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So far I had a chance to read all the comments and just want to say I appreciate everyone's input so much and it has helped greatly.
I have visited Raleigh this past week but didn't get to see or do much and I felt it wasn't enough time to get a feel for what it would be to actually live there.
One thing that someone said that caught my attention is that I have lived in Charlotte for going on 4 years now and I think Charlotte is a good city, and being from New York City, I can say I do appreciate a city with a downtown with tall buildings, but I did read a mention about culture, which is more important to me than a "bigger" downtown center.
To me it seems like Charlotte lacks a "feel" or culture compared to other cities I have been to like Seattle, or Philadelphia (I am not comparing the size of the city or tall builds in a downtown area... just the overall atmosphere). Actually I find that Asheville has a "culture"/"feel" but lacks job opportunities unfortunately.
I didn't mean to start a Charlotte vs Raleigh thread, I just thought it was interesting that although Charlotte is a bigger city with opportunities, and lots to do, it never ends up on these list and Raleigh is at least in the top 10 and that's what caught my attention to Raleigh (or really the overall RTP area) and made me think if it would be a better place to move for the future especially for young professionals, IT workers, scientist, etc. Some restaurants make national lists, It gets many musician tours over Charlotte, and concerts.
So I am curious and had a thought....... Even though I haven't experienced enough in Raleigh visiting, so far I see no difference visualizing the lifestyle I would have living their versus the one I currently have in Charlotte... I am not a big "outdoors" guy and mostly like going to eat out, going to movies, and going to concert venues, events, comedy shows, and live plays and shows, things like that...
Having said that, if the thing I hold most important is a "vibe","culture", or character of a neighborhood rather than the size of a city.... Is the culture different enough Raleigh where it is worth it to making a move, or is the culture more or less the same as Charlotte?
If the "feel" of Charlotte and Raleigh are the same (as someone stated a small city surrounded by suburban areas) then I see myself just staying in Charlotte, but if there are any truths to these "top 10 list" and how Raleigh also makes these lists and it has a different character, I will probably visit again and based on the feedback here, I will probably make the move by the fall this year.
I think the culture of Raleigh is a little more what you're talking about, but if you also include Durham and Chapel Hill, which is really the Triangle, then yes definitely. The cities around Charlotte have much less going on than Charlotte, but that's not the case at all in the Triangle. Great touring Broadway shows come to DPAC and amazing bands come to Chapel Hill and Durham, too.
You might like to check out the upcoming events in the Indy (www.indyweek.com) our local alternative weekly newspaper (sort of like Creative Loafing, but I think it's better, too).
Does anyone know the years that WRAL was the (only) CBS affiliate for satellite TV from Canada to Aruba?
One night in Atlanta in the 1990's I freaked out seeing severe thunderstorm warnings for Harnett and Johnston Counties at a friend's house, lol.
WRAL's parent company has always been cutting edge. This 6pm news intro from 1982 is ahead of its time with the camera revolving the anchors and one of the very first sets to have the newsroom as the backdrop. It kinda holds its own even today:
I would move to Chapel Hill. It has free bus service,great food,great bars,and is a lot prettier! The atmosphere there reminds me of Europe at times as many visitors and students at UNC-CH are from other countries. It is closer to the research jobs than a lot of Raleigh. Plus Raleigh is a very short distance away. I love Charlotte and miss living near there immensely. I lived outside of Rock Hill SC in the country for peace and quiet and low rent and no crime(where I lived the county had only 1 murder a year) I worked in Charlotte and loved my commute as many who lived in north Charlotte about the same distance away as I was would be stuck in traffic for hours I had a 25 minute top commute with only 1 stop sign before I was on the highway and 2 stoplights and I was at work. I loved to shop in Charlotte and go there for music and food and things I couldn't find in Rock Hill. If you are used to Charlotte high rents you could probably find something in Chapel Hill or Carrboro that would be affordable and would have a more interesting time!
So far I had a chance to read all the comments and just want to say I appreciate everyone's input so much and it has helped greatly.
I have visited Raleigh this past week but didn't get to see or do much and I felt it wasn't enough time to get a feel for what it would be to actually live there.
One thing that someone said that caught my attention is that I have lived in Charlotte for going on 4 years now and I think Charlotte is a good city, and being from New York City, I can say I do appreciate a city with a downtown with tall buildings, but I did read a mention about culture, which is more important to me than a "bigger" downtown center.
To me it seems like Charlotte lacks a "feel" or culture compared to other cities I have been to like Seattle, or Philadelphia (I am not comparing the size of the city or tall builds in a downtown area... just the overall atmosphere). Actually I find that Asheville has a "culture"/"feel" but lacks job opportunities unfortunately.
I didn't mean to start a Charlotte vs Raleigh thread, I just thought it was interesting that although Charlotte is a bigger city with opportunities, and lots to do, it never ends up on these list and Raleigh is at least in the top 10 and that's what caught my attention to Raleigh (or really the overall RTP area) and made me think if it would be a better place to move for the future especially for young professionals, IT workers, scientist, etc. Some restaurants make national lists, It gets many musician tours over Charlotte, and concerts.
So I am curious and had a thought....... Even though I haven't experienced enough in Raleigh visiting, so far I see no difference visualizing the lifestyle I would have living their versus the one I currently have in Charlotte... I am not a big "outdoors" guy and mostly like going to eat out, going to movies, and going to concert venues, events, comedy shows, and live plays and shows, things like that...
Having said that, if the thing I hold most important is a "vibe","culture", or character of a neighborhood rather than the size of a city.... Is the culture different enough Raleigh where it is worth it to making a move, or is the culture more or less the same as Charlotte?
If the "feel" of Charlotte and Raleigh are the same (as someone stated a small city surrounded by suburban areas) then I see myself just staying in Charlotte, but if there are any truths to these "top 10 list" and how Raleigh also makes these lists and it has a different character, I will probably visit again and based on the feedback here, I will probably make the move by the fall this year.
Maybe not as high or as often as Raleigh, but Charlotte does show up on a lot of "best places to move" lists as well.
I have not heard of Raleigh getting many concerts that Charlotte doesn't. I have heard that some people will skip them both and just do Greensboro though.
If you can get better paying jobs in Raleigh then I'd say go for it, and it wouldn't hurt to pay Raleigh another visit, but I probably wouldn't make a change just to make a change as personally I don't think you will find much of a different "culture" in Raleigh overall compared to Charlotte. Not sure where you are in Charlotte, but if you haven't already you should check out Plaza Midwood, Madison Park, Dilworth, Cotswold etc. Like Raleigh, there is not "culture" everywhere, but it is there.
I have not heard of Raleigh getting many concerts that Charlotte doesn't.
There are some bands that will just go to one place and not the other. For the music I like more artists come to the Triangle than Charlotte, but I'm not about big mega-stars. I think those come both places (Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Twenty One Pilots, Panic at the Disco!), but somebody like the Drive By Truckers is more likely to come to the Cats Cradle in Chapel Hill rather than Charlotte.
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