Similar metros/areas to Raleigh and the Triangle (Charlotte, Greensboro: real estate, apartment)

[michgc]

Originally Posted by JayJayCB

Richmond is similar to Raleigh in some ways. Both cities located on the Fall Line, both fit the New South description, and only two and a half hours apart (closer to Raleigh than NOVA). However, Richmond is definitely more historic and urban while Raleigh was a much smaller city until the RTP boom. Today, Raleigh and the Triangle are more suburban. However, if we're bringing the whole Triangle into the picture, both Durham and Richmond have the tobacco history. It's the suburbs of Richmond and Raleigh that feel very similar to me, the downtown areas of both are a bit different.

I agree that Richmond is a decent comparison. Again, two capital cities. Both start with "R" Both with similar weather and topography. Similar history as being part of southern states. I agree that the city of Richmond itself feels older and denser to me. While Raleigh feels newer and more spread out. I'm not as familiar with Richmond's suburbs but I think across America many newer suburbs look similar - similar housing, same box stores, strip malls, chain restaurants, etc. I imagine there are many similar builders between the two regions, making suburban architectural styles similar, too. As a whole, though, I think of Richmond as "older" and Raleigh as "newer" but it may just be because Raleigh is newer to me.

[take57]

Originally Posted by michgc

I imagine there are many similar builders between the two regions, making suburban architectural styles similar, too. As a whole, though, I think of Richmond as "older" and Raleigh as "newer" but it may just be because Raleigh is newer to me.

Isn't that considered an oxymoron?
Perhaps not:
Taco Bell Mission
Best Buy Brutalist
International House of Pancakes errr... International?

I will buy old school McDonald's Googie

[Rahlee boy]

Originally Posted by michgc

I don't think Raleigh has the "hip" reputation that Austin has. Austin seems more appealing to younger people, while Raleigh is more appealing to families.

Raleigh has some similarities to Columbus, OH. Both are mid-size cities. Both are capital cities. Both have a large university in its midst. Both are similarly diverse. College sports are very big in each. While the city of Columbus is bigger, the metro areas are similar size when you combine Raleigh and Durham's metro areas together. Columbus has the Columbus Clippers. Durham has the Durham Bulls.

Of course, there are a lot of differences between the two cities, too. Columbus is midwestern while Raleigh is Southern. Columbus seems older and denser to me with urban-like suburbs. Raleigh has much milder weather than Columbus.

You forgot.....
Raleigh has NHL Hockey Hurricanes
Columbus has NHL Hockey Blue Jackets

Columbus is capital of Ohio.. "Birthplace of Aviation" (Ohio has a strange anger of North Carolina's "First in Flight") But, umm, the first flight was in NC..that's a fact. So they settled for "Birthplace of aviation. Wright Brother's birthplace. I wouldn't say that Ohio is the "Birthplace of Aviation" I can agree that it is the "Birthplace of the Wright Brothers"

I must add, Raleigh is not only Southern, it is also "Eastern"

[Rahlee boy]

In my opinion, Raleigh/Durham/Cary (Chapel Hill)similar to these other urban areas....due to multiple city regions....

San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington
Washington, D.C./Baltimore/Alexandria

and to an extent,

Minneapolis/Saint Paul
Tampa/Saint Petersburg

[JayJayCB]

Originally Posted by michgc

I agree that Richmond is a decent comparison. Again, two capital cities. Both start with "R" Both with similar weather and topography. Similar history as being part of southern states. I agree that the city of Richmond itself feels older and denser to me. While Raleigh feels newer and more spread out. I'm not as familiar with Richmond's suburbs but I think across America many newer suburbs look similar - similar housing, same box stores, strip malls, chain restaurants, etc. I imagine there are many similar builders between the two regions, making suburban architectural styles similar, too. As a whole, though, I think of Richmond as "older" and Raleigh as "newer" but it may just be because Raleigh is newer to me.

