more people interested in the area.
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