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Columbia, SC, macalan. Don't you live in SC? It's more similar to Columbia than any of the cities you listed. It's still a southern city. It's a state capital. It has a major university. I don't see it being much like any of the cities you listed. I'd think of Atlanta before I compared it to any of those, but it's not as big as Atlanta and doesn't have as much traffic. Some people say Austin TX and I can see some similarities there, but there's no Congress St.
If we were going to come visit is there a good location to stay downtown that would be central - i.e., near shops and restaurants that we could walk to?
Or if we just wanted to come for the day, is there a good area to park and walk to shops and restaurants?
I recommend you stay in a hotel downtown, like the Marriott or Sheraton. From there, you can walk to many restaurants, our free museums, the capital, and get a flavor for downtown.
But then get in your car and drive to NC state campus and walk around the shops there. Drive to North Hills for dinner and shopping. Drive to Pullen Park or one of our many other beautiful parks. Drive to the NC Art Museum the next day before you leave town and experience the indoor and outdoor free exhibits.
To do the comparison to Pittsburgh again. Pittsburgh is 58 square miles and has a population of 300K. Raleigh is 144 square miles and is 450K in population. So Raleigh is a bigger city in both land and population, but not nearly as dense, so when in the cities themselves, Pittsburgh feels like it's bigger.
That says more about where the city boundaries happen to be drawn than anything about the cities themselves. I think when people compare cities they are really talking about metro areas, not just what happens to be in the city limits.
That says more about where the city boundaries happen to be drawn than anything about the cities themselves. I think when people compare cities they are really talking about metro areas, not just what happens to be in the city limits.
It helps to explain why Raleigh “feels” like a smaller city, even though the population is higher. People are often surprised by Raleigh’s lack of true city feel.
Just compare the skyline of Pittsburgh and Raleigh.
It has the look of a young Houston, circa 1980 or so. Both cities are setup in a spoke-like system of roads, with a lot of suburban development where the outer belts have been built. That's not to say Raleigh will ever be that large.
Personally, I find Raleigh to be quite unique. There are some shared elements with other cities, to be sure.
Raleigh is just on the edge of exploding into...something. With careful planning, this could be something good. I still believe Raleigh is missing a hook...something people associate with Raleigh. Something like riverwalk would be nice, ya know, if Raleigh had a river to use.
The next 20 years are really going to define Raleigh. It will be frustrating, exciting, challenging, all at the same time.
It helps to explain why Raleigh “feels” like a smaller city, even though the population is higher. People are often surprised by Raleigh’s lack of true city feel.
Just compare the skyline of Pittsburgh and Raleigh.
I don't know. If you got rid of that pesky river and bridges, the skylines wouldn't really look all that different.
Raleigh, the second largest city in North Carolina, is home to 57 completed high-rises, six of which stand taller than 250 feet (76 m).[1] The tallest building in Raleigh is the 32-story PNC Plaza, which rises 538 feet (164 m) tall and was completed in 2008.[2]
Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, is home to 137 completed high-rises,[1] 29 of which stand at least 300 feet (91 m) tall. The tallest building in Pittsburgh is the 64-story U.S. Steel Tower, which rises 841 feet (256 m) and was completed in 1970.[
That’s significant to me, especially when you consider Raleigh is the bigger city.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Originally Posted by SaucyAussie
That says more about where the city boundaries happen to be drawn than anything about the cities themselves. I think when people compare cities they are really talking about metro areas, not just what happens to be in the city limits.
In general yes, but the OP was asking about the city specifically and the walkability. And in either case, Pittsburgh is a fairly small city in area and population but pretty dense with close-in walkable residential areas that function like their own small dense, walkable cities. The city of Pittsburgh really packs a lot of punch for its size and population. Raleigh's downtown area is small and not too dense, and the suburbs (including those within city limits) function like suburbs that are primarily driveable. In either comparison, Pittsburgh and Raleigh are about as far apart from each other in how they are laid out as any two cities can be. Even if you took the densest, innermost 58 square miles of Raleigh to do a more apples to apples comparison to the city of Pittsburgh, Raleigh is sprawly and not walkable by comparison with less to do.
In the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, there are theatres, a major league baseball stadium, an opera company, museums, two universities, three rivers, strip district of farmers markets/street vendors, and other tourist attractions and at least a dozen hotels, with nearly all of it walkable. It's a liveable city and a touristy city.
Raleigh does not have dense walkable neighborhoods like Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill, Mt. Washington, Oakland, or Shadyside that each have densities of between 5k/sq. mile up to 20K/sq. mile. There are no rowhome neighborhoods like Southside. There aren't as many tourist attractions or things to do in downtown Raleigh that are walkable that would result in people just walking around (as OP asked about), as there is in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is an old, dense city primarily built before the auto age. Raleigh is a new, sunbelt city mostly built after cars were the main mode of transportation.
Again, the cities could not be more different. I think the OP will just have to come to visit to see for herself/himself.
If you really want to get a feel for Raleigh, venture outside of the core of downtown. Go to North Raleigh, North Hills, check out West Raleigh, go to Cary.
I've traveled to many places and have lived in several of them, and I truly think that this is one of the most livable places in the country. The area is now made up of almost 50% transplants and I think that has made the area more vibrant. The most interesting thing to me is that everyone seems to be happy living here. They seem to love life and love the area, and that is reflected in their attitudes. That is not something you see in a lot of places.
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