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I am not just comparing with DC .. but let’s compare it with Minneapolis where I lived in the past. From what I was reading online, triangle area has now more population than Minneapolis ? But CITY wise , Raleigh-Durham, no where even close to Minneapolis ? Why isn’t this City being developed like other cities ? Minneapolis-St. Paul just looks huge city. A friend of mine visited Raleigh-Durham from Minneapolis , his family was thinking of moving here cuz of the cold weather in Minneapolis and he felt the same way I am feeling. Raleigh still has a long way to go as far as the downtown development ? Only population seems to be increasing.
Move to RTP from Northern Virginia area but man i've been having difficulty liking this place. I live in Cary but it's just feels slow and nothing to see around. Took my wife to Raleigh downtown, she wanted to really see the downtown, HUGE disappointment it was. Didn't feel like a Downtown. I have also lived in Minneapolis for sometime and Minneapolis is just huge compared to Raleigh Downtown.... Wife's disappointed as well.
We would go back to Northern Virginia but not many Jobs for my field out there. There are lot of Jobs here though, that's the only thing keeping me here. Is Raleigh even Considered a City ? it looks smaller than Rochester, NY !
Cary Downtown was another disappointment, few auto repair shops and that's all !
Hope things change but so far i really have been disappointed. Wish there were some jobs in Northern Virginia area for me, i'd go back without thinking much even though it's slightly expensive.
Have you applied for jobs that would let you return to NOVA?
You should.
You only need one job, and should at least try for a relocation to where you were happy.
Why live somewhere you don't like without trying for what you really want? You only live once...
Yes, Raleigh is a city. http://godowntownraleigh.com/_files/...over_lores.pdf
And, the population is booming, Double that of Rochester which has been in decay and steep population decline for many years.
But, in NC, we sprawl more than build densely and that changes the feel of the cities.
Have you looked at Charlotte for a more urban experience?
I am not just comparing with DC .. but let’s compare it with Minneapolis where I lived in the past. From what I was reading online, triangle area has now more population than Minneapolis ? But CITY wise , Raleigh-Durham, no where even close to Minneapolis ? Why isn’t this City being developed like other cities ? Minneapolis-St. Paul just looks huge city. A friend of mine visited Raleigh-Durham from Minneapolis , his family was thinking of moving here cuz of the cold weather in Minneapolis and he felt the same way I am feeling. Raleigh still has a long way to go as far as the downtown development ? Only population seems to be increasing.
The Raleigh-Durham area has about the same population today that the Minneapolis-St. Paul area had in the mid 1960s. So on top of the fact that we're 50 years behind Minneapolis in terms of population, suburbs were ascendant from 1950 through perhaps 2000 so a larger portion of our development has been focused on sprawl since then.
Raleigh is just not a very old city and that has a pretty big impact on the city - the urban/suburban balance is heavily biased towards suburban.
That said, you might be less disappointed if you consider Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh together as your downtowns to visit, rather than just Raleigh. Plus, you have to know where to go so it's possible you're just not going to the right place (and some people on here might point you in the right direction.) What are the things you are specifically disappointed with? Bars? Restaurants? Soft goods retail? Arts? Live music? Performance venues? Cultural institutions like museums and libraries? Outdoor stuff like parks and greenways? I'm sure plenty of people on here can give you pointers.
Again....things that could have been ascertained with a visit or two. Lesson learned - don't relocate until you've visited.
What do you miss about the places you've lived aside from the feel of a big city? Why did you think you would find a big city atmosphere in TOWN of Cary, which is a suburb?
You should examine these questions in case you decide to re-locate again so you don't make the same mistake twice.
My one comparison to Minneapolis (I've never been there) -- news reporters are in the area reporting on the death investigation of Prince. They are standing outside with mounds of snow around them. Then I look outside here in Durham and see azaleas, dogwoods, green grass, etc. and glad I'm not in Minnesota.
I'm sure Minnesota is a great place, but it's April 20 and there is a lot of snow on the ground there.
What are you looking for in a city? Skyscrapers? You'd be better off somewhere else.
We have a great music scene here, though. Good food. Great arts. What specifically are you missing from Minneapolis and we might be able to help you find something similar here, unless it's snow and we don't have much of that.
Downtown Durham is not that large but to me it feels more like a "downtown" than downtown Raleigh. It might be because the building forms are more consistent in the core area than downtown raleigh which feels more spread out. Try it out one weekend, you might like it. I'm taking a friend who is visiting from Wilmington down there tonight and we are going to go to dinner and then check out some of the bars. I want to take her to have drinks at the Museum Hotel which is really cool to walk around in. There are some art exhibits and you can go in the old bank vault on the ground level.
I'm always interested to hear what people think Raleigh is missing. I can appreciate different opinions about the city but don't buy into the skyline comparisons unless you are an architecture buff or just are really into office spaces and condos. Most of the activity in any city is at the street-level not in the skyscrapers.
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