Will the Triad ever catch up with Charlotte or Raliegh? (Raleigh: transplants, crime)
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Raleigh and Charlotte, being the growth magnet of NC during the last 2 decades, have been pulling away from the rest of state. The Triad also has had good things going for itself but the QC metro and the Triangle are really growing into major league cities on the national stage. Imagine we would have Denver and Seattle in our state in the next 20 years.
My question is: Do you think the Triad will ever-lets say, 20 or 30 years down the road- catch up with these 2 regions of the state. Will it become a current day Cleveland in that time frame?
Think economy, mass transit, urbanity, nightlife, education, art scene, things to do, culture, population, etc..
Think economy, mass transit, urbanity, nightlife, education, art scene, things to do, culture, population, etc..
Think sprawl, traffic nightmares, crime .......
Errrr, no thanks. Some things like mass transit are in (baby steps) progress. Lines and park-n-ride lots are being established in outlying areas to take people into the urban sections. Art and culture -depends on your definition. But there's no need, in the opinions of some, for this area to become another Charlotte and Raleigh. Why should they? Why can't there be some parts of the state that have decent amenities without the horrors of the megalopolis? Those cities aren't that far a drive away; we make a day trip down to the Charlotte area -sometimes an overnighter - and then return to the quieter Winston-Salem area to live. Charlotte gets our sales/entertainment dollars without having to deal with another warm body adding to the problems it has.
You've apparently never been to either Raleigh or Charlotte, or else you would have entitled your post "Will the Triad ever fall to the environmental disaster, cultural wasteland, political corruption, and human misery that is Raleigh and Charlotte?"
hopefully no. Growing up I always dreamed of settling in Raleigh. With the growth over the last decade, I now have my sites on either the triad or just settling back in the coast where I'm from.
I imagine the Triad may be perfectly happy ceding this "quote-unquote contest" to the other two areas. Most city planners will agree that the skyrocketing growth in the Triangle and Metrolina areas is way TOO fast, causing numerous problems such as traffic, school overcrowding, tax increases, etc. The Triad is seeing a more reasonable degree of growth that is not threatening the "soul" and the flavor of the area with huge numbers of folks from other places who don't care about the history or "native culture" (and indeed often deride it).
To answer your question, no I do not see the Triad as ever being "on par with" the other two metros, but I do not see that as a bad thing at all. One of the major attractions of NC for many in other urban areas is that our cites aren't big metros with all the ensuing problems (crime, traffic, taxes, rude people, etc). Though sadly, the sheer numbers coming here to "escape" such things have inevitably brought some degree of all of that with them, especially in the Triangle and Charlotte...
The Triad can continue being an area that offers a great quality of life with a solid economic foundation without experiencing breakneck growth. It's experiencing average, manageable growth and there's nothing wrong with that.
The triad is the only metro that is above the rest in multiple interstate commerce
with more lanes developed and in the process but outsiders just visit dont stay there.
All we need is people moving complaining.
The triad is friendly and resembeles North Carolina has less corrupt government,
Just visit .
The Triad is well positioned to benefit from the fact that it isn't like Charlotte or Raleigh. I'm not sure it's lacking in any of the other criteria except for nightlife and "urbanity". There's enough nightlife here for most people who manage to survive living outside large metro areas. In terms of an urban feel, that's not going to happen in North Carolina, period...thank god. Lastly, I just caught the reference to "catching up" in terms of population. The Triad's population is trailing the Triangle's by just 200,000 people....1.5 million versus the Triangle's 1.7 million, which on that scale is marginal. The Triad is the 30th largest metropolitan area in the US, so it's hardly Bumpkinville toiling away in big brother's shadows.
The Triad is a nice place, but I find the employment opportunities somewhat thin and not as diverse as the markets in Raleigh and Charlotte. The fact that it is also so far from the Coast is another factor that limits the number of transplants who find it attractive (though some do prefer to be closer to the mountains).
Trust me, the city managers and politicians in the Triad would love to see the growth in the tax base that Raleigh and Charlotte have. However it will take some time for the Triad to continue to redefine itself now that the age of manufacturing has left the area never to return.
Please don't take this as a slight to the triad, it is not. The triad will continue to grow, but I imagine it will always trail Raleigh and Charlotte in terms of overall population and variety of employment fields, much to the shagrin of the local elected officials.
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