Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Cary's size is irrelevant. Maybe if it were more culturally significant there would be a discussion, but it's just a giant soulless suburb.
Say all the people who read the hype but don't bother to check for themselves.
Cary has some of the best ethnic restaurants in the state. It has a diverse population. It has a significant Hindu as well as significant Islamic population. It is full of mom and pop restaurants. It has nationally recognized breweries, bakeries and hotels. It has walkable neighborhoods that have been established for well over 50 years. It has a professional soccer team and stadium, and a world class aquatic center. Some of the best ethnic groceries around. (Even I was surprised to learn about La Bonita only a few years ago. And just found the Polish Grocer last week, what a GREAT place!!!!)
But sure, it's just a bland soulless suburb that only has chain restaurants.
Honestly, I don't know why I respond. I don't feel a need to defend Cary, nor do I really want to convince someone who is determined to dislike Cary to come here. It just gives me anxiety to see this ignorant myth repeated time and time again. Those who are gullible enough (or uncurious enough) to continue believing it are missing out.
Say all the people who read the hype but don't bother to check for themselves.
Cary has some of the best ethnic restaurants in the state. It has a diverse population. It has a significant Hindu as well as significant Islamic population. It is full of mom and pop restaurants. It has nationally recognized breweries, bakeries and hotels. It has walkable neighborhoods that have been established for well over 50 years. It has a professional soccer team and stadium, and a world class aquatic center. Some of the best ethnic groceries around. (Even I was surprised to learn about La Bonita only a few years ago. And just found the Polish Grocer last week, what a GREAT place!!!!)
But sure, it's just a bland soulless suburb that only has chain restaurants.
Honestly, I don't know why I respond. I don't feel a need to defend Cary, nor do I really want to convince someone who is determined to dislike Cary to come here. It just gives me anxiety to see this ignorant myth repeated time and time again. Those who are gullible enough (or uncurious enough) to continue believing it are missing out.
It is just something that people who have never explored Cary say.
It is easier to regurgitate than to explore.
By and large, Cary is still soulless. Let’s not kid ourselves here. There have been some small strides and there have been some setbacks. But don’t act like you feel a soul emanating from Cary when you enter its boundaries and drive around because you don’t. Funny, the areas with the most character in Cary area near the lower income communities. And Cary is fine for what it is but it’s EXTREMELY vanilla. And that’s OK.
Wikipedia, the font of all questionable "facts", does refer to Cary as a suburb of Raleigh.
"Most of Raleigh is located within Wake County, with a small portion extending into Durham County.[15] The towns of Apex, Cary, Clayton, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell, and Zebulon are some of Raleigh's primary nearby suburbs and satellite towns."
To be honest, I would venture that most in the Triangle area would probably describe Cary as a suburb of Raleigh. Whether that is true or not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ .
I can see how Cary would appear to be a suburb, particularly if the Wikipedia author weren't a resident of our area. However there has long been a trend of people commuting into Cary and the RTP area from Raleigh and Durham. Conventional wisdom was, while there's jobs in Cary, young professionals wouldn't have anything to keep them entertained, so a lot of growth went to Raleigh and Durham. Still, it could've been rightly called a bedroom community 20-30 years ago because there wasn't much there aside from tract housing, Crossroads, and far flung employers. A lot has changed since then. Cary always had the jobs and now it has entertainment and dining options as well. With its central location in the Triangle, Cary is poised to overtake Durham in population.
I can see how Cary would appear to be a suburb, particularly if the Wikipedia author weren't a resident of our area. However there has long been a trend of people commuting into Cary and the RTP area from Raleigh and Durham. Conventional wisdom was, while there's jobs in Cary, young professionals wouldn't have anything to keep them entertained, so a lot of growth went to Raleigh and Durham. Still, it could've been rightly called a bedroom community 20-30 years ago because there wasn't much there aside from tract housing, Crossroads, and far flung employers. A lot has changed since then. Cary always had the jobs and now it has entertainment and dining options as well. With its central location in the Triangle, Cary is poised to overtake Durham in population.
Cary is not poised to overtake Durham in population! Durham has approximately a 110,000 population lead on Cary and is growing fast enough that it will most likely overtake Greensboro as third largest city in the state by the end of this decade. Cary will never be considered the second city in the Triangle. Durham has so much more to offer than Cary. Two universities, a vibrant downtown core, Durham Bulls, DPAC and much more urban infrastructure. Cary just seems like a very large town with with some good entertainment from time to time. But, it's still just a suburb community of Raleigh.
By and large, Cary is still soulless. Let’s not kid ourselves here. There have been some small strides and there have been some setbacks. But don’t act like you feel a soul emanating from Cary when you enter its boundaries and drive around because you don’t. Funny, the areas with the most character in Cary area near the lower income communities. And Cary is fine for what it is but it’s EXTREMELY vanilla. And that’s OK.
A couple of things mainly contributed to Cary becoming this way. Cary is not a city that grew organically around core industries nor does it have a river flowing through it, like many other cities that have seen substantial population growth. Secondly, Cary has for a long time been considered as simply "a nice place to live," which has attracted diverse newcomers from outside of the state simply looking for "a nice place to live."
If you're looking for something "special" about Cary, there's nothing there. If you're looking for a compelling history, you won't find it.
Cary is very, very good at what it does, which is attract middle income transplants looking for "a nice place to live."
A couple of things mainly contributed to Cary becoming this way. Cary is not a city that grew organically around core industries nor does it have a river flowing through it, like many other cities that have seen substantial population growth. Secondly, Cary has for a long time been considered as simply "a nice place to live," which has attracted diverse newcomers from outside of the state simply looking for "a nice place to live."
If you're looking for something "special" about Cary, there's nothing there. If you're looking for a compelling history, you won't find it.
Cary is very, very good at what it does, which is attract middle income transplants looking for "a nice place to live."
So many people who have never been to Cary but have opinions....
I'm not sure if that is true. I've been to Cary many times. Do I hate on Cary? Nope. Do I really want to live there? Nope. It just isn't a great fit for what I'm looking for, for the most part. But it is really popular, especially with transplants into the area, so it obviously has plenty to offer to those who find it the right fit.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