Even the older suburbs of Raleigh and Richmond feel quite similar to me. The suburban areas for both cities are very wooded, similar architecture, quite a bit of pine trees, etc. Definitely the newer suburbs, even though most would say newer suburbs are quite similar across the nation. However, Raleigh and Richmond are close, two and a half hours apart. It's not like we're comparing the suburbs of Boston to the suburbs of LA. But in general, you're pretty accurate that Raleigh is more new. A ton of the suburban neighborhoods outside the beltline aren't that old, and you really have the newer suburban sprawl for the Triangle as a whole. Cary is a perfect example. Richmond feels older and a lot more historic because it is. The Triangle was more remote until the RTP boom, so Raleigh wasn't a huge capital city. My Dad remembers RDU and the Angus Barn being way out in the boonies, different story today! We don't have anything along the lines of a Monument Avenue in Raleigh. Historically, Virginia was more wealthy than North Carolina. Many plantations (mainly tobacco) along the James River, estates in the countryside like Monticello, aristocratic families and historical figures like Robert E. Lee with those backgrounds, etc. North Carolina was a lot more poor and backwoods, less pretentious plantations/estates and more remote yeoman homesteads.

[Taynxtlvl]

Dallas/Forth worth in the shared area but two separate cities way of thinking. Also Minneapolis/St. Paul. And the airports being right in the middle of all of them.

[Bull City Rising]

I'm curious how many of the folks who think Richmond is akin to the Triangle, have lived there?

I lived in Richmond in 1999 and found it to be far different in the ways I think matter: less truly diverse, not as progressive (on all dimensions), an economy heavy on financials and weak on tech/research. And frankly, places like Chester County just nauseated me; we don't have any suburban areas in the Triangle quite as backwards.

Interestingly, one of my colleagues at the time on our project lived in Cary, loved it there, and spoke about how she wouldn't relocate full-time to Richmond, she liked Cary too much!

[michgc]

Originally Posted by Bull City Rising

I'm curious how many of the folks who think Richmond is akin to the Triangle, have lived there?

I lived in Richmond in 1999 and found it to be far different in the ways I think matter: less truly diverse, not as progressive (on all dimensions), an economy heavy on financials and weak on tech/research. And frankly, places like Chester County just nauseated me; we don't have any suburban areas in the Triangle quite as backwards.

Interestingly, one of my colleagues at the time on our project lived in Cary, loved it there, and spoke about how she wouldn't relocate full-time to Richmond, she liked Cary too much!

I've never lived in Richmond, although I have visited and driven through countless of times. It wasn't the first place that I thought of as being similar to Raleigh, although there are certainly some similarities and some differences just like all of the other places people mentioned have some similarities and some differences to Raleigh.

I think everyone interpreted the OP's question differently. Some looked at the geography, history, and topography of the cities. Others looked at the size of the cities, its relationship to nearby cities, and its position in the state as a capital. Still others looked at its industries, its diversity, and its politics. I'm not sure the last three are the ones that matter most, unless someone asks specifically about those measurements. But even taking those metrics into consideration, the ways in which Richmond are dissimilar to Raleigh are the same ways Raleigh is dissimilar to NoVa, for example. Raleigh is less progressive, less diverse, and has a different and less robust economy than NoVA. But people still see some similarities between the two.

I also think the answer depends on who is doing the asking. For example, we used to get questions on the NoVA board all the time about how the two sides of the Potomac are different - Maryland and NoVA. And the residents could give all the differences - political, industry, diversity, etc. But when it came down to it, if the person was moving from California, the two areas were going to seem pretty similar to them. I think the same can be said of Charlotte and Raleigh for example. There is a long thread going on in the NC board about the differences between the two cities. But when it comes down to it, for someone coming from somewhere like NYC, the two cities would seem pretty similar and the nuances between the two will be hardly noticeable to a newcomer when compared to how different both of them are to NYC. Having said that, I'm surprised no one mentioned Charlotte. That city is clearly pretty similar to Raleigh.

[JayJayCB]

Charlotte is a little similar to Raleigh, but I feel like it's more culturally southern, probably since it's right on the SC border. However, I'd say it's more similar to Atlanta but I'm sure some might disagree. Both Atlanta and Charlotte are probably the two best examples of the New South. They're also not terribly far apart, and I think of Atlanta whenever I visit Charlotte and vice versa. Only big difference I see is the fact that Charlotte is more glitzy. I also think the Triangle is similar to the Atlanta metro, but less so than Charlotte.

Any thoughts on similarities between the Triangle and Triad?

[JayJayCB]

It also seems like you could spot similarities between Raleigh and Atlanta, along with Raleigh and Columbia. I'm tempted to say Nashville or Birmingham, but probably not for the most part. The most similar IMO would have to be Richmond, Northern Virginia, Charlotte, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, Austin, Columbia, and Atlanta.